It’s become a running joke in the Evert family that ranches near Brady, Neb.: The first year Virginia was at the clipboard during preg-checking time, mysteriously all the wild cows came up “open.”
As soon as the planters are in the shed, the crew at Weborg Feeding Co. near Pender, Neb., will unpack the shades in preparation for summer in the yard.
At his Cattlemen’s College session last month, I heard Mark present a pretty convincing case for preconditioning (a 11-year analysis of Indiana producers showed a profit of more than $80 per head, on average for 60+ day programs, for example).
But it wasn’t just about the economics of it all. It was about the principle.
Nobody wants cattle with too much “attitude,” but it takes focused genetics and handling to improve docility in a herd. “We’ve always tried to be careful about selecting bulls for disposition,” says Roger Jones, of Tri-Tower Farm, near Shenandoah, Iowa. “It’s very important to us to have a cowherd that we can handle, without a lot of wild calves in it. You know, the cattle do better in the feedlot when they aren’t wild.” Since he operates both enterprises, Jones knows how those issues carry from the field to the feedlot.
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