When dreams grow up

When Shawn Christensen was three years old, he wanted to be an airplane pilot.

That didn’t last long.

The ambition couldn’t hold up against the call of an Angus cowherd and the Rocky Mountain, Hot Springs, Montana, ranch. Home.

2016_05_mr_Springvale Ranch_Christensen-161 — Shawn and Jen Christensen, with daughters Katelyn and Kara, run Springvale Ranch very little outside labor.

I got to meet Shawn, his wife Jen, and daughters Katelyn and Kara, earlier this year. Traveling with Josh Comninellis from the Angus Media team added to the fun. We toured some of the prettiest spots in Montana, saw the girls’ 4-H animals and shared laughs around the supper table.

It was pretty clear to me that, if he had the training, Shawn has what it takes to pilot a 747. I’m equally certain he was called to ranch for a reason.

“Some days, is it a dream? Not exactly, but I feel like this is what I’m meant to do,” he says. “This is what I enjoy doing. You accept the good with the bad and the bad with the good.”

2016_05_mr_Springvale Ranch_Christensen-207 — Efficient, docile Angus cows are part of the family’s plan to raise high-quality beef.

During his own 4-H tenure, Shawn was already beginning to mold the family’s commercial Angus cowherd. He learned about final carcass quality while on an undefeated judging team. At the same time, his dad was growing an irrigation business and the patriarch left the third-generation rancher, still in high school at the time, with “full rein.” “He kind of says, ‘Okay, you’re going to build this program,’” Shawn recalls. “It’s been great. It’s just one of those things you look forward to.”

Carcass shows gave him a taste of learning what was under the hide of his own animals, but the rancher wanted to know more. It was another decade or more before the Christensens got connected with the Loseke family in Nebraska and started getting individual performance and carcass data, though they don’t retain any ownership beyond weaning.

2016_05_mr_Springvale Ranch_Christensen-176 — For Shawn, the ability to learn what was under the hide just intensified his interest in making that even better.

“We are raisers of beef, but you still have to raise cattle that can calve out on the range,” Shawn says, noting he places importance on everything from fertility and mothering ability to carcass weight and marbling.

They started with artificial insemination (AI) in 1983, and two-thirds of the females are still bred that way today.

His bride let me in on a secret: you won’t find Shawn reading the latest best seller. Instead, free time is devoted to the research for perfecting matings. He starts looking at them in the fall, but the cattleman might make a change or two right up until breeding day.

“He spends a lot of time perfecting that,” Jen says, more with admiration than annoyance. She then hand-enters all records so he can compare. It’s clear they make a good team.

2016_05_mr_Springvale Ranch_Christensen-280 — Individual animal identification, and then tying records back to that, is a pillar of their herd improvement.

“If you don’t know who the good one is or the poor one is, how do you make changes?” Shawn asks. “It seems like you can make it happen in a few years, but it takes time.”

His life would look a lot different if he were logging airline miles right now, but I suspect that Springvale Ranch would, too.

I’ll bet I’m not the only one glad that when a four-year-old Shawn Christensen changed his mind, that second dream stuck.

May your bottom line be filled with black ink,

Miranda

The ‘milk cow’ that changed a beef business

If not for a milk cow and a hurricane, the magic formula that is Riverbend Ranch might not be.

Riverbend for blog (1 of 7) — Frank VaderSloot has fond memories of growing up on a small Idaho farm, and that inspired him to get involved in the beef community on a much larger scale.

First, the dairy animal: It belonged the VanderSloot family, and it was 12-year-old Frank’s job to care for it, milking it by hand morning and night.

It might seem like a far stretch from the small northern Idaho farm that supported the family decades ago to now owning the 19^th largest seedstock ranch in the nation, but without that early connection to agriculture, Frank might have occupied his time and resources with another venture.

“I think that’s the way to raise kids,” Frank says. (For the record: I agree!) He always had some cattle around, but 25 years ago he began building the registered herd.

“It was a selection of one at a time, and honestly that’s what I think has given us an advantage in the marketplace today: the fact that we chose every cow that we thought were some of the best out of these herds,” Frank says. He’s seen people spend years trying to “upgrade.”

“We started with the entire cowherd being exceptional,” he says.

And as for Hurricane Floyd? Well, it claimed half of Steve Harrison’s family cowherd in North Carolina. The animal science graduate had come back to manage that enterprise on the diversified farm, and when the flood waters rose, bringing unimaginable devastation, he said, “I can’t go back to working in the hog barns.”

Riverbend for blog (3 of 7) — Steve Harrison, Riverbend Ranch general manager, always knew he wanted to work with cattle, but he says he still draws on his upbringing in the commercial hog business.

So he headed West.

Together Frank and Steve, now the general manager, have shared a mission, making Riverbend not only successful but a well-known source for genetics that will do it all. They are unashamed of their focus on carcass quality.

“If we’re in the business, we should do it right,” Frank says

The vision was his, but it has continued with Steve.

Riverbend for blog (5 of 7) — Riverbend Ranch’s commercial cattle operations give them a chance to see how their genetics work for the everyday cattleman.

“We’re highly data-driven,” he says. “We’re trying to put as much carcass into the cattle as we possibly can without sacrificing their ability to work in the real-world. It’s our guiding principle.”

They have a large commercial herd and several satellite ranches to stock. They see how their genetics perform in the grow yard and on the cattle they retain through the feedlot, both their own and purchased customer calves.

“Each group of cattle gets better in terms of yield, in terms of conversion, in terms of grade,” Steve says.

But it all comes back to making sure the cattle work for the people buying Riverbend genetics.

“Our focus is our commercial bull customers. Everything we do revolves around trying to service them.”

When I visited last month, I heard “customer” a lot, and not in a way that seemed like lip service. When they create cattle, they have you in mind, and their numbers prove it.

May your bottom line be filled with black ink,

Miranda

PS–Watch for “the rest of the story” in a fall issue of the Angus Journal.

Following the Calves: Everything Evert

Sometimes the best stories are tucked away in the obscure details.

It’s the princess lunchbox, filled with grab-and-go snacks, that makes its home on the front seat of the flatbed pickup…just in case a quick pasture check turns into a longer project.

It’s the young girls who proudly showed me their cedar-tree “fort,” where they spent the day imagining while their parents preconditioned in the corrals 30 or so yards away.

The story is in the wife’s Christmas list that contains items like a handyman jack and a chainsaw.

This tale features two strong women, who do the day-to-day chores on the family’s commercial Angus ranch near Brady, Neb., while their husbands hold off-farm jobs. But that’s not the whole story.

It’s about cousins—who grew up almost like brothers—carrying on a legacy started by their dads, who were brothers. People who still believe in the value of treating neighbors like a neighbor, helping each other out and above all, doing the very best they can.

Brandon and Virginia Evert, and their neighbors, cousins and seemingly best friends Kirk and Rachael Evert ranch together, raise kids together and generally “do life” together.

Evert collage — Brandon and Virginia (left) and Kirk and Rachael (right)

“We would go on vacation together, but we can’t all be gone at the same time,” Brandon jokes.

The back story is interesting, but I’ll have to save it for another day, because the whole reason I found myself getting to know this family that I see in the school pick-up line or at the local grocery store was their cattle.

The herd has seen challenges, including being reduced to nearly nothing after a wildfire burned all but 200 acres of their grass in 2002. Intense drought settled in a decade after that.

But the story is in the transformation that’s come of late:

The first change was retaining heifers, and since 2000 or so, “we’ve gotten to where every cow that’s on the ranch now has been born on the ranch,” Brandon says.
In 2005, they AI’d for the first time, and “took a chance” on not-that-well-known-at-the-time Final Answer, Brandon says, noting it turned out pretty well. The couples make genetic decisions together, but the gals tend to do the bull buying these days.
They’ve been investing in facilities and equipment to help ease stress on the animals (and their handlers, too). I surmise that’s also good for the marriages.
They individually identify and weigh calves several times and since Virginia has taken over, the record keeping has increased and gone digital.
Working closely with Virginia’s former employers (from her 9 or 10-year “temporary” job—another story for another day) at Eastside Animal Center, they’ve made upgrades to their health program and continue to watch for the newest and best protocols.

With all of these changes, it made sense to follow with a marketing change.

“If you’re putting money into them, you want to see a return,” Brandon says.

One of the last times their cattle went through the ring, Virginia and Rachael overheard a reaction from a stranger: “Wow. Those cattle do not belong in the salebarn.”

That was just the push they needed to seek out local feeder Anne Burkholder of Will Feed, Inc., just down the road at Cozad.

“Once people go to Anne, they don’t leave,” Virginia says. “I figured there’s got to be a reason.”

Now four years into the relationship, they know why. They’re getting feedback—which includes last year’s steer calves going 95% Choice with 44% Certified Angus Beef® brand qualifiers last year—and advice. The Everts have found a partner.

They’ve come a long way, but after spending just one morning with the family, I could easily see they’re on fire with new ideas and even more excitement for where they’re heading.

The best part? When I asked if we could tell their story over the course of the year, including them in our Following the Calves series, they said yes.

So check back in. ‘Tis the season for preconditioning and weaning, and I’ll give you a rundown of how that goes down on their ranch next.

May your bottom line be filled with black ink,

Miranda

Catch the Evert family’s whole story with these posts:

Our “Following the Calves” series also takes you to Arizona and Florida in these installments:

Quality down the tracks

I’ve always had a thing for freight trains.

There’s something about the contradiction of freedom confined to a track that seems to grab my attention.

But as I stepped foot over Georgia’s border into Cusseta, Ala., cattle were the ones that kept it.

The train merely took me back in time.

The roads weren’t paved, the land in row crops and highly eroded, but James Smart Collins II wanted cows. Beef cattle to be specific. From Montgomery, Ala., he and his family operated J.S. Collins Dairy through the Great Depression and came to know and later purchase the land 75 miles northeast of him that had no flowing water but nearly 40 natural springs.

In the 72 years since, generations of Collinses have raised even more generations of Angus cattle on the ground that’s sustained them both.

“My grandfather bought the farm in ’43,” James (Jimmy) Collins IV tells me. Having “showed many a Hereford steer through high school,” Jimmy switched to Angus his senior year and soon after, the herd followed suit.

“We were looking to grow from carcass information and wanted rid of the problems with udders and eyes. Crunching numbers, Angus looked like a better alternative. It’s such a strong breed.”

Living on the farm and commuting to town each day, mornings and late afternoons for Jimmy were spent tending to cattle while workdays went to financing crops, cattle and equipment for neighboring ranchers and later real estate sales. Five decades later, the Collins family is a case study of how each person can find their niche in the world and on the farm, all the while supplementing the cattle enterprise with outside income.

“If you characterize all of us, my granddad [James] was the consummate agronomist,” says Jimmy’s son, Jim. With his own growing family, the two partner in Collins Farms today. “He [James] was also the engineer – with a high school degree, but still the engineer.”

“Without question, my dad is the nutritionist,” Jim continues. “And then my specialty’s been genetics and marketing.”

The commercial cows, 350 of them, are carefully managed and selected with the same detail as the family’s 50 head of registered stock. To avoid being culled, cows are expected to grow a calf 60% of their mature body weight, have adequate milk production given the natural forages, and have some longevity. Many a Collins cow is in production to the age of 12.

“We try to run a balanced program, rather than chasing outliers,” Jimmy says. “Sure, it’s a slower process, but when you get there, you’re there. We look at growth and carcass quality and strive to be a tier above the industry average.”

In an industry that sometimes resists change, the Collins men embrace it, like, for instance, when they decided to transition from complete phenotypic to a combination of genetic and phenotypic selection.

“It’s a matter of surviving really and truly,” Jimmy says. “You’ve got to be productive and you can do what you want, but it better be successful and work for the folks who are going to be consuming the end product.

What’s working appear to be the Collins cattle.

Terry Harris, Boston, Ga., can tell of cows he purchased from the Collinses 11 years ago that maintain and reproduce today. Then there’s new cattlemen to the business like Jones Woody, Culloden, Ga., who has followed his calves on feed in Iowa and received data showing 81% CAB and USDA Prime.

Faint in the distance, then all at once overpowering, again the train bursts through the family land as I stand and learn their lives.

A constant. A reminder of what’s been and what’s to come.

For years, three generations of Collins men worked together with their families to improve their cattle and impress the consumer at the end of the line. Rest assured they’ll continue.

Right on down the tracks.

Thanks for allowing me to tell your story,

Laura

To learn more about Collins Farms and their commitment to the brand, check out this video.

Restarting a legacy

Growing up in the Angus business, I’ve always admired ranchers who own and operate their family’s original homestead. Those who’ve managed the test of time and been able to carry on a legacy for more than 100 years on land once wide open and unsettled. There’s a history on such places, filled with stories, memories and pictures one could find in a museum.

Visiting the J-D Claypool Ranch in southern Oklahoma, near Ringling, I saw such history. The original Dillard Ranch was established in the late 1800s, before Oklahoma was granted statehood.

As I visited with Tom and Seane Jones, the pride was evident. The photos from Seane’s father’s herd in the 1950s and National Western Stock Show champions were as expected. But the couple is not carrying on your typical ranching heritage.

Multigenerational ranching operations may be fewer today, but certainly nothing new. Most transition with equipment, cattle, land and buildings to maintain the family business. But in this case, continuing the legacy meant starting from scratch.

Seane’s grandfather Josiah Dillard established the ranch, and cattle were still the focus as her father, James Dillard, inherited the land and formed the J-D section of Dillard Ranch. Seane is one of six daughters, and the only one who still owns and runs cattle on a portion of what is now the J-D Claypool Ranch. After Seane’s father passed her mother and sisters continued the business, but over time the focus shifted. When Seane and Tom returned in 2007, there were no cattle.

They used their knowledge of horse racing pedigrees and genetics, applying it to how they evaluate cattle.

“We chose Angus as the base of the herd because of the market and consumer appeal,” Seane says. “From there we’ve just worked around the facts the data supplied.”

They use EPDs and genomics to evaluate the purebred cattle and GeneMax™ DNA test results on the commercial females to gather as much data as possible. Their quick adaptation to the technology and strict culling brought much progress in a few short years. The Joneses don’t keep any replacement females that score less than 90 of 99.

“Most are surprised when we tell them the cattle are new to the ranch,” she says. “Many work on the land and cattle for a long time to see the results we’ve seen. When you rely on the DNA and not only your eye, you can make progress toward a realized goal faster.”

Genomics provide increased accuracy in their quest for “the right genetics and right formula,” Seane says.

The Oklahomans may have started with a blank slate of genetics, but with their approach to balanced selection and use of modern technology, the future of the J-D Claypool Ranch looks strong. Cattle are again thriving on this land and poised to last another 100 years.

~Katy

Industry Information intern Katy Kemp is currently pursuing a master’s degree in ag communications from Oklahoma State University.

Maternal function at Marrs Ranch

“Marrs cattle excel both in performance and carcass value.”

That’s all Tom Williams, Chappell (Neb.) Feedlot, had to say about his customers of five years in 2009.

That, and an added page of data to prove it, were enough.

Recipients of CAB’s Commercial Commitment to Excellence award, Dan and Anna Marrs, Whitewood, S.D., were the first to admit their herd of 600 Angus females wasn’t perfect.

Although 2009 was a different market and time for the family ranch northeast of the Black Hills, what attracted us to them then attracts us now.

Consistency.

They have the numbers, of course – harvest bunches achieving 70-80% CAB – but it’s what’s behind the numbers that have kept them on our radar.

Marrs_1 Speaking more to their way of life and how they raise son Matthew, Anna said in ’09, “In a way, because we don’t have a lot of things – like hi-speed Internet or Nintendo, we just try to concentrate on basics. Reading and phonics. And above all character.”

A comprehensive tell-all, character covers all the bases from family values to their commercial cowherd.

With 24 years of records supporting every decision they make, Marrs Ranch is an example of aiming for balanced excellence and getting it. A forage-oriented, low-input herd, Marrs cattle don’t just hit the CAB target but gain and convert efficiently during the process.

It seems rather simple, really, when Dan explains that records show what “cows we can live with,” in one sense of the phrase. Cow families that show longevity and carcass quality get to stay while those that fall behind hit the road. In another sense of the phrase applied to functionality, Dan adds, “We don’t live with them. If a female gives us any trouble, she can’t stay here.”

Like many breeders who have looked past the myth that says if you want one thing you must give up another, they don’t choose between functionality and quality. Instead, they let them work together, a physical “character” of sorts.

Marrs_3 Leery of fads, the Marrs Ranch has “been breeding black” for more than 35 years because of the ability to target desired results.

“Crossbreeding may work for some people, but we know what our Angus cattle can do in the feedlot, as replacement heifers and in our herd. CAB is really a bonus, and it’s a benefit I don’t see attached to any other breed,” Dan says.

Call me biased, but I’d tend to agree.

Thanks for allowing me to tell your story,

Laura

This is the second in a three-part series on maternal function and marbling. To hear about the Nebraska family who wouldn’t sell their cows in a drought for all they had invested in them, click back to yesterday’s post.

Lessons learned

We’ve been told time after time that we can’t have our cake and eat it, too. But it turns out that sometimes we CAN! Don’t believe me? Let me introduce you to Tim Adams, a commercial Angus producer I visited near Wakefield, Kan.

Adams with his hydraulic shoot that he saved five years to buy. This is a great tool for him and his family during the artificial insemination season. — Adams with his hydraulic chute that he saved five years to buy. This is a great tool for him and his family during the artificial insemination season.

More than 20 years ago, when Tim started his cowherd from scratch it was what he describes as, “a gigantic failure.”

In college he “got hooked” on Limousin cattle because of their growth performance and phenotype. So he bought nine head and everything was good until he got his first calf crop.

The weight of the calves was disappointing and when breeding season came they were difficult to breed back. Luckily a neighbor gave him some advice: switch the breed.

Now Tim has 250 commercial Angus cows, an impressive artificial insemination (AI) program, good friends in the industry and knowledge he wouldn’t trade for anything. And he’s raking in the premiums with calf crops that make 65% to 84% Certified Angus Beef ^® (CAB^®) or Prime.

But what he is most proud of is getting 75% of his herd to conceive via AI, with very few stragglers after using a good clean up bull.

"Make a cow first and the carcass will come," is the motto at TA Ranch. — “Make a cow first and the carcass will come,” is the motto at TA Ranch.

“Fertility is still the number one deal—if you can’t get them bred what good does it do if they can grade well? You’ll be out of business if they aren’t bred,” says Adams.

Angus cattle have “just flat worked” for him because of their maternal ability and reproductive efficiency. As for the carcass traits, he credits those who helped him throughout the years, especially Tom and Matt Perrier from Dalebanks Angus.

For years Tim bred away from what he considered to be “carcass bulls,” disregarding Matt Perrier’s encouragement to include a focus on marbling.

Like many other producers, both registered and commercial, Adams thought it was impossible for his herd to excel in both maternal and feedlot traits. But Matt was able to break through and now, thanks to proven genetics, Tim’s herd is proof that his theory of simultaneous selection works.

Milking ability is another trait selected by Adams. I'd say this calf approves! — Milking ability is another trait selected by Adams. I’d say this calf approves!

Learning from his past, Tim is now smarter about his breeding decisions, trusting the numbers and selecting for balance. To him, the cake is his fertile Angus cows and the icing on top is the calves’ high-quality carcasses.

“You never stop learning in this business,” he says. “Sometimes the lessons you learn the hard way are the most important because those are the ones you never forget.”

At the bold age of 21, it is often hard for me to remember that I actually do not hold the answers needed to solve all the world’s problems. My way isn’t always the best way and in life I’m going to make mistakes. But that’s okay because like this producer, learning from them is how we find success.

-Kaitlin

Every steak has a story

A retired banker, a journalist and an intern walk into a restaurant – don’t worry, this is no bad joke, just the start of another great story about the cattle business.

Steve and I recently had the pleasure of meeting commercial Angus producers Roy and Carol Soukup (she walked in a few minutes later) in Ellsworth, Kan.

In January, Roy retired after 42 years at Hanston State Bank, 29 of them as president. He grew up on an Ellsworth family farm and always knew he’d move back some day.

Before that, for decades he would make the 100-mile commute east on weekends to work with the land and cattle, and then it was back to his office on Monday. When he was at the bank, he says, “my mind was all bank.” As soon as he headed east on Friday night he was thinking about the farm and the cattle.

But now, Roy and Carol are both excited to be in their first year as full-time ranchers, able to make use of some practices like freeze branding that had once been out of reach because of time commitments. But one thing they’ve always found time for is proven genetics from nearby Green Garden Angus—in fact it made better use of their time to use the best.

Roy and Carol are proud of their family, land and excellent Angus cattle.

Roy the banker and Carol the accountant like to see numbers. “It’s like they say, if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve,” says Roy.

When it comes to buying bulls, he relies heavily on EPDs (expected progeny differences), and just “tries to stay in the middle,” given that Green Garden already set the bar high for marbling.

To pick replacements, he turns to ultrasound.

“With eyesight there’s just no way to tell these kinds of numbers,” says Roy. “Sometimes the prettiest heifer by eyesight is actually on the bottom of the list.”

But a heifer at the bottom of his list could be on the top of another’s, after 10 years of scanning. This year’s 34 replacements scored 500 or above, all capable of producing Choice or better calves for this herd that regularly achieves 65% to 75% CAB and Prime.

After lunch, we toured the stunning green pastures east of town that are rich in history.

The Soukups treated us to an ATV tour of their different pastures, making it easy to enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery.

The first land Roy bought had been rented by his grandfather going back to the early 1900s. We saw an old schoolhouse foundation there where his mother attended many years ago.

In other pastures you could find unique rock formations and even caves, whose walls are lined with what are believed to be Native American carvings.

Didn't know there was such a thing as Mushroom State Park? Neither did I! It's amazing what you discover driving down the dirt roads of Ellsworth County. — Didn’t know there was such a thing as Mushroom State Park? Neither did I! It’s amazing what you discover driving down the dirt roads of Ellsworth County.

I spent my whole life in the beef industry, and all it took was one afternoon riding through pastures on an ATV in Ellsworth County to make me fall in love with it all over again.

Visits with folks like Roy and Carol make me love my job, my future in agricultural communications and my history in the industry.

So whether you’re eating homegrown beef tonight or dining in a CAB-licensed restaurant, just remember that every steak has a story.

-Kaitlin

Keeping it simple

I grew up on my family’s small commercial Angus operation in southwest Kansas, so that makes me an expert, right? All operations are the same, right?

Wrong, but that is the magic behind the beef industry and the Angus breed. By tagging along with the MBA program a couple weeks ago, I learned that it’s okay not to be just like your neighbor or even your family, just do what works for you.

For more than 40 years, Bob and Becky Avery have run their Olsburg, Kan., ranch with the goal of keeping it simple.

For them it means just being ranchers, not farmers, and caring for the land. The cows run year round on more than 1,000 acres of native grassland, supplemented in the winter with purchased feed.

The Averys took us to one of the pastures that has been in the family for generations. It was Bob's father who built these ponds from a stream that Bob's grandfather used to water his cattle. — The Averys took us to a pasture that has been in the family for generations. It was Bob’s father who built these ponds from a stream that Bob’s grandfather used to water his cattle.

Bob says he loves his cattle, but they can come and go; the land gets top priority because it will be here forever.

With 140 Angus-based cows to breed this summer and calve out next spring, continuity is important. That doesn’t mean they’re afraid of change, and in fact they point to two big ones that worked.

The first was their switch from Hereford to Angus. Bob’s family goes back to the Poole Registered Hereford operation that once thrived near Manhattan, but he started breeding those bulls to Angus cows and found more dollars for Angus calves.

“Everyone wants everything to be black and financially that’s it, they just really are worth more,” says Bob. The breed organization has made his job easy, the calves so good “they sell themselves.”

This good looking calf is evidence of the high quality Angus genetics used on the Averys' ranch. — This good looking calf is evidence of the high quality Angus genetics used on the Averys’ ranch.

The other reason was the diversity in cattle type. Angus genetics can provide just what any producer wants, Bob says. For the Averys, that’s an easy keeping cow that throws good calves and has a good disposition.

Bob swears he has never had to cull an Angus cow for poor disposition, but he’s not sure if that is due to genetics or environment.

We all have that one friend who really, “thinks outside of the bunk,” and comes up with some unique and sometimes insane ideas. For Bob, that friend is Wally Olson, a former neighbor who now ranches near Vinita, Okla.

“He calls me up with these oddball ideas and I adopt about one out of every four of them, and it works really well,” says Bob.

One of Wally’s “crazy ideas” was getting the couple to switch to the Bud Williams cattle handling philosophy.

When she wasn't busy working the cattle, the Averys' border collie, Twig loved getting to know new people. — When she wasn’t busy working the cattle, the Averys’ border collie, Twig loved getting to know new people.

“I think changing the way we handle our cattle was one of the best things we did,” says Becky. “First of all, it makes the cattle calmer and they’re more trusting of us. Second of all, when we work cattle together we get along much better.”

Becky Avery was in love with her new CAB swag!

Reducing stress, the Averys have seen improved herd health, easy calving seasons and improved carcass quality.

By keeping it simple, Bob and Becky have learned how to get the most out of their bottom dollar.

-Kaitlin

To catch up on our coverage of the other two Kansas ranches who hosted CAB guests, read “Connections” and “Incorporating a legacy of quality.”

GeneMax expands quality in Texas

One of the really neat parts of rolling our commercial DNA test has been the focused producers we’ve met along the way. People like Roy Russell, who knows that raising high-quality beef is not only good in the here and now, but is insurance for his future. Read on in this report from our fall intern, Jayne Godfrey. –Miranda

Growing up on a family ranch near Aspermont, Texas, gave Roy Russell a background in management and a passion for the business. Those helped him begin expanding seven years ago to the 200-cow commercial herd the family owns today.

Roy Russell 5 — Roy Russell (right) and his father Tim

The next step is to make them better.

“We are trying to make the most money with as few cattle as possible,” Russell says. “Technology helps me to create a more predictable herd.”

Last year, after hearing about the GeneMax™ genomics test from CAB, he knew it could help him expand profitability in a cost-effective way. The DNA-based test measures gain and grade potential of high-percentage Angus cattle using blood, hair or tissue samples.

“I’m trying to draw a straight line between bulls and calves to produce a quality product. That’s the ultimate goal,” Russell says, noting a target of 85% CAB and Prime. To keep that line straight, every cow must carry the genetics for quality, which is why he tested most of the cows last fall and began using the GMX Scores for culling and selection.

“There are just so many variables, and from this perspective it’s a great tool to help with decision making,” the Texan says. “The more tools you have to use, the better your herd is going to be.”

For Russell, the biggest benefit could be what the technology can do for the relationships he cares about. “You’re going to make more money for your next customer by providing more information,” he says. There’s another goal, too, closer to home: “I want to leave a legacy for my kids, That’s why I’m working to expand our ranch. We love the work and what we are doing.”

When dreams grow up

You may also like

The ‘milk cow’ that changed a beef business

You may also like

Following the Calves: Everything Evert

You may also like

Quality down the tracks

You may also like

Restarting a legacy

You may also like

Maternal function at Marrs Ranch

You may also like

Lessons learned

You may also like

Every steak has a story

You may also like

Keeping it simple

You may also like

GeneMax expands quality in Texas

You may also like