bodey langford, ambassador award, never gone dry

Living the Dream and Using the Tools!

I travel a lot. “Where do you go?” I’m asked.

Well, not exactly like the song “I’ve Been Everywhere,” but I’ve made ranch visits to Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota, at least.

Note that I left out Kansas. Well, Kansas is local for me, and while I’ve made lots and lots of visits many miles away, sometimes it’s nice to just go somewhere nearby!

Last week I went “on the road” to a ranch near Onaga, Kan., which is just about 35 miles from the house. Lance Cline, of Cline Cattle Company, had asked me out to look at his Angus cattle and to discuss GeneMax (GMX), CAB’s DNA test for marbling and post-weaning growth in high-percentage, commercial Angus cattle.

Lance’s goal was to test some of his commercial, fall-born, Angus heifers and use GMX as a marketing tool to help merchandise them. He had scores ranging from the mid 50s to 99, with the majority above 90.

Lance pointing to cows — Lance Cline of Cline Cattle Company, Onaga, KS, describes sire lines and the importance of maternal traits in his commercial and purebred herd.

Here’s a young man who has a passion for good cattle. You can see it in the phenotype; deep-sided, broody-looking, females that would make any cowman envious.

You can hear the enthusiasm in his voice as he describes the cattle to me; the bulls they are using and the different A.I. sires they’ve incorporated. The cow families. The way he visits with me about maternal function and cow longevity.

What I found exciting was that Lance was embracing the NEWEST technologies! I love to see people utilizing GMX to learn more about the cattle they are raising. The cattle were impressive, his GMX scores were impressive, and I thoroughly enjoyed our discussion and the ranch visit. This guy is really “living the dream” in my mind!

Bando at Cline — A son of Bando 5175 being used on a group of cows at Cline Cattle Co., Onaga, Kan.

Not long ago, I was visiting with a large seedstock producer about one of his best bull customers; a man who had been using EPDs in his commercial Angus herd and feeding all of his calves to slaughter.

“You know, he’s not doing anything other than using the tools that are provided,” he said.

“He grabbed ahold of GeneMax; he religiously uses EPDs to select sires; he feeds his cattle out and collects carcass data and he’s very successful with his operation. Everybody else has access to those tools. Why don’t they all use them?”

Good question, and I’m not sure I know the answer. The thing I do know is, with the world changing as quickly as it does, it might behoove producers to be on the forefront of these technologies and use the tools that are available to advance the beef industry.

Lance: thanks for sharing your time and expertise with me! Continue to “live the dream!”

Till next time, “adios,” and see you on down the road! Next trip: Missouri!

~Gary

A Rough Patch

“Life Ain’t Always Beautiful,” the song by Gary Allen, is a favorite of mine. Because I know I’ve faced tough times before and there’s no doubt I’ll face more in the future. No doubt, you’ve suffered your share.

Drought conditions — There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it…….it’s a drought for sure and there’s no grass either!

The drought for many folks in the High Plains and Southwest has been, what I will term for lack of a better term “unreasonable.” Not “unseasonable,” but “unreasonable.” One rancher I visited with in the Oklahoma Panhandle has not received a “normal” year’s worth of rainfall over the course of the past four years, but there’s been record heat. Cow after cow has been sold or moved to greener pastures out of state. It has become a desert in many areas, with no relief in sight.

Of course, there’s always a positive, and the fact that so many cows have been culled leaves us with what I’ll term a “super cowherd.” The drought conditions have toughened up the culling protocols. Can I offer another suggestion in that culling procedure?

Consider using GeneMax, our DNA test for marbling and post-weaning growth in commercial, high-percentage Angus cattle. This test, available for $17 (plus 50 cents for the blood sampling card), can be used as one more tool when fine-tuning the females in your herd. You’ve culled for age, udders, disposition, feet and legs. Now, perhaps, it’s time to take a look at the actual genetics for those factors that can help drive profitability on your operation.

For more information, look at our website: www.cabpartners.com There, you will find the facts that will help you drive your herd to producing calves with that quality endpoint in mind.

No, life ain’t always beautiful, but it’s a beautiful ride.

Until next time,

Gary

LIVE CHAT WRAP-UP: DNA AND GENOMICS

On Tuesday, we hosted a live chat on our Facebook page featuring our very own vice president, Dr. Larry Corah. We invited users to eat lunch at their computers or near their mobile devices and discuss genomics and DNA testing with us. Since not everyone could join in, though, we wanted to share a couple of questions that we hear an awful lot from producers who want to test the water with DNA.

QUESTION: How accurate is DNA technology today?

ANSWER: DNA technology in certain areas has made tremendous progress and in other areas we’re on the tip of where we’ll be in 5 to 10 years. For certain traits like marbling, DNA markers have been identified that can very accurately portray the carcass quality potential of animals.

It’s important to keep in mind that the heritability of various traits ranges
from highly heritable — like growth and carcass traits — to lowly heritable,
like reproductive traits. Depending on the number of markers that have been
identified and are utilized in a DNA test, from 20% to 30% of the genetic variation can be identified by the markers and for some traits even higher.

QUESTION: A lot of producers I talk to are curious but a little intimidated by the subject of DNA testing and genomics. Where would you suggest these cattlemen turn to learn the basics of how this technology can be used on their operations?

ANSWER: There is no question that DNA technology is a fairly complicated subject but as you start pursuing the volumes of information available, it becomes considerably easier to understand. There are some excellent references to consider as starting points. You might go to our website and check out our Q&A section related to our reduced-platform DNA technology, GeneMax. You’ll probably find that helpful.

[Note: The American Angus Association also has some helpful resources:

Already knew the answers to those questions, but have others? Post them below. We’d be happy to continue this discussion!

Be sure to join us for our next chat, scheduled for this fall!

HISTORY, DATA AND HARD WORK

I took a little trip to Oklahoma last week where I had an enjoyable visit with commercial rancher, Joe Mayer.

I like history, so learning about his ranch was a real treat. Joe’s great-grandfather moved to Texline, Texas, from Savannah, Mo., to assume management duties of the Buffalo Springs Division for the famed XIT Ranch. Trailing cattle to Dodge City, Kan., they passed through this “No Man’s Land,” which is now the Oklahoma panhandle. They eventually settled there in 1883, establishing their own ranch known as the Anchor D. That home place, which was in a box canyon northwest of present-day Guymon, Okla., is still known as the Anchor D, although the entire operation is simply known as the Mayer Ranch.

Joe and MaryAnn were married in July of 1971, and after receiving his degree from Oklahoma Panhandle State University, assumed co-management along with his father, of the family’s operation. For 100 years, the ranch consisted of commercial Hereford cows, bred to Hereford bulls, but eventually became a commercial Angus operation, beginning that transition in the mid- to late 1970s.

As a teenager, Joe calved out about 400 head of Hereford cows, “and I pulled 399 of them” he states, facetiously. “Well, maybe about 60% of them,” he finishes. After that debacle, they switched to Angus bulls for a black-baldie calf in the mid-1970s.

“Right away, we cut our calf pulls down to about 30%”, he says, “but that was still too many. We didn’t have EPDs in those days to help us select for calving ease, but it was a big improvement.” But, back then, black-baldie calves were discounted at the salebarn, compared with a straight Hereford calf.

The ranch experimented with Charolais in the mid 1950s, but conception rates were very low. Not a fault of the breed, rather, they were using artificial insemination, and they didn’t have good luck. The few that did conceive disappeared over time. Then came the Limousin bulls, also during the 1970s. “Good cattle, terrible disposition,” he quips. Then followed with Gelbviehs. “Gelbviehs are great cattle; good disposition, growth, milk, fertility. But there’s no grade in those cattle, and when you hang ‘em up, they only went about 40% Choice.”

Finally in 1993, the ranch made a firm commitment to the Angus breed and the rest is history. Using artificial insemination now, with much better technology (estrous synchronization) along with bulls purchased from Gardiner Angus Ranch out of Ashland, Kan. They feed all the steers and cull heifers at commercial feedyards. The cattle typically average 6-10% Prime, 40-50% CAB, with the rest being low Choice.

If a female produces a calf that grades USDA Select, she is out the gate and to the sale barn. Quality is paramount; all cattle are sold on the grid with the idea of not only providing the consumer with a high-quality product, but it also improves the bottom line.

Today’s ranch consists of 1,400 head of commercial, spring-calving Angus cows that run on 26,000 acres of native range. Due to the drought, they recently purchased another 1,640 acre-ranch at Unionville, Mo., and they’ve culled heavily.

Buying replacement heifers to rebuild the herd, Joe has employed GeneMax to test these females to aid in his culling protocol. He has purchased nearly 500 tests to date. Believing that DNA selection will eventually replace EPDs, the current DNA technology, he feels, has been important in improving the accuracy of time-honored EPDs in use today.

The couple have three children, and two are associated with the operation. Son Paul lives near Hardesty, Okla., and is directly involved with the ranch. Daughter Margie lives on the ranch and keeps the record books. Oldest daughter Katie lives in Evergreen, Colo., and is an attorney with degrees from Harvard.

I couldn’t think of a better way to spend time on the road, than visiting with good folks like this!

Until next time,

Gary

You Gotta “Show Me!”

I swear, I was not born in Missouri. However, you still have to “show me”.

Call me a doubting Thomas. I am a skeptic by nature. It comes from being raised in a rural, conservative setting. While you may think that my next statement is backwards, old-fashioned, or downright negative, a lesson I learned from my parents was “not to expect to much and then you won’t be disappointed if it doesn’t work out!”

I know, I know. Not exactly Dale Carnegie material. Later in life, I read books like “The Power of Positive Thinking” and “Psycho Cybernetics” by Maxwell Maltz. So, I figure, you mix those attitudes, behaviors, and thought processes, and it puts you somewhere in the middle. I am not wildly enthusiastic about anything, nor am I entirely being Eeyore on the other side.

So I understand the Missouri “Show Me!” concept. My wife’s major professor in graduate school was Dr. Jim Kinder. He would always say, “I’m from Missouri, so show me!” I think that’s a healthy attitude!

Kara Wilson discussing the attributes of GeneMax at Mead Farms, Versailles, MO.

Thus, when we began to roll out the new GeneMax DNA product, I had to see it work in the field. And I did! And now, I’m a believer! So, we’re taking the news to the streets, and we’ve had great reception to the product, and some really wonderful venues to share our results at with folks on the commercial side of the Angus business.

Most recently, we were at Mead Farms, near Versailles, MO. Alan Mead, ranch owner and general manager, was the host, and he had 90 bull customers attending the program. Kara Wilson and I spoke to the crowd about how CAB can improve your bottom line through genetics and management. This also included Kara’s knowledge of how GeneMax technology can more rapidly advance genetics that focus on growth and marbling ability in replacement heifers and feeder cattle.

Thanks, Alan Mead and to his entire crew, Domenico’s Restaurant (proprietor Tony Ciccerelli) of Osage Beach, MO, for a delicious CAB prime rib dinner, and to all of those who attended! For more information about CAB and GeneMax, visit our website at www.cabpartners.com

Wes Tieman (left) American Angus Association Regional Manager for Iowa and Missouri, visits with Mead Farms sale manager, Rance Long of Big Cabin, OK, at the event.

Not backing up on genetics

We saw many friends giving thanks for rain on our Twitter and Facebook feeds yesterday, but for many it was too little. I heard the other day that we would need to have 10 feet of snow to make up for our moisture deficit in my area.

Regardless of what it’s done the last day or two, we know the majority of our blog readers are still worried about drought. We caught up with one Texan who has implemented a new strategy to deal with the tough choices it creates. –Miranda

Drought monitor — Here’s this week’s gloomy drought monitor, available at http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

Producer Marty Hughes of Goldthwaite, Texas, is trying to make the best of a bad situation. After two years of drought he has had to reduce his herd by half, and he’s probably still not done.

Although the drought forced him to wean and sell his calves early in 2012, Hughes had previously kept replacement heifers and retained ownership of the rest of his cattle through the feeding process. Generally those calves average more than 90% USDA Choice and up to 30% CAB, earning an extra $90 to $125 per head in premiums.

When Hughes realized how much culling he would have to do, he wanted to make sure he was only backing up on numbers, not genetics. Previous data pointed out Hughes’ best cows, but he needed a way to test unproven females. That was when he decided to start using the GeneMax DNA-based test from CAB.

“Right now we want to make sure we aren’t selling our tip-top females,” Hughes says. He’s using the test to index heifers and first- and second-calf young cows that have not had any feedyard data returned.

So far, after testing nearly 100 animals, the results have created a learning experience.

“I think I can look at cattle and know which ones I would like to keep, but some of the test results came back differently than I expected,” he says. “Now we’ve culled some of those heifers because they didn’t get a good score.”

For now, it is a waiting game until the drought breaks, but when it does Hughes hopes his efforts will keep him moving forward.

“I wish I could say we’re using the tests to expand and things are going great, but right now it’s all about culling decisions,” he says. “Hopefully we can start over some day and then we’ll be starting with the best.”

Wrapping up Dr. Corah live – Part I

On Friday, we hosted a live chat on our Facebook page featuring our very own vice president, Dr. Larry Corah.

We encouraged our social media followers to brown bag it and have their lunch with us — virtually, anyway. They asked the questions, Dr. Corah gave the answers, and we all enjoyed a great discussion about quality beef cattle production. But since not everyone could make it, we thought we’d share some highlights here on the blog today and tomorrow. This is Part I.

Question: What participation does Certified Angus Beef have in Canada?

Answer: Canada is the No. 1 international market for Certified Angus Beef ® brand product. We also produce product in Canada at about 90% of the packing facilities. So, Canada is a very important source to our company as far as sales and production. Our greatest penetration of product in Canada is through our foodservice network, which allows us to be in some of the top restaurants in Canada. However, we are also in the process of expanding on the retail side. We see a lot of upside both in sales and in the opportunity to produce more product in Canada.

Question: With the price of corn and other commodities, have you seen a trend for cattle being marketed with shorter days on feed and, therefore, fewer qualifiers for the CAB program?

Answer: We have not. Part of that relates to the fact that even with the price of corn, the cost of gain is still below the market price. So, economically, it benefits the cattle feeder to put as much weight on the cattle as possible. This is particularly important since most cattle are sold on a grid, meaning getting as much carcass weight as possible is advantageous to the feedlot. This article is a year old, but explains that all in a little more depth.

Question: Dr Corah, I’ve been hearing a lot about fetal programming recently due to the drought. Do you know anything about it and how it may impact CAB supplies in 2 years when the calves head to feedyards/slaughter?

Answer: There was some very interesting research recently done at the University of Nebraska on fetal programming and how it could potentially impact the end quality. What this research shows is that marbling deposition starts forming very early in the fetal life and that proper nutrition of the pregnant cow or heifer can have a big impact on the marbling potential of the resulting calf.

Question: How is genomic testing helping the quality of CAB? What results are we seeing?

Answer: One of the really interesting technology advancements in the beef industry is DNA testing. Although we are in our infancy, certain traits already have a number of markers identified that help in the genetic selection process. That is especially true for carcass traits like marbling and tenderness, which we feel can have a very significant impact on our supply of product in the future.

You may have heard of GeneMax, the commercial DNA test we’re currently working with. If you want to learn more about it specifically, here’s the website.

Stay tuned tomorrow when we continue with Part II!

History lessons

Man, do I love history! Loved it since I was a kid. My mother thought that I would become a history professor. Well, she missed that one by a ways, and my chosen career path has worked out pretty well. But, I still like to read and watch television shows that have to do with history! I love the Old West, World War I and World War II; the plains Indian wars, family/ancestry, and agricultural history.

Some “recent” history: I was digging back through some information we researched out of the Iowa Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity (TCSCF) database the other day. These findings were then presented at the Midwest section meetings of the American Society of Animal Science in March of 2008…….four and half years ago. I was trying to see what factors influenced Certified Angus Beef (CAB) acceptance rates.

Darrell Busby, far right, is THE guy when it comes to the Iowa Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity. Pictured here with his wife, Cathy, and my daughter, Grace, at a recent dinner to discuss data.

Now, we have had Expected Progeny Differences for a long time. DNA technology has evolved over time, including our new GeneMaxTM test, which quantifies marbling and post-weaning gain in high-percentage, commercial Angus cattle. But folks, let’s face it: in the commodity mix of black-hided unknowns, we aren’t going to have that information in place in many cases. This TCSCF database does have more information in it than most. Led by the (extremely competent) Darrell Busby, former Iowa State University Extension Livestock Specialist, the TCSCF program has probably been utilized more than any other beef cattle database in the U.S. With Mike King’s invaluable help (he’s our statistics MASTER!), here is what we came up with out of 220 lots of cattle harvested between 2003 and 2007:

1. Lots consisting of heifers had higher % of low and premium Choice (upper 2/3rds, e.g. Certified Angus Beef) and above rates than lots of steers or mixed-sex pens.

2. The greater the amount of Angus influence in the cattle, the higher the percentage of low and premium Choice and above rate.

3. Cattle with lighter feedlot arrival weights had a higher percentage of low and premium Choice and above rates..

4.Cattle with lower disposition scores (calmer cattle) had higher percentage of low Choice and above rates; but didn’t have higher premium choice rates.

5. Cattle with a lower cost of gain had higher percentage of low Choice and above rates. Cost of gain was not lower in premium Choice grades.

6. Lot percentage of low- and premium Choice-and-above rate increased as average daily gain (ADG) increased.

Let’s boil it down to the finer points without going into all of the regression coefficients:

Premium Choice rates for heifers were twice as high as those for steers or mixed-sex pens.

For every 1 point increase in percent Angus, lot premium Choice acceptance rate would be expected to rise by 0.083%; so the difference between two pen of Angus-influenced cattle that were 50% and 75% Angus would be 2.32%, all else being equal.

For every 1 pound drop in in-weight (beginning feedlot weight), lot premium Choice rate increased by 0.066%; meaning the difference in percentage of cattle qualifying between a pen of 600-lb. steers and 500-lb. steers (at feedlot entry) would be 6.6%, everything else being equal.

For every 1 pound increase in ADG, lot premium Choice acceptance rate rose 14.5 points; or for every 0.1 lb. increase in ADG, % premium Choice would rise 1.45 percentage points. An example: one would expect a pen of calves gaining 3.6 lb. per day would have a 21.4% acceptance rate compared ot a 20% acceptance rate for a pen of steers that gained 3.5 lb./day.

These commercial Angus steers are on feed at Gregory Feedlots, Tabor, Iowa. Gregory Feedlots is a CAB-licensed feedlot, and is a part of the network of the Iowa Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity program.

Pretty good stuff, huh? For history’s sake! For more information about this abstract, go to the website.

Or heck, just give me a call. We can talk about history!

Beef’s a trip day 13: The target

Yesterday, you read that packers communicate with us through their grids, nothing more than a set of specifications that show premiums and discounts for carcass beef. Today, it’s time to look at one component of most grids that predates those grids and helped launch the whole idea of value-based marketing.

The brand that pays started and stays with specifications

I had heard about the Certified Angus Beef Program, and although I knew it was based on some kind of specifications, I didn’t think about how or if they applied to my herd, back in the early 1990s. I was pretty sure those specs were irrelevant to me. But then I reported on the 1993 winner of the CAB Value Discovery Project, which would be the first of many demonstrations. As I talked to Barb and Joe on the Downey Ranch, I began to think twice. That’s a target any commercial herd could aspire to, and make progress by genetic selection of bulls, better female replacements and culling. I knew marbling was the most limiting factor, and probably didn’t need to worry about the rest of the specs for a while. At least until I was ready to finish some progeny.

But where did the specifications come from, and why? It turns out, that went all the way back to the mid 1970s, the legendary bad steak labeled “Angus,” that spurred Angus producers to find a way to guarantee consistent quality. Enter Dr. Bobby VanStavern, now meat scientist emeritus of The Ohio State University and Ohio Ag Hall of Famer. He saw the bigger problems in the beef industry brought by the newly expanded Choice grade.

“The variability in the Choice grade just made it impossible for foodservice units to assure customers they were getting the best beef available,” says Bobby “Dr. Bob” VanStavern. “All of our meat research showed pretty clearly the influence of marbling on palatability.”

A decade later I was feeding cattle and fine-tuning genetics in my herd when colleague Gary wrote an explanatory piece for our monthly Corner on Quality column for state and regional Angus groups. In 2004, the details were all about our eight carcass specs, but in 2007, they become 10. That was no shocker, and the specs remained on target. Deconstructing the yield grade spec into its component parts of carcass weight, ribeye size and fat thickness just provided more consistency in the boxes.

Today’s market signals have pulled more and more CAB product into the supply chain and paid producers more than $352 million in cumulative grid premiums. Those were only a faint promise back when Downey Ranch had committed to the target, but now the genetic tools of increasingly accurate EPDs (expected progeny differences), $Value Indexes and more recently GeneMax, producers have sold semi-trailer loads of 100% CAB cattle, aiming for all CAB Prime next year. Profit for them, opportunity all the way through the food supply chain and satisfied consumers around the world—all of it started with on-target specs.

The process of generation turnover in your herd keeps shifting genetics, which will drift around toward commodity average unless you aim for a target. I have chosen the brand that pays.

Till next time, let’s keep on targeting that brand and building tomorrow together.

–Steve

Beef’s a Trip Archives:

Day 1: Starting at day one

Day 2: Who are these people?

Day 3: Stockholders

Day 4: The cowherd’s purpose

Day 5: Deciding to care

Day 6: Quality focus doesn’t have to skip the middleman

Day 7: Stocking for quality

Day 8: SOLD!

Day 9: What have you done today?

Day 10: Working together to make ‘em better

Day 11: Keep on truckin’

Day 12: Packers want quality

Day 13: The target

Day 14: Packers up close & personal

Day 15: It’s not all about the beef

Day 16: Further processors

Day 17: From here to there–and a lot more

Day 18: He’s on your team

Day 19: Beyond prices, grocery stores uncovered

Day 20: Getting quality in the carts

PS—If you haven’t checked it lately, read “30 days on a Prairie Farm” partly because Holly’s idea inspired our journey, and you can see a list of all the bloggers writing this November.

I’m So Lucky I Can’t Hardly Believe It!

My email account is amazing. I have received so many free offers and great deals in my Inbox! How can I be so lucky?

There have been several people from India (and other far away places) who have recenlty lost loved ones in some kind of a revolution; they were murdered; perhaps a spouse or someone close to them who was unjustly disposed of by some radical group or far out religious group.This survivor, let’s call her Suri, a widow, has a multi-million dollar fortune she’s willing to share with me if I’ll just contact her with some bank account information. Sometimes her English and spelling isn’t so good, but the story sounds believable. And, it usually closes “with God’s peace” or something like that, so you know their heart is in the right place.

Or, how about that one that helps me to lose that stubborn belly fat? (Well, that’s nice, but I know what my problem is there……I just need to give up beer, fried foods, and corn chips.) But, hey, for $69, we can help you with that, no guarantees, of course (especially if I don’t give up the beer and chips!).

Or life insurance offers. Did you know, I can get 14 million dollars worth of life insurance for just pennies a day? WOW! I mean, now that is a DEAL!

Look! My credit rating has just gone up! That means I’m eligible for more debt! Yahoo! I’m so lucky, I can’t hardly believe it! Sure glad they are notifiying me…….

I hope by now you have been able to detect my sarcasm! Really! Do these people honestly believe I’m going to bite on these deals? How stupid do you think I am?

Well, there’s lots of other deals out there like that in the beef industry, although they may be masked with a little bit more class than most of those examples. My response to that is: SHOW ME THE DATA!

Our new DNA test, GeneMax(TM) has just that. We have done the field validation research that shows us it really does work! No snake oil salesman here. As a matter of fact, I was probably what my boss would call a “doubting Thomas” until we got the data back in. You see, I’m a pessimist (I prefer to call a “realist” LOL!) by nature. I should have been born in Missouri, because you gotta “show me!”.

Data on over 2,000 head of high-percentage Angus cattle show that the test works. From the much touted Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity (TCSCF) program in Iowa, where full feedlot performance and carcass data was compiled, blood samples had been archived and we had the ability to go in and match that up to provide proof.

: This pen of 79 head of high-percentage Angus cattle were fed at McPherson County Feeders at Marquette, KS. All were tested using GMX.

The GMX test gives you three scores. However, the first is the most important. It is a score, from 1-100, that ranks individual animals against the base. So, a GMX score of 90 indicates that the animal is in the top 10% of the animals tested.This score is a composite for the measures of marbling and yearling gain. The other two scores are individual score for those same two traits. Those two scores are rankings as well; but are on a scale from 1-5 in each marbling and yearling gain. A “5” in marbling would mean that the animal ranks in the top 20% for marbling; conversely, a “1” would mean it ranked in the bottom 20% for that trait. Likewise for yearling gain. But the most important score to look at is the 1-100 score. So, you may have an animal with a score of 80 that has a marbling score of “5” and a gain score of “3”, or vice-versa.

In the TCSCF field validation study, the animals scoring a “5” in gain had a 0.25 lb average daily gain advantage over those that scored a “1”. Those with the highest overall GMX score, i.e., those above 90, had a 0.75 ADG over those that scored 10 or below, with ADG figures scaling down from that peak group to the bottom enders. Marbling scores likewise dropped, by 20 points from top scores to bottom scoring animals.

More news: This past winter and spring, we GMX tested 79 head of steers in the Kansas Angus Association Carcass Data Project. Here are some of the results:

The top third of the steers had an average GMX score of 83; the middle had a score of 73; and the bottom third had an average score of 33.

The top scoring cattle had a marbling score of 511; the middle were 496 and the bottom were 493, nearly a 20 point spread (as we saw in the TCSCF field validation study). The average daily gain for the top third was 4.10; middle 3.94; bottom 3.92. That is a difference of 0.18 lbs per head per day, or an extra 28 lbs of live weight to sell in a 160 day feeding period. In today’s market, that’s $35 more per head. For a $17.50 investment, that’s doubling your money. There was also a 9 percentage point increase in animals that qualified for the CAB brand, meaning extra dollars in your pocket, in this particular example.

Using the economic models, our data tells us that a 50 point spread in GMX scores between two groups of cattle results in a $33 per head return for a $ 17.50 investment on cattle fed for 200 days.

Folks, the data is there. You’re pretty lucky to hear about it here. I’m not going to send you an email. But I’d be glad to talk to you about the test. Find out more about what GMX technology can do for you by visiting our website at www.cabpartners.com.

~Gary

Living the Dream and Using the Tools!

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HISTORY, DATA AND HARD WORK

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