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Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot | I agree with you Jim, in a given herd in can be a great tool. I've culled cows solely on the fact that they were very large, esp when you compared them to the size of the calf weaned. Tough to do when you have a cow that is otherwise fine, but you know she is packing away an extra 10-20% feed, to cull her out. But feed is the biggest expense.
What gripes me is this-- Lets say I'm taking some bulls to sale XYZ or some females to a sale. The catalog for that sale is published with EPDs, weaning weights, yearling weights, etc. etc. Which sure looks nice, and gives a guy a place to start I suppose, but really means nothing. Keep you cows in a nice warm climate all spring, feed them lots of grain, creep feed the calves and sure, they will weigh a bunch at weaning. Not everyone does that, but when you look at nothing but pure numbers, better cattle can be punished.
I suppose that is one real good argument for buying bulls or replacements off the ranch from someone you know. We are pretty young in this game, but that is the direction I'd like to head. We've sold ALL our replacements to the same people 3 years in a row now, and they want them next year, so I guess we are getting there. Seems like a lot of these 'designer' or fad cattle are just numbers and don't hold up well in the real world. More people should consider that, and their own circumstances--rather than just looking at numbers alone. | |
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beef cow efficiency
