Page 2 - TNT Simmentals 33rd Annual "Genetic Explosion Sale February 9, 2018

Hello from the TNT Ranch!

Welcome to our 33rd Annual Bull Sale! We are happy to say the family is all doing
good. The past couple of years were quite trying health wise, but God has been so
good to us and we are able to see so many blessings along the way. One thing we
know for sure is, people are good and kindness is contagious, and we all need to
pass it on.

Justin, Kendra, and Josh are working here with us. We are so fortunate to have such
good help and really enjoy having them around. Josh will be heading back to his
parents’ farm after the sale. We are so excited for them all, but he will be greatly
missed. Shanon and Gabe are ranching by Lehr and raise some embryos for us and
have expanded the herd quite a bit. They also have some of their own bulls in the
sale. Kendra is expecting grandbaby #14 for us in April. We are very excited!
Like many others we were in a severe drought this spring and summer. It was ex-
Lynette and Kevin tremely hot and dry. However the cattle performed very well. We had less than 3%
open in a 50-day breeding period. We weaned early in 2006 with good results, and
felt it was the right decision again this year. We weaned the end of July and started the calves on free-choice long hay and med-
icated Head Start 70 for two weeks. Then the bull calves were started on a TMR of chopped hay, 3# soy hull pellets, 3# barley
sprout pellets, and 2# of DDG, along with mineral and Rumensin, and water to settle the dust. They also had free-choice long
hay until the end of September. Then we started them on corn silage, chopped hay, and worked them up to what they are current-
ly receiving, which is 4# corn, 3# soy hull pellets, 4# barley sprout pellets, and 3.5# of DDG along with the silage and chopped
hay. This ration is a little higher in protein. It’s a high-roughage ration which insures soundness, longevity and fertility.
To try to make things the most accurate as possible for weaning data, we weighed the bulls four times and the four weights and
the dates were averaged, to come up with the September 19th date as the weaning date and start date of our gain test. The bulls
performed extremely well and this is the heaviest set we have raised. We do not creep the calves, however, Shanon and Gabe did
creep theirs and the ET calves they raised for us. Ryan Lemer from Drake raised some ET calves for us as well and he put them
on creep a little prior to weaning. Theirs are in separate contemporary groups for weaning. Disposition has always been import-
ant to us, but as we age it seems to be even more important. We have been breeding and culling for temperament for years and
we are certainly seeing the benefi ts.
We were blessed with 6-12” of rain in the fi rst two weeks of August. This enabled us to seed cover crops and some rye. Due to
the abundant rains, we were able to put up some beautiful late season hay as well. The cows and bred heifers have been grazing
cover crops and rye and we did not feed any of them until late December when it got so cold. They are still doing a lot of graz-
ing and are in the best condition they have ever been in. We are so thankful that rain came, and pray we will all have the much
needed moisture for 2018.
We have grown our SimAngus program on both the sire and dam’s side long enough to get a feel for their value, and truly feel
they have been some of the most predictable and consistent genetics we have used. However, I feel there will always be a need
for purebreds as well. We continue to test for Johne’s as in the past and our herd remains clean. We have never had an animal test
positive. Shanon and Gabe started testing their cows last year and all have been negative as well.
We started with over 240 bulls, culled them down to 160, but selling 110 is just much easier for us and we need an excellent set
of spare bulls to help in case anyone has a problem with one they purchased in the sale. Shanon and Gabe also have spare bulls
at our ranch and we have always needed private treaty bulls to sell in the spring. We have Mandan Vet Clinic semen test all of the
bulls in early April and start delivery shortly after. This is truly one of the thickest, deepest sets of bulls, with some real out-
standing heifer bulls in the offering as well.

We invite you to come to the ranch and view the cattle and
see the way we manage our herd. We are very proud of our
cattle and feel you will be proud of “The Explosive Dif-
ference” they will make for you. I truly have a passion for
this business and love breeding cattle with the never-ending
pursuit to try and make them better. Some of the greatest
blessings over the past 33 years are the wonderful people
we have met and the dear friends we have made in this busi-
ness. Thank you for your interest. Hope to see you Friday
the 9th!
Sincerely,

Kevin, Lynette & Family