Page 49 - Red Hill Farms Black and Red Angus and SimGenetics Bulls – March 17, 2018

integrity, a commitment to providing solutions 2. Will replacement females be kept from
to customers, conversations founded on the progeny – if yes, then what is the
meaningful information, and service after appropriate level of mature size and milk
the sale. As these discussions are undertak- production for the particular farm or ranch?
en, two concepts should always be kept in Attaining profi table levels of reproductive
mind – fi rst, the novice bull buyer deserves performance depends on the keeping the
an attentive supplier who is willing to provide nutritional needs of the herd aligned with
education, answer questions, and most of cost effective feed sources which are often
importantly follow up after the sale. Secondly, in the form of grazable forages.
there is a dramatic difference between the
supplier whose sole goal is to sell a bull and 3. What is the optimal combination of
growth, muscularity, marbling and carcass
the supplier focused on solving problems for
a customer. yield for the target market? Producing
feeder calves that can be merchandised to
Sire selection should be founded on making generate high levels of revenue is funda-
the most objective decision possible that is mental to profi tability.
aligned with the overall strategy and vision for
the cow-calf enterprise. Thus, it is essential to 4. Finally, what are the gaps in perfor-
mance for the herd that need to be closed
acquire bulls only from those herds with an
active engagement in a performance program to improve productivity, profi tability and
quality of life? For example, if cattle are
backed by a dynamic national data base
and supported with state of the art genetic fl ighty and nervous in handling situation
then more focus on docility is warranted.
prediction tools. It is not important that a
cow-calf producer understand the intricacies If udders are badly structured leading to
calves unable to suckle and thus requiring
of how genetic estimates are calculated but
developing a solid functional understanding of more labor, then udder quality will need to
be addressed.
how to use the estimates and information is
critical. The role of the seedstock supplier is to In each of these discussions, the reputable
provide educational and consulting support to seedstock breeder will provide information,
assure the comfort level of the customer. insight and advice. Using their experience and
knowledge is critical to building a genetic base
The sire selection process is one driven by
winnowing down the available bulls for sale designed for long term satisfaction from the
cow-calf enterprise.
into a group of individuals that possess the
appropriate combination of performance
metrics that align with the limitations of the
resources available on the ranch and assure
conformance to the demands of the target
market for progeny. This narrowing down pro-
cess can be driven by several key focal points:
1. Avoid sires that create dystocia. Calving
diffi culty is a leading cause of both calf and
breeding female death loss, contributes
to increased morbidity of calves born in
diffi cult births, and diminishing subsequent
reproductive rates of females experiencing
dystocia.
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