We've attended several SHo-Me-Select sales and haven't been very temted to buy anything. The reason they are so big is becasue that's what a lot of people want. There are smaller genetic sized cattle of both Hereford and Angus blk or RED. We just got carcass data back on the last steer that was slaughtered. At 185 days he weaned at 492 from a heifer, BW of 60 lbs. Weight was 894 YG3 REA 12.7 BF .6 graded choice. Everything, almost, in the pen went YG3 or 4. When asked they said they had held them over longer then they should have by about 3 weeks. We were told not to worry about it that it was a fluke. Now the good part. That pen was in the top 10% of those slaguhtered in September so we are all getting a premium. About 36 bucks. It ain't much, but I'm not giving it back. There are bulls that can give you good carcass numbers across the board. That's what EPDs are all about. That calves momma this weaning time weight 1105 lbsand her heifer calf weaned at 546 lbs. at 214 days, BW 70 lbs. This is all grass, fescue/clover mix with a little orchard grass , very little. The frame size bugaboo can sneak up on you and bite you when you least expect it. We stick with FS 5.5 - 6 bulls, Occasionally we will sneak up to 6.2 or even 6.5 but the heifers go to others that like the larger animals, or they go to the feedlot. Shoot me aqn e-mail if I can help you with anything else.
dun
> I’ve been waiting from someone
> with your experience to bring up
> the topic of small cows because I
> have questions -
> I also live in SW Mo and try to
> keep cow size down due to forage
> concerns. [I have Hereford and
> Hereford/Angus cross.] I know you
> probably focus on grade in the
> calves you sell, but coming from
> small cows, how well do calves do
> in the yield dept. at slaughter
> compared to other Angus or
> Herefords? Do you compensate for
> small genetics of cow with a
> high-growth bull?
> I’m assuming you kept cows small
> by selecting breeding stock with
> smaller genetics. If so, how do
> you find them this small? Are they
> crossbreeds or pure? The cows I
> have that are ~10-years old are
> from small old-line Hereford (plus
> a little Jersey from way back) and
> weight 1200# or less. I’ve kept
> many heifers from these good-old
> cows (using low-BW Angus bulls),
> but I think due to better genetics
> in the bull, or hybrid-vigor,
> their calves are turning out to be
> 1400+ lb cows. [Sold a few last
> week so I know the weights.] Then
> I have bought several that were
> going thru the Show-me heifer
> replacement program, and they have
> grown to >1500#. I’m guessing
> on these, but they look huge
> compared to old cows! The big cows
> wean the same size calf, but seem
> to eat twice as much. But I’ve
> wondered if calves from these
> bigger cows are likely to have
> better yield at slaughter.
> How does feeding of the heifers
> affect the final cow size? The
> show-me heifers I bought were
> mostly angus, but were big when I
> bought them. The seller said they
> were on “supplement” so I wonder
> if this grew them out. Now it
> seems that it is costing a lot in
> hay to sustain their size. They
> don't keep condition in winter as
> well either.
> Then how does age of breeding
> affect final cow size? On the
> heifers I keep from old-cows, I’ve
> been waiting till 18-months to
> breed. I knew I was losing income
> by keeping them open longer, but I
> wonder if it’s costing me in the
> long-run because it makes for a
> bigger cow.
> Is there any efficiency data out
> there maybe based on breed of cow
> and cow-size? I’ve argued with
> others that small cows make more
> money on forages like fescue, but
> need some data.
> Thanks, Jerry
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