Charolais Bulls or other - recommendations welcome

[kvcanes]

Over the past 16 months we have made a very aggressive effort to incorporate F1 cattle into our operation. We have chosen to populate our herd with either simmangus (red) or balancer (red) dams. We have traditionally used charolais bulls, however we have not chosen our bulls with genetics or bloodlines in mind. I am looking for some educated charolais cattleman or other educated cattleman to suggest either the charolais lines that would best compliment our dams or another breed that will drive our bottom line.

We have an ABC Leader sired bull in transit from out of state. Can anyone give me an unbiased opinion on this sire? In addition, I believe his dam is either a perfect or impressive daughter.

If possible, please provide supporting arguements for your recommendation and any drawbacks that may arise.



Thanks,

Bob

 

[DOC HARRIS]

kvcanes- Bob- I think we need more information as to just what bull you are getting before any critique can be effective. Provide his name, reg. #, pedigree - etc. I am sure you will be provided with LOTS of information that you can use to your advantage!

Welcome to the CattleToday family.

DOC HARRIS

 

[Aero]

i assume calving ease isnt an issue?

 

[MikeC]

A.B. Cobb (ABC) cattle are known for carcass traits. I will look the pedigree up for you later when I get to the office.

 

[kvcanes]

i assume calving ease isnt an issue?

Aero - the cows can handle a large calf, however we'd like to stay away from the extremely large calves. But we don't want birth weights to drop into the 70's either. We do pay attention to birth weights but we probably don't focus on them as much as some commercial cattlemen. We try and place our attention on depth and heavy muscling.

 

[Parkerson Cattle Co.]

I've seen a lot of ABC leader calves, nothing about them is very impressive, seems there was more money backing the bull than a good animal. as far as charolais go, i'd use a bull called Baldridge fastrack, he throws thick sound calves that perform great. other bulls to consider, are Field Rep, rio blanco, or silver value... bulls to stay away from, abc leader,wind, and levi

 

[kvcanes]

I've seen a lot of ABC leader calves, nothing about them is very impressive, seems there was more money backing the bull than a good animal. as far as charolais go, i'd use a bull called Baldridge fastrack, he throws thick sound calves that perform great. other bulls to consider, are Field Rep, rio blanco, or silver value... bulls to stay away from, abc leader,wind, and levi

Thanks for the advice Parkerson Cattle Co. What do you like about the Field Rep, Rio Blanco, and Silver Value bulls? Are these bulls similar to Baldrigde Fastrack or do they offer different dynamics that appeal to the commercial cattleman.

If I provided you with the reg# of the bull I purchased, would you mind providing an unbiased opinion?

Thanks for your advice.

 

[MikeC]

I've seen a lot of ABC leader calves, nothing about them is very impressive, seems there was more money backing the bull than a good animal. as far as charolais go, i'd use a bull called Baldridge fastrack, he throws thick sound calves that perform great. other bulls to consider, are Field Rep, rio blanco, or silver value... bulls to stay away from, abc leader,wind, and levi

Although I have never bred any cows to Baldridge Fastrack, generally they don't do well on any of the feed tests. Low BW's seem to be antagonistic to high growth traits.

I agree with Leader, Wind, and Levi.

I have some pretty good Easy Pro calves now. Of course I'm biased on Rio Blanco so I'll keep my mouth shut about him.

Don't know much about Gridmaker except that some say his calves do well.

Western Edge is gonna be a proven winner one day too.

 

[SPRINGER FARMS MURRAY GRE]

You asked for it.....consider Murray Grey and do a little research. ;-) :cboy:

 

[Parkerson Cattle Co.]

Baldridge fastrack does pretty good, this year i've had 80-85 lb birth weights and averaged 700 lb weaning weights on milk and grass no creep. i usually sell my bulls, and my baldridge bulls are always the ones that sell the fastest and for the highest amount. field rep is one that is new, not well known YET, he throws awesome thick sound females. and just a great all around bull... silver value, has high weaning weights and excellent muscling, ranch down here weaned one off at close to 900 lbs w/ creep. excellent gain. i've also used a son of eliminator and the calves constantly turn out great. a lot has to do with the cows though. i'll gladly look at reg. # and give my opinion. i own one leader calf but i wasn't the one that bred the cow to him. i've seen tons of leader calves, he just isn't consistent, and i've yet to see a good one. that might be a little biased, but it would also be the opinion of a lot of charolais ranches. rio blanco, seen some nice calves out of him i've got a few cows bred to him and im awating the outcome
let me know if i can help

baldridge epds- -3.8 27 38 20 33 0.0
field rep epds-0.2 23 39 12 23 1.0

leader- 2.0 24 46 3 14 0.3 (note high bw)
rio blanco- 1.9 40 77 18 0.8--sired by prime cut

EPD info from June\July 2005 issue of charolais journal

J.P.

 

[MikeC]

Baldridge fastrack does pretty good, this year i've had 80-85 lb birth weights and averaged 700 lb weaning weights on milk and grass no creep. i usually sell my bulls, and my baldridge bulls are always the ones that sell the fastest and for the highest amount. field rep is one that is new, not well known YET, he throws awesome thick sound females. and just a great all around bull... silver value, has high weaning weights and excellent muscling, ranch down here weaned one off at close to 900 lbs w/ creep. excellent gain. i've also used a son of eliminator and the calves constantly turn out great. a lot has to do with the cows though. i'll gladly look at reg. # and give my opinion. i own one leader calf but i wasn't the one that bred the cow to him. i've seen tons of leader calves, he just isn't consistent, and i've yet to see a good one. that might be a little biased, but it would also be the opinion of a lot of charolais ranches. rio blanco, seen some nice calves out of him i've got a few cows bred to him and im awating the outcome
let me know if i can help

baldridge epds- -3.8 27 38 20 33 0.0
field rep epds-0.2 23 39 12 23 1.0

leader- 2.0 24 46 3 14 0.3 (note high bw)
rio blanco- 1.9 40 77 18 0.8--sired by prime cut

EPD info from June\July 2005 issue of charolais journal

J.P.

Correction:
Rio Blanco Epd's
BW-2.9
WW-44
YW-05
M-7
TotMat-29
Fall 2005 Sire Summary