Crossbreeds

[Newrancher2020]

Should I do beefmaster bulls over Gertz cows or Gertz bull over beefmaster cows

 

[Ky hills]

Santa Gertrudis is made up of 5/8 Shorthorn and 3/8 Brahman.
Beefmaster is 1/2 Brahman, and 1/4 Shorthorn and 1/4 Hereford.
Both breeds fairly similar, though I believe there is more variation among Beefmasters. With both being so similar I’m not sure there’s going to be a huge benefit to crossing them.
If I were set on using those 2 breeds, I would probably go with Beefmaster cows and Santa Gertrudis bulls.
On a side note, just a personal preference, Santa Gertrudis are one of my favorite breeds. I like the Brahman influence benefit and look as well as the deep red color.
There's a lot to like about beefmasters too.
What are the goals of this particular cross?

 

[Warren Allison]

Should I do beefmaster bulls over Gertz cows or Gertz bull over beefmaster cows

Hi, Newrancher. If you will go back into your profile and add your location, you will get a lot more and a lot more accurate responses.

 

[Travlr]

Should I do beefmaster bulls over Gertz cows or Gertz bull over beefmaster cows

If you're well south of the Mason Dixon, go for it. You'll most likely take a hit from them being red, but that's your call.
Anywhere north... no.

 

[alacowman1]

Neither ,That's a nowhere cross….if I had gerts id use a Hereford or simmental…….and simmental ,or red or black angus on the beefmaster … My vote is beefmaster can’t go wrong ..but you can produce an absolute turd even with the best genetic

 

[Rafter S]

If you're interested in a different cross, get some good Gert cows and put a Hereford bull on them.

 

[alacowman1]

If you're interested in a different cross, get some good Gert cows and put a Hereford bull on them.

Yep…

 

[Ky hills]

Since others have broached the subject of different crosses I’ll add another 2cents worth to my previous comments.
I agree with the folks that suggested Santa Gertrudis females and a Hereford bull. That is a good cross especially for replacements.
Angus bulls would also work.
If going for pounds and the local market is receptive to Charolais, then Santa Gertrudis cows and Charolais bull or Simmental bulls either one would be hard to beat.

 

[Travlr]

What's with two threads? Both made by the same person...

 

[Warren Allison]

If you're well south of the Mason Dixon, go for it. You'll most likely take a hit from them being red, but that's your call.
Anywhere north... no.

@Newrancher2020 , Travlr makes a good point. Where are you located? Down here, not only does "ear" not hurt you, but actually sells as good or better. I have a roping partner that had red Brangus, Gert, Beefmaster and Braford cows, as well as Brangus cows, that he used a registered Brangus bull on. All the calves were black and polled, and you couldn't hardly tell what the dam was if she wasn't with the calf. Well. except some of the Braford calves would be bwf, but black baldies sell right up there with the solid blacks, all else being equal. If you would add your location to your profile, it will help folks respond to you better. You had mentioned that you like red cattle. As others have said, there really isn't much difference in Santa Gertrudis and Beefmaster, genetically, so you won't gain much heterosis crossing the two. But, you could use a red Brangus bull, retaining your red color, and gain a lot more hybrid vigor from the cross. And if you wanted to reduce the "ear", you could use a homo red/homo polled, red Charolais, and easily pick up 100+pounds at weaning.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

If you're interested in a different cross, get some good Gert cows and put a Hereford bull on them.

What this cross does is create your classic 3-way cross, the optimum for maximizing hybrid vigor. The Beefmaster already has the 3-way cross, but if you want to start with it instead of the Gert, breed the Beefmaster back to a Shorthorn or Herford, and the progeny of those to the opposite purebred.

I would say start by picking the best bull out of the 4 possible selections, and then obtain a group/herd of cows accordingly.

My thought would be that the breed of the cow or the bull won't have much difference on the resulting calf everything being equal. However, I do know that this is not "equal", so I defer to someone with experience in practical (art) outcomes vs science based knowledge.