Good Cows

[gizmom]

I guess I get excited every year to see how our cows are performing, I will be honest we take the measurements but leave all the calculations up to the association. I honestly have enough to keep up with without trying to figure out all the ratio mumbo jumbo that the number crunchers do. I do believe that turning in the data is important but I am just glad that their are folks out there that love the number crunching side of the business. I always know just from the calves which cows are doing a good job, but remembering from year to year....not so much. I pulled up the latest Pathfinder report for our farm for the past year and found two cows on the list for the year that are already Pathfinders 525 and 811, the cool thing is 525 is 811's dam and she has been on the report for the past 4 years in a row. 811 made Pathfinder on her third calf and just keeps on doing us a great job. This year two more cows were added to this list 713 she has been a favorite of mine every since I saw her mamma stand up while stepping on her tail. Her tail is a bit wonky but she sure has made us a nice cow she is a BC Matrix daughter the 2nd Matrix to make Pathfinder in our herd. The other is 907 she goes back to a cow that our son Jacob purchased out of his steer money back when he was in high school. I wasn't surprised that she made Pathfinder she showed up on my radar last year with everyone's favorite bull calf out of our 6149 bull, to be honest until then I really didn't have her on the radar but that calf got our attention.



525 chillin this morning when I was taking pictures, at 10 years old I guess she is entitled to enjoying a nice overcast day.



907 is now a Pathfinder!



525's heifer calf our of SAV Resourse I like her but wish she was shedding out a little better, that is my main concern with her at this point. Hopefully she will make a replacement.

gizmom

 

[fenceman]

Great looking cattle, good looking branding. Those green tags sure look like they have long tabs. ( hang down low) you have any problem s with them hanging on brush etc.

 

[gizmom]

This is the first year for us with these tags so I really can't give you a good answer. I do like the fact that they are far enough down that it makes them easier to read, but now that the heat has kicked in they are hanging under the trees more so we will see how it goes. I can tell you that some of the bull calves have already lost tags. We are going to freeze brand them this year, Ronnie is tired of trying to keep tags in them. Once they start fighting the tags are toast.

gizmom

 

[gus2121]

Awesome cattle! Like peas in a pod. Good idea on the freeze branding

 

[cow pollinater]

I sure like it when you post pictures, Gizmom.

 

[Jake]

I sure like it when you post pictures, Gizmom.

:nod:

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

I too enjoy your pictures. Can you explain what makes a pathfinder cow? We do not have anything like that in our breed...

 

[gizmom]

I thought all the breed associations had some type of program similar to Pathfinder, it is just a way to identify superior producing cows within your herd. I attached a link to the Pathfinder page on the angus association it explains all the number crunching that is done to identify the cow as a pathfinder. It takes a pretty dang good cow to do it. I know the Alabama BCIA has a program to identify cows in commercial herds I can't remember what they call it but they do have one. I remember being really impressed at the convention this year some farms had 10 or more that is truly an accomplishment.

http://www.angus.org/performance/PathfinderInfo.aspx

Thanks for the kind words on the photos, I enjoy getting out and taking them, and talking to folks here on CT about cows. Most of my friends here in town don't have a clue as to what I am talking about when I talk about cows.

gizmom

 

[gizmom]

Like I said earlier in the thread the 907 cow traces back to a cow that our son Jacob purchased using his steer money back in April of 1998. She was Twin Valley Evergreen 2477 she was sure a nice heifer with the exception of her head we nick named her bucket head if you look at 907 you can sort of see it but I was looking at a few of the photo's that I took of her this years bull calf well the apple doesn't fall far from the tree lol.



B75 is out of 907 and a young bull out of our now deceased donor 658 and a don of our now deceased herd sire Coleman EXT 6149. He sure has his great granddams head.

gizmom

 

[Jabes0623]

I sure like it when you post pictures, Gizmom.

:nod: x2

Beautiful cows. Clearly your hard work continues to pay off.