Heat Tolerance

[ncboy34]

I run mostly baldie or angus cows. I'm in western North Carolina but things still get pretty hot and humid here. Been looking into breeding in some better heat tolerance while still having good grass genetics for grass finishing. Any suggestions on what breeds would best accomplish this? Thought about Brangus, Senepol, South Poll, etc. I would more than likely still continue to retain heifers as well. Thoughts?

 

[Brute 23]

Might see if there are if there are any Angus Plus breeders in your area.

 

[cbcr]

Another breed you may want to consider would be Braford

 

[ncboy34]

Any thoughts on breeds like Senepol, South Poll, or Mashona? Would Charolais help with heat tolerance at all?

 

[JMJ Farms]

Any thoughts on breeds like Senepol, South Poll, or Mashona? Would Charolais help with heat tolerance at all?

I've had one Senepol. And numerous Charolais. Never noticed a huge difference between them and the others. Neighbor had a few Barzona cows he bought somewhere. They were good mommas and he said they would graze when everything else was in the shade. But that's about all I know about them.

 

[kenny thomas]

Senepol does good till you try to sell them. Huge discount price in my area. Hard to get 1/2 price here.

 

[greybeard]

Any thoughts on breeds like Senepol, South Poll, or Mashona? Would Charolais help with heat tolerance at all?

My Char/Sims do fine here, and spend no time lollygaggin in the pond..never seen a single one get any closer to water than to get a drink.except when it floods.they're good swimmers.

 

[WinterSpringsFarm]

Red Angus.

 

[JMER1533]

I have Registered South Poll and Red Angus. South Poll are an excellent choice unless your marketing plan solely revolves around selling calves at the sale barn. My south poll don't get anything but mineral and grass and do great on body condition, fly resistance, heat tolerance and best of all to me is their disposition, even the bulls.
My red angus fit the same bill but that's because I focused on those specific traits and moderate frame, lower milk, slick hair off well, in that breed. Not all breeders of RA focus on that whereas South Poll the vast majority are focused on that.

 

[ncboy34]

I've been looking into the south poll. They seem to fit best with what I want to do. My only concern is that in transitioning to grass finishing I'll still be selling calves at the sale barn some. Less and less hopefully. Do the south poll calves get discounted that much? What is the performance like of brahman cross cattle in grass based systems?

 

[Brute 23]

Bonsmara are very heat tolerant and when you put a good black Angus bull on them you cant hardly tell the difference.

 

[JMER1533]

The discount will vary but my opinion, we shouldn't worry as much about a discount at the sale barn if our primary marketing plan plan is to sell to others (SP are in high demand) or to a grass finishing operation or as grass finished beef. If a grass genetics marketing and operational plan is followed, the sale barn should become a very minor factor in determining your income in the long term. You also could/should look more at $/acre, fitting more of the efficient smaller cows per acre.
With all that said, I understand the immediate term concern of discounts. Maybe cross breed with a moderate frame angus bull to increase $/pound in the near term.

 

[Ebenezer]

Angus that shed early will do the same and sell better than some breeds mentioned in Carolina sale barns.

 

[TwoByrdsMG]

Backbone Ranch in Texas runs Murray Grey cattle. They do really good there. Bred from an Australian environment originally so they do great in the heat and still have dark pigment on their skin.

I bet you could ask him more about the heat. They seem to do fine here in Oregon too and I finish mine on grass. They cross really good with Angus and Baldies too.

 

[True Grit Farms]

Reinventing the wheel is a waste of time. I like to work on adverages, and on adverage Angus cattle are hard to beat.