If you were starting a new herd from scratch..

[Pineywoods230]

I'd like to hear how everyone would go about building a new herd if you were to start over with everything you know now. Mostly interested in breeding programs but share anything you feel is related. Location: East Texas

 

[Warren Allison]

East Texas? It would depend on the money I had to buy stock, and the quality of my pasture. With good grass and the funds, I would get Braford or F1 Br x Hereford cows, and breed them to black polled bulls. If I had a tight budget and/or marginal pasture then I would buy ( get ready for the attack of the pigeons) Corriente cows and breed them to black polled bulls.

 

[HDRider]

After being to our sale barn 3 or 4 times a year for five years now, our ring guy that sets prices is a racist.

He favors smokes over blacks. I have a Angus bull on SimAngus cows. The SimAngus make a lot of milk, and are too big, and eat too much.

I would run Charolais mamma cows with an Angus bull.

Question: Are Charolais heavy milkers? That would effect my choice.

 

[Son of Butch]

In Texas, cows with at least 3/16 but no more than 1/2 brahman blood.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Red Angus cows Black Angus bull.

 

[Pineywoods230]

Red Angus cows Black Angus bull.

Curious as to why that combination?

 

[TwoByrdsMG]

So moderate and muggy area with good grass growth?

Start with some mature breds or pairs. White, reds, smokes or silvers might sell good down there.

Use RA or Red Simmental mamas with a MG or Char bull for terminals.

 

[Pineywoods230]

East Texas? It would depend on the money I had to buy stock, and the quality of my pasture. With good grass and the funds, I would get Braford or F1 Br x Hereford cows, and breed them to black polled bulls. If I had a tight budget and/or marginal pasture then I would buy ( get ready for the attack of the pigeons) Corriente cows and breed them to black polled bulls.

Keeping replacements from that cross or terminal and buying replacements?

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Curious as to why that combination?

I like red mommas and the black bull will give me calves that the sale barn wants. Black calves in other words.

 

[Ky hills]

Question: Are Charolais heavy milkers? That would effect my choice.

Years ago I had registered Charolais, and at that time milk production varied a great deal depending on the bloodline. Some were real heavy milkers. A lot of the lines that were popular on the show ring circuit which unfortunately were heavily promoted at time did not produce much milk. At the time I was phasing out of the breed, high milk EPD's were starting to be the the new big thing. Honestly, I don't think it gets much better than a Charolais x Angus.

 

[Ky hills]

If I were starting over, my preference would be Angus cows with Angus or Charolais bulls.
If I was was just having something to do just for the fun of it, probably Hereford cows and a Longhorn bull.

 

[Brute 23]

On a small scale I would do what I did. Buy pure blood Brahmans and put an Angus or Hereford bull on them. Market the heifers to mommy and daddy's little baby for commercial 4H projects. M&D's pockets are a lot deeper than the cattle buyers.

Large scale, F1 Brafords with Black Angus Bulls.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

LOL - pick a color - pick a bull. You will get tons of different recommendations.
From all I have heard, you want some Brahman bloodlines for the heat & bug tolerance.

 

[bird dog]

Red brangus cows or Brafords. A charolais bull if your market is okay with non-black calves otherwise black angus.

 

[anewcomer]

If a terminal herd, which the vast majority of us should be, cows should fit your environment. Some Brahman blood, up to 1/2, would be fine in the South. Covered by a Charolais or homo black Simmental high growth bull. High growth Angus would work here as well, to give black hides calves. Growth and color of calves is the most important factor for a terminal herd, which most of us should be.

 

[daneg]

If I had to start over from scratch I would buy twice as many good quality open heifers that fit my environment and feed resources than I needed bred and breed them to good quality bulls for 30 days or less, preg check as early as possible and sell opens as grassed yearlings. Calve breeds and expose them to bulls 45-60 days max.

 

[grinder71]

tigerstripe mommas charolais bulls

 

[gcreekrch]

Back to the sale barn and buy the little cheap cows that made us money over the years.

 

[moses388]

Back to the sale barn and buy the little cheap cows that made us money over the years.

I have a few smaller cows. With small cows, do you use calving-ease bulls? How do you determine how much calving-ease is enough? Visual appearance? EPDs?

 

[Lee VanRoss]

No matter what color or breed of cattle chosen you can expect to be competing with the cattle genome to herd phenotyping element
as applied by The Agricultural Genome to Phenome Initiative funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Once this is established and in place it may be hard to sell to the major market unless your cattle have the proper genetic marker.

The above aside and realizing the possibility of heifers washing out of my program I would start with a 100 solid color red or black
1/2 blood Corriente heifers. I would AI them to the best 4-5 frame red angus bulls I could afford and turn them out with a red
angus bull of equal quality. Breed at 15 months for 60 days and figure anything above a 95 % calf crop as a bonus.
In any case one can figure on half being bulls with around 45 being heifers. Retain all heifers born in the first 30 days of the
calving period and market the rest including any of the original herd calving after 60 days in the calving period. Also sell any
cow that does not wean a live calf for any reason.

I would have them bred to calve when the ground temperature was just under 50 degrees. (mid to late April this latitude)
I would screen the bulls to insure they had low milk epd's as the calves will be born when grass is available and I consider
a high milking cow as a liability. Also I aim to have bred cows in around a 5 - 6 body condition at the time of calving.

As to feed I use rotational grazing and hay once a year. I will buy feed in a drought for the 1st 30 day cows and will, if forced,
market anything calving beyond that point. Admittedly it can take a lot of notches it the belt to accomplish this but in
the end when you succeed you will have cattle tougher than Mike Fink on a river boat and you can sleep like a baby during
the calving season. I would caution anyone: If what you are doing now is not working how can doubling down or doing
anything close result in anything but a disaster? Also realize that iron and oil are not required nutrients for grass so limit
the amount you allow to come between the sun and the ground. Finally in all cases, pray!