rkaiser":3j72me5w said:Terminal is usually a term meant for all offspring to be hung on the hook. However, it sounds to me that you don't have any interest in that part of the chain. If you are simply looking to raise a big calf and sell it through the auction, move toward your exotic cross, but make sure he shows thickness up through the forerib: cattle buyers will reward you for thickness.
Excellant advice. You beat me to this post. I think you should focus on an exotic bull to increase the frame of your calves and their ability to wean out at advanced weights. Charolais and Limousin are the two top performance breeds while Charolais and Simmental both excel in growth. My experience is that the Gelbvieh bulls tend to throw consistent calves (in general) and have good muscle. All these breeds would make a good sire so you can choose which the one you like based on your preferences. A simangus or balancer bull would probably put alot of uniformity in your calves and give you alot of flexibility in what you decide to do with the calves. Gelbvieh and simmental are good maternal breeds and charolais and limousin are terminal breeds. I hope this helps.
On this topic there has been some good suggestions and advice. Each breed offers something different. Find the direction that you want to go with your calf crop and that will help you decide which breed to use for selecting a bull.