Pros & Cons

[Anonymous]

What are the good and bad points for keeping Angus cattle? What are some of the better Angus crosses? Thank you

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[Anonymous]

Cons - As a general rule, the blacks don't do as well in hotter areas and if buyers prefer a really lean, i.e. not as highly marbled carcass you won't get that with either angus. Smaller rib-eye then continental breeds, easier to over finish. Pros - High acceptance by most buyers, huge gene pool to select from. High fertility, early puberty, high marbling, early finishing and good feed conversion, they cross well with just about everything. Now after all that, because of the huge gene pool to select from, the majority of those traits are reversible within the breed, or at least changeable. There are some families that have greater heat tolerence, larger ribeyes, lower marbling potential, greater size, etc. The top cross would have to be probobaly angusXHereford this is the traditional "baldy", after that, for maternal, heat tolerence and longevity angusXBrahman, for larger animal size, less marbeling and larger ribeye size angusXany continental, work well as angusXdairy breeds for calving heifers. Back to the gene pool, there are hard calving angus nloodlines that can mitigate the advantage of angus on dairy. Just my opinions of course. I would have to say that the number one pro is the size of the gene pool to select from.

dunmovin farms

> What are the good and bad points
> for keeping Angus cattle? What are
> some of the better Angus crosses?
> Thank you

 

[Anonymous]

Rachel, What are your goals, expectations. 100 cows, 1000 or maybe 10. Are you going to sell at a sale barn, private treaty or get into a alliance. The response you received earlier is right on , but consider what you want to do and where you want to be in 5 to 10 years. Then you can decide if you should start now with the best genetics. It hurts when you get into the cattle business by the seat of your pants. You don't want to chase the market but then again you don't want to look up in 5 years and decide that you have gone the wrong direction with your herd. Go to a sale barn and see what sells well. While your there look at calves at about the same age and compare the dollar per head. One type of year old steer may sell for .90 per pound but weigh significantly more than a steer that sells for a 1.00 a pound and brings less money per head. Talk to people that are buyers in the business or ranchers that are "successful". Remember, A person that has a certain type of cattle will always think his are the best type. You ready!! Here's the bottom line. Educate yourself, take classes, go to your extension agent, subscribe to a good magazine etc. Good luck and Kindest Regards.

> What are the good and bad points
> for keeping Angus cattle? What are
> some of the better Angus crosses?
> Thank you

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