Santa Gertrudis Bulls?

[californiacattle]

Lately I've been toying with the idea of incorporating some Santa Gertrudis genes to my herd. We run commercial bred to registered Brangus, but my interest in Santa Gertrudis has been peaked lately. We need good heat tolerance where we are (Southern CA)- which is a benefit I know that a Gert will bring as a Brangus does.

A problem we face is that the pickings for Gert bulls are next to zero in our parts so we're thinking of making a trip South to pick one up. The issue with this is that it's hard to shop around from so far away.

Any tips/advice? I should also mention that shipping wouldn't be an option as we'd want to have eyes on it. This is just an idea I've been thinkin' on so any insight is welcome.

 

[bird dog]

Subscribe to the gulf coast cattleman magazine and you can look at the ads there or look for the bull sales. Most are south of San Antonio. A long way from you but thats where they originated.

 

[Brute 23]

Gerts are hard to come buy and when you do find a good one you will pay a premium.

If I was considering Gert I would also consider Beefmaster. There are usually a lot more options in price, quality, etc.

 

[Warren Allison]

They have Gerts here often. https://www.jjcattleco.com/catalog

 

[u4411clb]

I think there are a couple big Santa Gertrudis outfits in New Mexico. Still kinda far from SoCal but allot closer than the Southeastern US. And maybe more your climate.

 

[Charbrangus]

Lately I've been toying with the idea of incorporating some Santa Gertrudis genes to my herd. We run commercial bred to registered Brangus, but my interest in Santa Gertrudis has been peaked lately. We need good heat tolerance where we are (Southern CA)- which is a benefit I know that a Gert will bring as a Brangus does.

A problem we face is that the pickings for Gert bulls are next to zero in our parts so we're thinking of making a trip South to pick one up. The issue with this is that it's hard to shop around from so far away.

Any tips/advice? I should also mention that shipping wouldn't be an option as we'd want to have eyes on it. This is just an idea I've been thinkin' on so any insight is welcome.

You would be ruining good Cattle. The experience I have had with Santa Gertrudis is you had better sell the calves immediately at weaning or put them on full feed. They do not do good on just grass. If you want to go that direction get a Beefmaster. I am in Florida and heat is an issue here.
Go Beefmaster of Braford.

 

[Lucky_P]

Some of the Gert breeders have recently been reintroducing newer Shorthorn genetics to the breed.
Have seen a couple of online sale catalogs that had heifers with Waukaru Shorthorn bulls a couple of generations back. Depending on which Shorthorn lines they used, they could certainly bring some improvement to the table in more than one trait. If nothing else, may decrease the amount of 'leather' - the photos I saw showed nice tight underlines. The ones I saw had Waukaru Gold Card 5042 behind them; big growth numbers (top 1% WW/YW/CW).
We used one cane of Gold Card here... steers were good; only got one heifer and she grew out to be the biggest cow in the herd...

 

[Travlr]

Lately I've been toying with the idea of incorporating some Santa Gertrudis genes to my herd. We run commercial bred to registered Brangus, but my interest in Santa Gertrudis has been peaked lately. We need good heat tolerance where we are (Southern CA)- which is a benefit I know that a Gert will bring as a Brangus does.

A problem we face is that the pickings for Gert bulls are next to zero in our parts so we're thinking of making a trip South to pick one up. The issue with this is that it's hard to shop around from so far away.

Any tips/advice? I should also mention that shipping wouldn't be an option as we'd want to have eyes on it. This is just an idea I've been thinkin' on so any insight is welcome.

I had some real world experience over the years with Gerts and I can say that they, just like all breeds, have their better features and less attractive points. Like anything else, good choices make for better results.
I tried looking up L&L Farms which had some of the best livestock (Gerts) I've ever seen in the eighties. Sadly it seems that the old man died and the grandson that had the reins passed down to him has fumbled the ball badly, pretty much ruining the family businesses.
Great Gerts are out there. Just like many breeds that have become less popular over the years they can be just as good or in many ways better than popular breeds.
One of my favorite cows in South Dakota was a Gert, which I would not be inclined to buy that breed in northern climates but this cow did her job and did it well... and she was a pleasure to have.
On the plus side with Gerts, they are very good in southern areas for all of usual reasons and superior Gerts make for superior cross bred calves and cows. And unlike Beefmaster... they have the added bonus of being consistent in type and coloring.

 

[Ebenezer]

Gerts have all but disappeared here after being major contenders in the past. Must be some reason(s).

 

[Ky hills]

Used to be several Santa Gertrudis herds around here, still some breeders in western KY. They have an annual show and sale there in Bowling Green KY, should be coming up somewhere about the middle of July if I remember.
I have to say I love that deep red color and slick haired look of Santa Gertrudis.
If I could find the right kind I'd love to have a herd of those kind of cows.
I've had 3 Gerts and had problems with everyone of them.
I think the ones raised around here are mainly raised to show, 2 of mine didn't milk enough for their calves, and milk should not be an issue for the breed.
The other one wasn't developed enough on the inside and had the hardest pull I've ever had to deal with, but saved both the calf and the heifer, of course culled the heifer afterwards.

 

[bird dog]

The gert hereford cross heifers have become very popular. It seems that herefords cross well with many different breeds while straight hereford calves have no friends at the sale barn.
This was a fine set that sold over a year ago.

Santa Gertrudis-Hereford Cross

Lot #11 Santa Gertrudis-Hereford Cross This is a hard-to-find set of females that are just as good as they come! These ladies will no doubt, make some REAL ranching cows! Their maternal traits, heat tolerance, and unbeatable hybrid vigor will give them productivity off the charts!! They are...

www.jjcattleco.com

 

[alacowman1]

Some of the Gert breeders have recently been reintroducing newer Shorthorn genetics to the breed.
Have seen a couple of online sale catalogs that had heifers with Waukaru Shorthorn bulls a couple of generations back. Depending on which Shorthorn lines they used, they could certainly bring some improvement to the table in more than one trait. If nothing else, may decrease the amount of 'leather' - the photos I saw showed nice tight underlines. The ones I saw had Waukaru Gold Card 5042 behind them; big growth numbers (top 1% WW/YW/CW).
We used one cane of Gold Card here... steers were good; only got one heifer and she grew out to be the biggest cow in the herd...

I remember seeing them at Montgomery livestock expo in the 80s..that looked like the were six feet at the hip.nothing but frame and leather..

 

[Lucky_P]

When I was in veterinary practice in southern middle TN, back in the late 1980s, Beefmasters and Angus were probably the two top breeds our producers were raising. We had one client who had Santa Gertrudis. Really nice cattle, but all 'show cows'... it was a major PITA to try to work them... they had no flight zone, so you couldn't 'push' them... they had to halter every d@mn one of them and drag them up the lane to the headgate/chute to work them... and they didn't lead all that well. I hated having to go there, knowing it was going to take 4 times as long to work their herd as it would any 'normal' herd of the same size... and my boss inevitably scheduled their herd for Saturday work...

 

[Warren Allison]

Some of the Gert breeders have recently been reintroducing newer Shorthorn genetics to the breed.
Have seen a couple of online sale catalogs that had heifers with Waukaru Shorthorn bulls a couple of generations back. Depending on which Shorthorn lines they used, they could certainly bring some improvement to the table in more than one trait. If nothing else, may decrease the amount of 'leather' - the photos I saw showed nice tight underlines. The ones I saw had Waukaru Gold Card 5042 behind them; big growth numbers (top 1% WW/YW/CW).
We used one cane of Gold Card here... steers were good; only got one heifer and she grew out to be the biggest cow in the herd...

I thought SG had closed their books decades ago. I didn't know you could still breed them " from sratch".

 

[alacowman1]

I thought SG had closed their books decades ago. I didn't know you could still breed them " from sratch".

Seem like they had a change of heart a few short years back…

 

[Travlr]

I thought SG had closed their books decades ago. I didn't know you could still breed them " from sratch".

It seems like people don't care much for strict "purebreds" lately. The first time I heard someone was selling "registered" crossbreds I laughed and thought it was a silly idea that was so transparently stupid that no one would be taken in by it... but lo and behold, it's now common.

I still laugh about it. But we live in a crazy world where designer dogs (mutts) get more dollars than established breeds designed for purpose.

 

[Ky hills]

When I was in veterinary practice in southern middle TN, back in the late 1980s, Beefmasters and Angus were probably the two top breeds our producers were raising. We had one client who had Santa Gertrudis. Really nice cattle, but all 'show cows'... it was a major PITA to try to work them... they had no flight zone, so you couldn't 'push' them... they had to halter every d@mn one of them and drag them up the lane to the headgate/chute to work them... and they didn't lead all that well. I hated having to go there, knowing it was going to take 4 times as long to work their herd as it would any 'normal' herd of the same size... and my boss inevitably scheduled their herd for Saturday work...

The ones we had were like that, gentle but stubborn. Couldn't get 'em to move if they didn't want to go down the alleyway into the chute. One would eventually get mad if you tried to push her very hard she'd kick like a machine gun.

 

[anewcomer]

Gerts and Beefmasters, two American breeds bred only to perform well in their environments, were ruined, or nearly ruined, by the show ring, or by people who bred them because they were the "hot thing". Just like with dogs and horses, when looks become the main thing, performance goes out the window. If it looks like the hot thing, it will sell, and breeders lose all sight of being breeders and become multipliers.

 

[Travlr]

Gerts and Beefmasters, two American breeds bred only to perform well in their environments, were ruined, or nearly ruined, by the show ring, or by people who bred them because they were the "hot thing". Just like with dogs and horses, when looks become the main thing, performance goes out the window. If it looks like the hot thing, it will sell, and breeders lose all sight of being breeders and become multipliers.

Looks, per se, are not a bad thing. The problem comes when the show ring and the meat industry want two different things... and the show ring wins. Show judging damages the meat industry much like it damages dog breeds or even little girls made up to compete with wigs, makeup, and sexualized outfits.

 

[simme]

Show ring can be a bad thing. But I think chasing any trend or single trait (frame, milk, carcass, growth, color, epd numbers, pedigree, showring performance, feedlot performance, etc) at the expense of overall balance is the bigger issue. Chasing single traits to an extreme will cause a person to compromise on overall functional traits and may lead to hard doing cattle, bad structured cattle, giants, midgets and cattle that don't work.

Fertile cows that will have and nurture a live calf that grows at an acceptable rate and thrive on the forages available are still important. Show ring can cause a person to go astray. But the feedlot and packer may do the same.