Starting Over

[badroute]

I know many of us have a set of cattle that we are proud of and have had them for a long time. Others I'm sure are not real fond of what they have but they have it. But if you were just starting and could do it all over would anyone do anything different or would you stay the same. I am talking about breed selection and so on. Let me know what you think.

 

[Nowland Farms]

Badroute,

About a year ago I sold my nine mixed breed black cows which had been bred a couple of times to my buddies black beefmaster bull.

I just decided I wanted to go the angus route, I now have a small herd of both registered and commerical angus cattle.

It was just somehting I wanted to do, since I like the look of the completly balck cattle. I could not be happier and will be selling a few young angus bulls and hefiers in the coming year.

 

[Beef11]

I bought my first herd and it was a mixed lot to say the least i had straight angus, straight herefords, Black ballys, Red ballys, rednecks, Hereford simmi, Angus x holstein and a couple cows that i really just don't know what they were. I had 3 bulls 1 polled hereford, 1 Black Angus calving ease bull, and a hybrid bull Angus x Polled hereford. Some of the cows were already bred to a limi bull and others to a black gelbvieh.

As i got more educated i realized that i needed to get a real breeding program together so i went to AI and a cleanup bull which worked alot better because i could match a cow with a bull or a breed. Prices went through the roof and my education had to be relocated so i sold most of them and bought rental property in a college town. Now as i am getting back into the gig. I'm going to put embryos in every cow i've got, then buy more cows and put embryos in them to. I might follow them up with a cleanup bull. Pretty soon i'll buy a bigger place raise F1 red baldies for recips. In hindsight i would do alot different, I've worked for some great outfits and some crappy ones followed up by a good education. Its made alot of difference these past few years. If i was to recomend a program to someone I would recomend that you decide what you want to do specifically and stick to it and do it Well. Don't bounce from one fad to the next. If you specialize, you will be better.

 

[andybob]

Badroute,due to circumstances beyond my controll, I am having to start over. Due to the climatic and parasitic challenges in this area, I will stay with the breed that I have trusted to give results for over 30 years.the Tuli.
Where I in a colder area, I would make a different choice based upon what does well, and what the market demands are, possibly run an adapted breed and market an F1 cross to meet market demands. The low maintenance Tuli works well in hot areas, and gives an exelent F1 cross with an Angus to supply market requirements.

The hurrier I am, the behinder I get!

 

[Susie David]

I do believe that I'd be a bit more selective (and not so cheep)
in selecting cows and heifers and go with some proven genitics.
Not necessarily the papered route as we grow for slaughter but higher growth potential animals....DMc

 

[Caustic Burno]

I will continue to stay the course, Hereford bull on tigers might have picked up more Brangus that has been taught to by the school of hard knocks.
Mistakes were trying some,
Simm cows hard keepers.
Angus cows you need a goat proof fence
Strayed for a Limm Bull worst mistake of all time didn't retain one calf out of him.
Tried a Maine bull once only thing happy was the buzzards.

 

[Beef11]

Where is Caustic from?

 

[Caustic Burno]

Well Popcorn from East Texas.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

What I would have done differently, I would have started out with a better choice of bulls. I have since learned. Other than that, I'd do what I'm doing, it works for me.

Katherine

 

[badroute]

I guess I forgot to put in my two cents. I run angus cows and cross them with hereford bulls. I AI everything one time on a mass breeding system to get replacement heifers and then turn the herford bulls out the next day or so. I really like this so I dont think I could improve or do much different.

I have often thought about havin a good bunch of red angus cows and putting a charolais bull on them. I'd get them big, growthy cream colored calves. They sell very well in this area. The only bad part about that is trying to find replacements.

 

[Oldtimer]

badroute- If I could start over I would buy a good set of purebred Tarentaise cows and raise seedstock...They cross great with hereford or angus (red or black), have great mothering ability and milk, definitely have longevity (as I have a neighbor that has a few left in his herd that are eighteen years old), are good rustlers, raise good big calves, and are pretty moderate framed for continentals...

The experiment station in Miles City had some good results with them- in fact I think one of the stations managers promoted them as the ideal continental breed for crossbreeding..

And purebred Tarentaise seedstock breeders are few and far between...

But I'm getting too old to start over- altho I have placed the idea in my sons mind.....

 

[DOC HARRIS]

For whatever it may be worth as a GENERAL recommendation and advice:

In either starting OR starting 'over' - make no mistake about it - BE ADEQUATELY CAPITALIZED for whatever endeavor you decide to follow! When you have to abandon your goals because of a lack of financing, your good intentions slide down the tube!

Educate yourself in your profession as you would with any other business or craft. You may consider yourself well educated and knowledgeable. however the BUSINESS of Ranching and raising Beef Cattle requires much more specialized skills than most other businesses, and more than you may imagine! Saturate yourself with every detail you will require in order to become as successful as you may wish.

Carefully prepare two plans: A LONG term goal and a SHORT term goal. The long term goal should cover what you intend to accomplish in "X" period of time (10 -15 years or so, depending on your age). The short term goal(s) should cover the period of time required for each breeding season, and the succeeding one or two seasons as to potential Sires of your anticipated cow herd and replacement heifers (you know - - - -Genotype and Phenotype).

Finally - - PLAN YOUR WORK - AND - WORK YOUR PLAN. Don't deviate any more than is required by natural circumstances - roll with the punches that Nature throws at you - and be proud of your accomplishments!

DOC HARRIS

 

[frenchie]

And purebred Tarentaise seedstock breeders are few and far between...

Lots of them In Canada OT :lol:

 

[frenchie]

If I was to do this over again I would have started a herd that was all the same breed... And bred to terimal bulls of another breed all preferably half -brothers.

This would produce a uniform set of calves..

 

[dun]

Having started over several times myself I think we did it better this time then in the past. Started with registered heifers so we had a running start at knowing what we should expect. Bred them to proven AI bulls, but we have always done that. But there are still the misc. commercial cows that got here via the inability on my part to pass up a good looking cow at a good price, the pretty face syndrome.
One of the most important issues is that they be something you like to look at and and work with.
Have a plan on where you want to get to and stick to it. That's where the registered heifers comes into play. It's alwasy easier to get to where you're going if you know where you are starting from.

dun

 

[UG]

There are a few things I would have done different.

1. I would have talked to a lot of other producers about what worked for them and what didn't (i.e. challenges with individual breeds, what sire lines work best in their environment, etc.).

2. I would do more homework on the breeders that I was considering buying cattle from. Find out more about their reputation and try to talk to others that have bought cattle from them in the past. I think early on I was a little blind-sighted thinking that if a guy had fancy ads in a breed magazine he must have good cattle and likely culled hard to ensure that he was only producing good cattle. Unfortunately, some of my early purchases were from breeders who apparently were dumping their problems off to others in their production sales.

3. I would spend more time looking at individual production records of the cattle I was buying, rather than just reading the epd's, weights, and notes in the sale catalog.

4. Though I thought I had an idea of the type of cattle I wanted and what direction I wanted to go, I didn't follow my plan as close as I should have when I bought cattle. Like some of the other previous posts, I bought a few cows at sales that I hadn't intended to buy prior to them coming into the ring. None of them worked in our operation.

5. I would buy fewer animals initially, but would pay more for the ones I did buy (if necessary) to get good quality. It takes a long time to develop a herd of "A" cattle when you're starting out with "B" and "C" females.

6. I would buy more aged cows (6 to 10 years old). By then you can see their production records and determine if they are getting the job done. You can also see how well their teats and udders are holding up in later years, as well as how good their legs and feet are. And the best part is that typically you can buy really good aged cows for significantly less money than yearling heifers...and the cows will calve a heck of a lot sooner too.

 

[Frankie]

I know many of us have a set of cattle that we are proud of and have had them for a long time. Others I'm sure are not real fond of what they have but they have it. But if you were just starting and could do it all over would anyone do anything different or would you stay the same. I am talking about breed selection and so on. Let me know what you think.

We started with commercial cows and I think that has helped us in the registered Angus business. We'll probably wind up in the commercial business again in the next few years. Heat detecting and hauling bulls half way across the state for test is getting harder as we get older. But I'd recommend Angus to anyone wanting to get into the registered business. The demand for Angus genetics seems to be still growing, both in the commercial heifer area and for registered bulls, at least here in OK. Association fees are reasonable, while the Angus Assn works hard to improve demand for the breed.

If I were getting into the registered business today, I'd know to spend my money on fewer, better cattle. Too many of the "cheap" cattle we bought went to the sale barn. It's a learning experience. ;-)

 

[MikeC]

If I were getting into the registered business today, I'd know to spend my money on fewer, better cattle. Too many of the "cheap" cattle we bought went to the sale barn. It's a learning experience. Wink

Just about every seedstock producer I have ever talked to said the same exact thing, Frankie. Including me.

Just goes to show; We usually get what we pay for.