Why did you choose your breed?

[rynophiliac]

I would like to hear from other ranchers as to why you are using a particular breed of cattle. We have mostly angus and angus cross and are considering introducing another breed to gain some hybrid vigor with our calves. We are in a northern AZ high desert ranch with lots of water and good feed. A bit mountainous but not too bad. Looking into the pros and cons of each breed including hereford, charrolais, brangus or??? It's all about increasing the health of the herd and profits. What breed are you running and why did you choose that particular breed?

 

[CKC1586]

Low fat, low cholesterol beef that is lean tender and tasty. Grow out beautifully. Long and slim at birth then at about a month to six weeks DM develops. Do some open minded research on Piedmontese . Decide for yourself. Good luck in whatever you choose. :tiphat:

 

[Taurus]

Low fat, low cholesterol beef that is lean tender and tasty. Grow out beautifully. Long and slim at birth then at about a month to six weeks DM develops. Do some open minded research on Piedmontese . Decide for yourself. Good luck in whatever you choose. :tiphat:

I would say Piedmontese is an excellent choice if someone's selling the beef to the niche markets!

I run the black angus bulls with the commercial angus cows but I would choose Charolais bull on black angus cows to making smokey calves that will ring a bell at the sale barn.

 

[Stocker Steve]

WF F1s for a quiet efficient cow.
Continental bull for a 3 way cross.
Don't have a lot of experience but so far we have gotten the best looking 3 way calves with a Limi bull out of a Wulf bloodline.

 

[Jessica06]

Brangus were an easy choice for us. Black, heat tolerance, carcass quality, and they make some of the best mommas. Ideal feeder steers AND quality replacements? Can't get much better than that. Plus, bulls WORK in the heat and/or humidity...if it gets over 85 degrees, you can find our Angus bulls in the pond. Our mature bulls usually come off of cows in better shape than when we put them out. And they are earlier maturing than most people think; we just put out virgin 13 and 15 month old bulls...they tested hot and they've been following cows every day. Bulls we've tested at 11 months have tested great, too. We start breeding our heifers at 12-15 months.

 

[cow pollinater]

I've never been a big time Hereford fan but I started running horned Hereford bulls over my Angus/Brangus based cows and have been really happy with the calves. I don't want more than 50% Hereford but they have absolutely earned a spot in my bull battery. About my only complaint is that if they have enough cows down in the easy country they won't move up and breed anything that will go out and push.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

Good question! I have a few of everything but all of mine are good or i sell them.

If I was starting over I would buy all Hereford cows. They are good cows IMO, you can buy them cheaper than blacks, you can use a big variety of different bulls and have good calves. And I believe if you have the right ones they are the toughest cows you can find.

 

[rynophiliac]

Have you had any calving problems with the brangus?

 

[denvermartinfarms]

Have you had any calving problems with the brangus?

I have some brangus cows, and I use brangus bulls on alot of different breeds, and I have never had any calving problems with a brangus.

 

[glacierridge]

Love the Simmy and Belgium Blue.
The two together work well together.
And the dispositions with both tend to be great.
Over the years tried a couple breeds to pair with BB, Char seems to make an awesome 3rd breed. Have a few really good Char cross mommas.

I would have to say my favorite breed is crossbreds!! lol
Have had a couple pb animals over the years, like the crossbreeds more.

 

[CKC1586]

Low fat, low cholesterol beef that is lean tender and tasty. Grow out beautifully. Long and slim at birth then at about a month to six weeks DM develops. Do some open minded research on Piedmontese . Decide for yourself. Good luck in whatever you choose. :tiphat:

I would say Piedmontese is an excellent choice if someone's selling the beef to the niche markets!

I run the black angus bulls with the commercial angus cows but I would choose Charolais bull on black angus cows to making smokey calves that will ring a bell at the sale barn.

Market that healthy Pied beef and ring the bell in your own barn! :tiphat: Research all breeds you are considering and talk to breeders that actually use them. May want to talk to a slaughter house too, to see what they sell in the front of their operations...

 

[TexasBred]

Good question! I have a few of everything but all of mine are good or i sell them.

If I was starting over I would buy all Hereford cows. They are good cows IMO, you can buy them cheaper than blacks, you can use a big variety of different bulls and have good calves. And I believe if you have the right ones they are the toughest cows you can find.

That's the problem in this area. What herefords are around are usually pretty trashy and trash is all you get ouf of them. Calves get docked pretty heavy.

 

[redcowsrule33]

I have a soft spot for Herefords and the old-fashioned Simmi's. Still can't get rid of my love of those giant cows with square, sturdy feet and muzzles so wide they barely fit in a bucket! But we have really enjoyed our Red Angus for their lovely temperaments. Working cattle for the most part is far less exciting! In a good way. And they make a great cross on Simmental.

 

[B&M Farms]

Breeds that are popular are usually a regional thing. Look at what the big boys around you are raising because there is usually a reason. Around here that would be Brafords, Brangus and some Beefmasters. Usually F1's with purebred bulls on them.They raise these cows here because they are the most productive in a sub tropical environment, not because they are better than other crosses. If these same people were raising cows in a colder and drier environment, they would use a cross with better carcass traits without losing hybrid vigor.

 

[glacierridge]

I have a soft spot for Herefords and the old-fashioned Simmi's. Still can't get rid of my love of those giant cows with square, sturdy feet and muzzles so wide they barely fit in a bucket! But we have really enjoyed our Red Angus for their lovely temperaments. Working cattle for the most part is far less exciting! In a good way. And they make a great cross on Simmental.

YES!!!!!!
We still have a few gentle giants like that.
LOVE them, they are gorgeous.

 

[MOFarmer2013]

Any experiences with Charlois?

 

[rynophiliac]

We also have a small herd of Charolais. There are several things we really like about them: very hardy for our high desert climate and they're willing to travel a long way for feed/water. We also have never had any calving problems with the Charolais (which I thought we would have). The calves get big very quickly even in a desert pasture. A few thing we don't like about them is they run from us at first sight, but to be fair we bought them from a local ranch and they rarely got worked so they were like that when we bought them. The replacement heifers we have kept are much more calm around us because they are used to seeing us and being worked but the old mamas still run and working are working on replacing them also. They also don't seem to bring very much money at our local market compared to other beef breeds. I do believe Charolais have a place in some ranches though. The bulls are very productive and the calves gain quickly. Find a breed of mamas that works best for your ranch and throw some Charolais bulls out there and you will have some nice calves.

 

[greybeard]

Have Chars and Beefmasters. The chars do well here, great foragers, stand the heat well, breed back good, sell good, tho not great. Docile as heck for the most part good gainers tho a better bull could definitely improve on that. Pulled one calf in the last 7 years. Easy to spot and count out in the far side of the property (we don't get snow) And of course, no horns is always a plus.

Beefmasters, I'm just getting started with. A little "higher strung" than the Chars, but manageable. I got them mostly for the maternals and heat/drought resistance. We'll see how they work out.

 

[Backbone Ranch]

We have a herd of murray grey cattle. They are smaller in size with cows weighing in at 1100- 1400 lbs, have calving ease, and are extremely docile. They do well on grass, wean big calves (50% of their body weight) while still maintaining good body condition, and they are very fertile. They have great heat tolerance; I have seen the entire herd grazing in 100 degree heat on numerous occasions.

 

[rynophiliac]

We have a herd of murray grey cattle. They are smaller in size with cows weighing in at 1100- 1400 lbs, have calving ease, and are extremely docile. They do well on grass, wean big calves (50% of their body weight) while still maintaining good body condition, and they are very fertile. They have great heat tolerance; I have seen the entire herd grazing in 100 degree heat on numerous occasions.

I haven't heard much about murray grey, do they sell well? do you sell at the auctions or privately?