Steer Planet - Show Steers and Club Calves Forum

It's interesting how a successful program like Schrag's can be used to get back to the endless lectures about what is wrong with Shorthorn breeders! I doubt Schrag's would want to take the advise of these naysayers in order to try to make their program more successful. A breeder needs to know their local market and  the market they want to sell into. I for one will not go out and select a bull based on someone's single trait selection advise, a birth weight under 90 lbs or a cow weight of 1000 lbs.

Okytoaks.....in general.....how big are your cows.......1700#?

Have u ever considered replacing the cow herd with goats, AJ? Can not help but to wonder about that from time ta time, HaHa

Quote from: Okotoks on December 13, 2012, 12:36:52 PM

It's interesting how a successful program like Schrag's can be used to get back to the endless lectures about what is wrong with Shorthorn breeders! I doubt Schrag's would want to take the advise of these naysayers in order to try to make their program more successful. A breeder needs to know their local market and  the market they want to sell into. I for one will not go out and select a bull based on someone's single trait selection advise, a birth weight under 90 lbs or a cow weight of 1000 lbs.

Are you talking success in monetary terms or in terms of actually contributing to the beef industry?  I used to make a lot of cash in a pretty lucrative distribution business.  While the money was flowing, I wouldn't have exactly considered myself "successful." 

So what in your mind makes one successful?

Quote from: -XBAR- on December 13, 2012, 08:41:08 PM

Quote from: Okotoks on December 13, 2012, 12:36:52 PM

It's interesting how a successful program like Schrag's can be used to get back to the endless lectures about what is wrong with Shorthorn breeders! I doubt Schrag's would want to take the advise of these naysayers in order to try to make their program more successful. A breeder needs to know their local market and  the market they want to sell into. I for one will not go out and select a bull based on someone's single trait selection advise, a birth weight under 90 lbs or a cow weight of 1000 lbs.

Are you talking success in monetary terms or in terms of actually contributing to the beef industry?  I used to make a lot of cash in a pretty lucrative distribution business.  While the money was flowing, I wouldn't have exactly considered myself "successful." 

I think Schrags have done both very well. Their cattle have definitely contributed to the Shorthorn breed and I would think they have had monetary success or they wouldn't have stayed in the game as long as they have. Of course I'm not their CPA , so I wouldn't know for sure. I know that I consider them one of the top herds in the breed.
As far as your business goes I don't know what kind of goals you set for yourself and your business , so I guess you would be a better judge of that.

this thread moved from schrags about 4 pages ago.. like every shorthorn topic does.

Getting back to the original topic... the Schrag program is at least in it's 4th generation of raising Shorthorn breeding stock and I cannot think of any Shorthorn firm that has contributed as much to the breed and to the livestock industry as this family has. Doug Schrag, Cory's dad was, in my opinion a master breeder. It seems to me that Cory is following in his father's footprints. This is another operation built in integrity and they are successful because their cattle work and they stand behind them. I think there are quite a few people who have posted in this thread ( including me) that could take a lesson out of the Schrag handbook on how to produce good breeding cattle, and I cannot believe that some breeders on here who live less than a day drive from the Schrag operation, have never got off their butts and either attended one of their sales or had a herd tour. I guess it is just easier to sit at home, and make the decision that they must be doing something wrong because they are actually making money with their cattle.

 I will totally agree that some of the people who cannot say a good thing about most anyone who is having success, are really starting to sound like a broken record. If you are one of these people who complain about most anything on here, please explain to the rest of us, how your breeding program is working better?  Actions always speak louder than words..... and I for one am not seeing much action.

The Schrag's were successfully selling Shorthorn bulls in large numbers to commercial producers 30-40 years ago, when most breeders were doing cartwheels when they actually got a bull sold. Paul and Doug Schrag held an annual bull sale every year in Yankton SD and it was pretty successful in that era. Nobody on here needs to be trying to tell this operation what they are doing wrong. They have forgot more about running a successful Shorthorn breeding operation than most will ever know.

Quote from: justintime on December 13, 2012, 10:45:40 PM

The Schrag's were successfully selling Shorthorn bulls in large numbers to commercial producers 30-40 years ago, when most breeders were doing cartwheels when they actually got a bull sold. Paul and Doug Schrag held an annual bull sale every year in Yankton SD and it was pretty successful in that era. Nobody on here needs to be trying to tell this operation what they are doing wrong. They have forgot more about running a successful Shorthorn breeding operation than most will ever know.

Selling 30-40 bulls to commercial buyers to What's Up. What happened?

You say that like it's a bad thing. What are you basing that on? If I could make a living selling breds and open heifers, there's no way I would mess with keeping enough bulls around to sell 30 - 40 a year. I know what it's like to have just 2 bulls around, I can't imagine having 15 to 20 times that.