Show ring blood lines versus commercial results

Help Support Steer Planet:

oakbar

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
1,458
Location
North Central Iowa
We entered a steer in the Midwest Steer Show this year for the first time.  This show has been held annually for 40+ years at the Mower County Fair in Austin, MN.  It is a "run 'em in the ring and sort 'em" show where animals are chased into the ring in pairs and two judges choose to send them to the "Save" or "Cull" pens based on their opinion of their overall make up and predicted cutability.  When all cattle have gone through the ring(34 steers in this case) the judges go through the "Cull" pen to make sure they didn't miss anything and then choose a Top 10 from the "Saved" steers.  Most animals entered in this show come directly from the feedlot with a few show steers thrown in.  All animals then go to market and are evaluated for their carcass value. 

The steer we entered was a registered Shorthorn that we raised(Oakbar Weston) out of Ar Su Lu Tonic and our Sonny/Charmer cow.  Some of you may remember his picture from last fall(I've posted it below).  He placed 6th overall in the live segment of the show and, I believe, was the only non-black animal in the Top 10.  We received the carcass information today and he topped the entire show.  He weighed 1335 with a 831 pound carcass wt.  He also had a 15.8 REA, .4 fat cover, USDA Yield Grade 1, graded Choice -, and had 68.21% retail product.

He was also the Reserve Champion Prospect Male at our fair in June last year and he weighed 720 pounds at 205 days of age.  I recommended him to several local people who stopped by last fall as a commercial bull.  I was dissapointed when absolutely no one showed any interest in him as a bull so we steered him knowing that Shorthorn steers don't sell very well in our neck of the woods.    He was extremely gentle, sound as a cat, and I thought he could be pretty good so we kept him as the first ever 4H steer that either of my daughters have shown.    As it turns out he would have been a tremendous commercial bull, but I guess we're pretty happy with the extra $290 of premium money we got from the show.  We are currently using his full sib "Oakbar Sonic" as our cleanup bull.  Sonic sired some really nice calves in a local commercial herd this year without any calving difficulties on either cows or heifers.

Who says Shorthorns with "Show ring" bloodlines can't work in the commercial world!!  Ha, Ha!! 
 

Attachments

  • Weston 8-28-09.JPG
    Weston 8-28-09.JPG
    258.6 KB · Views: 234

Hilltop

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
465
Location
Sask, Canada
Who says Shorthorns with "Show ring" bloodlines can't work in the commercial world!!  Ha, Ha!!

Congrats! Thats AWESOME! (clapping)
Very good to see the carcass results and that he came in first and kicked some BUTT! This should be a very good markering tool for you and other Shorthorn breeders.
Be good to hear if more people have good results for our GREAT BREED.
I bet he was not a monster when he was born either (lol)
Congrats again from the Hilltops!
 

Okotoks

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 17, 2010
Messages
3,083
Now that's something to be proud of. Fantastic carcass results. Compettitions like this will promote your herd and the breed in general.
Congratulations
 

aj

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 5, 2006
Messages
6,420
Location
western kansas
Were all the cattle fed in the same . Or they came from different feeding regiments?
 

GoWyo

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 29, 2008
Messages
1,691
Location
Wyoming
The only way a shortie could have won is if it was fed better than the rest.  ;D  AJ, will we see an update from the BHMAA? 
 

aj

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 5, 2006
Messages
6,420
Location
western kansas
I have recommended you to the board to be the publisher of our monthly publication. The black hided myth country. Check your e-mail.
 

Show Heifer

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 28, 2007
Messages
2,221
You mentioned several other "show steers" in the group.... how did they do? 
But congrats on your accomplishment!
 

justintime

Well-known member
Joined
May 26, 2007
Messages
4,346
Location
Saskatchewan Canada
Congrats oakbar!  Hopefully this steer will get some visibility and some talk from people who see the results of this show. Excellent carcass results and a real feather in your hat!
 

oakbar

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
1,458
Location
North Central Iowa
Thanks everyone!!

SH--I said there were a few show steers in the group--I assumed this because some had obviously been clipped in the last few weeks. The  2nd place live animal was fed with "show steers" but I don't  believe there were any others in the Top 10 of the live show.  I'm not sure where they ended up in the carcass placings.    The corresponding live versus carcass placings were as follows: 

Live followed by carcass---

1--25
2--30
3--2
4--3
5--14
6--1
7--24
8--15
9--17
10--34

Obviously, there were discrepancies between the placings but this probably not highly unusual in a show like this.  The first and second place live steers both were High Selects which cost them $12.00/cwt.  If they had graded a Choice minus they would have moved up to 5th and 9th overall in the carcass contest. The 7th place steer  had a pretty small REA, too much fat cover,  and only 61.5% retail product which killed his placing.  The 10th place steer was just way too big--he had a 1025 pound carcass.  The judge commented he was taking a chance on him because of his size and it looks like he shouldn't have.

My neighbor had a steer that the judges did not use at all that I actually thought should win the live class--he finished 4th overall in the carcass competition.

No, AJ, the steers were all fed separately by their owners.  Our steer was on a straight corn, supplement, and hay ration with no extras.
Many of the farms represented in the show have shown cattle here for 20 years or more so they certainly know how to feed them for this show even if they are not "show steers".  Another neighbor of mine has had several live and carcass champions in both the heifer and steer division of this show.  His steer was not used in the Top 10 live animals but was 7th overall in the carcass evaluation.  I was proud of our beef team--we had 5 of the top 11 carcass placings.   
 

aj

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 5, 2006
Messages
6,420
Location
western kansas
Great job then. I know I read an article about a commercial herd that concentrated on the U.S. premium beef deal. They put their calves on creep feeders of whole corn back when corn was real cheap and calves were real young. They were getting fat cattle results of like 85% certified angus in the end. I remember having a conversation with a buddy in college. We were talking about bull test stations.....particulary the Colby Ks test. He told me there were tricks to winning these things. He thought the key to winning the bull test was to get calves really fat young. Then you shrink them out before the test. His theory was that the calves had alot of fat cells already deveolped(his words). Then when calves hit the bull test they just exploded when put on test. So I think there there are tricks even for these deals. I hate to see cattle brag about individual ultra sound data out at Denver. If they were fed a high fat ration and showed a high % of marbling how can they be compared with a pen of bulls on a plainer style diet that more fits a feedlot ration. I did some creep feeding this summer. I used the forage based pellet with I think bovatech in it. It was a non grain based pellet but I noticed it had a 3% fat content in it. Crystalz tubs have I believe a 3% fat content in some of them. I was almost a little concerned that the shorthorn feeding trial might get to a tricky level. If you feed calves high fat early they will do better on grading choice or what ever. Feeding calves high fat rations when they are young.....is this feasible in the real world? Depends on the choice-select spreads I guess. For like locker beef sales I would think fat in diets for young calves should be considered. Of course the best thing about locker beef is that they are hung a little longer. The generation interval in beef cattle is so long it takes a long time to evaluate trends and change ways of thinking and everythying else.jmo
 

oakbar

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
1,458
Location
North Central Iowa
Thanks, AJ!!  As far as fat cells being deposited early on I guess I don't know anything about that.  This steer grew really well (720# at 205 days) so we actually tried to hold him back somewhat so he didn't get too heavy.
 

Okotoks

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 17, 2010
Messages
3,083
oakbar said:
Thanks, AJ!!   As far as fat cells being deposited early on I guess I don't know anything about that.   This steer grew really well (720# at 205 days) so we actually tried to hold him back somewhat so he didn't get too heavy.
I think winning a carcass show like this is way more impresive than winning a live class. Feeding obviously comes into it but that's what it's all about - producing genetics that when fed will give you a quality carcass. There's people posting looking for cows that are carriers of genetic defects that don't have to milk because they are going to flush them! In my opinion if people are willing to propogate that to win there is something seriously wrong with the show industry.
So Oakbar I guess what I'm saying is you bred and fed a great one. That deserves recognition!
 

oakbar

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
1,458
Location
North Central Iowa
Thanks, Okotoks!!  I'm not sure if he was a great one or not, but I sure liked him and I'm glad he came through like he did!!
 

simtal

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 3, 2008
Messages
1,066
Location
Champaign, IL
aj said:
If they were fed a high fat ration and showed a high % of marbling how can they be compared with a pen of bulls on a plainer style diet that more fits a feedlot ration. I did some creep feeding this summer. I used the forage based pellet with I think bovatech in it. It was a non grain based pellet but I noticed it had a 3% fat content in it. Crystalz tubs have I believe a 3% fat content in some of them. I was almost a little concerned that the shorthorn feeding trial might get to a tricky level. If you feed calves high fat early they will do better on grading choice or what ever. Feeding calves high fat rations when they are young.....is this feasible in the real world? Depends on the choice-select spreads I guess. For like locker beef sales I would think fat in diets for young calves should be considered. Of course the best thing about locker beef is that they are hung a little longer. The generation interval in beef cattle is so long it takes a long time to evaluate trends and change ways of thinking and everythying else.jmo

Feeding fat (tallow, corn oil, choice white grease, etc ) has little effect on marbling. But, fat provides energy, and energy eventually makes marbling. However, marbling is generally made from glucose. Many studies have looked at starch as a key component to intiate marbling development.  As far as the feasibility of high fat rations in the real world,  feeding wet distillers (~10% fat)  is a good example of that.
 

sue

Well-known member
Joined
May 1, 2007
Messages
1,906
Oakbar this would be the perfect full brother to sell to a commerical bull buyer:
I think Ron bolze probably said it best during the first Shorthorn U trip and I will para phrase- "Black Angus has done nothing but select to improve carcass for 20 plus years and are in the same spot they began. Shorthorn has not looked at it and have outstanding even in the club calf line up ... so imagine if we could get our corner back in the bull market?" Basically we do have the best carcass as a breed... pretty sure Marc has results showing short or shXred angus are out of this world.
SH steers finish in fewer days and have higher yield grades too. This is a big reason why the Great state feed out was developed so every SH breeder can prove there stuff... check this out oakbar its no secret Shorthorns kick but in the feed lot! I m sure when they gather enough information we will have ads to support this at asa. Hey if you're new to Sh or didnt know about this program - contact Jake Alden, ASA.

It just a matter of selling what you have - you can sell what ever you breed just find your bull buyers.  congratulations

 

cpubarn

Well-known member
Joined
May 24, 2007
Messages
674
Location
Sheffield,IA
As one of the color blind commercial men (Black is the only color)  Oakbar recommended this animal to as a bull, if memory serves me right, I think that is important to admit my mistake and say shorthorns are great!!!

Congratulations on your win and will say you have a wonderful set of cows and one of two places we've designated "shorthorn heaven".

Now if you can post the results at the Waverly, IA sale barn, we could maybe sell those roan ones. 

Mark
 

Hilltop

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
465
Location
Sask, Canada
cpubarn said:
As one of the color blind commercial men (Black is the only color)  Oakbar recommended this animal to as a bull, if memory serves me right, I think that is important to admit my mistake and say shorthorns are great!!!
They are GREAT and if we can continue to show this to the commercial sector one producer at a time one day we will achieve being #1 <rock>
 

sue

Well-known member
Joined
May 1, 2007
Messages
1,906
cpubarn said:
As one of the color blind commercial men (Black is the only color)  Oakbar recommended this animal to as a bull, if memory serves me right, I think that is important to admit my mistake and say shorthorns are great!!!

Congratulations on your win and will say you have a wonderful set of cows and one of two places we've designated "shorthorn heaven".

Now if you can post the results at the Waverly, IA sale barn, we could maybe sell those roan ones. 

Mark
Mark you could of had a great terminal outcross with ww off the charts. Hey you learned a valuable lesson... so get in the truck and drive to oakbar... hope to god he didnt castrate all of his calves...load his  biggest widest shorty bull  you can find. Put him out with mature bottom end cows next spring and just watch. Fall 2012 send everything to the your feed lot.
 

sue

Well-known member
Joined
May 1, 2007
Messages
1,906
sue said:
cpubarn said:
As one of the color blind commercial men (Black is the only color)  Oakbar recommended this animal to as a bull, if memory serves me right, I think that is important to admit my mistake and say shorthorns are great!!!

Congratulations on your win and will say you have a wonderful set of cows and one of two places we've designated "shorthorn heaven".

Ncan post the results at the Waverly, IA sale barn, we could maybe sell those roan ones.  ow if you

Mark
Mark you could of had a great terminal outcross with ww off the charts. Hey you learned a valuable lesson... so get in the truck and drive to oakbar... hope to god he didnt castrate all of his calves...load his  biggest widest shorty bull  you can find. Put him out with mature bottom end cows next spring and just watch. Fall 2012 send everything to the your feed lot.
I forgot to mention /// retained ownership through great state feed out would allow you to gain a real premium regardless the color. If some of the show guys would bother to read about the program ASA offers they might not be so shyyyy to sell bulls. Did Oakbar mention this program to you last fall???
 

oakbar

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
1,458
Location
North Central Iowa
I appreciate all the interest in this thread.   

Mark, you weren't even one of the people I was thinking about when I commented on recommending "Weston" as a bull although I do remember talking with you and Jacob about him.    Looking forward to seeing you guys again this fall  even though, you never know, that Gus X Myrtle Bo embryo might just be your next herd sire.  Good luck with the pregnancy and the ET heifers in this years calf crop.

Sue, I have to admit that I didn't even know about the program you mentioned until you brought it up.  You can bet I will certainly try to learn more about it!!! 

With the success her first two sons have had,  I may have to breed 'Ol Sugar back to Tonic!    Actually, she cycled late, so if she isn't bred now we may have to flush her to Sonic or Saskvalley Pioneer this fall.  She had a real nicel Shorthorn Plus heifer out of Hannibal this year that should make an excellent cow for someone in the future.  We'll probably have some pictures of her in a few days.  We do have a TM Gus X Myrtle Bo bull  bull calf that really should be used in someone's herd down the road.  We're also anxiously waiting to see spring calves out of  Oakbar Windchester(the bull we sold at the MN State Shorthorn Sale) now being used in the Mike Faulhaber herd in SE Minnesota. 
 
Top