aj
Well-known member
I read about a pen of shorties fed at Montezuma Ks that cost of gained .61 cents. Does anyone know partics on this deal? Were they Terry's or Keiths or Marty's?
lovingfarms said:AJ
I believe the pen referenced was our set of fall steers that were harvested in March. The closeout cost of gain was $.62, but I don't know for sure what the average for the yard was at the time. I do know that the owner of the yard said that there were a lot of feeders at the time that would have been really pleased with $.72. I don't have all the specifics on this computer, but I think they gained ~4.1 lbs/day and converted between 5.1 and 5.2 lbs and were on feed around 180 days. This was the whole of our fall male calves that were not kept for our fall bull group, so there were some odds and ends in there. I think the beginning weight spread was 150-200 lbs, so I thought they came together real nice. Its always interesting how cattle will feed.
Scott
So this kind of breeding dosent happen over night. Scott you should comment more about how you made it to this point. congratulationslovingfarms said:AJ-
I think that pen caught the low of the cost of gain and the high end of the market. $.62 to feed, out at $.96, not hard to make a living. Just wish it would have been a larger pen. Oh well, such as life.
TG-
These steers were all out of Double Duty 6294 sons or grandsons. The mothers were pretty much bred the same, may have been some Legacy 23G daughters in there. I would have to go back through them. As far as the sires go, we have semen on these bulls, you might take a look at our website (www.lovingfarms.com)
I am glad this topic got brought up. I wish there was a better way to feasibly measure the aspect of feed efficiency, I know there are small feeding projects to try and quantify efficiency, intake and cost of gain. This is nice for a cross section, but until \thousands of individuals can be put in a data base, it doesn't mean a lot. Just a couple of cents,
Scott
Funny you bring this up; I just got back from our South West Field day put on by the Extension (Missouri University) and they are currently doing a study with Relative Feed Intake (RFI). They have determined that cattle with a negative RFI (meaning they take less feed to reach the same gains/market weight) have a heritability of that trait that is about 20%. I know I am not saying this right (my notes are in the car), but basically they said it is an inherited trait equal to growth and ADG, so something we can focus on and improve. The hardest part is to identify those that have a negative RFI to select those genetics to reproduce. Unless you measure all feed intake, you really have no clue who has the best RFI. But there is information out there about it. Exciting stuff!They are collecting data on bulls and said that some bulls will start displaying this as a new EPD number!lovingfarms said:AJ-
I think that pen caught the low of the cost of gain and the high end of the market. $.62 to feed, out at $.96, not hard to make a living. Just wish it would have been a larger pen. Oh well, s
I am glad this topic got brought up. I wish there was a better way to feasibly measure the aspect of feed efficiency, I know there are small feeding projects to try and quantify efficiency, intake and cost of gain. This is nice for a cross section, but until \thousands of individuals can be put in a data base, it doesn't mean a lot. Just a couple of cents,
Scott
aj said:I also think that the cow size thing should include the "growth curve" discussion. Some cattle grow well and then mature early and stop growing. Some cattle grow well and then they grow and grow and grow and I think this is where you get your 1800 pound cows. I think Lovings have a great program cause they set paramiters and they hammer and hammer away at getting there. Then they they hammer some more. jmo
Sammy Richardson, Brian Banzet, Rick Leone, Troy Smith, and I can't remember who else, had a smaller group up there at HY-Plains, too,that done about the same (62 cents).aj said:I read about a pen of shorties fed at Montezuma Ks that cost of gained .61 cents. Does anyone know partics on this deal? Were they Terry's or Keiths or Marty's?
Scott,lovingfarms said:aj said:I also think that the cow size thing should include the "growth curve" discussion. Some cattle grow well and then mature early and stop growing. Some cattle grow well and then they grow and grow and grow and I think this is where you get your 1800 pound cows. I think Lovings have a great program cause they set paramiters and they hammer and hammer away at getting there. Then they they hammer some more. jmo
We have tried to get away from bulls, and really females for that matter, that are quick growers and then never stop. In saying that though, I know we are using bulls that are really quick to weaning and then the growth curve really slows and we have used bulls that are a little slower to weaning and rapidly accelerate to yearling and mature at a size we can use. I think both types of curve have the respective places, the Jazz line is an example of the quick and Legacy 23g would be the latter. Like them both, extremely hard to compare at weaning time. Along that line, we have combined the two and really like the results.
As far as setting parameters and sticking to them and so on, most would probably just call us hard headed. (lol)
Sue-I am not sure they will ever be as consitent and uniform as I would like them to be. We are always pushing for that "peas in a pod" and I think we see some of that in sire groups. In this breed, it is not as hard to find those bulls that phenotypically look like what we need, but getting them to breed consistently and produce an end product that is marketable is a little more difficult.
Firesweep-Those studies are very interesting to me and we have to be able to start somewhere in identifying genetics that can yield some big improvements.
shhhhh. peakview ranch,CO. We dont need any one else knowing about another really good shorthorn breeder lost in the " sticks"just minding the business of making a good beef cow... pm me if you want my notes.....aj said:Cool, I didn't know Rick had any in the thing.