Assessing your operation Every ranch has its own unique resources. Our job as managers is to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of our environment and resources. OUR PROFITABLE DESIGN, AFTER ANALYZING OUR RESOURCES: • Grazing until February, weather permitting to reduce harvested forage costs. • We calve the end of March to reduce labor, maximize forage quality at a time of peak nutritional needs and to create a better balance between AI season and calving season. • We wean the first week in October, so the cows can flesh up and prepare for winter grazing. • Moderate framed, deep ribbed, Angus cattle with a strong grazing instinct that maintain flesh in the Badlands. • Extreme fertility allowing breed back, even on poor years. • Sound structure, excellent feet and legs to cover country. • Intelligent cattle with strong survival instincts.
We believe it is imperative that a profitable cowherd is efficient with nature. It is your best way to combat rising input costs and labor shortages. It will give you flexibility to adjust to future changes in the beef industry. Not everyone should be buying bulls from us. We know our goals and priorities for our cow herd are not going to be exactly what you see for your future cattle operation. We are confident the selection
pressure we are providing to our herd will help create cattle that can help you meet your goals.
“We cannot command nature without obeying her.” - Sir Francis Bacon
• We are concerned about rising feed and equipment costs, so we want our cowherd to be able to winter graze and maintain their condition. We not only save some feed cost today; it also gives us options as too what and how they will be fed in the future. If you breed for a biological type that requires greater and greater inputs you will be more susceptible to higher fuel and equipment prices. • We are not optimistic about finding lower cost, high quality labor in the future. “Convenience” traits become economic traits really quick in tight labor markets. This is why we put so much pressure on disposition, intelligence, udder quality, calf vigor, and survival instincts. Low management cows are a necessity for a large commercial herd or a small herd that doesn’t get in the way of a full-time job or other enterprises. • Nearly all of our customers calves will be marketed into the main stream commodity beef industry. It is imperative that our cattle continue to have above average feedlot and carcass performance or the buyers may reduce there offers or even stop coming back. • We want our customers to have a flexible cow herds. Carcass and performance traits are very heritable, so they can be quickly changed if the market requires it. Most of the traits that make up a great cow herd are low in heritability, so they take a long time to change them, or correct a mistake.
“In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments; there are consequences. ” - Robert G. Ingersoll
Watford City, ND
www.BestAngusAndQuarterHorses.com • 39
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online