Discussions on different breeds?

[Northern Rancher]

The best cross in the cattle business is a Hereford cow and an oil well lol.

[Broke Cowboy]

[andybob]

[Northern Rancher]

My neighbor cliped his yearlings one year for shits anfd giggles got paid about $50 an hour when they sold.

[Faster horses]

Charolais and Simmental cattle have a lot to offer, IMO in a cross
breeding program. Both breeds have higher mineral requirements
because they have a slower metabolism.

[Shortgrass]

How do you want to care for them, and what problems can you deal with well? What does your climate and facilities require? I like a lot of cattle, but I like quality in whatever breed I deal with. I acknowlege that a lot of traders have made more money dealing with scrubs than I do trying to have the best quality. I believe that when cattle are good, any thing will make ya a buck, but when things get tight quality will be required to get two people interested enough to compete on bids. Fellas that survive over a period of years generally have quality. Lots of people have a great program with a variety of breeds, but quality is the common denominator.

[Grassfarmer]

OK andybob I'll throw this one in as out of the box thinking

I quote a breeder;

"We are producing Whitebred Shorthorn cross Highland cows at 440kgs with a three-month-old calf weighing 140kgs. By the time it is weaned the calf is over three-quarters of the mother's own bodyweight which in anyone's book is highly efficient production."

Hard to argue with that for performance. Check out http://www.whitebredshorthorn.co.uk

The difficulty in my opinion would be sourcing enough good quality WB Shorthorn and Highland cattle but like any breed I guess there are good ones out there.

[PureCountry]

The first Galloway sired calves we sold were 1/2bloods out of Angus cross cows and they made us money, topped the sale that day in fact. They had been on swath-grazing with their mommas right up until the day before they sold. The buyers thought they'd been weaned and on feed they lloked so shiny and full. Part of that was the winter and feed we had, part was the genetics, but it worked.

Purebred Galloways always get discounted for the reason Soap mentioned - hair collects tag. Maurice Boney told me he made alot of money on Galloways over the years until he tried sending them to feedlots in the mid-west where mud was a problem. He said they quickly acquired the nickname "Mudballs" b/c that's all that was left of them. They'd get so covered in tag they wouldn't even be gaining weight.

The cross with the North Devon is intriguing for sure. Knock some hair off, add more milk I would think, and compliment each other very well for efficiency and grass-finishing. Some of the best looking critters on our place right now are Galloway x Brown Swiss from our milk cow. We have a couple daughters that are 1/2 bloods, one 3/4 daughter and 1 3/4 Galloway son. He's really something to see. I'm quite tempted to breed him to a bunch of heifers.

[Liveoak]

How about Brahma?




Or how about a Brangus - on the left or the Angus -on the right? Too much ear? Cross them and get the one in the middle.

[RobertMac]

[Soapweed]

[andybob]