Since When???????????
- Thread starter hillsdown
- Start date
Grassfarmer
Well-known member
Yes, Glen and Clare - have met Glen's dad too and he seems a smart old cattleman.
per
Well-known member
Grassfarmer said:
Stankievech, tough one to spell. I worked for Ken in the early eighties in the oil patch.
I'm trying a 1/2 hereford 1/2 shorthorn bull on 50 commercial cows 40 are straight angus 5 red angus and a handful are black baldies. We raised the bull from an old easy keeping shorthorn cow I ai'ed her hopeing for this bull and I have high hopes for the heifers the steer's will be a commodity to me.
These cows could be crossed alot of different ways but I think we will be just sticking with angus bull's on them. I'm not going to degrade someone else's choice of cattle unless they start on a Highlander kick I've seen that played out by my uncle what a poor choice those are unless you are selling to the Hobby Crowd for big money. In a commodity market they were money loser for sure.
1/2 blood Highlander x simmental's bred red angus raised some saleable calve's though. It's the straight and 1/2 blood calves that are a bit hard on yer pocket book here..
These cows could be crossed alot of different ways but I think we will be just sticking with angus bull's on them. I'm not going to degrade someone else's choice of cattle unless they start on a Highlander kick I've seen that played out by my uncle what a poor choice those are unless you are selling to the Hobby Crowd for big money. In a commodity market they were money loser for sure.
1/2 blood Highlander x simmental's bred red angus raised some saleable calve's though. It's the straight and 1/2 blood calves that are a bit hard on yer pocket book here..
perfecho
Well-known member
Hillsdown, the black looks like she could be a powerful cow.....what is her tatoo, I would like to look up her pedigree.
I too, like the "get up and go" attitude of the calves. Sometimes I miss my first few calvies of the season and am amazed how well they do in ugly weather. It is remarkable when an animal comes from close to 100 degrees and is plopped into a minus 25 degree enviroment, man that must wake em up!
Someday I will move to May/June calving, but for now I will have to settle for an occassional short ear or tail......
I too, like the "get up and go" attitude of the calves. Sometimes I miss my first few calvies of the season and am amazed how well they do in ugly weather. It is remarkable when an animal comes from close to 100 degrees and is plopped into a minus 25 degree enviroment, man that must wake em up!
Someday I will move to May/June calving, but for now I will have to settle for an occassional short ear or tail......
I just like red cows with ears.
That's what--in my family growing up--a cow was supposed to look like. No reason other than that, and it ain't changing.
So, that's what I have. If one gives me trouble, she goes away. If she's not thrifty, she goes away. If she won't raise a strong calf, she goes away. Don't matter how pretty or red or whatever.
It is hard in my breed--Beefmasters--to create a good herd because so many producers are working for their cattle rather than the other way around. It has taken me years to get some of what I want in my herd and I'm still not 1/2 way done.
I imagine picking out a breed is kinda like picking a mate: we all see different things in them and what we bring to the deal ends up being half the equation as well.
But, the more "used" or popular a breed is with real producers that keep heifers and cows that should be kept and cull the rest, it just makes sense that those breeds would end up being "better" in an evolutionary process. So, in my opinion (worth every penny being paid for it), it just makes sense that Angus would suit most people's needs better because they seem to be being "worked" more. I think if I'd started with Angus, I wouldn't be having to work on improving my herd near as hard as I am because lots of other people have already been doing that real work.
If I could get the mental image of what a cow is supposed to look like to look even remotely like an Angus, I'd use them myself!
That's what--in my family growing up--a cow was supposed to look like. No reason other than that, and it ain't changing.
So, that's what I have. If one gives me trouble, she goes away. If she's not thrifty, she goes away. If she won't raise a strong calf, she goes away. Don't matter how pretty or red or whatever.
It is hard in my breed--Beefmasters--to create a good herd because so many producers are working for their cattle rather than the other way around. It has taken me years to get some of what I want in my herd and I'm still not 1/2 way done.
I imagine picking out a breed is kinda like picking a mate: we all see different things in them and what we bring to the deal ends up being half the equation as well.
But, the more "used" or popular a breed is with real producers that keep heifers and cows that should be kept and cull the rest, it just makes sense that those breeds would end up being "better" in an evolutionary process. So, in my opinion (worth every penny being paid for it), it just makes sense that Angus would suit most people's needs better because they seem to be being "worked" more. I think if I'd started with Angus, I wouldn't be having to work on improving my herd near as hard as I am because lots of other people have already been doing that real work.
If I could get the mental image of what a cow is supposed to look like to look even remotely like an Angus, I'd use them myself!
elwapo
Well-known member
Thanks for the compliment hillsdown. Good to see Freedom Fog is still doing some good things for you. Probably the most undiscovered semen sire out there as far as i am concerned. He just came along when Freedom blood lines were getting too common and every breeder was in search of the next great one. With our relatively small Gelbvieh gene pool in Canada there are challenges ahead.
AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED ALL CATTLE ARE "EXOTIC" IN CANADA. I remember the days when Angus were sneered at by the popular Hereford set (most of whom are now very proud of their brockle face calves). I love good cattle in every breed!
AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED ALL CATTLE ARE "EXOTIC" IN CANADA. I remember the days when Angus were sneered at by the popular Hereford set (most of whom are now very proud of their brockle face calves). I love good cattle in every breed!
Northern Rancher
Well-known member
Actually High Plains old Stan is kind of Canada's Soapweed you could learn alot from following his example-he's tough to outbid on a bull too. A good cattleman can make a living anywhere with any breed a poor one can start with the best and still need some oilwells. I even stepped out and tried new breed last year got very few calves and the bull turned up sterile this spring so lesson learned I guess.
Faster horses
Well-known member
OOPS. Forgot to take the check mark out of Disable BBCode...sorry 
Faster horses
Well-known member
kwebb:"If I could get the mental image of what a cow is supposed to look like to look even remotely like an Angus, I'd use them myself!"
Will this help, kwebb? Here's a 6 year old 100% Black Angus cow that
we raised.
Will this help, kwebb? Here's a 6 year old 100% Black Angus cow that
we raised.
Northern Rancher
Well-known member
Probably the nicest set of Gelbvieh bulls I've seen was at Arnold Bros. in South Dakota-a big bunch of them run under ranch conditions. I actually converted an old polled hereford outfit to Guppies a few years back-they must have run 20 or so of them by now-ran into a couple cow killers as they sorted bloodlines but for the most part still happy-running red angus back on the baldie guppy's. They traded some of those heifers for Hereford bulls to a friend in Montana that I used to A'I for. It was kind of cool being 900 miles frtom home trailing in a cow that I helped brand as a calf a mile from my yard.
High Plains
Well-known member
Northern Rancher said:
I hear you there, Northern, and I do try to pepper my overbearing opinions with some amount of humility. Hard to hold back sometimes, but it's best to yield to those that have kept a place together. Thanks.
HP
RobertMac
Well-known member
Been down that road...my solution, Lasater Beefmaster genetics...L-Bar, Casey, or the Foundation Herd. Get your bulls from one of them, you won't regret it. I'm with you...ain't nothing prettier or better than a good Beefmaster cow.kwebb said:
Northern Rancher
Well-known member
Does anybody down there cross Braford bulls on Brangus cows-I've got a few BrahmaX cows from wanton affairs wioth rodeo bulls and they are pretty good cattle even up here. One old bull is kind of strange-he's a mankiller-but his daughters can be dead quiet or pretty far the other way.
RobertMac
Well-known member
Maybe, but I don't know of any...most want the F1 females of both crosses. I know there are folks raising Gerts in Canada.Northern Rancher said: