<strong>The</strong> <strong>New</strong> <strong>Cattle</strong> <strong>Economy</strong>...continued from page 1...condition scores on the herd isimperative.So, what is a cow/calfproducer to do? <strong>The</strong> temptationmany are succumbing to is sellcows and heifers, cut productioninputs (and in return cuttingreproduction and weaningweights) and cut back oninvestments in high qualitygenetics. In times like theseinventory and higher productionlevels are the keys to profitability.Yes, inputs are high, but we aregetting paid well for hitting highproduction targets. Feedyardswant big, heavy feeder steers andfor those producers with the rightcattle, opportunities abound forgreater return.Another critical factor isthe lack of replacement heifersbeing retained for rebuilding ofour nations cowherd. Valuesof bred females will top $1,500to $1,800 or more this year andthere will simply not be enoughof the right kind of replacementfemales to meet demand. <strong>The</strong>investment we make in thefactory will determine our longterm production efficiencyand again, genetics plays acrucial role.It is understandable tou.s. cattle producers to thinkthat we are still living in aworld of $2.00 corn and $500calves and wanting to stillpay $2,000 for bulls and $900for bred replacement heifers,April 29 th & 30 thbut that simply is not in the cardstoday. Old rules of thumb maystill come into play howeverwhen determining how much topay for seedstock. One of the oldrules with new numbers is that anaverage cost of a bull being worth5 times the value of a weanedcalf would mean that an averagebull from a purebred breedershould be $3,750.00. Anotherrule of thumb is the value of bredreplacement females being thevalue of her weaned calf plus hersalvage value. At that $750 plusanother $800 salvage value, thatmeans an average bred female isworth $1,550 as a starting point.Adjusting our sights will prepareus for the new realities in thecattle business.Have inputs costs gone up?You bet, but this time we shouldsee some nice returns due to alltime record high cattle prices in2011 and beyond. It is a <strong>New</strong><strong>Cattle</strong> <strong>Economy</strong>….are you readyto respond to the challenges?GENETRUST at Cavender’s Neches River Ranch • Jacksonville, TXSelling Friday @ 5:00 pm100 Registered FemalesHighly proven donor females plus an eliteoffering of young herd building females siredby the most highly sought after and provenherd sires in the breed and representing thebreeds most prestigious and highly proven female lines.Selling Saturday @ 1:00 pm500 Commercial FemalesBrangus, Brangus baldies, black F1’s and tigerstripes. Pairs, bred heifersand open heifers. Superior quality from the breed’s most proven sires.GENETRUSTPost Office Box 365Concord, AR 725231-877-GENETRS (436-3877)March 22Suhn <strong>Cattle</strong> CompanyEureka, KSBrangus, Angus & UB BullsJoe Cavender • (903) 571-1209Joe@Cavenders.com2011 SALE DATESApril 29-30Cavender RanchesJacksonville, TXReg. & Comm. FemalesNovember 4-5Chimney Rock <strong>Cattle</strong> Co.Concord, ARBulls, Reg. & Comm. FemalesDON’T MISS OUR FIELD DAY ON SATURDAY @ 9:00 AMDecember 3Cavender RanchesJacksonville, TXBulls & Comm. FemalesCatalogs mailed by request ONLY. Call orvisit our website to request yours today.Vernon Suhnvern@genetrustbrangus.com(620) 583-3706Craig Greencraig@genetrustbrangus.com(870) 834-1976Moving Forward...continued from page 1...the future. We firmly believe that a“more pounds” philosophy measuredsimply by increased weaning weightis not the best solution. In ourchallenge to change forage to proteinand with 70% of a cow’s intake usedfor maintenance what is our future?Do we need to step back and analyzeour unit cost of production andwhat we can do to reduce input costswhile still capitalizing on producingmore total pounds from the sameforageable acreage?Will every operation’s solutionand genetic needs be same? Certainlynot. We already are aware of that asthe genetic partners and cooperatorsthat we work with each face theirown challenges and advantages inthe diverse environmental locationsin which we operate. Feed resourceavailability, rainfall and the typeand quality of forage that yourenvironment provides will be atremendous factor in the degree ofgrowth and milk production you areable to sustain.As your genetic supplier we willcontinue to provide some variationin the genetic profiles of the bullsoffered. We do not feel that a “onesize fits all” philosophy works foreveryone. We endeavor though tosupply genetics that are packaged tobe as functionally efficient for ourcustomer base as possible. <strong>The</strong> GTpartners were some of the first in thisindustry to recognize the need forbiosecurity and offer bulls that weretested free of PIBVD, Leukosis, andJohnes to help protect you from theaddition of unwanted health issues.Disposition, the ease of handlinglivestock and reducing its cost tothis industry has been and willcontinue to be addressed in ourmating decisions. As always we willbreed today with a cautious ear andforethought for tomorrow’s futureneeds: a future that we have trendedtoward for several generations todefine and breed a productionfactory that will optimize productionfor our customers.For Sale...at all times we have for saleat either our Kansas, Texasor Arkansas base ranches thefollowing....• Bulls at private treaty• Embryos• Registered females• Commercial femalesCraig Green 870-834-1976Vernon Suhn 620-583-3706Kenneth Welch(903) 571-8716www.GENETRUSTBrangus.com2Justin Matejka(903)-521-1070GENETRUSTPerformance Genetics. Trusted <strong>Cattle</strong>men.GENETRUSTPerformance Genetics. Trusted <strong>Cattle</strong>men.
A few words fromour customers...Delmar Snyderpurchased his first bullfrom Vernon Suhn in1988 while he was stilloperations manager atBrinks Brangus. He hascontinued to be one of our bestcustomers after beginning our ownregistered cattle business. He has akeen eye for cattle, knows what he islooking for and studies thoroughlythe information that is available tohim to help make his selections.Delmar and his family run arotational cross breeding programwhere his Brangus cows and a fewCharolais cross cows are bred toAngus bulls; Angus and Ultrablackcows to Brangus bulls; and a group ofmixed cows that he uses Ultrablackbulls on. He strongly believes thatour industry needs to use a plannedcross breeding program to survive aswe are giving up too many benefitsof heterosis if we stay with straightbreds.<strong>The</strong> cows he likes best thoughare his straight Brangus females fortheir hardiness and ability to raise abig, strapping calf.In 2009 he felt he had madeenough progress in his herd to feeda portion of his cattle. From thatexperience he has become even morecommitted to Brangus genetics.Those steers yielded at 67.3% anddid not have to be fed the extra 2-3weeks to reach the premiums of aquality based grid. His remarks to meare that efficiency, gain and yield arewhere the profits are. Yield on cattlewill make more money than grade,unless you are in a wide choice-selectprice spread.his demands on a cow to produceor be culled. He utilizes a crossbreedingprogram on his commercialoperation and relies on AI to makeit work. His more Angus type cowshe breeds to Brangus bulls and hismore Brangus type cows he breedsto Angus bulls. Over the past severalyears he has used some of the highestgrowth, positive carcass bulls fromthe Angus side while using moremoderate to breed average growthbulls like Alydar, Next Step andAffirmed to supply his Brangusgenetics. Zak has retained ownershipand fed the resulting steer progenyfrom these AI groups and collectedfeed out and harvest data to compareand evaluate what the bulls are doing.You might expect that an Angusbull in the top 1% of that breed forgrowth would blow the doors ofthe progeny of Brangus bulls withmoderate to breed average growth.However, year in and year out the416X11LTD x NimitzBrangus sired calves have held theirown or exceeded the harvest value oftheir Angus contemporaries. Yes, theAngus cattle have produced a higher% choice; however, the Brangus siredcalves will out gain and out yieldthem to offset the difference inquality grade to put more dollarsback in his pocket at harvest.<strong>The</strong> positives do not stop thereaccording to Zak— his Brangusinfluenced mothers are tougher,harder working females with greatdispositions that shed off better.Moreover, they have less healthproblems and definitely less eyeproblems in his environment.Zak’s no nonsense; low inputmanagement system lends itselfto a 1250 lb. cow that is capable ofproducing a steer that is harvestedat 14-15 months of age at 1400+pounds. Plus it does not require breedleading growth EPD Brangus bulls toproduce at his production levels.Scan Our DepthMarch 22, 2011At the Ranch • Eureka, KS • 1:00 pm140 Brangus and Ultrablack Bulls • 25 Angus BullsBW WW YW Milk TM SC IMF REA FT2.0 29 54 20 35 0.7 .07 .42 -.013O’BRIEN 2010 HARVEST VALUES PER HEAD:SireAve. $/headSuhn’s Alydar 416N3$1455/headSuhn’s Next Step 331R7$1459/headConnealy Impression$1451/head919W23LTD x KOBW WW YW Milk TM SC IMF REA FT1.8 30 61 11 26 1.3 .13 .47 -.0101302X2Hill x CsonkaBW WW YW Milk TM SC IMF REA FT0.9 35 70 12 30 1.5 .07 .46 0.0_______When you open aconversation with ZakO’Brien about politicsor the cattle industryyou need to be readyfor a straight forward,no nonsense reply. Heis passionate about both subjects.Zak, his wife Cortney and beautifulfamily have a small registered herdalong with a commercial cow-calfoperation in Northeast Oklahomajust south of the Kansas border.He is passionate about the beefcattle industry, loves Brangus asa mother cow and is ruthless in1417X5BT x 6807BW WW YW Milk TM SC IMF REA FT-0.8 18 42 12 21 0.0 .14 .16 .004362W3<strong>New</strong>t x Lead OnUPCOMING GENETRUST SALESCavender’s Neches River Ranch • April 29-30, 2011 • Jacksonville, TexasChimney Rock <strong>Cattle</strong> Company • November 4-5, 2011 • Concord, ArkansasBW WW YW Milk TM SC IMF REA FT-2.3 29 55 17 31 .5 .14 .19 .0080237Protege x ForemanBW WW YW Milk TM SC IMF REA FT2.3 66 116 21 54 .24 .39 .47 .011Buy online at:CATALOGS MAILED BY REQUEST ONLY. CALL OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO REQUEST YOURS TODAY!Vernon Suhn • vern@genetrustbrangus.com • (620) 583-3706 • Craig Green • craig@genetrustbrangus.com • (870) 834-1976Cody Gariss • cody_gariss88@hotmail.com • (417) 425-0368www.GENETRUSTBrangus.com • 1-877-GENETRS (436-3877)3