“We avoid extremes in either direction because we’re looking for balance in the frame of the cattle.” They look for a frame score of 6 or lower. “We keep a close handle on frame scores of both cows and bulls,” says Davis. Other culling criteria include udder and foot structure, disposition, calf performance, and frame score.
“We cull females that don’t settle during this time,” says Davis. The breeding season for heifers is 45 days and 65 days for cows. Ten days after breeding, females are exposed to cleanup bulls in single-sire pastures. Heifers not kept as replacements are sold at local auction barns.Īll breeding females are synchronized for timed artificial insemination. The Davises retain ownership of the cattle through finishing, and they receive individualized feeding and carcass data on the steers. Stocker cattle are sent to a Kansas feedlot at weights ranging from 700 to 785 pounds. Because we have converted the farms to novel fescue varieties, the fescue is nontoxic, so we don’t have to worry about grazing fescue in summer.” “If we lack rainfall, we ship steers early to the feedlot and sell extra heifers earlier, leaving forage for the rest of the herd. “The stockers and replacement heifers provide a way to vary the stocking rate on the farm,” says Davis. The young cattle are supplemented on grass with dried distillers’ grains. Actual weaning weights range from 532 to 641 pounds.Īlong with the replacement heifers, the stocker calves – the steers headed for the feedlot – are backgrounded on grass for 70 to 170 days. The pastures are further crossfenced to make up 155 paddocks.ĭepending on forage availability, calves are weaned in spring at 176 to 220 days of age. With little or no hay, females graze year-round on 470 acres divided into 40 pastures. Working with herd manager Mike Hall, the Davises bred 200 females in November and December of 2017 to calve next fall. We use Angus sires at one farm, Simmentals at a second farm, and Brangus at a third farm.” “At birth, heifer calves are tagged with an ear tag matching the color of the bar on the chart showing what breed of sire the heifer will be bred to for the rest of her life,” says Davis. The chart also shows the breed sequence of a resulting heifer and the breed of bull she should be bred to. It identifies in color-coded bars the breed of sire she should be bred to.
#Define vigor full#
The chart identifies the six cross-breeding sequences of a three-breed cross after a full six-year cycle of breeding females to the breed of their great-grandsire. We record the sire, grandsire, and great-grandsire of every female.”Ī color-coded breeding chart keeps the plan organized. “The key is to breed each female to a sire of the breed she’s least related to, and that will be the breed of her great-grandsire. “The breeding plan is a triangle,” says Davis. The Davises have bred uniformity into cattle by carefully managing the genetic influences to maintain maximum heterosis in an ongoing three-way balance. It also pays dividends in the feedlot, where the Brangus-influenced cattle are less likely to go off feed in warm or hot weather. The heat tolerance of the Brangus influence pays off during South Carolina’s 90☏. From the Brangus, we get strong mothering ability, disease resistance, longevity, and heat tolerance.” “From the Simmental, we gain heavier muscling and good milk production. “From the Angus breed, we believe we gain marbling, milk production, mothering ability, and relatively good muscling,” says Davis. The Davises developed their three-way cross by choosing breeds representing differing regions of origin: a British breed, a Continental breed, and a Zebu-influenced breed. Markets Analysis Back to Markets AnalysisĪverage carcass weight for the past three years has ranged from 900 to 927 pounds.
0 kommentar(er)
