2012 Bull Sale - January 19th, Valentine Livestock
Our Vision
Our vision is on efficient and fertile females.
We realize there are genetic antagonisms between several of the important economic traits in beef cattle. For example, extreme growth rate will negatively affect calving ease, fertility, and feed requirements for maintenance. There are trade-offs that must be considered when making breeding decisions. We can only
select for so much growth, muscle, and milk without having some negative consequences. Therefore, we feel the optimum level for many traits lies somewhere in the middle.
We AI our cows using early maturing, top maternal, low birth weight bulls. We use a 45 day breeding period and cull the cows that cannot breed back in this time frame.
Goal
Our goal is to raise cattle on an entirely forage base program. We feed no grain.
We let our livestock feed themselves year round from standing grass. We do not work for our cows by feeding hay. We raise all our cattle naturally and they have to work on the grass God provided for them. While doing this we notice which genetics work and which will not. Mother Nature will help us sort out the cattle with calving, fertility and mothering problems and what is left will be highly fertile, deep-bodied and easy fleshing converters of grass that raise sons that are able to pass these traits on to your herd. We believe that we are producing cattle that will thrive in any environment in the most profitable and efficient way possible.
We have set our calving date back to May and June to provide healthier calves at birth and reduce costs. This also matches the cow’s highest nutritional requirements with the ranch’s best and highest grass production time. Our cows calve on pasture at this time, many times miles from home. The first calf heifers run with the cows at this time and we only check cows once a day to weigh and tag calves. We have very few calving problems and have not assisted a calving cow or heifer in over six years.
We do not feed any mineral to our cattle. We do provide Redmond salt at all times. We have not used any type of parasite control for over five years. We feel by proper management we can control parasite problems and by fecal sampling we have proven this.
The only supplements our cows receive are protein in the last gestation period before calving. We feel we are feeding the fetus and not the cow by doing this. This provides for a healthy calf at birth that is ready to start growing.
The calves are weaned on a five wire barbed wire fence in the pasture and remain on pasture. We never confine our cattle. The calves are feed a protein supplement after weaning until spring green up and we will feed a little hay if it snows. Once the snow is melted the calves have to go back to grazing standing grass.
Bulls
The bull calves are sorted off the heifers in mid-winter and continue to run on pasture with only grass andprotein supplement. In September, as long yearlings, they are brought closer to home and start receiving a protein supplement and all the hay or alfalfa they can eat while still grazing on grass. They are never fed grain.
We hold our annual bull sale every year in January in Valentine, NE. We have a joint production sale with Diamond Lazy J Ranch, Greg and Tim Nollette, from Nenzel, NE. We both offer Coming Two Year Old bulls for sale.
Our bulls are forage raised to go to work for you. We do not use grain to achieve maximum gain, but instead use the grass nature provided to bring longevity with sound feet and legs and bulls that will not lose weight during the first breeding season.