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Ranch It Up Radio Show & Podcast
Cow Herd Genetics: Know Exactly What You Have & Need And Record Cattle Prices
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Dialing in the cowherd to exactly what they need. Genetics. We're talking crew. Let's ranch it up. Good day everyone and thanks for riding with us on this all new episode of the Ranch it Up radio show. I'm Jeff Pigger Earhart. A big thank you goes out to our partners. Birch Creek Angus home of the four year guarantee on all bulls. Their annual sale coming up October 30th. Circle F Farms Imogene Ingredients bringing us Farm A10. Jorgensen Land and Cattle Home of the motherlode sale livestock market.com, equinemarket.com auctiontime.com Moose Creek Red Angus Their dispersal sale is coming up December 22nd and 23rd. Ranch channel.com RFD TV the Tri State Livestock News Top Dollar Angus Transova Genetics Westway Feed Products Wrangler W Cattle in this fine radio station, what if you knew exactly what your cowherd base was? What I mean is knowing the genetic makeup and not just the dam and sire, but what each individual animal needs genetically to reach your goals. That may be pounds of weaning, it may be retaining females. And it's not just heading to the bull sale and purchasing that particular bull with the highest weaning weight. EPD thinking that's going to your problems. We're talking about genomically testing your cow herd and it's not just for the bull guys. It's for all of us in the cow business. Now let's break down the who, what, when, where, how and why with Larry grand with Jorgensen Land and Cattle. Hey Larry, thanks for coming on the program. Genomically testing the cowherd. Let's deep dive this one.
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Basically what we do at Jorgensen Land and Cattle on, on the commercial side for our commercial custom is we run a DNA test on commercial heifers or cows bred heifers, whatever the case may be. We have several different scenarios that we can test females. But basically what we're trying to do is get a baseline of what that cow herd is and what that does. It helps us to better select the bulls for our commercial customers to create the calves that they want that meet the needs for their operation. So we've got a couple different ways we can do it. One is of course testing bread heifers that we know that they're bred, they're going to be coming 2 year olds of course, and we can test those, get a really good idea of what the cow herd is and you know, move forward with them. The other scenario is we test the coming 3 year olds because they've had their first calf, their bred back, we know they're probably going to be in the cow herd quite a bit longer. So, you know, less danger of a cow falling out, you know, after we DNA test her to, you know, assure what she is. Or the ultimate scenario is we test the heifer calves before we select our replacement heifers. And what that allows us to do then is help in the selection process to make sure we're getting the right heifer calves to become replacement heifers that are meeting the needs of the rancher. So it doesn't really matter what age that we test these heifers at. We can test them at branding, we can test them at preconditioning, we can test them when we bangs, vaccinate, whatever the case may be even older cows. We've tested a lot of older cows, but it gives us a really good idea of what the cows makeup is. We've got 17 different traits that we look at and we can truly assess the cow herd as to what the bull needs are and really create better cows for our customers.
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And when you talk about the need of the producer, it might be the scenario of maybe I'm, I'm just focusing on a terminal herd and that's what I have, or maybe I purchase my replacement females, maybe it's, I keep my replacement females, maybe it's, I'm selling and marketing and adding that other enterprise. So it's kind of, you know, really fine tuning what the goals are. Maybe, you know, there too is identifying really what a producer's goals are given the environment that they're in. So I got a question for you, Larry. When you have got some of this data back and you're going through it with some of your commercial producers, has there been some surprises on behalf of different breeders where they were. Well, gosh, I thought I was over here and I'm completely over here.
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We get that every once in a while. It's not usually not too dramatic or too drastic because, you know, people are selecting their bulls, you know, based on the epd. So they know if they're low birth weight, they know if they've got, you know, better weaning or better yearling or whatever the case may be. So the bull side of the situation is, you know, pretty well known. So if they use, you know, kind of the same breeding criteria year after year, they're really stacking those genetics, those, the genetics out of those bulls to, you know, create those females. Every once in a while we will get somebody that, well, it's like, oh, well, you know, they've got older cows and we get the DNA back, we get the results back. And it's like, you know, you're only at an 18mil. You can go up to probably a 24, 25 milk and be okay and will increase your weaning weights. And they, you know that sometimes they don't pay attention to all the EPDs when they select bulls. And it can really kind of pull the cow herd down. But again, what it really does is give, gives us a great baseline as to what those cows are and then what are the needs of those cows to create the calves that the, the ranch wants.
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So, and kind of a bottom line on this. What does this cost me as a producer?
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It's $39 ahead. And what that includes is all the equipment necessary to pull the DNA sample. So we can send you the tissue collectors, which is a, just a small hole punch, about a sixteenth of an inch hole that you punch out of the ear of the cow or the heifer or the calf, whatever the case may be. And then it's got a barcode on it and you just write the ear tag number down next to the barcode and then send them to us. We send them in, we get the results back and then we, you know, discuss what we're doing. We also have what we call match sets. So they're an EID with a TSU and a panel tag that goes with it. Now we can have these panel tags custom made through all flex to, you know, match your management style. So let's say these are all, let's just say they're 20, 25 born heifer calves and we're going to test them all and this is going to be their permanent ear tag. So you want all of your ear tags to start with 500 and so we can have those custom printed with your name on it or whatever the case may be, whatever we need to have on there, you know, we can put on there. And of course you, then you have the 840 Eid to go with it, or we can just get a regular EID to go with it. So we can incorporate all three mediums, the DNA, the panel tag and the EID to identify that calf. And we provide that all to you for free of charge.
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Now when you're talking with producers and I'm thinking of my own scenario, I know that this cow does this. I know that this cow over, over has does this or she has does done that. What I mean by that what kind of calves she's raised? I go back in my record books. So how do you deal with somebody like me where I'm going to say, yeah, Larry, I already know that about my cows. I already know that, well, I'm probably gonna have to sell this one next year that she's a little harder doing. But she was the kid, show heifer.
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Whatever the case is.
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So how do you deal with some of that adversity when somebody says, larry, I know my cow herd and I know what they can and can't do?
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Okay, that's great, that's good. I mean, we know we can take that and we can still select the bulls that are going to do the right thing for them. But then my question always back to them, is, how do your cattle grade? How do they do in the feedlot? How do they do on the rail? Have you ever get any feedback back? And nine times out of 10 they'll say, well, no, we just sell our calves, we don't get paid for that. And then I say, well, inadvertently, yes, you do. Because every feedlot or every buyer knows what a set of calves do, you know, from their past history. And even if they wean 600 pound calves and you know, they're hanging on the rail by April, you know, that's great. But do they grade? Do they have, you know, enough carcass weight to them? Have you got enough milk? Have you got too much milk? You know, things like this. And we really fine tune those, that cow herd to really maximize the benefit of, of the cows to that ranch. Another one we look at that is really the hidden commodity. It's what's the dry matter intake on these cows? You know, are they, are they efficient? Are you getting enough weaning weight for the groceries that, you know, this cow is, is eating? And so there's some hidden, hidden items in there that you cannot measure, but the DNA will give us the insight as to what they can do. And it's all about profitability. I mean, if we can cut your, your feed intake down and still wean the same amount of calf pounds, but with feed or less grass, guess what? You get to run more cows and you know, take that additional savings and put it towards something really productive.
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And now we're talking my language. That's pounds per acre. I've said that many times. So let me throw an X factor into this. And that is environment. I was just having a conversation last week with another gentleman about this very thing about DNA testing your heifers. And I love this I absolutely love being able to really get down to the science because two plus two equals four. You can't argue with that. But how much does environment come into play when you start analyzing this data? Sitting down with me, really getting a really nice snapshot of where my cow herd is and all these other variables that come into it with feed, stuff, availability and grazing and everything. And when we come down to actually selecting bulls, how much does environment come into that? Because Jorgensen bulls, they go to 48 different states. I mean, there is the opportunity to purchase these bulls in the four corners of the country. And when you take in the diversity of the United States, I mean, geographically and environmentally, that's extremely, extremely diverse.
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It is. And you have to take into account the environment, you know, for each, each animal. So, you know, we have, we're working with the hair shedding studies, and we actually have a sire line we inadvertently didn't know was actual really good hair shedders. And guess what? Most of those bulls are going down to the southeast, so they shed hair off very quickly. You know, they, they're still black bulls down in the Southeast. They don't work a lot in the summertime, but where they work when they want them to in the fall of the year and in the winter. So, you know, that matches their environment really well. But when we get up here, you know, in the Northern Plains and Rocky Mountain region, and, and you look at that environment definitely has effect on what you want. You know, what, what the milk requirements for a cow in, let's just say southeast Idaho versus northeast South Dakota. You know, it's two totally different environments. So, you know, we have to really pay attention. We can't, we can't get carried away with milk, for instance, because, you know, it takes a lot of groceries to get that cow to produce a pound of milk. And if you're putting a bull that's a 32 milk or a cow that's got 32 milk in that environment, guess what? She's probably going to work her butt off, you know, just to maintain herself and, and the calf. There's a really good chance that she's going to come up open because, you know, she just doesn't have the genetic makeup for that environment. So we always look at, you know, what, what do you normally do? And, and you know, we don't want to push that boundary too much. But there's a reason that, you know, those cow, cows and some of the mountain states and the high desert areas, they're only 21 to 22 to 23 milk. You know, they're not a 30 to 32 like from, you know, east river, eastern Nebraska on. They don't have the feedstuffs to support that cow. So we really have to fine tune the heifer selection and make sure that you know, that heifer truly does fit the environment. And so like we got, you know, guys that want to buy replacement heifers and they, they would love to have some, you know, northern cattle as replacement heifers. As long as they stay kind of in, you know, the north northern plains or you know, even, even get into Kansas, Oklahoma, they'll have the feedstuffs to, you know, make those cattle work. But we really have to be cognizant of the environment that they're going into. It's like, hey, there's a real good chance this cow is going to fall apart because you know, she's just not built for, you know, let's say 7,000ft in Laramie, Wyoming or you know, going working around Grandview, Idaho or something like that. So Winnemucca, Nevada. So we really have to, you know, be careful of, you know, number one, make sure we got the right, the right animals for the right environment for sure.
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Larry grand with Jorgensen Land and Cattle. We've got your curiosity up now, don't we? This is part one of a two part series. We'll be back next week with the second half where we look at the numbers dollars in cents of applying such technology. Definitely want to tune in for that one. Alright, it's time for a break. When we come back, news updates. Is she bred or open? Y' all know a whole bunch more of the cow stuff when we come back on the Ranch it Up radio show. For years now I've been telling you all about Farmitan from Imogene Ingredients. Well it's time to make the change and add Farmitan to your cow's diet, to your calves diet. Get that boost in health and increase feed efficiency. It all starts with nutrition. So add farm a tan. Don't miss the 4th Annual Jorgensen Landon Cattle Angus Motherlode Sale. Saturday, November 22nd Ideal, South Dakota. For the first time selling select bulls plus maternally focused Angus females backed by 10 plus generations of proven genetics. Details@ranch channel.com and jorgensenfarms.com the motherlode sale the source for maternal Angus genetics Livestock market.com offers all the tools you need for a successful production sale. The easy to use online platform makes it super easy to take bids from anywhere in the world. Buyers can place pre bids and real time bids. Browse your sales catalog and watch your sale broadcast live. Livestockmarket.com is also the ideal platform for private treaty sales and timed online only auctions. There's no easier way to find buyers for cattle, horses, sheep and hay. Sell on your terms today with livestockmarket.com today's news segment is brought to us by central states Testing in the Chuteside pregnancy test for less than nine bucks ahead and a few drops of blood. You can call them open or bred in 5 to 20 minutes with 99.5% accuracy and at 28 days post breeding. Make life simple and order yours today@cstbvd.com that's cstbvd.com Crawford Livestock Market in Crawford, Nebraska is my destination where last week, Friday they stamped their place in history with a blockbuster sale that will be talked about for, I'm going to say years to come. Now, in one extraordinary event, the barn shattered 39 of their barn, 39 of their personal barn records, 25 state records in the state of Nebraska and 13 national records, making it as one of the greatest livestock sales ever held. I've got the breakdown in the show notes for this episode of ranchituphow.com you can check it out now. Nationally, Crawford's impact It was just awesome. The sale produced four top ten all time prices of five weights, six of the ten highest six weight prices ever recorded, the sixth highest seven weight at four and a quarter. Those were 712 weights. Now I could go on and on and on, but to make it easier for y', all, head to ranchitupshow.com click on the show notes for this episode. We've got the information there. Big thanks and a shout out to National Beef Wire for putting this all together. And in other news, last week a federal district court in South Dakota ordered that ranchers Kenny and Roxy Fox and Rick and Teresa Fox and their ranch organizations can proceed with their lawsuit filed on behalf of the New Civil Liberties alliance challenging the lawfulness of the U.S. department of Agriculture's new rule requiring electronically readable ear tags or EID ear tags for certain cattle and bison transported across state lines rather than already in place efficient means of cattle identification. In its opinion and order, the US District Court for the District of South Dakota Western Division denied the USDA's motion to dismiss the rancher's claims based on lack of standing. It further denied the USDA's request to strike portions of the rancher's claims, implicating a recent Supreme Court ruling. The rancher's assert clarifies the USDA is not entitled to deference when citing a broad statute to justify its action of mandating EID ear tags and their claim that the USDA acted unlawfully by failing to establish the agency's mandatory EID program as necessary, R Calf USA CEO Bill Bullard said. We are pleased that the court has determined our case is worthy of proceeding on to the next phase of litigation, he said. However, because this case involves a federal agency regulation implemented during the Biden administration that imposes an unnecessary and costly burden on America's cattle farmers and ranchers, he says, we believe this mandate should be targeted for elimination by the new Trump administration. And finally, more livestock killings have been reported in du Chesnee County, Utah. A $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of those involved. Report any suspicious activity to the Du Chesney Sheriff's Department. That's all we have for the news. Keep it parked. You're listening to the Ranch it up radio show and we'll be right back.
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Circle F Farms invites you to Baxley, Georgia October 10th and 11th for the 2025 annual production sale. Friday, October 10th elite registered Brahman heifers and 300 top quality commercial F1 heifers Saturday, October 11th bulls Brahman Brangus, Ultra Black Charolais, Red Angus, Angus and F1s backed by proven Gen. Circle F cattle are built for performance, profitability and your future sale info, videos and online bidding details@ranch channel.com and circleffarms.com Circle F Farms 1 of the largest Brahmin herds in the Southeast.
- [21:15]
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Ranch channel.com bull sales, Western events, product information and more right at your fingertips on the Ultimate Cowboy Friendly platform. Want to follow up to date markets? Head to ranch channel.com no need to dig for information on all these different websites. It's all right there on ranch channel.com.
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A four year guarantee on breeding bulls? Absolutely. At Birch Creek Angus. We believe if we can't stand 100 behind our bulls, neither should you. That's why we proudly offer a four year guarantee on every bull sold. Join the Birch Creek Angus Crew Thursday, October 30th at the J Bar M Ranch, Ruby Valley, Nevada selling AV bulls and 200 commercial heifers broadcast live on CCI. Live catalog videos and sale information available at ranch channel.com and birchcreek angus.com Birch Cre Home of the Four Year Guarantee on breeding bulls.
- [22:06]
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The best way to raise beef on pasture, on crop residue or in a dry lot. It's Westway Feed Products, Westway Liquid Supplements Support increased forage utilization, efficiency, convenience and sustainability. Find your nearest rep by calling 800-875-17 or head to westwayfeed.com on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok. Welcome back everyone to the Ranch it up radio show. It's that time in the program we check with Kirk Donsbok, Stonex Financial Incorporated. Recap in the markets from last week. I know we had kind of a week off. Kirk, glad to have you back. So, numbers last week. What do they look like?
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Good morning Tigger and all your listeners out there. We'll jump right into it. As of Friday, October 3rd, October feeder futures close the week at 357.07 and a half. That's up 2 and a half cents on the week with the CME feeder index down $2.47 at 362.57. The basis against the lowest cash price of $2.29 and October futures is a negative $2.02 and a half cents. With first notice day for delivery on October 6th, October futures are very susceptible to delivery. Choice boxes were down another $9.16 at 362.27. Definitely the weak spot in the cattle market with estimated spot packer margins losing over $200 a head. We did not have reports for dress weights or yearly production. With the government shutdown, December corn closed the week at 419 and a half. That's down 2 cents on the week. Corn continues to consolidate as it waits for yield reports coming out of harvest and a better understand what production is.
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If you are ready to sort out which cows are truly paying off, this one's for you. Hey hey. I'm Shay Wanner and I host the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast. In one the of of my recent episodes, we cover how series Tag and Range View have teamed up to help ranchers more effectively measure profitability and effective grazing strategies. Here's a small portion of our conversation.
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If they don't ever pull the cows truly off the range, they can look at a map for as long as they want the tag to be active for and see the grazing movement of that cow and how her efficiency has changed over time. Because the other thing we don't talk about about enough is that different cows intake different amounts of feed at different life cycles. One cow eats tremendously more when she's developing a calf, and one cow spends a lot more energy intaking to get herself bred back and back into condition when we first breed her. And so understanding the efficiency of those cows at that level gives us again a much better ability to manage our forage and our cattle both to maximize the utilization of each one. We don't want to take more forage than is good for the range. We also don't want to waste foraging cows that are doing a poor job of giving us a calf to go sell at the end of the process.
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Listen to the full story by searching for casual cattle conversations on your favorite podcast player. Happy ranching folks.
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And a big shout out and congratulations goes out to Circle F farms from Baxley, Georgia on their inaugural their first annual Angus Female Sale. 78 head averaged 46,000 with the top and the high seller at 470,000. And then a shout out and congratulations to ISA Beefmasters in San Angelo, Texas. 103 bows average $10,165 with a high seller of 25,000. Those sale reports along with upcoming production sales available@ranch channel.com and now that's going to wrap it up for today. Big thanks goes out to our crew, Larry grand with Jorgensen Land and Cattle, Kirk Donsbach, Stonex Incorporated and Shea Warner with casual cattle conversations. A big tip of the hat goes out to our partners, Birch Creek Angus, Circle F Farms, Imogene Ingredients, Jorgensen land&cattle livestockmarket.com equinemarket.com auctiontime.com Moose Creek Red Angus Ranch channel.com RFD TV Top Dollar Angus Trans Ova Genetics, Westway Feed Products, Wrangler Wolf Cattle and this fine radio station. And Cruz, so glad you all came with us one more time as we Ranch it up. Be sure to follow and like us on Facebook at Ranch it up show. Our email is ranchituphowmail.com call and text 24. 7. That phone number is 707 Ranch 20. That's 707-726-2420. Spread the good word and join us again next week where it's always Tigger and Beck approved. Stay ranchy and and Ranch it Up.