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Increase Heterosis with Line Breeding: Jorgensen Land & Cattle
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- [00:02]
A
Line breeding to maximize heterosis. Check it out, 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 Tigger Earhart. A big thank you goes out to our partners for today's episode. The American Galvi Association Farm a Tan by Imogene Ingredients Jorgensen land and cattle livestockmarket.com ranch channel.com the all new sales series on Ranch Channel Sire Buyer, Westway Feed Products, the world famous Mile City Buck and horse sale and this fine radio station, cattle battle. Line breeding first, some may think of an older practice and rightfully so. But for Jorgensen Land and Cattle in Ideal, South Dakota, it has been deliberately and meticulously practiced for 70 years to bring the most specific set of bulls and type and kind that JLC has offered yet. Cody Jorgensen joins us today, sharing how line breeding can ultimately maximize heterosis for commercial customers. Cody, your top cut Angus bull sale is coming up Monday, April 20th. And I wanted to start with how you're combining the older practice of line breeding with the latest genomics to provide the most predictable bulls that you can. 70 plus years of doing this. So in trying to really dial this in and understanding exactly genetically what a certain bloodline can and ultimately can't do, was there a time that you had to take two steps back to go one step forward, to really kind of dial this in? I'm assuming that's what would happen because not everything is a, is a complete success in the genetics world.
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B
No, that's correct. And even today sometimes you gotta take two steps back to go one step forward. And line breeding is really interesting. I always just like to really sum it up with a strategy that we use at JLC that we've always used is to breed to the bottom side of the pedigree. And what I mean by that is I like to identify the maternal sire, maternal grand sire, and where that animal lies in the pedigree. And depending on what qualities that particular animal has, there's a pretty good chance that that animal got that quality or that trait from that side of the pedigree, that slice of the pedigree. And so when I look at a cow pedigree, that's the first thing I'm going to look at is the maternal grandsire. And then I'm going to pick a bull in my AI battery. And if he's related to that bull, chances are that's, that's the direction we're going to go.
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A
So Then where do you see the majority of your bulls being used on a commercial basis? Or, or is that kind of starts the magic when we start to put together what my cowherd is and isn't
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B
the idea behind it. And the overall strategy would be our cattle are not taking advantage of the heterosis. We want our customers cattle to take advantage of the heterosis. So the more line bread or the more tightly they're bred, the better chance that that progeny or that calf is going to, is going to take advantage of, of the heterosis. Even within the breed. Even within the breed. If there isn't a lot of, you know, strategy behind line breeding in a commercial cow herd, which chances are there really isn't, then you take these line bread bulls and you put them on a, on a, on a commercial cowherd. You should see, you know, a heterosis advantage. And especially on a crossbreeding situation when you're creating F1s, that's where you really see the explosiveness. So it's always been our strategy to not take advantage of those three pounds and have our customer do it.
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A
Interesting when you talk about heterosis because most people, when, when you think of heterosis, you think up putting the Angus bull on the Hereford cows to get baldies, right? You think of something like that. You think of heterosis between two different breeds, which it is, you know, cross breeding in and of itself. But a lot of people don't think about heterosis just within the breed of being able to maximize a particular trait.
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B
That's correct. That, that's, that's, that's exactly the idea. In fact, I, I can see it just giving you an example. A traveler bred female bred to a, an El Dorado male bull. We can see heterosis effects just in that meeting within our own cowherd. Yeah, it's something that you, you don't just look at as an overall benefit, but also a trait benefit.
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A
So when we have bulls that are so specifically dialed in, is that part of the program within Jorgensen's is that you are really, really, really, really fine tuning with insider groups. You are really, really, really fine tuning these particular bulls to do this, these particular bulls to do this, and these particular bulls to do this.
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B
Yes. And the great deal about that is we have the, you know, the ability now with DNA to really help us in that cause, especially if our customers would be willing to test some of their cows. So we know from a genomic standpoint what our customers cows are good at. And what they may need some help with, what they lack at from a genomic standpoint, we can then really dial in and select the right set of bulls or the right bull for them based on that DNA test.
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A
So I'm curious when it comes to genomics, let's compare your line bread bulls. Let's compare that to my commercial cows. And we've heard that, that saying it doesn't matter what sale barn you' mixture of cows. That's just a slang that's used and when you just when you have a potpourri of a little bit of everything. So when you get back some DNA from my commercial cows, is that broad in terms of analyzing that compared to a line bred bull or is that not the case that that doesn't matter, that DNA is DNA and you're really, you know, you're really able to identify a strength and weakness. I'm just curious about that when I have some commercial cows and you look at them and you might not know what the heck they are. So does, does that DNA profile when you get that back, does that tend to be a bit broad or, or. No, that's not the case that it's very specific based on the animal.
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B
No, it, it is, it's very specific based on the animal. It also, it does also give you breed composition. So it will help us in that regard if it is what, what we call a Duke's mixture of, of bovine. That's the first thing you know the, the worst thing about a Duke's mixture or a Heinz57 cowherd is right is not, is not knowing what it is. Right. And so the, the first thing the DNA test will tell you is, is exactly the breed composition. From there then you can, you can dial in even more and, and then start looking at specific traits you know that that animal has and then what these bulls can, can do.
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A
How and when should we go about doing that? Because here we are, we're on the eve coming up on your 54th annual sale and we were able to talk off air a little bit and you said this has just been amazing the growth of jlc. You've captured a tremendous amount of new customers. A lot of curiosity and questions in that. I know that's exactly what you want. So how and when is a good time to be able to capture the DNA on my cowherd?
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B
Well, first, first and foremost it's, it has to work for, for your ranch obviously the, the best time or you know, the, the earlier the, the better it takes about. It's about a six week turnaround to get, you know, the, the DNA sent and in the sample and the results back. And so you know what we, if we're going to test heifers, you know, the way we test them, we test our young cattle like at branding time is when we're going to take all the DNA at our time. Now if you're going to just look at your heifers, you know, probably the smartest time would be either no later than weaning time but you know, anytime, you know, at the minimum weaning time or pelvic measure, whatever, whenever you're running those heifers through. So, so we have some time to really, you know, sort through this stuff and, and once we get the data back then, then that's when we'll, we'll, we'll interpret the data for you and then we'll bring you in and either set up a teams or, or a zoom or just get you, get you to come to ideal and then sit down with you and have a kind of genetic consulting session and throw everything on a, on a screen and, and it's really easy to comprehend. You know, it the earlier the better I, I would say. And it doesn't matter if you want to do all your cows or you know, what a lot of people are doing now they're starting with their heifers.
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A
That was going to be my question. I mean I'm assuming that yes, even though we've got first calf heifers and it's something still when we run them through the chute, we can capture that.
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C
Yep.
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B
And you know, if you do all your heifers and we can actually help you select which one you should be keeping as replacements, you know, rather than just using an alleyway and a gate and not really knowing, you know, how the suffer is going to do that the DNA will definitely help us in that, in that regard as well. So yeah, you know, it's, it's weaning time would be the best. But if it waits till Prague test or I'm sorry pelvic measure or what the next step is with those cattle. Bangs, bangsing maybe any anytime after that we can still get it done.
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A
Time for a break here on the program. I have a few more questions for Cody about the program and how to go about selecting bul offering when you don't have the DNA testing done on the cowherd. Plus we have the latest news and lots more when the Ranch it Up radio show returns. Calf prices are good, but want to add another hundred bucks per calf. Here's the solution. Galvian Balancer females at an average maternal weaning weight advantage of 22.7 pounds per calf at a market price of four and a half dollars a pound on five weight steers with a 22.7 pound weaning weight advantage. And that's an additional $102.15 per calf. Galvi and Balancer females, they make it work. Livestock Market.com we hear from the crew at Livestock Market.com every week. Bulls, cows, bread, heifers open to replacement heifers, cow calf pairs, feeders and stockers, horses, pigs, goats, sheep, showstock hay and straw, and even alpacas. All listed on livestock market.com Country Music's Trace Atkins live in concert Thursday, May 14 at the World famous Mild City Bucking Horse Sale in Mild City, Montana. One of country music's hottest performers with special guests Corb Lund and Kenny Fiedler. Tickets on sale now at buckinghorsesale.com Trace Atkins with Corb Lund and Kenny Fiedler at the world famous Mild City Bucking Horse Sale, Mild City, Montana.
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C
I run a 150 cow calf operation.
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A
Two years ago, Nick Small of Fullerton ran into scour his cow calf operation.
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C
I had a big problem with coccidiosis scours and it went through my whole herd.
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A
The next year, after getting his herd on a dosage of farmitan sweet chestnut tannin. How many cases of scourge did you have?
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C
Zero. I'm not kidding. I didn't have any.
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Learn more@Pharmatanusa.com or call Joe Knopf at 402-340-3323. Welcome back to the Ranch it Up radio show. We're talking with Cody Jorgensen from Jorgensen Land and Cattle. Well, let's talk about the catalog. Let's talk about going through the bulls. And I mean, there's a monster catalog. This is pushing close to 100 pages. So when we're starting to sort through that number of bulls, Cody, it can be a little daunting. So I don't have, I don't have the DNA done on my cows. I really haven't dialed this in yet. Plan on doing it just using that scenario. How do I go about getting started with jlc? And I don't know if I've ever asked that question before. And I think it's really important because when you look at the catalog, it's, it's a little different in terms of your layout and the information that and you try to Provide it extremely easy of bull selection. Break that down a little bit of using the sail book to at least get started with the JLC program.
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B
Yeah. So the first couple of questions that I would ask is if you have an idea of, you know, historically, what bulls have you been using, what sire line have they been coming. Coming from? Once we identify that, we can, we can make a recommendation at least on a. On a sire line or a tag color. Right. Whether it's rito, the black tags, or purple, the amulet tags. That's the first thing is to, just to help identify a background if there's no DNA taken on, on, on the cowherd. Just, just give me a background of where, where, what bulls you've been using and where they might be coming from. From there, we can, we can really dial in and at least it narrows it down to one or two of the. Of the five sire lines. So that, that, that would help a lot.
- [14:05]
A
And when we're talking about that, it's actually having that conversation where we've never used JLC bulls before. But it's important for you to know what bows we've used in the past, even if. If they're not Angus bows, if we're, if we're switching breeds, if positions. That is extremely. That's a really, really great question to start out with, of where were you buying your bulls in the past, and what were you using in those sire lines? Not that there's anything wrong with where you were getting them for whatever reason. It's just. It's a very good starting point to try to get into my mind of what my goals are as a commercial breeder.
- [14:41]
B
That is 100% correct. Yeah, that's. That that would help us tremendously just, just to know the background of the cowherd. And then like I said, from, from that, then we can. We can guide you to, you know, one or two different sire lines. And, you know, within each of these sire lines, you're gonna. You're gonna find a bull that really, that really will help you.
- [15:03]
A
And my last question is this, and this is a tough one, just kind of a broad bull management question. And do you have any thoughts or opinions on when to replace those walking bulls? And I'm a big believer. If it isn't broken, don't fix it. And the longer that we can have those bulls as an investment in our program, the better. Right. It's kind of dollar cost, averaging the price of that bull over the longevity of what he can do genetically in our herd. So what's Kind of your thoughts of when we need to really start to think about selling those bulls, taking them to town, weighing them up, which is very attractive, by the way. That salvage value is incredible. So, so what's kind of your thoughts on that? Of just that bull replacement? I know that's kind of tough, but.
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B
Yeah, it is. It's a tough one. The end. You know, everyone knows that these sales have been averaging, you know, way more than they ever have. And so it's, it's a huge investment. I think there was a paper that was put out by, I don't remember what college, but the average lifespan of an Angus bull was like 2.8 years, right? Just under a 3 year old. Which means half the bulls that you buy as yearlings, you know, end up not, not really making it. And so I'm with you. I, I think you, you try to, you try to run these bulls, you know, up to five years if you can, to get your value out of them. But you also got to do the math here. When you do the math, I mean, understand your costs of running that bullshit throughout the course of the year, the 10 months, you don't need them. And also do the math on the salvage value because you're right, it's really attractive right now. And so when we look at our, when we look at our leasing program, that's why it is, has gone bananas. It's so attractive. It's, it's, it's a situation where, you know, you're not having to. The, you know, the expense of running a bowl, you know, you can replace that with opportunity costs. You could replace that, those same resources and, and run another cow or two cows. On the flip side of that, just, I think you need to understand, you know, your cost of bread cow. What, what does it cost you to get the cow bread? Make sure you keep your thumb on that.
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A
Cody Jorgensen with Jorgensen Land and Cattle. Always a pleasure to talk the cow stuff. Lots and lots to think about and process that Cody was bringing up. Their sale is coming up Monday, April 20th at the ranch in Ideal, South Dakota. Sale information, the videos, the catalogs, all of it. Cody's contact information is available@ranch channel.com now. There is so much more to this. Like for example, they have assistance with feeder calf placement and marketing the whole program. And we go into so much more details. Check that out. Exclusively on the sales series found on ranch channel.com. that is a good one. Now in the news, it's being reported that feedlots are becoming larger, smaller operations are declining, while the largest feedlots continue to expand their market share, reflecting ongoing consolidation across the beef industry. The US has more than 26,000 feedlots, but just 82 those with a capacity of 50,000 head or more accounted for over 8.3 million cattle sent to harvest, about 35% of the total, according to the latest USDA reports. That concentration has accelerated over time. In 1997, there were more than 106,000 feedlots nationwide and 39 of the large mega feedlots supplied about 20% of the cattle sent to harvest. While the largest packers, Tyson, Cargill, JBS and National Beef, do not currently own feedlots outright, they rely heavily on supply agreements with feeding operations. Large commercial feedlots, not smaller family run yards, are best positioned to meet the volume and consistency demands of the big four, which together control about 85% of the US beef supply. Time for a quick break. We'll be back after this. We've had just about everything thrown at us from blizzards to rainstorms to heat and the drought already makes it tough to be in the cow business. So make life a bit easier with liquid feed and tub supplements from Westway Feed Products. All designed to complement your forages, its upcycling and efficiency. At Westway Feed Products we create cow herd efficiency one lick at a time. Jorgensen Land and Cattle, the nation's largest seed stock supplier invites you to the ranch in Ideal, South Dakota for the 54th annual Top Cut Angus Bull Sale powered by the motherlode featuring 200 registered Angus bulls backed by proven maternal strength and long term cowherd value. All sale information@ranchchannel.com and jorgensonfarms.com or 554 years the top cut Sale has been the standard for practical performance driven Angus genetics. Jorgensen Land and Cattle at The Ranch Monday, April 20, the world famous Mild City Bucking Horse Sale is back featuring one of the largest one day match bronc ride events on the planet. Join us on Sunday May 17th at the Fairgrounds for a PRCA sanctions Spectacle where over 30 elite bronc riders compete for a massive $50,000 purse plus add to the excitement paramutual wagering. Visit buckinghorsale.com for full schedule and tickets. The world famous Mile City Bucking Horse Sale where the spirit of the west comes alive. Welcome back everyone to the Ranch it up radio show. That time in the program we check in with Kirk Dons box Stonex Financial Incorporated recap of the markets from last week. So Kirk numbers, what do you got for us today buddy.
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C
Good morning Tigger and all your listeners out there. As of Friday, April 3rd, April feeder futures closed the week at 372.90. It's up 1095 on the week with a CME feeder index of.383 at 366.81. I left the basis at a negative 609 versus April futures. Futures may have got a little bit ahead of themselves. Will have to wait for cash to catch up. April Live Cattle futures close the week at 246.10. That's up 735 on the week with cash trading 245 to 246 in the north and moving to 247 late in the south. That left the five area weighted average of 992 at 244.86 and the basis versus April futures as a negative 124. First delivering notice for April futures is April 6th. Choice boxes were down 519 at 387.78. Obviously the concerning number in this report. Weekly slaughter was 533,000 head, up 10,000 head from last week and 63,000 head below the same week last year. Breast weights were up 2 pounds at 903 which is 26 pounds above the same week last year. The combination left yearly production down 2.10of a percent at 7.6% less than this week last year. Brazil's fresh beef imports were up 4% on the week at 46% year over year. That left the total at a 1% increase on the week at 15% above this week last year. To wrap this up, December corn closed at $4.81. That's down $9 on the week. Corn has deviated away from the oil trade but is still maintaining its upward trend.
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A
The Ranch Channel Sales Calendar Monday, April 13 Diamond J Angus Home of the cows Built to adapt selling 110 yearling Angus bulls and 102 year old bulls kiss livestock MANDALEN, N.D. then on Tuesday, April 14, the Thomas Ranch is hosting their 54th annual bull sale at the ranch in Harold, South Dakota. Angus, Charolay, Red Angus and Sim genetic bulls Saturday, April 18 DLCC Ranch, South Devon Navigator and Pound Maker Bulls and Heifers at the Ranch Piers Minnesota. Monday, April 20th Jorgensen Land Cattle presents their 54th annual Top 10 Cut Angus Bull Sale at the ranch in Ideal, South Dakota. Again, more on the JLC program like that feeder calf placement program that we talked a little bit about, or I should say evaded too, can be found in the sales series on ranch channel Wednesday, April 22 Gil Red Angus presents their spring Bull and female sale 40 coming yearling bulls, 60 age advantaged bulls, 180 commercial replacement heifers and pick of the 2026 heifer calves at the ranch, Timber Lake, South Dakota. Monday, April 27 the Wilson Angus bull and female sale 42 year old bulls, 60 yearlings and a pick of the replacement heifers at the Wilson Angus ranch, Watford City, North Dakota. Finally, the Mississippi Select Brahmin and F1 sale. That's May 1st and 2nd selling bulls, bread and open heifers, pears, semen and embryos. That's the Mississippi Select Brahmin and F1 sale at McMurray Farms, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. All catalogs, video and online bidding platforms and sale information is available@ranch channel.com Be
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D
honest with yourself how confident do you feel making decisions both big and small for your ranch? Hey hey. I'm Shay Wanner and I host the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast. I recently shared an episode about how to perform a ranch off. Here's a portion of what I share when we look at ranching, it's a really complex system, right? Some of you are going to be very numbers people. Some of you are going to be feelings focused. This process is designed to work for both of you. So do you feel confident in knowing your book work and the state of your finances? Do you feel confident in the reproduction side, your pregnancy rates, your breeding program, etc. Do you feel confident in your genetic selections? Are you picking the right bulls? Do you feel confident that your cows are getting adequate nutrition, they need grazing and other natural resource management? How confident are you in those areas? Rank your confidence in those areas from 1 to 10. So you have that confidence rating and number and you have that definition of success, right? Those need to merge together. Once you have this audit and you take the next step to make improvements, you need to be able to say these confidence areas are super low. But then do they play into your definition of success? Ready to tune into the full conversation? Check out the Casual Cattle Conversations podcast on your favorite podcast player as soon as you're done listening to the Ranch it up radio show.
- [25:47]
A
And now that's going to wrap it up for today. A big thanks goes out to our crew, Cody Jorgensen with Jorgensen Land and Cattle, Kirk Donsbach with Stonex Financial Incorporated and Shea Warner with Casual Cattle Conversations. A big thank you goes out to our partners for today's episode. The American Galvie Association Farm a Tan by Imogene Ingredients Jorgensen land and cattle livestockmarket.com ranchchannel.com, the all new sales series found on Ranch Channel Sire Buyer, Westway Feed Products and the world famous Miles City Buck and Horse Sale and Crews. So glad y' all came with us one more time as we Ranch it up. Be sure to follow and like us on Facebook Ranch It Up Show. Our email is Ranch It Up show gmail.com you can call or text 24. 7. That phone number is 707-Ranch 20 at 707-726-2420. Spread the good word and join us again next week where it's always Tigger and Beck approved. Stay Ranchy and Ranch it Up.
- [26:50]
C
Sam.