← Ranch It Up Radio Show & Podcast
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- [00:00]
A
Bull buying season is here. So what makes your checklist on what and where to buy plus developing those seed stock cattle when the weather has been for so many of us, anything but Delightful 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. Ellingson Angus. We will hear more from Chad Ell a little bit later on in the program. Ranch Channel.com Clear Springs Cattle Company and their annual bread for balance sale. Travis Wolfe is waiting patiently on the phone. We'll be talking bull development in cold temperatures here with Travis in just a few minutes. And the all new sales Series found on ranchchannel.com Wassem Red Angus Sirebuyer Westway Feed Products Farmitan by Imogene Ingredients livestockmarket.com the American Galvie association and this fine radio cattle battle last weekend was a tough one and tough earlier to begin this work week. Millions digging out frigid temperatures literally affecting millions of us. In fact, we got notified by the power company where Beck and I live that we were supposed to conserve power so our area could be prepared to send power to others in greater affected areas. Hard on us. It's hard on livestock without a doubt. Now with such cold temperatures and seed stock providers developing these young bulls, I always want to know about their winter care. Travis Wolfe with Clear Springs Cattle Company in Starbuck, Minnesota jumps on with us. Let's kind of dance with the very obvious right now and that is the weather conditions that have affected close to 200 million different people across the country. You've got 130 bulls that are going to be going through the ring on the block that are going to be offered up for sale on February 13th. And let about these cattle and the adaptability in other parts of the country because that is kind of obvious when you visited and you and I were talking off air about friends in other parts of the country and what they were dealing with in terms of weather and having the resources to deal with said weather. So how is the adaptability of the Clear Springs Cattle Company bulls, especially when they go to very, very different regions and it's very far reaching where your customer base is.
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B
Yeah, yeah, we definitely have a pretty unique customer base. I mean we're spread all across the country. We don't live in the heart of cattle country like a lot of bull producers do. So we get spread out quite a bit and been very happy with how the bulls have gone to every different environment you can imagine. You know, all the way from the mountains of Washington to the. To the lowlands of Alabama. So there's definitely bulls that I would suggest. You know, there's a handful of bulls in the catalog that their hair has got a little more wave. You know, they need to stay in the north country and then there's bulls that will slick off really well. That'd be great down south and. Or in fescue. And that's something, you know, just give me a call, we can talk about that. I enjoy helping people pick out the bulls that are going to fit their environment. But overall these cattle are really well adapted to many different environments. The way we manage the cattle I think helps that as well. We don't push these bulls hard. You know, we're aiming for 3 1/2 pounds of gain. Post weaning adjusted yearling weights are 1000 to 1350. They're not fat, but yet they still look the part. They're masculine. And then I think that's a huge part of being able to go out and. And breed cows in every environment you can. You can ask them to.
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A
So when you have winter storms that move in like they do, how do you go about managing those bulls? Is it just put down some extra bedding and maybe increase the ration, maybe make it just a little bit hotter to give them a more energy in that room in. To keep them warm. How do you go about managing those bulls, Especially when they're going to be coming up for sale here in a few weeks?
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B
Yeah, well, it really helps that we invested in our mono slope building when we first got started selling bulls here off the ranch in Starbuck. That gives them very good protection. We keep them bedded good. They've got an outside lot that they can still go out and get exercise in. You know, they're not locked in confinement by any means, but make so we don't have to scoop bunks too. So.
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A
Right, right.
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B
For that.
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A
Have you ever had to. Oh, I'm sorry, go ahead.
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B
Well, we. I was just going to mention, you know, we don't change the. We don't change their diet much. The highest mega cal they ever went on was a 48 and we actually just backed them down and really increasing that roughage because you know that roughage will keep them warm as good as anything. Get just getting that belly completely full.
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A
Have you ever had to worry about bulls and getting frostbite on their testicles?
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B
We haven't not had much issues with that our facilities really help and keeping embedded. We've been going through a lot of bedding with all the snow we've had this year.
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A
Yeah, I would imagine all that straw is coming in handy this year, isn't it?
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B
Yeah, yeah, that's for sure.
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A
So those bulls that are kind of developed kind of half under what. What did you call that barn again? A.
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B
It's a mono slope.
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A
Mono slope. Okay. And I've seen pictures on Facebook and, and we've encouraged people. Go ahead and follow. Travis too. He's got a lot of sale information on there. So when bulls are developed in that mono slope have then when they're kicked out and they don't have that protection that they've been developed under and in. So for example, your sale is coming up in February and somebody grabs those bulls and they go back home. Well, they got to be outside here for a while before it's going to start to warm up. Have you ever had problems with bulls acclimating to that new development, new environment. Excuse me. In which they're developed in and where they go to.
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B
No, no, not. Not too much. And a big part of it, you know, when we first built the barn, we started putting the bulls in there right after weaning. The more we learned, we leave them bulls out on pasture until as late as we possibly can. After Thanksgiving is typically when we bring them in. So they were running out on a, you know, 40 acre trap before the barn. So they really only spend the couple of months of brutal winter up in that barn and. And then we'll deliver them bulls. We hold the bulls after the sale, get a semen test on them and then start delivery. And we always kind of start our deliveries in the south and then move to the north. You know, if you're up in your neck of the woods, you know, you're probably not going to see your bull right away. And a lot of those guys really appreciate that, that they can wait till end of March 1st April to get them bulls home. They still get out there and know how to handle the elements because they spent the whole fall out there doing that.
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A
Travis, I cruised through the sale book online and this is really one of the most set of bulls I have seen your outfit offer yet. I mean, from top to bottom, it's like a pretty little chorus line.
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B
I appreciate the comment about the consistency. Sometimes I feel like I don't have the most consistent cowherd. Actually. I know I don't. But that's because we're breeding in cattle for a Lot of different situations. You're keeping replacements and really focusing on building the cowherd. It does not take the same bull as the guy that's running a terminal situation, buying his females and just trying to put as many pounds, you know, in carcass quality into them calves. So you know, there's, there's, there's different bulls for different scenarios and I view that as my job is getting the right bull to the right guy. You know, if you're going to keep your females, don't buy the seven frame bull with no stay ability and not much calvings. But that bull's amazing if you're a terminal herd.
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A
And before we let you off the phone, you're hosting an online Q and A prior. What's that all about?
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B
February 9th, the Monday before the sale at 7 o' clock p.m. we're going to do a teams meeting. So if you go to the website on the sale info page, you can just click the button to join the teams meeting and I'll just be there to answer some questions, kind of talk about the development of the bulls and you know, a few things that are going on in the industry. So we'd love to love to have you join us February 9th at 7:00 for that. I'm calling it the Bread for Balance bull chat and then obviously the sales on Friday the February 13th at 1:00pm.
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A
Travis, thanks for visiting with us. Friday, February 13th, 130 Simmental and Simangus bulls, 33 bred heifers and cows, 25 open heifers and the fabulous five group of females. They hit the sale ring sale details at bread for balance.com and ranch channel.com and that team meeting, that Q and A that Travis was just talking about. Monday February 9th at 7pm Central Time. Up next, since we're on the topic of bull development and bull selection, let's talk about providers helping on the marketing and placement of feeder calves. You've got it locked on the Ranch it Up radio show. And we'll be right back. Simmental and Simangus bulls and heifers, that's Clear Springs Cattle Company and their annual Bread for Balance sale. I know these cattle, the outfit and the people and this impressive set of bows Clear Springs has ever offered. And the females talk about an opportunity. A select group is called the Fabulous Five for a reason. Ranch Channel.com and Bread4Balance.com has all the details. February 13th in Starbuck, Minnesota. Welcome to Sirebuyer, the nation's number one destination for buying and selling breeding genetics. Sirebuyer features the top Angus bulls across the country. If you're looking for the best place in breeding genetics and you've just found it, the Red Angus outfit with everything you need was some Red Angus. 70 elite Red Angus bulls and 130 of those highly sought after commercial open heifers. Mark the date. Thursday, February 19th richerton, North Dakota sale info available@ranch channel.com and wasamred angus.com calf prices are good but want to add another hundred bucks per calf? Here's the solution. Galvie and Balance are females and 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, that's an additional $102.15 per calf. Galvie and Balancer females, they make it work. We are in the swing of bow sales season. Do you know where you are going yet and why? What has to check all the boxes for your outfit. Is it just the cattle themselves? Is it the delivery options? Maybe it's customer service. Maybe it's assisting in marketing feeder cattle. This to me is the big one. There are so many great seed stock providers out there with exceptional cattle and exceptional customer service. But those that can help in placing and marketing feeder cattle out of their bulls and out of their genetics, those are the outfits that hold more weight for me. Anyways, we head to St. Anthony, North Dakota home of Chad and Julie Ellingson with Ellingson Angus. The crew is getting amped up for their sale where they will be selling 1240 head and I caught up with Chad before he was heading out the door to talk more about what they provide for their customers. Hey thanks Chad for visiting with us. You've got a few minutes here while the truck warms up, so let's visit for a bit. Tell us about how you work with your commercial customers. Are you fixing to go and purchase calves that you're putting on feed or are you procuring them maybe for another outfit?
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C
So we do quite a bit of calf placement. The the cattle that I sorted yesterday they would have sold on the Northern Video auction which I would have been at in Billings. We do carry a fair number of bids for our customers and have quite a few connections with feedlot industry and and usually we'll bid on calves, place some a number of calves. We don't always get them placed but we usually help along the process anyway. When we know those cattle are selling we get that out to a feeder network. Usually one of us tries to attend their sale. If it's selling, you know, at the sale barn or on the video. There's a lot of our customers that also sell through the video whether it be northern livestock video or superior livestock. So we attend a number of sales and, and you know, try to make that connection between our bull customer which is the, you know, has the feeder calves and then the feeding industry. Like I say, there's a number of times those feeders will entrust in us to bid on those cattle for them if they're needing cattle and so forth. So that's, you know, we feel like our customers sale days should be just as important as our bull sale day. They, they have a sale once a year and we try to put as much attention to that as as we'd want them to put to our, to our sale. We've always tried to work hand in hand with our customers. You know, vine and bull at Ellington Angus, beginning of relationship of first and foremost we want to supply the, the best genetics to make the most profit for our commercial customer. Whether it be from the feeding end or replacement female end. We try to first and foremost provide that. And then after that we try to take care of them throughout the year. Whether it be helping place feeder cattle or helping them cell replacement heifers or bread heifers. We try to work with them 365 days a year.
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A
So your bowl sale is coming up. Believe it or not, it's right around the corner. And that's whenever I say that I make you nervous, Chad. So it is nervous now. It's coming up here in just a, just a few weeks. Saturday the 7th of February. And I know everybody wants to dance with the topic of you've got 350 plus bows. We all know about the Ellingson program, but I really want to focus a little bit more on the amount of commercial females that you have. This says a lot for a program when you have that amount of commercial cattle, commercial replacement cattle that are going to sell after all those bulls sale. I mean that we're talking about the amount of commercial females that really sell at a sale barn on kind of a special replacement female sale.
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C
You're right. We've got 600 coming yearling replacement heifer calves that'll sell that day of our sale. After that we'll also sell 250 bred commercial females but also 50 coming 3 year old females which are are always sought after. Everybody always appreciates buying a coming three year old. So yeah, we've did that for almost ever had a number of our commercial customers, that's longtime commercial customers of Ellingson Angus, with a high percentage of their bull lineup from Ellingson Angus. We allow them to participate in the commercial segment of our sale and bring us some really elite replacement quality females, whether it be yearling heifers or a lot of times bred heifers. We've sent those females all across America, whether we've sent them to Texas, Louisiana, to Georgia, to the west coast last year to South Carolina. So these commercial females don't just stay right in the neighborhood here. They're they're sought after across the nation.
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A
And you said since the beginning this was something that was a priority to, to offer your customers, or I like you, I'll quote you by saying having the opportunity to participate in your sale. I think that's the best way of saying it. So there has been and in evolution of Ellingson Angus, and we have been friends for, and I'm not going to say the number of years on that because we're going to go there. We ain't going to go there by all. All I'm going to say is both Chad and I need our readers to be able to do this. I'll give that little hint. But the evolution of Ellingson Angus. When you and your wife Julie got together, she had a small group of cows. You had a small group of cows, and look at what it has grown into now. You started out, you were just selling both private treaty and then you had your first bull sale and with partnership with some other individuals, you were even selling them across the state line in South Dakota to kind of get going. Was it always a dream of yours going all the way back? Was it a dream of yours that you wanted to have a production sale of this size? Any leap Production sale. Real world genetics, as you coined the sale.
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C
Well, we've always, you know, had a goal of producing high quality bulls that we could service our commercial clientele with. I don't know if we ever thought about what number we would get at, if we would get to the numbers that we're selling today. But it just kind of came along in that manner which we've had the demand, we've had the relationship with a number of what I'd call and had the opportunity to work with, I think some of the best commercial cattlemen and cattle women in the nation. We've just grown it and how we've grown it really is by mass multiplying these, these best Cows we've got, we put a lot of emphasis on embryo transfer. About two thirds of our bull sale offering is all out of embryo transfer. So we're, we're mass multiplying those very best cows and that's, that's how we get to the number that we're at, providing what we feel is a consistent group of bulls from the first bull to the 350th bull to sell. Just because we're, we're doing it out of our top 25 cows on the most part of being able to produce those bulls. So that's probably how we've got to the numbers that we are. We've just really focused on our most elite cows and, and being able to mass multiply them and, and then also doing it in a manner that, that we're, we're offering in large sire groups. I mean we're a lot of our sire groups are anywhere from 40 to 80 in a sire group. And we do that with the commercial cattle person in mind that we want to offer them so they can come and purchase their bull battery and be consistent bulls when they get that calf crop out of them. Those are a consistent group of calves. You know, when they bring them and sell them as a load lot, they're consistent and the buyer and the feeder are very interested in them because they're a consistent group of calves. So, you know, going back to answer your question, yeah, maybe we haven't never thought about where we get for numbers, but our goal was always to produce the best cattle we can and, and work hand in hand with commercial cattle producers.
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A
Chad Ellingson with Ellingson Angus. As we said, their sale is Saturday, February 7th. Starts at noon Central Time. Head to ellingsonangus.com or ranch channel.com with all of the sale information from the catalog to videos to direct links to DV and northern livestock. Ellingson's will keep the bulls at no charge and feed them until April 1, at which time the deliveries will be made and deliveries are free. Now for the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey would say. I deep dive with Chad about how they go about selecting bulls for customers. Genomics and an enormous amount of data including performance test, ultrasounding, and not just the bulls, but the cowherd as well. And how it goes into the program, how the animals are evaluated to the keep or cull pen. To hear the entire story, head to ranchchannel.com and click on the all new sales series. It's definitely worth a listen. Break time here on the Ranch it Up radio show and we will be right back. Coming soon to ranch channel.com, the sales series the evolution of how producers connect with elite legacy livestock and proven operations from top end bulls, heifers and horses to land equipment, products and programs shaping the future of agriculture. The Sales Series where smart ranching starts. Find out more by emailing inforanchchannel.com Ellingson.
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D
Angus presents the Real World Genetic Sale and This one is massive 1240 head. Here's the lineup. 355 yearling and 18 month old bulls, 47 bred heifers straight from the very top of the Ellingson program and over 750 head of commercial open and bread heifers and a Fancy set of three year old cows. February 7th at the ranch in St. Anthony, North Dakota. Head to ranch channel.com and Ellingson Angus.com Ellingson Angus Real World Genetic Sale if you're buying or selling cattle, make your first stop. Livestock Market.com Livestock Market features private treaty sales, online auctions and live production sale bidding. You'll also find horses, sheep, sheep, goats and hay. Check out the free Livestock Market magazine wherever you pick up Tractor house and download the Livestock Market mobile app. Today.
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A
Make the right choice with Schnabel Ranch Simmentals and Lazy J Bar Ranch Simmentals, Sim Angus and Red Angus Bulls and heifers with genomics on every critter. Schnabel Ranch Simmentals and Lazy J bar Ranch Saturday February 21st at Headwind City Livestock in Aberdeen, South Dakota. All sale information available@ranch Channel.com. Welcome back everyone to the Ranch it up radio show. That time in the program we check in with Kirk Donsbach, Stonex Financial Incorporated. We recap the markets from last week. Kirk, this kind of everybody's favorite part of the program is just hearing the numbers, finding out what's going on, staying on top of this thing. So what do you got for us for numbers this week buddy?
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E
Well, good morning Tigger and all your listeners out there. As of Friday, January 23rd, March feeder futures closed the week at 360. That's up 385 on the week with a CME feeder index of $6.67 at 363.48. That left the basis at a negative 132 versus January futures and positive 348 versus March futures. We did have a cattle on fee that came in at 96.8% versus last year and that was against expectations of 96.8. Placements came in at 94.6 versus expectations of 92.7. That's the first time in nine months that the placement number has exceeded the expectation. So slightly bullish, although 2% miss in placements is not very significant. The marketed number came in at 101.8 versus expectations of 101.5. So all in all pretty much a neutral report. February live cattle closed the week at $234.92. That's up to 85 on the week. Cash traded 232 early in the week and 234 to 236 late in all areas with Texas trading some 236.50. The five area weighted average was down.252 at 231.93. And you may ask yourself how can it be that low with the cash trades we had? And that's because that was on 819 head that were reported which were clearly before the late higher trades came in. That left the basis versus February futures at a negative $2.99. Choice boxes were up 653 at 368.92. So at least some positive movements. But bear in mind we do come into some seasonal weakness in February with the boxes. Weekly slaughter was 535,000 head. That's up 27,000 head from last week and 59,000 head below the same week last year. Dressed weights remained at 897 pounds. That's up 25 pounds from last year. The combination of lower slaughter and higher weights left yearly production down 6.8% versus last week and 10.8% lower than the same week last year. I usually don't mention beef imports but I think they're worth paying attention to as they are 8% higher than this week last year. Now we are just into the new year so it's not a real good data set. A lot of these trade deals that have been announced, whether you discuss the tariffs that China is putting on Australia or Brazil or the recent trade deal with China and the potential tariffs, the U.S. tariffs on Canada, a lot of these trade deals are not going in our favor. So definitely pay attention to beef imports as we go forward. Wrap this up. March Corn closed 4, 30 and 3/4. It's up 5 and 3/4 on the week. Corn continues to claw back its losses from the January 12th USDA report.
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A
The ranch Channel Sales Calendar Stroh Hereford Ranch Thursday, February 5th at the ranch in Kildeer, North Dakota. Horned and scurred coming two year old Hereford bulls bred commercial heifers and 37 of those fancy F1 baldy heifers. Spruce Hill Ranch Angus and Simangus two year old bulls, Angus bred heifers and a whole pile of registered and commercial open heifers Thursday, February 5th at Bowman Auction Market in Bowman, North Dakota. Friday evening, February 6th 6 mile Angus at the Branded Bar and Grill in Flasher, North Dakota. Six Mile Angus is kind of a diamond in the rough. Ellingson angus on Saturday, February 7th at the ranch in St. Anthony, North Dakota. And then on Super Bowl Sunday, February 8th wrestler land and Cattle Red Angus bulls, commercial heifers very powerful two year old sons out of Cracker Jack and destiny that Sunday, February 8th at the ranch in Cooperstown, North Dakota. On Monday, February 9th Fawcett's Elm Creek Ranch horned and polled yearling and 2 year old Hereford bulls and F1 baldy heifers at the ranch re Height, South Dakota. Lots more sales jumping on as we speak, literally from all across the country. Get all the details. Catalogs, videos, bidding and buying information is all available@ranch channel.com and now that's going to wrap it up for today. A big thanks goes out to our crew, Travis Wolf with Clear Springs Cattle Company and their annual Bread for Balance sale. Chad Ellingson with Ellingson Angus, Kirk Donsbach, Stonex Financial Incorporated Shea Wanner with casual cattle conversations and crew. 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 you can call and text 24. 7. That phone number is 707 Ranch 20. That's 707-726-247. Spread the good word and join us again next week where it's always Tigger and Beck approved. Stay ranchy and Ranch it Up.