SIRLOIN TIPS - Fall 2001
There's A Lot In There!
The Young Sire Testing Program at Select Sires has long
been a valued part of what we do. With the use of performance
data so vitally important in the genetics business, we have
been fortunate to work with many herds throughout the country,
randomly sampling our bulls in a variety of environments under
different management schemes. Roy Wallace, Vice President, Beef
Programs at Select Sires and one of the long-time believers in
the value of performance records, initiated this program back
in the late 1960’s as a way to more quickly define the true genetic
merit of the bulls that Select Sires markets to its customers.
It has taken lots of time and education, but today, Expected Progeny
Differences (EPDs) are no longer something that ranchers think they
need to vaccinate for. EPDs have become one of the most powerful
tools at a rancher’s disposal, enabling them to make informed breeding
decisions and faster progress in their respective herds. Select Sires
Young Sire Program herds have enabled us to offer ‘more than just
semen in a straw’ by generating performance data and helping prove
young bulls more quickly for the benefit of our customers.
In this issue of Sirloin Tips, Select Sires would like to introduce
you to just a few of the people and herds that are part of our Young
Sire Program. All of these herds are associated with the land grant
universities in their respective states and no two sets of cows are
managed the same way. But in every case, the people involved are
dedicated to doing things right and the cattle in their care are
treated like they were their own. These ‘partners’ of Select Sires
help us to deliver you a better, more highly proven product.
The Ohio State University,
Jackson Branch
Having worked cooperatively with Select Sires for the past 18 years,
the faces at the OARDC Jackson Farm near Jackson, OH, are familiar
to many Select employees. Led by Gene Balthaser, Mgr. and a dedicated
crew made up of Paul Eggers, Paul Brown and Hank Forgey, a visit to
see the Jackson herd is always worthwhile. With daughters of over 40
different Select Sires bulls in their herd of 175 cows, this herd has
been instrumental in generating research data in several areas. Not
only have these cows produced birth and weaning records for our Angus
and Simmental bulls, but this herd has been used extensively in reproduction
trials by Dr. Mike Day of Ohio State, including our initial trials with Select
Synch. Additionally, the herd is used for year-around grazing studies,
early weaning research and the calves are used in a variety of feeding
trials which include the collection of carcass data. Nearly every calf
born at Jackson is sired by an A.I. bull and the total breeding season
runs for 48-50 days. Due to the short calving season, the uniformity of
the calf crop is tremendous, even though in some years, calves may be
sired by 10 different bulls of two different breeds.
Running on 500 rolling acres, the cow herd today is primarily Angus and
Simmental, with all virgin heifers bred to Angus bulls, all Simmental-sired
cows bred to Angus and all Angus-sired cows bred to Simmental. Because
of its close proximity to Plain City, OH, this herd has been used as a
Select Sires tour stop on numerous occasions and the ‘tourists’ don’t
leave disappointed.
Upper Piedmont Research Station,
Reidsville, NC
Reidsville, North Carolina is home to the Upper Piedmont Research Station
of North Carolina State University. This farm is jointly managed by the
NC Dept. of Ag along with NC State. Home to a purebred Angus herd numbering
150 cows and heifers, this farm is under the direction of Joe French,
assisted by Larry Shough, cattle manager, and Johnnie Toler, herdsman.
The Chinqua-Penn Mansion, a rambling stone affair, is the centerpiece of
the farm. The pastures surround the mansion and are designed to allow
rotational grazing. Yearling females get three chances at A.I. breeding
and the cows get two. The cows have been synchronized with the 7-11
synch system the past few years with great success.
Research taking place at Reidsville has involved rotational grazing,
stockpiling forages, early puberty in heifers, fly control and environmental
management. This farm has always been a favorite when shooting our beef
video due to nice locations for viewing cattle. For several years, the
mansion provided the backdrop for many Select-sired Angus females that debuted
on tape. Joe has been instrumental in taking this herd from purebred status
to now nearly 100% registered Angus cattle. A National Historic Herd with
the American Angus Association, registered cattle have been a part of
Chinqua-Penn Plantation since 1945.
Joe French feels that one of the strengths of this herd comes from having
several generations of A.I. sires stacked in the cows. Site of the North
Carolina Angus Field Day this past year, the cow herd reads like a Who’s
Who of Select Sires bulls. Over time, some of the original daughters of
several Select stalwarts have blessed the pastures at Reidsville, including
daughters of Scotch Cap, Ambush, Bando 155 and Bando 912, and they’ve left
a strong maternal legacy behind. Even though the matings are random, Joe
believes that uniformity in the herd has been enhanced over time and feels
the value of the herd has been improved from not only increased performance
but also due to the variety of research projects that have been performed there.
The heifer offspring are kept on the farm and steer calves are typically fed
through other university sites. Because of the strong influence of fescue in
the pastures, you quickly find out which cattle can best tolerate the negative
effects that fescue brings along, primarily--milking ability, fertility and the
ability to shed hair in the spring. The Reidsville herd has been working with
us since 1982 and is proud to display their daughters of current stars like BAR
Ext, Spectrum and Exceptional.
Plateau Experiment Station,
Crossville, TN
One of the more recent herds that we have participated with in the
YSP is the Plateau Experiment Station of the University of Tennessee,
located at Crossville, TN. Mike Connatser, Beef Coordinator for SE/SS
has been instrumental in establishing a good working relationship with
John Loy, cattle manager. Mike has known John for years, and when John
took over the reins at Crossville, Mike approached him about working
with us. It has been a beneficial relationship for both parties.
John really knows cows and the ones that he looks after on the station,
he treats like his own. He is responsible for nearly 350 cows and
heifers running on roughly 650 acres of pasture and hay. Both Angus
and Gelbvieh cattle reside at this station, and due partly to John’s
efforts, the Gelbvieh breed has made a resurgence in central TN. The
cow herd is used by Dr. Neil Shrick, UT, for reproductive research and
all the females get a chance at AI. Calves are born starting in December
and by the time grass comes along, many calves are weighing close to
400 lbs. The heifers stay as replacements with the lower end sold off,
and the steers from the past several years have been shipped to KS
feedlots to gather carcass data.
John states, "Select Sires has been very good to us. They furnish what
we need. Even though not all of the bulls we use may turn out for Select,
the calves we get are still better than we would get from a lot of bulls a
nd they will make good cows - the genetics are there." He adds, "We probably
have our best set of calves ever this year. Because there are so many
good ones, it will be hard to select the ones that we’ll keep."
University of Tennessee,
Knoxville, TN
Tennesssee is home to another Young Sire Herd under the direction of
a colorful character by the name of Jackie Martin. Surrounding the small
town of Alcoa, TN and just south of Knoxville, Jackie has helped to sample
our bulls since the days of Early Sunset Emulous 60E and Jetliner. He
likes big cattle and demands that the UT cattle perform. Several sons of
our bulls have topped the 1400 lb. mark at yearling in this herd. Jackie
expects each A.I. bull he uses to produce a son for cleanup, and in any
given year, you can find big, strapping sons of bulls like Example,
Dividend and BAR Ext following cows after A.I. Running nearly 400 cows
on 1500 acres in an area that is more urban than rural is a challenge,
but Jackie takes it all in stride. With nearly 40 years of working with
the cows at UT, he has ‘usually seen it somewhere before’ when it comes
to handling things.
The cow herd is nearly all registered Angus along with about 35 Hereford
cows. Dr. Shrick uses the females for reproductive trials and the steers
are utilized for grazing trials on fescue. Every cow that calves before
the 15th of February is A.I.-bred, with Co-Synch being the system of choice
the past few years. This year, 260 cows and heifers were artificially
bred at the Knoxville location.
Clemson University, SC
Clemson University is home to not only the Clemson Tigers, but to several
Clemson cows as well. Gary Burns and Scott Hix manage the cow unit which
consists of a breeding and genetics herd for Dr. Carl Thompson and a
reproductive research herd for Dr. John Spitzer. All told, about 350
mama cows make up the herd, including Angus, Hereford and Simmental
purebreds and An x Sim crosses in the commercial herd, running on about
1000 acres of grass. All cows are A.I-ed each breeding season and for
the past few years have been involved in studies looking at the effects
of calf-removal during the synchronization period, using Co-Synch.
The Clemson herd has been part of our Young Sire Program for 21 years
and has played a role in several leading research projects. Dr. Spitzer
did some of the early work with Syncro-Mate-B, helped develop the original
Body Condition Score from this herd, and has performed extensive work
with Breeding Soundness Exams for yearling bulls. Heifers in this herd
are retained as replacements, while steers from the past few years have
gone to Hitch Feeders in KS for the collection of gain and carcass data
along with cattle from other South Carolina producers participating
in the SC Quest program.
South Carolina is a part of the country that thrives when moisture is
available, but can turn dry and hot pretty quickly. When the sun comes
up in the summer at Clemson, you better get your work done quickly,
because by 10:00 am, the temperature can be well above 90. The early
morning sun, bright green grass and good cattle have formed the basis
of some notable footage for our beef video over the years, certainly
for individual bulls like Trav 565 and SE Bando 111.
Because Clemson requires students to gain ‘hands-on’ experience, Gary
and Scott are involved with many instructional labs where students help
vaccinate, castrate, dehorn and calve cows. The fact that these cows
are utilized in so many different ways by faculty and students and by
Select Sires and our customers makes this a great partnership. Dr.
Spitzer likes the quality and consistency of the cow herd, even though
there are many different bloodlines represented. The Young Sire Program
has been a money saver and a performance improver for the university herd
and has generated an extensive numbers of records over the years.
The cooperators in our Young Sire Program from across the country perform
a vital role in the success of our Beef Program. Without their commitment,
cooperation and dedication, Select Sires’ goal to provide superior quality
genetics could not be met. The next time you thaw a straw of Select Sires
semen, remember, the value and benefits of the Young Sire Program
are in there, too.
Return to SIRLOIN TIPS Table of Contents
|
