Bradley 3 Ranch FALL 2013 Newsletter

The

Trailblazer

Volume 6, Issue 1

Fall 2013

Can Top Bulls Really Return More Dollars?

Vest V- Ranch and Bradley 3 Ranch have been neighbors for 56 years. Mary Lou Bradley-Henderson and Samann Vest-Watkins even share the same birthday. They have done the things that ranch neighbors do together… share labor, build fences, fix water gaps and many more things for those 56 years.

However, it wasn’t until 2007 that Vest V- Ranch bought some Bradley 3 Ranch Bulls. These fourth generation ranchers decided it was time to do more than just be good neighbors. The Bradley 3 Ranch bulls were kept together and their calves were compared to the calves of other bulls they had been purchasing. When those Bradley 3 Ranch bulls’ calves outweighed the herd average, it sparked some additional interest.

Then, more progressive moves were made. Vest V- Ranch decided to track many more things to see what could be done to improve their calf performance and hold their cows accountable for performance. First, they individually identified each cow. Next, they began matching each calf to its dam. The next progressive moves were to use DNA to match calves to sires, then they used GeneMax and HD50K to get maximum information. They fed their calf crop to finish for the first time in ranch history.

www.bradley3ranch.com

In 2013, with 85% of the calves now out of Bradley 3 Ranch bulls, the competition for the Vest V- Ranch calves went to a new level. Their calves were weaned and backgrounded on the ranch. Then they were sold and shipped from the ranch 30 days ahead of their traditional weaning dates. The competition for those calves created new decisions to be addressed. They had to assess not only what was the best price, but also who could return to them the most information? Vest V- Ranch was very pleased with the results. It will be exciting to get the feedlot and carcass data back on these calves.

The next step for the Vest V- Ranch has been to utilize all of the assembled data in selecting their replacement heifers.

They are preparing for the first time in their history to artificially inseminate those heifers to Bradley 3 Ranch calving ease bulls instead of Longhorn bulls.

It has been fun for Bradley 3 Ranch and Vest V- Ranch to strengthen a relationship that has spanned 56 years. That relationship is now more than just fixing fence and helping each other with labor, it is about helping to make genetic selections, marketing calves and tracking data with the goal of making more profits.

So in a few short years they have tracked about all of the data they could gather through these steps and utilized carcass data to identify which cows are the most profitable.

And each year since 2007, they have bought more Bradley 3 Ranch bulls. Along the way, Bradley 3 Ranch was there to help in the process. We have helped study the data, make genetic selections and find new opportunities to market their calves.

Vest Ranch cows July 2013.

Trait$ that Matter

American Angus Association Board of Directors Candidate

Bradley 3 Ranch has bred several sires that rank in the top of the American Angus Association’s sire summary for Calving Ease Direct, Birth Weight, Docility and $EN. What does this mean to you as cattleman?

At Bradley 3 Ranch, we strive to participate in industry associations and organizations as a way to assist our customers. We believe this participation and leadership positions enable us to learn, convey information and James Henderson be an active voice for our customers.

Genetics from proven, high accuracy calving ease sires can save you money and time (and sleep during calving season!). Couple this with added docility, fleshing ability and moderate milk to equate positive $EN values. For most of our customers, this builds a path to produce females that can keep them in business for the long term.

We are excited to annouce that James Henderson, Mary Lou’s husband and our operations / (and everything else that comes his way) manager is running for the American Angus Board of Directors.

In the Angus sire summary if you run a search for Calving Ease Direct and Birth Weights on proven sires, you will learn that B3R Back to Basics U077, B3R Tender Ten R065 and B3R Back to Basics son sold in 2013 sale N193 are in the top 1% and even top 50 out of over 20,000 proven sires.

Many of you know and recognize James as the person who has taken the reins with Mary Lou for the day-to-day operations at the ranch. But there’s a lot more that you may not know about James’ background, industry experience and vision.

Then if you take a look at proven bulls for top ranking docility, $EN and $W you will find B3R Back to Basics U077 again.

James is a fourth generation rancher who grew up in the Texas Hill Country.

After his academic career, he spent 35 years in the meat industry operating packing and processing plants in both Texas and Uruguay. At B3R Country Meats, he was integral in our success. James says, “Through this tenure, I have been involved in all facets of the beef industry from commercial cattle feeding to developing grids that determine an animal’s true value as wholesale meat cuts.”

WHY DOES Back to Basics son sold in 2013 sale DOCILITY MATTER? According to a University of Tennessee Extension report, “The influence of temperament on carcass quality issues as well as personal safety has made measurement of this trait important from an economic stand point. It has been documented that highly excitable cattle will be more likely to have higher incidences of dark cutters, as well as tenderness and taste issues in retail cuts. It is also more expensive to feed highly excitable cattle as more of the dry matter intake will go Back to Basics son sold in 2013 sale towards body maintenance, leaving less available for growth and finishing. With the losses associated with losses from carcass quality, combined with the personal safety issue, the economic impact of temperament can be significant.”

We are proud of James and hope you will support his canidacy for the American Angus Association Board of Directors. He would bring a fresh and innovative perspective about many beef industry segments to the Board.

On February 15, 2014 we will sell quite a few B3R Back to Basic U077 sons. This will be your opportunity to invest in proven genetics that will help you to build a cow herd for the long term.

IMPORTANT UPDATE

In the past we have mailed a newsletter in January, prior to our sale. This newsletter contained a spreadsheet with all of the sale bulls’ performance data. We will not mail this spring newsletter in January. You can request the same spreadsheet/ printed performance data by emailing or calling us or simply use the same data in the sale catalog. The spreadsheet will also be available on our website in a sortable format.

Remember, it’s never too early to call to request your sale catalog and discuss your bull needs!

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A Visit With Phil McAnelly

At a typical Bradley 3 Ranch sale, there are several long time customers that we enjoy watch ing. Phil McAnelly is one of those. Few bull buyers are as intense, focused and thorough in disecting performance data, pedigrees and cow history as Phil McAnelly! It’s fun to watch Phil evaluate the bulls and even more fun to learn about the success he has had with Bradley 3 Ranch genetics. Recently we asked Phil a few questions about his program and how our genetics have fit into his production model. Here is what he had to say:

read about the B3R program and Minnie Bradley in one of the livestock journals. We made the five hundred mile drive, spent the day with Minnie Lou visiting about cattle and seeing some of the cattle, and then visited with Mary Lou and James Henderson about the B3R Natural Beef program. It was exactly what I had been looking for, and a long and enjoyable relationship was started. That was in 2000, and I bought my first bulls from B3R in Feb. of 2001. I have bought their bulls every year since.

Why do you continue to purchase Bradley genetics?

I normally calve forty to sixty heifers a year, and since I started using B3R bulls in 2001, I have pulled less than ten, and have only lost two. Now that my cattle are virtually all B3R blooded, I preg test the heifers, and move them where ever the grass is- not worried about calving. In the last month we have preg tested about forty five first calf heifers. Only one did not breed back, despite their diet consisting primarily of sudan hay, and 100 degree weather for ever! That is what selecting for proven maternal performance can do. Additionally, when we started selling on the rail, we had about 40% choice, obviously no primes. Now we consistently hit 90% + choice and prime, with as high as 10% prime.

Describe your cattle operation, location and environmental challenges. We are located about fifty miles southwest of San Antonio, in the northern edge of the South Texas Brush country.

We are often at the cutoff for rain coming up out of the Gulf, and as a result our rainfall is very unpredictable. It is very normal for us to go six months with no or very little rain, and one year it may be in the spring, the next in the fall. Summers are nearly always very dry, with only the occasional hurricane bringing us any moisture at all. Being this far south gives us a long growing season, normally from early March through November, plus some very high quality winter weeds, so if we have moisture, we usually have some pretty good options of what to do with our calves.

Heat stress is a much greater concern that cold stress, and initially I was unsure of whether the Angus could handle our heat. I grew up around Herefords, then went the crossbred Brahman route, then the bull of the month club in the 70’s , just like everyone else. Brahman do handle the heat easier than anything else, but I have not had any problems with my Angus.

What has been your favorite Bradley bull? Why? I have bought many of their best bulls through the years, as well as partnering with them on Tender Ten, still one of the greatest bulls in the industry for tenderness and marbling. Perhaps my favorite was a bull that I bought at the 2002 sale, Minnie’s first $5000 bull, B3R 1056 out of her old 8082 Elector bull. He was the complete package of efficiency, capacity, thickness, muscling, temperament, and carcass as well as proven production and longevity on the dam side. I probably still have fifty or more cows out of him, and many, many grand daughters. My second favorite is probably going to be one of the three “Back to Basics” bulls I have bought in the last two years. BTB is out of Tender Ten, and their calves are great, especially the heifers. These bulls also have held their condition better that any I have ever bought, even in the face of the drought we have been in and working hard since the day they stepped off the trailer.

How do you market your calves? The drought the last seven years has played havoc with any marketing plan any where, and this is very true of South Texas as well. I was in the B3R Natural Beef program until it changed, and I loved it. Wish someone would come up with another program that good! After it went away, I started raising all natural grass fed beef for Whole Foods.

I really enjoyed this because it gave me another six or eight months for my heifers to develop before I had to make a decision on them. B3R genetics are great for grass fed. Their emphasis on efficiency in the cow herd has a direct impact on a calve’s ability to finish on grass. It was nothing for our steers to gain nearly four pounds a day on oats and ryegrass, and over three pounds a day on sorghum sudan.

What would you like others to know about your experience with Bradley 3 Ranch?

Total trust, total confidence. No frills, no hype, no over stuffed cattle, real ranch cattle for real ranchers-from real ranchers. I, as well as many of you who are reading this, have been fortunate to have been on the receiving end of meaningful developments in genetics through Bradley 3 Ranch’s DNA testing and research.

Coupled with the continued dedication toward improving the truly important traits in the beef cattle industry for their customers, as well as leadership in our industry, Bradley 3 Ranch stands alone.

When did you purchase your first Bradley bull?

We started feeding our own calves out at Morales Feed Lot in Devine in the mid 1980’s. In the mid 90’s, we started selling on the rail. That was an eye opener! It became very apparent that we were leaving lots of money on the table because our South Texas mix of cattle would not grade, regardless of how well they gained. I made the decision to change to Angus bulls primarily to cash in on the premiums available for higher grading carcasses. I began to research various breeders, trying to see which most closely matched my beliefs and whose cattle truly reflected the efficiency markers that my thirty years of teaching Ag and Livestock Judging teams had convinced me were important, plus the five generations of ranching that had shaped who I was. I

Look for us and /or our booth at these tradeshows / events:

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American Angus Association Annual Meeting November 16-18 Louisille, KY

New Mexico Stock Growers Association Convention December 5-7 at Albuquerque, NM

Beauty Shop Gossip

by Minnie Lou Bradley

the conversation!

can’t function or pay the feed bill. The family insisted that I go to other doctors, and true, the ones I had seen were probably close to my age. Over time, I began to wonder… even though renown in their field, were they up to date on all the new technologies or had they not accepted them?

What I am about to say could probably be heard in the barbershop but I am not privy to hear that conversation. The fact is… we loose our hearing to some degree with age. It’s hard to accept this fact so a lot of us pretend were as good as the 20 year old that we secretly accuse of lowering their voice to keep us out of

Finally, I asked to see a younger generation of doctors. We found a very progressive audiologist near Oklahoma City.

At my initial visit, a young lady examined me and immediately said, “I think you will qualify for a cochlear implant!” My hearing tests at Dr. Berryhill’s office revealed I had 44% hearing in one ear and 0 % in the other. And the rest is history! In early July I had surgery for the implant, in early October my happy day came when I told James to wait a minute, I had to take my remote and turn his voice down.

Most beauty shops are alive with wives complaining that their husband is deaf, he is running her crazy with the TV turned up to its highest volume and he doesn’t communicate with her. But truth be known…. she has a hearing problem too. While she might go and purchase those $3000.00 hearing aides, they bother her and she doesn’t want the women at her “breakfast club” to think she has a problem. I witness this every week.

Flushing the toilet sounds like an avalanche, birds do still chirp, fire trucks still use their sirens, it’s a brand new world that had slowly slipped away.

With new knees to walk on, cleaned out arties, a stalemate and improvement in macular degeneration of my left eye and now hearing through my nerves in my brain to a magnet worn on my head I am truly blessed and able to take the kidding of being the bionic woman on the range. The outer crust is wrinkled and weathered but my inner self is again among those who look forward to tomorrow.

I am like the majority of us depression babies, we get our knees and hips worked on, we go to the eye doctor and regular visits to keep our ticker purring. But we fail to wear hearing aides, because it’s below our dignity.

About the time I reached 72, I was told I wasn’t hearing as well as I should. I finally agreed to go see an ear specialist and learned, yes, I was suffering from hearing loss. I finally agreed to try the smallest, least conspicuous hearing aide on the market and it helped. At that time I was on a National Board of Directors consisting of all men. I had the good fortune that most of their of voices were easily understood. However in a group with several talking I was lost in a maze of jabber! I was expected to take over the helm of the largest purebred cattle organization in the world so I had to convince myself I needed more hearing help. I progressed to two larger hearing aids in hope that I would no longer have misunderstandings or have to nod my head in agreement while not understanding individuals. I knew I had been nodding my head taking turns in agreeing or not agreeing. That’s no way to run a business or live.

ABased Wordon About Genetic Defects the known Angus defects today, all bulls we

will offer in our 2014 sale will be tested free of any defects or be designated by not having any carriers in his pedigree. This gives you, our customers, confidence as you purchase in our annual sale.

How can genetic defects affect your cattle operation?

Most producers don’t recognize that embryonic loss is a much more prevelent than actual deformed calves being carried to term as a result of genetic defects. If you consistently cull open cows, you should be well on your way to eliminating the problem. Ask yourself this question: At $1000+ for feeder calves, how many open cows can you afford to run?

Then in 2008 I had to have a quadruple by-pass. From that day forward, I was totally deaf in my right ear. I was told by two leading ear specialists there was nothing that could be done. I was DEAF! A shocker but with some hearing left in my left ear I thought I could manage.

We believe the defects that have been designated in the Angus breed can be eliminated over time and carrier cattle can be managed.

By this summer I knew I needed to stay home and not try to be active in public gatherings since I was not able to make intelligent conversation. In my mind, sitting across from lunch with Mary Lou and James I had assured myself they were purposely talking lower to keep me from hearing. And so were our employees. It is real easy for one’s feelings to go from being mad to self-pity.

If you choose to purchase known genetic defect carriers, their best use is in a terminal operation. If you retain females out of these carriers, you are opening yourself up to potential problems.

We recognize you many have defect carriers in your herd from previous purchases. If you have questions, give us a call and let’s create a genetic plan to help you move forward. By not mating carriers to carriers, you can manage / eliminate any concerns.

I now know hearing loss creeps up on you like the weight of nation’s cowherds! It’s slow but takes its toll until we 5

A production model that works... for the long term.

We often get the question, “You have been in the Registered Angus business for over 50 years. Same cowherd, no dispersals for that long. How do you make it work?”

see the same amounts of feed resources? Are you prepared to pay for feed to get these same weaning weights?

Let’s consider this scenerio.... A seedstock provider flushes his females at two, three, four or five years old. He uses yearling bulls that have not ever bred cows naturally as the sire of these flushes. Yes, the resulting progeny will likely have big EPD growth spreads and could have huge milk numbers. How will the commercial or registered cattleman who purchases these offspring know about longevity, fertility, soundness in the pasture, forage efficiency etc?

He won’t until after he purchases a bull from this production model, takes him home and finds out the bull is hard fleshing and has feet that can’t survive the rigors of pasture breeding and the resulting calves don’t wean at 900 pounds because they haven’t seen a feed truck regularly.

To us it’s a simple answer. Our production model works.

Our production model matches the commercial cattle industry that so many of our customers survive in.

Yes, we flush a few cows each year. But a cow is only flushed after she EARNS the right to be a donor. No Angus cow is flushed as a two, three or four year old. In fact, our donors are at least ten years old and have had eight consecutive calves within an annual calving interval. We demand longevity and maintain discipline for traits that keep commercial cattlemen in business... fertility, soundness, maternal efficiency and carcass value. We believe this donor criteria is the toughest in the entire beef industry.

The Bradley 3 Ranch difference is this.... Our cows or donors are likely mated to bulls who have walked our pastures and may have several donors in his pedigree. So the resulting calf of a donor has 10 years of proven performance from his dam and 10, 20 or 30 years of combined proven performance from the donors in his sire’s pedigree.

Can you say PROVEN PERFORMANCE?

Our cows don’t see a feed truck all winter long and our calves certainly don’t see creep feeders. Yes it’s true, we do provide liquid protein supplement and only feed hay in the worst of blizzards or droughts. Our two year old females get some additional nutrition if mother nature dictates, during the toughest year of their life, that they need it.

Speaking of creep feeders. Many registered breeders boast weaning weights of 800, 900 and even 1000 pounds. But at what cost does this come? How much feed /silage is fed to the cows and calves allow for these weaning weights?

How can you expect a bull calf that has seen large amounts of feed to survive or thrive in a forage based environment?

Will he sire those same weaning weights if his calves don’t

As you make decisions about where to buy bulls, ask yourself this question, “Does my seedstock provider’s production model match my production model? Can I afford to operate in the same way as my seedstock provider?”

At Bradley 3 Ranch, it’s simple. Our production model works.

Our Cows At Work

Sound. Practical. Easy fleshing. Fertile.

We are in the beef business for the long term.

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What is a Bull Worth in Today’s Market?

by James Henderson

any substantial increase in cattle numbers coming through the system.

There have been numerous bull sales this fall and some bull buyers are suffering from price shock. Most of the sales have averaged between $5000 and $6000 per bull. Wow! What happened to the $3000 bulls? It’s very simple, the market has changed.

At the same time, we are seeing the harvest of a record corn crop.

Many experts are now saying that by the time the corn is all in the bins, we will see a $3 in front of the per bushel price. That is less than half the cost of a year ago and because of the high carry out, it is not expected that corn prices will return to the lofty levels of 2013 anytime in the next few years.

We have always said that a bull has been worth the price of five average weaned steers. As I am writing this, the market for a 600 lb. steer is $175 to $185 per cwt. That means that a $600 lb steer is worth about $1080 per head and five of those steers would be worth $5400. That is some sticker shock for some and others are concerned about how long we will have these prices for calves.

All of that being said, I expect that the competition for quality calves will continue to accelerate for the next three to five years.

A good bull should bring at least $5500. Now is the time to contact us about your Spring 2014 bull needs. Let’s create a plan together that matches your marketing goals and budget.

My crystal ball is probably not much better than yours but I try to be a student of what has caused these markets to reach these levels. The cattle cycles of the past 60 years would tell us that cattle prices and low numbers of cattle should have been reached in 2005. However, numerous reasons such as the incidents of BSE, improved genetics and new feeding technologies pushed the cycle out to 2010. Then the droughts of 2011, 2012, and 2013 have caused the numbers to drop to the lowest levels since 1950, instead of rebounding.

The effects of the low numbers are finally starting to show up in feedlot numbers and in slaughter numbers. Cattle on feed numbers for October 1st are the lowest on record. Cow slaughter has dropped 20% from a year ago and the salvage value of a bull is now in excess of $100 per cwt. Heifer placement into feedlots has dropped as a percentage of the total, signaling the start of heifer retention. With all that said, it will be at least 2016 before we see

Fall Semen Offering- Trait Leaders Making A Difference

Now is the time to consider semen for your fall A.I. season.

Take a look at this summary of Bradley 3 Ranch Trait Leaders as you make decisions. To order semen contact Mary Lou at (940)585-6471.

If Marbling is important look at these bulls: B3R Real Money X523 – Top 2% B3R Retail Tender T232 – Top 4% B3R Western Swing W446 – Top 5%

If you are breeding heifers take a look at these trait leaders: B3R T296 Emblazon N193 1046 Number 2 in the breed for CED and Number 8 for BW B3R Back to Basics U077 – Number 11 in the breed for CED and Number 21 for BW B3R Real Money X523 – Top 4% CED and Top 10% BW B3R Y221 Bndo NwDsgn W039 – Top 10% BW

If cow maintenance cost ($EN) is important look at these bulls: B3R Real Money X523 – Top 1% B3R Western Swing W446 – Top 2% B3R T296 Emblazon N193 1046 – Top 3% B3R Palo Duro Y407 – Top 5% B3R Retail Tender T232 – Top 10% B3R Back to Basics U077 – Top 10% B3R Y221 Bndo NwDsgn W039 – Top 10% B3R W118 96 T146 S170 – Top 10%

If Docility is important look at these bulls: B3R Back to Basics U077 – Number 2 in the breed B3R S053 GAR Ret Prd N309 – Number 8 in the breed B3R Retail Tender T232 – Number 9 in the breed B3R T296 Emblazon N193 1046 – Top 10% B3R Palo Duro Y407 – Top 10%

W118

If $W (Weaning Value) is important look at these bulls: B3R Palo Duro Y407 – Top 2% B3R Back to Basics U077 – Top 3% B3R S053 GAR Ret Prd N309 – Top 5% B3R Retail Power Y184 – Top 10%

S053

Y407

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Y184

The 2014 Cover Bull Tryouts

Several years ago we started a fun tradition at Bradley 3 Ranch... we capture pictures of our herdsires at work in the pasture and one of the pictures taken through out the year is featured on the cover of our sale catalog.

We get a lot of comments and questions about “The Cover Bull” each year. Often, folks will call and say, “ I want a bull who looks like THAT!” Typically, “The Cover Bull” is at least three years old and we have even featured a bull that was working at one of our customer’s ranches.

This year, we wanted to add to the tradition...so we have started the “Cover Bull Tryouts”. We wanted to capture some of of this year’s standouts as they are on

gain test. It will be fun to watch these bulls as they progress the next few years. Can you pick which one will one day be “The Cover Bull”?