Fence Post Breeder's Connection Feature: CSU Seedstock Team

The students’ ability to successfully present at NWSS is a “function of Sam’s leadership,” Stout said.

CSUSEEDSTOCK TEAM

REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE FOR FUTURE CATTLE PRODUCERS

BY WADE YODER PHOTOS COURTESY OF CSU

lowers drone throughout the barn as students on the seedstock merchandising team at Colorado State University prepare to defend their titles at the National Western Stock Show.

The team won grand and reserve champion pen of three spring yearling Hereford heifers in 2022. Team members will exhibit two pens of cattle in 2023, but their responsibilities extend far beyond the show ring. Students also suggest breeding decisions for the CSU seedstock herd, develop cattle with unique and attractive genetics, and plan and execute the annual CSU bull and female sale, said team advisor Samantha Cunningham, Ph. D.

“I try to make it an experience that is not just about show cattle,” said Cunningham, an assistant professor in the department of animal sciences. “We talk a lot about genetics, EPDs, genomics and pedigrees... they are all pieces that we have available in our toolbox.”

The current team consists of eight students, four returning members and four new members. Students take three courses in addition to executing the sale and attending industry events. Some team members grew up in the seedstock industry, while others had limited livestock experience, Cunningham said.

“My favorite part is seeing students come together and watching light bulbs come on,” Cunningham said. “We have very intentional conversations with industry professionals and fellow seedstock breeders as we attend outside sales, industry meetings, or speakers on campus.”

The broad experiences and responsibilities of the team are eye-opening, said Kate Scott, a second-year team member and animal science senior.

“I always knew I wanted to do something in the seedstock industry, I just didn’t know what,” said Scott, who grew up on a seedstock operation near Brighton, Colorado. “The classes and the seedstock team have opened my eyes to all the possibilities within the industry.”

The seedstock merchandising team at CSU began in 1976

under the direction of Dr. Robert Taylor, and in 1977, students advertised and sold 17 bulls. Forty-six years later, the tradition persists, Cunningham said.

“Dr. Bob Taylor started the tradition of involving students in the seedstock merchandising effort at CSU,” Cunningham said. “I want to maintain the philosophy of learning by doing, of immersing students in hands-on experiences with our on-campus beef herd.”

Giving students opportunity and responsibility is critical to sustaining the beef industry, said Justin Stout, auctioneer and NWSS sale manager.

“Our number one challenge in the seedstock world across all breeds of cattle is attrition,” said Stout, who grew up breeding and selling Hereford bulls. “Finding these kids that ultimately want to be impactful in the beef industry down the road is priceless.”

The team’s success at NWSS is not only due to presentation, Stout said, adding that Cunningham and her

Students on the CSU seedstock merchandising team learn all facets of the business.

Dr. Robert Taylor

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From top: Two of the heifers exhibited at NWSS in 2022 were sired by Small Town Kid and the third was sired by Mandate, Stout said.

Seedstock merchandising team members mingle with beef producers at events like the National Western Stock Show and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention. Team member Danielle Horick visits with a customer at the 2022 sale.

Seedstock merchandising team member Grace Inglee and ultrasound tech Lindsay Hays study ultrasounds during pregnancy checks.

Scott said learning about several aspects of the industry helped her define her career plans. From left to right: Sam Cunningham, former member Kaitlyn Fulmer, Bailee Jones, former member Matthew Mason, Grace Inglee, Kate Scott, and Danielle Horick.

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Students

students produce cattle with genetics that are “night and day” better.

“She’s totally revamped the genetics in that system,” Stout said. “It was really rewarding last year when we sold the pick out of their pen for $9,000.”

Last year, the team showed heifers sired by popular bulls and were sold guaranteed AI-bred to another top sire, Stout said. Customers are willing to pay more for a product supported by numbers and from proven pedigrees, he added.

“In our business, the way you get those premiums and get that ‘wow’ factor is by selling a known product,” Stout said. “If you aren’t taking the steps of using the right sires, and DNA testing your product, you are falling behind the eight ball.”

To teach students how to develop cattle with desirable genotypes, Cunningham has her students study EPDs, DNA tests and other data collected on CSU’s seedstock herd to suggest breeding matchups. Last year, Cunningham used some of their suggestions when breeding cattle.

From top: Seedstock merchandising team members took two pens of Hereford heifers to the National Western Stock Show in 2022.

Grand Champion Steer (Shorthorn)

help implement animal health protocols as part of the program.

-KATE SCOTT

“It is important for students to get comfortable studying data and then to make suggestions,” Cunningham said. “We’re not only writing a story of improved quality and an improved type of cattle. We are also writing a story of replicating our own genetics.”

A good genetic offering still requires salesmanship, Cunningham said. In addition to helping students groom, video and photograph sale cattle, she guides students through creating a sale catalog and ad campaign.

“In last year’s sale catalog, students were a part of every

page,” Cunningham said. “Sale morning, they sold bulls up and down the alley at Centennial Livestock. They made sure bulls got into the ring in order. They helped clerk the sale.”

The seedstock merchandising team gives students responsibly and real world experience, but Cunningham said the program may have given students something even more vital – a place to escape modern-day madness and develop the kind of peer relationships only earned through sweat equity. “Sometimes I’ll find them studying

Animal husbandry is one of the most important aspects of the seedstock business, Stout said. Left to right: Grace Inglee, and former team members Kaitlyn Fulmer and Matthew Mason

“THE CLASSES AND THE SEEDSTOCK TEAM HAVE OPENED MY EYES TO ALL THE POSSIBILITIES WITHIN THE INDUSTRY.”

flash cards or reading notes, sitting in a feed bunk and talking to whatever is in the pen,” Cunningham said. “They have a community of likeminded friends who can lift them up, who they can lean on.

“We cannot put a value on those experiences, the trips we take and the people we meet,” Cunningham said. “We cannot put value on this little piece of farm giving students a place to get away from the rat race.”

Students with that level of support develop a quiet confidence, Cunningham said. Without realizing it, team members transition from being college students to being young beef producers. “I love watching them upsell a product or upsell themselves without realizing that they have gotten good at it,” Cunningham said. “I hope it is mak-

One of the unscripted parts of the program is the relationships that students build with each other, and within the industry.

Inset: Team member Justina Slim makes notes in her sale catalog.

ing them more relatable as we send them out in a postgrad world.”

Ultimately, the seedstock marketing team is more about life skills than letters on a report card, Scott concluded. “It pays off in the end,” Scott said. “It’s a daunting task, but when you are standing in the show ring or the sale ring and you are proud of your product ... it’s all worth it.”

Team members plan to exhibit and sell cattle at NWSS January 13, 2023, and sell age-advantaged, altitude tested bulls and females February 18, 2023 in Fort Collins. For more information on how to support the program and or to join the mailing list, contact Sam Cunningham at sam.cunningham@colostate.edu or 970-491-7184.