October 2022 Brangus Journal

Brangus JOURNAL

daughters.

is our top priority. All other traits follow fertility.

developed and proven for more than 30 years.

source of maternal bulls.

Brangus

How Do You DNA?

This September was the launch of the new DNA features in regstr. These new features will alleviate the need for email chains between staff and breeders, and help to expedite the DNA process for parent resolution. Read more about these various updates and features in the, “How do you DNA,” article on page 32-34.

Videos: Expensive or Just More Valuable?

The world is looking brighter for the cow-calf producer with calf prices on summer videos mostly $35-$40 higher than last year. The cow-calf sector needs these kind of prices after years of cyclically low prices and recently surging input costs. However, these prices are also running well above what a simple breakeven against the deferred live cattle futures implies the cattle are worth. How does that work?

NJBS Show Results

Results for the National Junior Brangus Show and Brangus Futurity

The Brangus Value Project Update

The International Brangus Breeders Association set out on a mission to put Brangus to the test in the form of research. With the help of our breeders, we have monitored 90 steers, that were A.I.-sired by 5 popular Brangus and Ultrablack sires, through the development process. These steers have now completed a full-fledged progeny test. Comprehensive feedlot performance and carcass data have been collected and the results are in. In this feature you will find the research results and the data that was provided by the efforts of the International Brangus Breeders Foundation to prove just how competitive Brangus really are.

Brangus Futurity Results

Results for the National Junior Brangus Show and Brangus Futurity

Multi-Sire Groups... Are They for You?

It is important for breeders to consider the benfits and to think through all the questions they will surely ask themselves as they contemplate using multiple bulls together in a breeding pasture.

Greener Pastures Ahead

By Jeremy Jackson, International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) president

By the grace of God, lots of BRANGUS Country has finally received some needed moisture. Optimism seems high with lots of folks that were just sick about the situation in July and early August. Fall sale season kicked off on September 10th and the cattle seemed to trade quite well. Other guests and I visited a sale in Effie Louisiana where we were met with excellent hospitality, cattle, friendship, and Cajun food. I sure enjoyed it but I’m glad they don’t make boudin and cracklins in my area or I’d have to have bigger britches. The pastures are not just greener in the field, they are at IBBA as well. The office launched the new DNA module, and it appears to be firing on all cylinders. The staff and the Regstr Committee have now completed all the major module releases. The board is very pleased with the progress on Regstr and we are all excited to see the staff and Regstr committee begin prioritizing all the small issues that have been sitting on the shelf. The Long-Range Planning Committee met in August to continue the conversation on where we need to be in the foreseeable future. Dr. Wilkes reviewed what had been accomplished since the last plan was updated in 2020. It was very pleasing to see the number of things that had been

years ago. The committee will continue to meet through the next several months and produce an updated plan for mid2023. The BRANGUS Value project has processed its first set of steers. Dr. Wilkes will present the results of that to all of you in this issue. This research could put our breed in a different stratosphere than we have been in the past. Imagine being able to show this data to a large commercial Angus operation that feeds out their steers all the way through the plant. It shows them that they can use our bulls that have EPD’s in the top 35% of our carcass traits and add value to their steers. If we make sure that these operations also demand sires that keep their high maternal qualities, they will be proud to keep the heifers out of these crosses as well. There are several sires in the breed that make fine daughters and still have great carcass EPD’s. We should all strive to breed more of these. As Dr. Wilkes says, “they can have their cows and eat them too.” I think that’s awesome. Finally, we are currently sifting through applications for a Director of Field Services and Strategic Projects. The board and Dr. Wilkes plan on making this hire in early October. It’s been a long time since we’ve had someone effective in the field. Please pray for wisdom for Dr. Wilkes and the board in deciding who to hire. Thank you all for believing in me and our great breed. Go

Nominate

Taking Charge

AT THE GRASS ROOTS LEVEL

by Darrell Wilkes, Ph.D., International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) executive vice president

As I put these words to paper, we are preparing for a trip to Troy, Alabama for the annual Southeast Brangus Breeders Association (SBBA) event. The IBBA Board scheduled a meeting in conjunction with the SBBA activities. My vehicle is still cluttered with the stuff I haven’t unpacked from the recent Field Day sponsored by the Texas Brangus Breeders Association (TBBA). The IBBA Long Term Planning Committee held a meeting in conjunction with the TBBA event. Sometime today, I need to book my flight to Oklahoma for the mid-October event sponsored by the Oklahoma Brangus Breeders Association

A couple weeks ago, I used my zoom account to set up a meeting for the Board of Directors for the Heart of America Brangus Association (mostly Missouri). Earlier this year, I regret that I was over-booked and had to miss an event put on by the International Red Brangus Breeders Association (IRBBA).

The preceding paragraph probably made you scratch your head. It comes across as kind of, well, random. But there is a point to be made. Local and regional Brangus associations are a great way for Brangus breeders to team up and make things happen in their own back yard. The whole point of having an association in the first place is to accomplish things that individuals have a difficult time doing on their own. State and regional associations are also a great leadership incubator. This is where many people begin their leadership journey within the Brangus community. There is also the social aspect of it – a sense of belonging. Most people like to hang out with people with whom they share common interests. Its just fun, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

It has been my observation that the primary activity of most state or area associations in the seedstock world is to host an annual sale where members sell cattle to one another,

or they put together a bull sale to sell bulls to commercial stockmen. This is not a criticism. It’s just an observation. It makes me wonder if there is an opportunity for your state or area association to do something to benefit the commercial producers in your area who use Brangus genetics. It seems obvious that the best way to promote Brangus is to help commercial producers get higher prices for their Brangus feeder calves or their Brangus-sired replacement quality heifers. IBBA and the top 15-20 largest Brangus breeders could all quadruple our advertising budgets and probably not do as much to boost demand for Brangus genetics as a program that adds dollars to Brangus feeder cattle when they sell in the open market.

IBBA has created the Brangus Vigor program to identify value-added feeder calves sired by Brangus or Ultra bulls. If this program is ever going to achieve its objective of boosting demand and raising the market price for known Brangus feeder cattle, the blocking and tackling must be done at the local level. This usually means that somebody raises their hand at the state or area Brangus Association meeting and declares that they are willing to take the lead if other members will commit to help. In the history of capitalism, that is how most little things turn into big things. Somebody steps to the plate and LEADS. Are you that leader?

There is DEMAND begging for SUPPLY in the feeder cattle marketplace. Read the article in this issue from Cattle Fax analyst Patrick Linnell. It makes abundantly clear that buyers of feeder cattle will pay more – much more – if they believe the cattle are worth it. We believe that good Brangus cattle are worth it, and we have data to prove it from the Brangus Value Project. (See the results of round one page 18)

As an easy first step, I would encourage every state or area Brangus Association to nominate a member to serve on IBBA’s Commercial Marketing Committee.

BRANGUS VALUE PROJECT

RESULTS OF ROUND ONE

by Darrell Wilkes, Ph.D., International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) executive vice president

Executive Summary: Three top-line conclusions from the research are: 1) Brangus genetics can match the top cattle in the industry for feedlot performance, 2) Brangus genetics can yield carcasses that bring a significant premium over the commodity live market, and 3) Brangus genetics produce tender steaks that are sure to please the most discriminating beef eaters.

When the Long Term Planning Committee completed their work on the current Long Term Plan, it was not accidental that the first pillar of the plan was: EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION –INVEST IN RESEARCH. It was recognized that, when all is said and done, we are in the technology business. We raise registered Brangus cattle as a means to achieve genetic improvement for our commercial customers. Without a serious commitment to research, progress toward our collective goals would be impaired.

The picture is even clearer now than it was just 3 short years ago when the final draft of the Long Term Plan was being edited. The beef industry’s quality revolution is alive and well and gaining steam. What was considered good enough as recent as 10 years ago is no longer good enough. The quality bar continues to be raised. In order for any breed of cattle to prosper, it must show that it can make a positive contribution to the quality revolution. A

breed may be able to marginally survive if the females are productive in harsh environments. But if a breed can do both – maternal productivity in harsh environments and produce high quality beef – it can thrive. The Long Term Planning Committee recognized this and specifically called for the initiation of the Brangus Value Project.

The essence of the project is straightforward. IBBA will sample the Brangus gene pool by selecting a handful of heavy-use sires to be progeny tested in a structured program, with the goal of collecting high quality performance and carcass data. The data has two purposes: 1) it will allow IBBA to benchmark known Brangus genetics against industry standards, and 2) the data will enhance our genetic evaluation database and, ultimately, provide even better EPDs to drive future genetic improvement.

The Brangus Value Project is intended to be perpetual. In other words, it is never “done”. It is difficult to imagine a time in the fast-moving beef genetics business where one can sit back and proclaim that they know everything they need to know. It won’t happen.

As Round 1 of the Brangus Value Project is wrapping up, the cattle for Round 2 are at the side of their dams, and the cattle for Round 3 are in utero. IBBA is seeking additional commercial cooperators to expand the size of the project and to test Brangus genetics on different types of cows in different environments.

Round 1 – Basic Facts

• A.I.-sired calves were produced by two cooperators: one in Texas and one in Oklahoma. Cows were synchronized and bred A.I. with semen donated by the owners of bulls selected for the project. An Angus reference sire was included in the project. For purposes of this report, the sires are identified as IBBA1, IBBA2, IBBA3, IBBA4 and IBBA5.

• Because of restrictions on the number of cows available at each location, it was not feasible to “tie” the two cooperator herds together by using the same sire in each herd for Round 1. However, this has been accomplished for Round 2 and again for Round 3. Eventually, all data can be tied together across years and across herds to optimize the genetic value of the data.

• The steer calves were weaned and backgrounded for 60-80 days by the cooperators. The cooperators kept the heifer calves and are incorporating them into their herds.

• The International Brangus Breeders Foundation (IBBF) purchased the steers and sent them to Hy Plains Feedyard in southwest Kansas in January of 2022.

• Proper contemporary grouping was maintained throughout the trial. Cattle from each cooperator stayed together from the day of birth until the day of harvest.

• The cattle were tested for feed efficiency using the GrowSafe system in place at Hy Plains Feedyard.

• The cattle within each contemporary group (TX and OK) were harvested on the same day at Cargill’s plant in Dodge City, KS. The TX group was slightly older and was harvested on June 28, 2022. The OK group was harvested August 8, 2022.

• Personnel from Texas Tech University were on hand in the Cargill plant to collect samples for subsequent tenderness testing. Samples were aged 21 days prior to tenderness testing in order to match the aging time of vacuum-packaged boxed beef in normal commerce.

• Cargill provided comprehensive carcass data generated by their computerized vision grading system.

Results – Feedlot PeRFoRmance

General feedlot results are presented in Table 1 to the right.

It is not appropriate to compare the five sires head-tohead. At best, you can generally compare the sires used in Texas to the other sires used in Texas, and likewise for the sires used in Oklahoma. Obviously the two cowherds are different. Over time, with reference sires used to tie across years and across herds, the data will be comparable. This will be reflected in the EPDs of the sires.

In broad terms, the IBBA research cattle performed well above the Southwest Kansas benchmark data, which were obtained from two independent sources covering different feedyards in the area. The benchmark cattle were also 7-weight steers placed on feed in SW Kansas in January 2022. For breeders not familiar with current feedyard data, the finish weights are probably a bit surprising. This is a trend that has been in place in the beef industry for well over 2 decades. Simply put, cattle are getting bigger and bigger. It is driven by simple economics. In the world of feedyard economics, so long as the incremental cost of gain is below the expected selling price, it is economically rational to continue feeding the cattle. Moreover, the genetics of today’s cattle allow for heavier finish weights. The IBBA cattle outgained the benchmark cattle and posted a better Feed:Gain result. Feed:Gain data are expressed as pounds of ration dry matter per pound of weight gain. Lower is better. Individual feed intake results are presented below. In reference to Table 1, the Feed:Gain results pertain to each group of cattle.

*Finish weight is estimated based on actual carcass weight and group average dressing percent. It is not feasible to individually weigh harvest-ready cattle due to the risk of bruising and general stress.

individual Feed eFFiciency

Hy Plains Feedyard has a GrowSafe system in place for feed efficiency testing. The process is fairly straightforward. Cattle are placed in a GrowSafe pen for a couple weeks to get accustomed to eating from the special bunks, which are different from a normal bunkline. Once the cattle – as a group – are consuming the total amount of feed that is expected,

the animals are individually weighed and placed back in the GrowSafe pens and the system is activated. Once activated, the GrowSafe system keeps track of which animal is eating from which bunk by continuously interrogating its electronic ID (EID). Simultaneously, it continuously weighs the feed in each bin and ties the feed disappearance to specific animals. At the end of the period, each animal is individually weighed. Hence, the dataset includes individual animal total weight gain for the period and individual animal feed consumption for the period. This accommodates computation of individual feed conversion.

Most cattle breeders recognize that cattle generally do not grow in a consistent, linear pattern. Just like teenage boys, they are prone to hit growth spurts. It so happened that the Texas cattle were on the GrowSafe system in the middle of a major growth spurt. The average daily gain during the GrowSafe trial was a touch over 5 lbs per day.

We are still deciphering the feed intake data for the Oklahoma cattle because the system was having some issues while they were on GrowSafe. At this time, all that we can present are the results for the Texas cattle.

Before detailing the feed efficiency data, it is

worthwhile to provide some background on growth and growth economics. In general terms, cattle that gain faster also convert feed more efficiently. This is due to a simple concept known as maintenance cost dilution. Every animal has a daily maintenance requirement. They have to eat a certain amount of feed every day just to maintain themselves. To use an oversimplified example, if it costs $2/day for maintenance, and an animal gains 2 lbs per day, its maintenance cost per pound of gain is $1. If another animal has a $2/day maintenance cost but gains 4 lbs per day, its maintenance cost per pound of gain is 50-cents. Understanding the principle of maintenance cost dilution begs the question of “why bother to measure actual (individual) feed intake if the rate of gain alone can be used to identify the most efficient gainers?” The simple answer is that unabashed selection for rate of gain will most surely lead to huge cows that most people do not want. Measuring individual feed efficiency helps to identify cattle that require less feed to produce a pound of gain, and is independent of actual growth rate.

Figure 1 below shows a plot of the Brangus and Ultra cattle from Texas, with daily feed consumption on the horizontal axis and daily gain on the vertical axis. It’s easy to see that there is a great deal of individual animal variation in daily feed intake and daily gain. The line through the middle of the graph is the regression line (i.e. the average). Each dot represents an individual steer. This graph depicts Residual Average Daily Gain (RADG). If a dot is above the line, it means that the animal gained more than expected based upon his individual feed intake. If it is below the line, the animal gained less than expected based on his individual feed intake. For example, the animal indicated by the yellow arrow gained 5.6 lbs per day, but his expected gain based on his feed consumption was about 4.8 lbs per day. So,

his RADG is about .80.

It is important to note that the average is zero, and the average will always be zero for any group of cattle fed together as a contemporary group in a GrowSafe system. Of genetic interest is the comparison of one sire group to another.

Table 2 below shows the RADG averages for the three Brangus and Ultra sires represented in the Texas group. Even without doing the math to calculate a correlation, it is easy to see that ADG and RADG are not correlated. In other words, if one simply selects for ADG, there is no reason to believe that RADG would increase. An animal with a high ADG might consume more or might consume less feed than expected.

Results – caRcass evaluation

Table 3 shows the basic statistics for the carcass results.

Before delving into those details, it is notable that when these animals were sold against a carcass grid formula, both groups netted a significant premium compared to the prevailing live market. One group beat the live price by $51.51/hd and the other group beat the live price by $95.79/hd.

It should be noted that the carcass weight data shown in table 3 represents unadjusted weights. Before these data are used for genetic evaluation, the carcass weights will be adjusted to a constant compositional endpoint. Using equations originally developed at Cornell University, the carcass weights will be adjusted to a compositional endpoint of 28.7% empty body fat. An explanation of this would take another two pages. Suffice to say that it is widely accepted science and is currently used in cattle sorting routines that are employed on millions of feedlot cattle each year.

Quality GRade

With reference to Quality Grade, the IBBA-sired cattle handily outperformed the

industry average for percent Choice or higher, which was running in the low 80’s when these cattle were processed. It is perhaps more informative to look at the Marbling Score data. These are the data that will be used in genetic evaluation. Presented in Table 3 are the USDA Marbling Scores. Scores from 400 though 499 are low Choice; scores from 500 to 699 are “premium Choice” and are equal to the marbling specifications required for Certified Angus Beef (CAB). Scores of 700 or higher are Prime. Notice that the average marbling score for three of the five IBBA sires exceeded the minimum marbling score for CAB, and the other two were only slightly below that.

These marbling levels should come as no surprise to anybody who has studied the Brangus genetic trend for IMF or has looked at actual IMF data. The marbling

any more indicus-influenced cattle because they lacked muscle and, therefore, red meat yield. That may have been a problem at the time, but that problem has been addressed by Brangus breeders very effectively.

The graph below shows the distribution of rib eye area vs. carcass weight for all 90 steers in the project. The regression line through the data points is the “par” line derived from the USDA Yield Grade Equation. In other words, there is a specific rib eye size that is expected for a specific carcass weight. A “par” rib eye means that the carcass neither gained or lost points on the Yield Grade equation. As would be expected of any group of cattle, some cattle are better than par and some are worse. If you’ve ever stood chuteside while an ultrasound technician was scanning your cattle, you already have a good feel for the variation that exists.

scores on feedlot-finished cattle simply confirm what we expected. To put this in perspective, an IMF value of 4% theoretically places an animal at the bottom end of low Choice. The majority of bulls and heifers that are currently being scanned exceed 4% IMF – and they accomplish this having been fed a diet with significantly less energy than feedlot cattle receive and with a fraction of the backfat that finished cattle have. Moreover, yearling bulls have high levels of testosterone which works against IMF.

To put it simply: Brangus breeder’s selection for IMF is paying off in the form of high grading cattle. musclinG

Not quite 40-years ago, the president of one of the major packing companies stood before the crowd at a Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) meeting and proclaimed that they did not want to process

On average, however, these cattle were “par” for rib eye. This is significant. It has been known since Dr. Murphy at Texas A&M developed the Yield Grade equation over 50 years ago that heavy carcasses have a harder time staying even with par rib eye size compared to lighter carcasses. But even at 900-lbs+, these Brangus cattle stayed even with par. Back when the Yield Grade equation was developed, people were not too worried about 950-lb carcasses! Results – tendeRness

Tenderness is not incorporated into carcass pricing grids so there is no apparent way to profit from having more tender beef. However, tenderness is vitally important to

consumer satisfaction and therefore deserves attention from all segments of the industry. Tenderness is genetically influenced so seedstock breeders have a responsibility to understand their breed’s tenderness profile.

A steak was recovered from each carcass at the 12th rib in the packing plant cooler by Texas Tech University scientists. The steaks were vacuum packaged and aged for 21 days prior to being tested for tenderness. Twenty-one days of “in the bag” aging is considered the industry standard.

Tenderness is objectively measured by use of a process known as Slice Shear Force. A cooked steak portion is placed under a standardized blade. The device measures the amount of pressure required to pass the blade through the steak portion.

It is premature to present a chart comparing sires for tenderness simply because all 5 test sires were not used on the same herd of cows. As more data are added and reference sires are used in both herds, we will be able to compute a “herd effect” and adjust for it accordingly. Sire comparisons will then be valid. next stePs

The data from Round 1 will be compiled into IBBA’s database and we will begin incorporating what we can into our genetic evaluation. The sires selected for use in Round 1 were selected because they have a large genetic footprint in the breed population. A recent analysis showed that the 5 sires tested have 1,124 currently active daughters and 997 currently active sons in the IBBA herdbook. The majority of the sons will be sold to commercial producers. The daughters are currently producing or soon will be producing registered Brangus and Ultra cattle. The message here is that thousands of cattle in the IBBA population will be affected by these data.

Researchers have correlated Slice Shear Force results with consumer taste panel results and have developed general descriptive categories to describe tenderness such as “very tender”, “tender”. “intermediate” and “tough”. The chart below shows the overall results with the Angus-sired cattle removed.

DNA tests have been done on all cattle in this project, which allows us to compare the actual results to the genomic predictions incorporated into the Igenity Brangus test intended for commercial applications. Moving forward, we would like to sample at least 10 sires per year and include 2-3 reference sires to continue to tie the data together across years and across herds. For each sire tested, we need at least 70 commercial cows to synchronize and breed. That produces at least 15 steer calves per sire. More would be better, but data on 15 progeny are highly informative given the relatively high heritability of the traits being measured and the structured contemporary grouping. Commercial cooperators must have at least 210 cows to synchronize together. That allows three sires to be tested. More is better.

Sires for future testing will be selected based on criteria developed by the Breed Improvement Committee. In summary, the base criteria are:

•Must come from a herd with complete phenotypic data (all weights and measures).

•Must have genomically enhanced EPDs.

•Average of Fertility Index and Terminal Index percentile rank must be 40 or better.

•IMF EPD rank must be 35 or better.

•There must be a high level of confidence that the nominated sire will be alive, will be producing semen, and that semen will be marketed and available to all Brangus breeders in the open market.

o Over two years pass from the time of breeding

until the data are available so it cannot be guaranteed that all of these conditions will be met. This is a case where we must use good judgement and hope for the best.

A Tip of the Hat

Brangus breeders should be proud of the way these cattle performed relative to averages in the industry. You can also be proud of your fellow breeders for stepping up to the plate and investing in this project. These results are a reflection of decades of work by a lot of diligent breeders to make Brangus better with regard to end product quality and value. Doing this, while maintaining and even improving the maternal goodness of Brangus deserves a tip of the hat. Consider it tipped.

How to Get Involved

Round 1 was funded by Brangus breeders who “sponsored” a steer by donating $500 to the International Brangus Breeders Foundation (IBBF). Many members sponsored one steer, some did two or three, and some did 5. As a show of appreciation for those who supported the project, they received a strip loin pre-cut into individually-packaged steaks (one strip loin for each steer sponsored). If you would like to be a sponsor for Round 2, please contact Mandie Sadovsky at the IBBA office (msadovsky@gobrangus.com) or call the office and ask for Mandie. Your contribution will be to the IBBF which is a 501(c)3 charitable foundation.

T H E S O U T H E A S T B R A N G U S B R E E D E R S

S S O C I A T I O N P R O V I D E S A S C H O L A R S H I P

J A N E T G R E U E L S C H O L A R S H I P )

P P O R T U N I T Y E A C H Y E A R T O A D E S E R V I N G

O L L E G E S T U D E N T O R C O L L E G E - B O U N D

I G H

IMPACTS FROM CALVING SEASON LENGTH

CATTLEFAX TRENDS

Calving is one of the most rewarding times of the year as producers get the first glimpse of the ever-important mating decisions that were made. It can also be one of the most challenging times of the year, depending on weather conditions, trying to give each newborn calf the best start. Maximizing efficiencies is vital at the cowcalf segment. Results from CattleFax’s annual Cow-Calf Survey show the length of calving season plays a vital role in the productivity of an operation, along with other potential outcomes.

three equal groups – high, average, and low – return producers based on profitability. Last year, nearly half of the most profitable producers calved within 45 days, while another 35 percent were mostly complete by day 60. Less than 20 percent of high return producers calved for 61 days or more. On the other hand, one-third of the least profitable producers recorded a calving season that lasted more than 61 days. Roughly 38 percent of low-return producers managed a 45-day calving season. Understanding the demographics of producers that achieve a tight calving window is just the beginning of the data that supports how important calving distribution is to an operation’s bottom line.

Most high-return producers are in that category because they find a way to be the most efficient. Those operations sell the most pounds, driven by headcount and weight, while also keeping costs in check.

Many factors impact one of the most important measurements for a cow-calf enterprise, weaned calves per cow exposed, but the accompanying charts shows there is an obvious relationship between calf crop percent and calving season length. This is mostly due to cows having more time to recover after calving.

Each year, survey participants are asked how many days it takes for 75 percent of their cows to calve. In a perfect world, all the responses would be within 45 or 60 days. However, the real world does not make that feasible for every operation due to weather, logistic challenges, or a long list of other potential reasons. From the most recent results, 43 percent of producers calve within 45 days and another 33 percent are mostly complete with calving from 46 to 60 days. Seventeen percent of the respondents had a calving season that lasted about 61 to 90 days, with the remaining 7 percent lasting more than 90 days. CattleFax breaks survey participants into

by Macee Prause, IBBA Director of Genomics & Research & Callie Delarm, IBBA Registry & Records Technicianyou

HOW DO DNA?

What is DNA?

How do I collect samples?

What testing should I choose?

How do I place an order?

Where can I order testing supplies?

How long until I have results?

These are a few of the many questions we receive related to DNA testing. The process may seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. We have broken down the DNA process for you [figure 1] and are here to briefly explain the components of DNA testing along with the new features that are available from the regstr DNA update.

The first step in the DNA process is obtaining DNA collecting supplies and then taking DNA samples. You can order supplies from the IBBA by calling the office or you can get supplies directly from the lab. Make sure that you collect the DNA correctly and follow the instructions provided. TSUs need to be collected on the ear without tattoo ink and stored out of the heat, blood cards need to have the circle filled and dried overnight, and hair must have ~30 follicles carded. Semen straws can also be submitted on an animal or a semen card collected. Once you have collected your DNA samples, now is the point where you log into your regstr account online and complete the DNA order form. The order form will ask for the animals you are submitting, the barcode of the DNA sample related to that animal,

the sample type being submitted (i.e., TSU, hair card, blood card, etc...), and the testing you want on each sample. If you are unsure of any point of the order form process what to choose, please contact staff at the IBBA office for assistance. This is one of the critical points in the process. Orders must be 100% correct so that the lab identifies samples correctly and processes all samples based on the end results you need. Any mistake or information left out of the order process will cause delays to occur at the lab.

Now that you have completed your DNA order form, you can print out the packing sheet provided for that order and mail it into the lab. Be sure to properly package your DNA samples in a box or padded envelope. DNA samples are prone to being crushed through the mail machines causing white envelopes to rip open and the samples to fall out. Also, be sure to obtain tracking on all packages being sent. This is the only confirmation method to ensure samples arrived or double check if samples are thought to be lost. Overnighting samples is the only part of the DNA process to ‘expedite’ DNA turnaround.

Once samples are received by the lab, average turnaround time is 30 days. This time can vary depending on the testing selected, quality and type of sample submitted, and seasonality sample volume at the lab. After all samples in the order have completed processing, the lab will notify IBBA, and IBBA staff will load the DNA data into regstr. The last step listed, results, has many components to it that we will discuss in depth further in this article. Nevertheless, results being obtained from the lab concludes the DNA procedure and records updates and corrections will start from there.

As previously described, the DNA process does have many parts, but all the moving pieces related to the DNA process will appear and be indicated for each order on your DNA order history page [figure 2]. This figure lists every step of the DNA process as well as explains the details of that process. You can visit your DNA order history page to view the current order status of all your DNA orders. At any point your DNA order moves to a new step in the process, the order status will automatically change. This allows you to have a better timetable of where your DNA order is at in the process in addition to keeping track of anything that may be needed of you for that DNA order. A new feature included in the DNA release is the inclusion of breeding log data submitted by you and other

members. If you submit your breeding log records into regstr including multi-sire groups (MSGs), natural service exposure records, and AI breedings, this

to-date and no action is needed of the member nor staff at this point. Member action needed requires members to act on an item by clicking the view button out to the

information will be included in the parentage analysis run, particularly when a parent of record is excluded. Essentially, we will be using all the information you have provided to run additional parents for exclusions prior to reaching out to you for assistance. This will save time not only for staff, but for members too, while also increasing parentage turnaround times related to exclusions. The next few steps in the ordering processing we have previously described as part of our DNA roadmap. Members will need to take DNA samples, create DNA orders in regstr, you will then include the packing sheet and mail in samples to the lab, and once orders are received by the lab, average turnaround time with DNA extraction and sequencing at the lab is 30 days. Once DNA testing has completed at the lab, IBBA staff will download the raw DNA data from the lab and upload it to our member site, regstr. At this point, your DNA order status will update to results updated. Results updated is the moment we have received the data from the lab. No analysis of the DNA nor parentage has been conducted at this time, however, any additional results or genetic condition testing will be available at this point (i.e. BVDV, DD, Coat Color…etc.).

After data has been uploaded from the lab to regstr, the DNA parentage queue will run overnight starting at 9pm. This is when your order status will change to parentage in progress. During this phase, all animals in the queue along with the parents are being pulled and numbers calculated. This is the biggest time saver built into the new program. The following business day, staff will have a mass sort feature to quickly make parentage calls from the queue rather than having to individually pull each animal and parent involved.

Once initial parentage has been completed, your order status can change to either member action needed or completed along with triggering an email notification. Completed orders have all additional testing available as well as final parentage results. Everything is 100% up-

right of the animal in question. There are a variety of instances where this can occur. The main one will be that one of the parents of record are excluded and additional parents need to be submitted. Another instance is that the qualified sire from an MSG has been determined, and member confirmation of that sire and updates necessary based on that confirmation are requested. Each item that requires action will have the view button available to take you to that unknown parentage or conformation parentage page. If you have many animals that require additional parents to verify against or MSGs to confirm sires on, it will be easiest to see the full list from the DNA parent resolution feature. Here you can see every animal from every order that requires member action.

One important concept to note is that the parentage in progress and member action needed steps can go back and forth one or many times. Each time there are exclusions and additional parents are provided, those animals’ statuses will change to parentage in progress until the queue has run that night. To minimize the number of times your animal goes back and forth between these steps, provide all potential parents for exclusions the first round. This process will ensure that all parents provided are being tested and assist with potential lost emails or email confusion. Lastly, the confirmation page will allow you to make name, parent, service type, and PHN updates yourself. Once all changes requested are submitted, your updates will be made instantaneously on regstr. This process will not only save time but speed up animal edits so that members can have changes when requested. Note: This is for future DNA results received and everything going forward. Historic DNA results and details will not be visible in this view. Overall, the process will have lots of changes, but many for the betterment and efficiency to provide the best service we can to our breeders.

Expensive or Just More Valuable?

by Patrick Linnell Analyst, CattleFax

The world is looking brighter for the cow-calf producer with calf prices on summer videos mostly $35-$40 higher than last year. The cow-calf sector needs these kind of prices after years of cyclically low prices and recently surging input costs. However, these prices are also running well above what a simple breakeven against the deferred live cattle futures implies the cattle are worth. How does that work?

Part of the answer is that boxed beef quality grade spreads are generating larger premiums for high grading fed cattle. Average grid premiums have been as large as $67/head this summer due to wide premiums for Choice, Upper 2/3rd Choice, and Prime products in the

If buyers can have confidence that calves will grade well and net premiums on a grid, that value will likely show up in bids. For example, a grid premium of $60 per head is worth $10/cwt. on a 600-lb. calf, all else equal. On top of quality grade, there is additional value if the cattle will be sold on a carcass basis and can be expected to yield with a superior dressing percentage. Furthermore, cattle with better expected feeding performance can be penciled in with lower costs of gain. Grain prices have come off their highs and appear to be settling into a range but are still much higher than recent years. This higher grain environment means larger differences in feeding costs for high performers versus low performers.

Last and certainly not least, it’s hard to ignore the long list of “buttons” for natural, NTHC, GAP, and other programs on some calves. The number of fed cattle actually marketed under those programs remains at or below 5 percent of fed slaughter according to CattleFax estimates, but those programs nonetheless generate additional value at the fed cattle level. That translates to more purchasing power for those buyers and adds another potential bidder for program-eligible calves.

boxed beef complex. Average grid premiums have been trending higher for years as demand for quality grows and increasing grade means more cattle are capturing the benefit of those premiums.

There is one common thread in the discussion above: differences in expected or perceived downstream value for calves. It’s well known that many calves selling on the videos are at least in the upper half of the nation’s cattle

genetics. If they really are, that means those calves should have more value than “industry average”.

Bottom line: The video sales have been stout overall but the price ranges and premiums for top selling calves have been just as astounding. It comes down to expected value further down the supply chain. Between higher input prices and stronger demand for high quality beef, cattle that can be expected to stay healthy, gain efficiently and perform on the rail should continue to receive additional benefit at the auction block.

National Junior Brangus Show

Reserve Champion Ultra Female

MGS TRIO’S JABELLA 700J

Corbyn Whittall, Mabank, Texas

Reserve Champion Red Bred & Owned Female

MARVEL FARMS MISS 1022

Aaron Young, High Springs, Texas

Grand Champion Brangus Cow-Calf Pair

SMART MS DYNAMITE 804H3

Devin Janysek, Hobson, Texas

Reserve Champion Brangus Cow-Calf Pair

JG MISS 895 TITLE JET

Jadyn Young, Wetumka, Oklahoma

BRED & OWNED BRANGUS FEMALE DIVISIONS

Bred & Owned Heifer Calf Champion: ACC JUNGLE CAT 674J12, Katherine Allen, Crockett, TX

Bred & Owned Reserve Heifer Calf Champion: BB MISS MASTERPLAN 150K2, Camille Burns, Wharton, TX

Bred & Owned Yearling Champion Heifer: BB MISS SAVANNAH 150J2, Camille Burns, Wharton, TX

Bred & Owned Reserve Yearling Champion Heifer: 6B LORETTA 1249J, Eris Basey, Florence, TX

Bred & Owned Senior Champion Heifer: 3B MISS

LAURA 804H3, Blayze Saltzman, Iowa, LA

Bred & Owned Reserve Senior Champion Heifer: MISS BH DANDY 334H1, Briana Hicks, Danbury, TX

BRED & OWNED RED BRANGUS FEMALE DIVISIONS

Bred & Owned Red Heifer Calf Champion: MARVEL

FARMS MISS 1022, Aaron Young, High Springs, FL

Bred & Owned Red Reserve Heifer Calf Champion: KWM MS CASSIDY, Kayden Mascheck, Eagle Lake, TX

Bred & Owned Red Yearling Champion Heifer: MISS

TDCC-TW JAGGER 71J2, Talan Wayne Dean, Maysville, OK

Bred & Owned Red Reserve Yearling Champion Heifer: TJM MISS KYRA 826J, Truitt Marks, Waxahachie, TX

Grand Champion Red Brangus Cow-Calf Pair

KTS MS DIXIE 800H

Truitt Marks, Waxahachie, Texas

Reserve Champion Red Brangus Cow-Calf Pair

MISS BROKEN A 768F

Lane Vann, Normangee, Texas

Grand Champion Ultra Cow-Calf Pair

FARRIS MS UB COMPADRE 63G

Kaleb Horner, Tuscola, Texas

Bred & Owned Red Senior Champion Heifer: DOS

XX’S STRETCH’S MS SIERRA, Garrett Stutts, Iola, TX

Bred & Owned Red Reserve Senior Champion Heifer: DOS XX’S STRETCH’S MS MAGGIE, Braden Stutts, Iola, TX

BRED & OWNED BRANGUS BULL DIVISIONS

Bred & Owned Bull Calf Champion: ACC HIGH FIVE 674J15, Katherine Allen, Crockett, TX

Bred & Owned Reserve Bull Calf Champion: BB TURNPIKE 150J5, Camille Burns, Wharton, TX

Reserve Champion Ultra Cow-Calf Pair

HANNAH

Savannah Hanson, Dayton, Texas

Bred & Owned Yearling Bull Champion: 6B JOHN BOY 804J10, Eris Basey, Florence, TX

Bred & Owned Reserve Yearling Bull Champion: CP MR CREED, Cole Pickett, Robeline, TX

Bred & Owned Senior Champion Bull: MR TF RIP 72H2, Addyson Gautreaux, Rayne, LA

BRED & OWNED RED BRANGUS BULL DIVISIONS

Bred & Owned Red Bull Calf Champion: LV’S MR. KASH 768K, Lane Vann, Normangee, TX

National Junior Brangus Show 2022

Bred & Owned Red Reserve Bull Calf Champion: KWM MR SAVAGE YUCATAN, Kayden Mascheck, Eagle Lake, TX

Bred & Owned Red Yearling Bull Champion: MR BROKEN A JUDD 116J, Audrey Acord, Madisonville, TX

Bred & Owned Red Reserve Yearling Bull Champion: VILLA’S SENSATION 71J, April Villarreal, Brookshire, TX

Bred & Owned Red Senior Champion Bull: DOS XX’S DYNAMITE’S TIMBER, Braden Stutts, Iola, TX

Bred & Owned Red Reserve Senior Champion Bull: KWM MR CREEDMORES YUCATAN, Kayden Mascheck, Eagle Lake, TX

OWNED BRANGUS FEMALE DIVISIONS

Junior Heifer Calf Champion: TCR ANITA LOUISE 56K4, Bram Christensen, Angleton, TX

Reserve Junior Heifer Calf Champion: BB MISS PEACHES 150K8, Camille Burns, Wharton, TX

Senior Heifer Calf Champion: ACC JOSIE 674J16,

Katherine Allen, Crockett, TX

Reserve Senior Heifer Calf Champion: TCR REINA 302J14, Bram Christensen, Angleton, TX

Summer Yearling Champion Heifer: JCF MISS SHE’S CRUISIN 924J4, Logan Torbert, Galliano, LA

Reserve Summer Yearling Champion Heifer: SB MS CROSSCUT 313J5, Eris Basey, Florence, LA

Yearling Champion Heifer: RAFTER L MERRITT 38J, Maddox Hartmann, Falls City, TX

Reserve Yearling Champion Heifer: KK MISS TIMELESS 924J2, Weston Hinze, Burton, TX

Junior Champion Heifer: FARRIS MS WHEELHOUSE 15H, Kaleb Horner, Tuscola, TX

Reserve Junior Champion Heifer: WRC MS HANK 5H2, Claire Gill, Beckville, TX

Senior Champion Heifer: SJCC HENNESSEY 804H8, Roxton Stone, Stanton, TX

Reserve Senior Champion Heifer: CHAMP MS

BOOMSHAKALAKA 150H, Avah Noriega, Schulenburg, TX

OWNED RED BRANGUS FEMALE DIVISIONS

Red Junior Heifer Calf Champion: KWM MS CASSIDY, Kayden Mascheck, Eagle Lake, TX

Red Reserve Junior Heifer Calf Champion: MARVEL FARMS MISS 1022, Aaron Young, High Springs, TX

Red Senior Heifer Calf Champion: VILLAS MS DAZE 23J11, April Villarreal, Brookshire, TX

Red Reserve Senior Heifer Calf Champion: SMART MS CHAMPAGNE 826J, Connly Metting, Nordheim, TX

Red Summer Yearling Champion Heifer: MS BROKEN A JADE 841J4, Audrey Acord, Madisonville, TX

Red Reserve Summer Yearling Champion Heifer: DOS XX’S DYNAMITE’S KISS ME, Garrett Stutts, Iola, TX

Red Yearling Champion Heifer: M&M 844/J, Payge Dupre, Kathleen, FL

Red Reserve Yearling Champion Heifer: DOS XX’S DYNAMITE’S GINGER, Garrett Stutts, Iola, TX

Red Junior Champion Heifer: TX MS HOME RUN 372/H2, Tyler Tanecka, Columbus, TX

Red Reserve Junior Champion Heifer: DOS XX’S STRETCH’S MS MAGGIE, Braden Stutts, Iola, TX

Red Senior Champion Heifer: DOS XX’S

DYNAMITE’S RAVEN, Braden Stutts, Iola, TX

OWNED

Bull

302J13,

Champion: BB CROSS CANADIAN 150K3, Quinn Burns, Wharton,

Reserve

Bred & Owned, Ultra and Percentage Judge: Dr. Clint Rusk / Owned Judge: Kylie Patterson / Supreme Judge: Cheryl Linthicum

Grand

6B JOHN BOY 804J10

Eris Basey, Florence, Texas

Reserve

TCR RENEGADE 302J13

Bram Christensen, Angleton, Texas

Grand

DOS XX’S DYNAMITE’S TIMBER

Braden Stutts, Iola, Texas

Reserve

MR BROKEN A JUDD

Audrey Acord, Madisonville, Texas

Grand

ACC HIGH FIVE 674J15

Katherine Allen, Crockett, Texas

Reserve

6B JOHN BOY 804J10

Eris Basey, Florence, Texas

Grand

DOS XX’S DYNAMITE’S

Braden Stutts, Iola,

Yearling

Reserve

Reserve

MR BROKEN A JUDD 116J

Audrey Acord, Madisonville, Texas

Grand

MCC HARD

1149H

Dixie Endres, Ponder, Texas

Reserve

3B MR. CREW 804J1

Blayze Saltzman, Iowa,

Red

MR. KASH 768K,

Vann, Normangee, TX

BROKEN A JUDD 116J, Audrey Acord, Madisonville, TX

Red Yearling

Red

VILLA’S VALENTINO 59J14, April Villarreal, Brookshire, TX

Red

XX’S

DYNAMITE’S TIMBER, Braden Stutts, Iola, TX

Red

Bull: TX DREAM FOREVER 68/H1, Tyler Tanecka, Columbus, TX

National Junior Brangus Show 2022

Belton, Texas

2022

•Grand

•Reserve

313J5, Eris Basey, Florence, TX

•Grand Champion

Marvel’s Miami Jewel 221, Aaron Young, High Springs, FL

Photography Results:

PeeWee division:

· First Place: Jake Kasner, Texas

· Second Place: Wyatt Wunderlich, Texas

· Third Place: Georgia Carrasco, Texas Novice division:

· First Place: Madilyn Nichols, Florida

· Second Place: Harold Baxley, Florida

· Third Place: Truman Taylor, Florida Junior division:

· First Place: Addison Rouse, Texas

· Second Place: Meagan Hanson, Texas

· Third Place: Michael Pritchard, Oklahoma Intermediate division:

· First Place: Camille Burns, Texas

· Second Place: Sara Aultman, Texas

· Third Place: Payge Dupre, Florida Senior division:

· First Place: Macy Marek, Texas

· Second Place: Audrey Acord, Texas

· Third Place: Devin Janysek, Texas

· Second Place: Truitt Marks, Texas

· Third Place: Madison Hanson, Texas Intermediate division:

· First Place: Joshua Walker, Arkansas

· Second Place: Bethany Urban, Kansas

· Third Place: Emma Tittor, Texas Senior division:

· First Place: Audrey Acord, Texas

· Second Place: Weston Hinze, Texas

· Third Place: Abigale Ramirez, Texas Video Marketing:

· First Place: Kinsley Rhodes, Texas

· Second Place: Talan Wayne Dean, Oklahoma

· Third Place: Truitt Marks, Texas Costume Contest:

· First Place: Kinsley Rhodes, Texas

· Second Place: Avah Noriega, Texas

· Third Place: Abbie Jane Trejo, Florida Quiz Bowl “Brangus Jeopardy”

Champion Team: Meagan Hanson, Jacy Leech, Terri Adams, Haley Harbin

•Reserve Champion Phenotype

•Grand Champion Phenotype

Genotype

Brangus Brangus: MISS TDCC-TW JAGGER 71J2, Talan Wayne Dean, Maysville, OK

Genotype

Computer Generated Advertisement Results: Novice division:

· First Place: Talan Wayne Dean, Oklahoma

· Second Place: Kinsley Rhodes, Texas

Reserve Champion Team: Talan Wayne Dean, Bethany Urban, Tyler Dean, Henry Urban

Roger and Janet Greuel Speech Contest Result: Novice

WAT

MS GRAVY TRAIN 362J, Charlotte Trejo, Walnut Hill, FL

•Reserve Champion

MS Kimora, Briana Hicks, Danbury, TX

WL

· Third Place: Paden Smith, Arkansas Junior division:

· First Place: Madeline Gitlitz, Texas

· First Place: Charlotte Trejo, Florida

· Second Place: Kinsley Rhodes, Texas

· Third Place: Harold Baxley, Florida

2022 - 2023 IJBBA Board of Directors

President: Briana Hicks(TX), Ex-Officio: April Villarreal(TX), Queen: Kailey Critendon(TX) Kaily Warren(TX), Tyler Towns (TX), Jayden Pinkston(FL), Jaxon Allen(OK), Savannah Hanson (TX), Emma Tittor (TX), Kade Whiddon (TX), Isabelle Parkey (TX)

2022 - 2023 IJBBA Queen Kaily Critendon

New Exhibitor Award Cassidy Fuchs, Texas

Junior

· First Place: Jack Trejo, Florida

· Second Place: Abbie Jane Trejo, Florida

· Third Place: Ross Donaho, Texas

Intermediate

· First Place: Ahna Sinclair, Missouri

· Second Place: McKenzie Tiemann, Texas

· Third Place: Grant Goree, Texas

Senior

· First Place: Briana Hicks, Texas

· Second Place: Wyatt Jackson, Arkansas

· Third Place: Weston Hinze, Texas

LIVESTOCK JUDGING:

Novice

· First Place: Katherine Allen, Texas

· Second Place: Avah Noriega, Texas

· Third Place: Rodney Rhodes, Texas

Junior

· First Place: Ali Tiemann, Texas

· Second Place: Whit Parkey, Texas

· Third Place: Payton Hanson, Texas

Intermediate

· First Place: Sara Aultman, Texas

· Second Place: McKenzie Tiemann, Texas

· Third Place: Molly Hackstedt, Texas

Senior

· First Place: Maddox Hartmann, Texas

· Second Place: Teegan Mackey, Texas

· Third Place: Mitchell Hackstedt, Texas

Adult

· First Place: Savannah Douglas , Texas

· Second Place: Matt Warren, Texas

· Third Place: Jarred Haynie, Texas Skill-a-thon:

PeeWee

· First Place: Corbin Miller, Louisiana

· Second Place: Jake Kasner, Texas

· Third Place: Georgia Carrasco, Texas

Novice

· First Place: Madilyn Nichols, Florida

· Second Place: Harold Baxley, Florida

· Third Place: Kinsley Rhodes, Texas

Junior

· First Place: Madelyn Eskew, Texas

· Second Place: Carlee Taylor, Florida

· Third Place: Thomas Belt, Texas

Intermediate

· First Place: Ahna Sinclair, Missouri

· Second Place: Aaron Young, Florida

· Third Place: Gracie Johnson, Texas

Senior

· First Place: Maddox Hartmann, Texas

· Second Place: Wyatt Jackson, Arkansas

· Third Place: Briana Hicks, Texas Adult

· First Place: Shea Mackey, Texas

· Second Place: Tyler Dean, Oklahoma

· Third Place: Jarred Haynie, Texas

Team Fitting:

Champion Team: Katherine Allen, Payton Hanson, Camille Burns, and Maddox Hartmann Reserve Champion Team: Alivia Rexroth, Emily Jackson, Bram Christenson, and Briana Hicks Salesmanship:

Novice/Junior Champion Team: Carlee Taylor, Katherine Allen, and Cleavie Allen

Novice/Junior Reserve Champion Team: Truitt Marks, Tristan Pfeil, and Madelyn Eskew

Intermediate/Senior Champion Team: Maddox Hartmann, Weston Hinze, and Cassidy Fuchs Intermediate/Senior Reserve Champion Team: Kayce Lopez and April Villarreal Showmanship: Novice division:

Champion Novice Showman: Katherine Allen, Texas Second Place: Madilyn Nichols, Florida Third Place: Tyler Kasner, Texas

Fourth Place: Emily Pfeil, Texas

Fifth Place: Cleavie Allen, Texas

Sixth Place: Harold Baxley, Florida Junior division:

Champion Junior Showman: Tristan Pfeil, Texas Second Place: Madeline Gitlitz, Texas

Third Place: Carly Metting, Texas

Fourth Place: Roxton Stone, Texas Fifth Place: Lana Tittor, Texas Sixth Place: Kallie Gordon, Texas Intermediate division:

Champion Intermediate Showman: Jade Stone, Texas Second Place: Bram Christensen, Texas Third Place: McKenzie Tiemann, Texas Fourth Place: Joshua Baker, Texas Fifth Place: Emma Tittor, Texas Sixth Place: Audrey Meador, Texas Senior division: Champion Senior Showman: Maddox Hartmann, Texas Second Place: Teegan Mackey, Texas Third Place: Briana Hicks, Texas Fourth Place: Waylon Hinze, Texas Fifth Place: Jayce Krauskopf, Texas Sixth Place: Weston Hinze, Texas Herdsman Contest: FA Cattle, Florida

Taste of States: Louisiana Longest Distance Traveled: Carlee and Truman Taylor from Lakeland, Florida . Frog and Churn Award: Adam Miller – Louisiana Georgianne Myers Award: Mark and Tammy Perry, Texas New Exhibitor Award: Cassidy Fuchs, Texas

High Point Individuals: Novice High Point: Harold Baxley, Florida Junior High Point: Madeline Gitlitz, Texas Intermediate High Point: McKenzie Tiemann, Texas Senior High Point: Briana Hicks, Texas

Novice High Point

Harold Baxley, Florida

Junior High Point

Madeline Gitlitz, Texas

Intermediate High Point

McKenzie Tiemann, Texas

Senior High Point Briana Hicks, Texas

IBBA Brangus Futurity

FEMALE DIVISIONS:

Junior Heifer Calf Champion: TCR ANITA LOUISE 56K4, Triple Crown Ranch, Angleton, TX

Reserve Junior Heifer Calf Champion: ACC KELSEA B 649K3, Cleavie Allen, Crockett, TX

Senior Heifer Calf Champion: TCR REINA 302J14, Triple Crown Ranch, Angleton, TX

Reserve Senior Heifer Calf Champion: MP MISS BRIDGET 118J7, MP Brangus, Waco, TX

Summer Yearling Champion Heifer: SB MS CROSSCUT 313J5, Eris Basey, Florence, TX

Reserve Summer Yearling Champion Heifer: PP MISS MI AMOR 915J9, Pack Ponderosa, Boyd, TX

Yearling Champion Heifer: GKB TANK 88J2, GKB Cattle, Desdemona, TX

Reserve Yearling Champion Heifer: LB MS JENNA 798J2, GKB Cattle, Desdemona, TX

Junior Champion Heifer: MP MISS SWEETIE 38H42, GKB Cattle, Desdemona, TX

Reserve Junior Champion Heifer: WRC MS HANK 5H2, Claire Gill, Beckville, TX

Senior Champion Heifer: MP BARBIE WANTS TO BE ME 804H29, MP Brangus, Waco, TX

Reserve Senior Champion Heifer: MISS BH DANDY 334H1, Briana Hicks, Danbury, TX

RED FEMALE DIVISIONS

Red Junior Heifer Calf Champion: MARVEL FARMS MISS 1022, High Springs, FL

Red Reserve Junior Heifer Calf Champion: KWM MS CASSIDY, Kayden Mascheck, Eagle Lake, TX

Red Senior Heifer Calf Champion: VILLAS MS MARVEL 59J17, Villa Ranch, Brookshire, TX

Red Reserve Senior Heifer Calf Champion: MM 844/J1, Rilee Bennett, Lake Wales, FL

Red Summer Yearling Champion Heifer: MS BROKEN A JADE 841J4, Audrey Acord, Madisonville, TX

Red Reserve Summer Yearling Champion Heifer: KTS MS STELLA 800J, Truitt Marks, Waxahachie, TX

Red Yearling Champion Heifer: TAJO MS CEO 307J4, KO’s Cattle Service, Waxahachie, TX

Red Reserve Yearling Champion Heifer: GKB MISS VELVET 204J8, GKB Cattle, Desdemona, TX

Red Junior Champion Heifer: MS BROKEN A HARLOW 841H4, Lazy 3 Cattle, Tomball, TX, Circle T, Central Point, LA, Lone Star Ranch, Okeechobee, FL

Red

Junior Champion Heifer: MCR TRIO’S HARMONY 255/1, TRIO Cattle & Genetics, Mabank, TX

Judge: Tyler Norvell

IBBA Brangus Futurity

Ultra Reserve Yearling Champion Heifer: OCR

PARTY LINE 487J, Katherine Allen, Crockett, TX

Ultra Junior Champion Heifer: MNR MS LIZZO 535H, Madilyn Nichols, Kathleen, FL

Ultra Senior Champion Heifer: WL MISS KIMORA 701H, Briana Hicks, Danbury, TX

BULL DIVISIONS

Junior Bull Calf Champion: ACC HOMETOWN 649K2, Cleavie Allen, Crockett, TX

Red Reserve Junior Bull Calf Champion: KWM MR SAVAGE YUCATAN, Eagle Lake, TX

Red Senior Bull Calf Champion: MM MR TURBO 844/J2, FA Cattle, Lake Wales, FL

Red Summer Yearling Champion Bull: MR BROKEN A JUDD 116J, Audrey Acord, Madisonville, TX

Red Reserve Summer Yearling Champion Bull: VILLA’S VALENTINO 59J14, Villa Ranch, Brookshire, TX

Red Junior Yearling Champion Bull: CX FOREVER HARLEY, Cox Excalibur Brangus, Katy, TX

Red Reserve Junior Yearling Champion Bull: PJ MR DYNASTY 10J2, Pump Jack Cattle Co., Victoria, TX

Red Senior Yearling Champion Bull: Dos XX’S DYNAMITE”S HERCULES, Dos XX’s Cattle Company, Washington, TX

Red Reserve Senior Yearling Champion Bull: PCC TRIO’S FFF HURACAN 101H3, TRIO Cattle & Genetics, Mabank, TX

Red Junior Champion Bull: KWM MR CREEDMORES, Kayden Mascheck, Eagle Lake, TX

Red Reserve Junior Champion Bull: TX DREAM FOREVER 68/H1, Marvin Tanecka, Columbus, TX

RAFTER L MOTO

Lucherk Cattle, McCoy, Texas

Reserve Junior Bull Calf Champion: TCR EL CAMINO 56K, Triple Crown Ranch, Angleton, TX

Senior Bull Calf Champion: TCR RENEGADE

302J13, Triple Crown Ranch, Angleton, TX

Reserve Senior Bull Calf Champion: SF APOLLO 581J, Paden Smith, Gentry, AR

Summer Yearling Champion Bull: 6B JOHN BOY, Eris Basey, Florence, TX

Reserve Summer Yearling Champion Bull: SANKEYS GOAL LINE 392C, Sankey’s 6N Ranch, Council Grove, KS, Barton Brangus, Stillwater, OK

Red Senior Champion Bull: BROKEN A GKB VALDEZ 841H, GKB Cattle, Desdemona, TX

Red Reserve Senior Champion Bull: CX Hombre’s Rambo 76H1, Cox Excalibur Brangus, Katy, TX

ULTRA BULL DIVISIONS

Ultra Junior Bull Calf Champion: BH MONEY MAN 701K, Briana Hicks, Danbury, TX

Ultra Reserve Junior Bull Calf Champion: WC UB KINGFISHER 512K, Wyman Creek Cattle Company, Summersville, MS

Ultra Senior Bull Calf Champion: RAFTER L MOTO MOTO 150J, Lucherk Cattle, McCoy, TX

MCC

Junior Yearling Champion Bull: MP MR MAGNUM 804J65, MP Brangus, Waco, TX

Reserve Junior Yearling Champion Bull: MR MS CHEECHO 767J5, FA Cattle, Lake Wales, FL

Senior Yearling Champion Bull: VILLA’S MR DYNAMITE 74H6, Villa Ranch, Brookshire, TX

Senior Champion Bull: GKB PERFECT STORM 804H20, GKB Cattle, Desdemona, TX

Reserve Senior Champion Bull: KL TROUBADOUR 77H, K & L Brangus, Gillette, TX

RED BULL DIVISIONS

Red Junior Bull Calf Champion: LV’S MR KASH, Lane Vann, Normangee, TX

Ultra Reserve Senior Bull Calf Champion: CHAMP MR UNDENIABLE, Avah Noriega, Schulenburg, TX

Ultra Summer Yearling Champion Bull: DIAMOND JV JOKER 23J, 4D Red Brangus, Spring, TX

Ultra Junior Yearling Champion Bull: WC UB THE JESTER 188J, Wyman Creek Cattle Company, Summersville, MS

Ultra Reserve Junior Yearling Champion Bull: 3B MR. CREW 804J1, Blayze Saltzman, Iowa, LA

Ultra Senior Champion Bull: MC RANGER 924H9, GKB Cattle, Desdemona, TX

Grand Champion Ultrablack/Ultrared Female

Hanson, Dayton, Texas

Reserve Champion Ultrablack/Ultrared Female

Madelyn Eskew, Tarzan, Texas

Grand Champion Ultrablack/Ultrared Cow-Calf Pair Hannah Savannah Hanson, Dayton, Texas

Grand Champion Ultrablack/Ultrared Bull

Desdemona, Texas

Reserve Champion Ultrablack/Ultrared Bull

Belton, Texas

Judge: Tyler Norvell

Are they a good strategy for you?

by Darrell Wilkes, Ph.D., International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) executive vice president

An embedded risk in the seedstock business since the dawn of pedigrees has been the use of single-sire breeding pastures. It was a risk that seedstock breeders simply had to take in order to record accurate pedigrees of calves. Every stockman can recite a list of things that can go wrong with this situation. Bulls get hurt, or they lose interest in breeding cows, or they produce impotent semen due to a deeper problem in their male plumbing. Whatever the cause, when a bull stops getting cows pregnant, and he is the only bull in the pasture, you’re going to end up with open or late-bred cows.

A careful manager will check their bulls every day if they possibly can, but even that does not guarantee that you’ll notice a bull that is not breeding cows. Research has shown that about 70% of cows displaying estrus do so at night. So, even if one is checking bulls every day or at least a few times each week, you may not notice a bull that is ignoring a cow in standing heat.

If a bull is visibly injured, at least you know you need to

take action to replace him. If he is quietly disinterested or is showing good libido but not producing viable sperm, you don’t know you have a problem until you notice cows in estrus after the breeding season is over –or you have a higher-than-normal percentage of open cows at preg-check time.

Now that DNA testing is readily available and very affordable (a parentage test costs $16), a significant historical impediment to multi-sire breeding pastures is no longer an issue. But that does not mean it is the right answer for everybody.

Tom Rew of Hayman’s 711 Ranch in Kenansville, Florida has elected not to use multi-sire pastures but said that his son, who is assuming responsibility for the ranching operation, may take a different approach.

“There are two risk factors to consider, and I’ve experienced the downside of both”, Mr. Rew said. “One obvious risk is that a bull – for whatever reason – is simply not effective at getting cows pregnant. That

supports the argument in favor of a multi-sire setting. The risk on the other side is that bulls like to fight and I don’t like the idea of losing a 5-figure bull because he lost the fight. That works against the idea of a multi-sire pasture. There are certain risks no matter what.”

Mr. Rew added “we purchase our herd sires and pay plenty for them. They have never run together as younger bulls, so the risk of a skirmish is greater. We built special paddocks to house them individually in the off season. Finally, we very deliberately sort cows into groups based on many criteria. It could be their EPD profiles, or whether they’re Brangus or Ultra, or even based on cow families or body type. We then concentrate on placing the most complementary sire with them. Sorting into larger groups and finding two bulls that meet the criteria would be more difficult.”

Chris Heptinstall has plenty of experience with large herds. He is current General Manager of Southern Cattle Company, and former manager of Salacoa Valley Farms when it was a division of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. “We started using multi-sire pastures as soon as we had the DNA tests available to confirm paternity”, he said. “I was always nervous turning out one bull with 30-40 cows after they had been synchronized for A.I. breeding. If 50% don’t conceive to the timed A.I., they will typically re-cycle over a 3-4 day period. That’s asking a lot of a bull. And if a cow misses that cycle, suddenly she’s 40-45 days into the breeding season before she has an opportunity to conceive. Getting cows bred up earlier in the season and having up to 10 percentage point improvement in overall pregnancy rate makes this an important and effective strategy for us.”

“The risk of bulls fighting and getting hurt is real, but there are some ways to mitigate it. We deliberately run bulls together that have basically grown up together or have spent the off season together. They have their pecking order all worked out by the time they go to work in the breeding pasture.”

“Our commercial bull customers don’t give it a second thought. They run multi-sire pastures as a matter of routine. So, obviously, this is nothing new. The only real difference is the value of the bulls. Running a bunch of $20,000 bulls together is riskier than running $5,000 bulls together. I wouldn’t run an elite semen sire with other bulls under any circumstance unless I had a lifetime supply of semen already collected,” Heptinstall added.

“Even though we raise Brangus cattle, and they handle the heat better than Bos taurus cattle, don’t kid yourself, heat stress is a real issue with bull fertility,” Heptinstall warned.

Kiefer Peckham, Registered Herd Manager for Williams Ranch Company, echoed Heptinstall’s warning about heat stress. “The temperature in the scrotum only needs to be elevated by 1-2 degrees in order for spermatogenesis to be negatively affected. If a bull is overly active on a 105-degree day and gets over-heated, he may have sub-fertile semen for a while. Having other bulls to help out is good insurance”.

Williams Ranch routinely uses multi-sire breeding groups. Peckham is very deliberate when selecting bulls to run in common with a group of cows. “Generally, when we turn a couple of young bulls out together, they have basically grown up together. They’ve been together their whole life. They might even be full brothers. If there is any fighting, it is usually over within the first couple days and is never really serious fighting. If it is, we adjust.”

“We also run bulls together in the off season and we give them as much space as we can. I just want the less dominant bulls to be able to get away if that’s what they need to do. This is just one more strategy to reduce fighting when bulls are turned out with cows. I honestly don’t remember the last off-season bull injury,” Peckham added.

Every calf is parent-verified at Williams, whether they come from a multi-sire breeding situation or A.I. or E.T. “We won’t buy an animal that isn’t parent-verified, and I don’t expect our customers to. We’re going to parent-verify these cattle anyway, so the multi-sire mating is not an issue from that perspective.”

When asked if he has seen significant differences in the number of calves sired by different bulls running in common, Peckham had a one-word answer: “Absolutely. I’ve seen situations with two bulls in a breeding pasture together and one will be the sire of 4045 calves while the other sires 5-10. I think it is mostly a dominance issue and not an issue of one bull being less fertile.”

Bill Cawley manages Stalwart Ranches, a large enterprise spread across 4 ranches in Texas. Stalwart Ranches received the IBBA Commercial Producer

of the Year Award in 2022 in recognition of their innovative but practical business management strategy. Most of the 3,400 cows are commercial Brangus that are run in multi-sire breeding pastures. A couple hundred cows are maintained in a registered Brangus herd where a multi-sire strategy is carefully employed.

“An open cow is a huge financial liability,” Cawley said, adding “It is no different whether you’re running commercial cows or registered cows, an open cow is a lost opportunity that you’ll never get back. In a commercial setting, you don’t have the opportunity to sell a highdollar individual to make back the money lost on open cows, so you get pretty darn focused on reproductive efficiency. In my mind, I cannot bring myself to think any differently about the registered herd. Reproductive efficiency is still paramount.”

“We used to run single-sire breeding groups because we really had no other choice. And I won’t forget the time a pretty expensive herd sire settled 5 cows and left 25 open. That pretty expensive bull became a very expensive bull real fast. When DNA testing came along, it made the decision very easy for me. One extra pregnancy – one extra calf – pays for a lot of DNA testing,” Cawley explained.

“As far as management strategies are concerned, it might seem counterintuitive but I have had good experience turning a young bull out with an older veteran sire in the same pasture with about 50-60 cows.

old bulls already know the game, so they are less likely to waste so much energy and so many million sperm cells.”

“It’s difficult to provide an exact number, but I’d say that we have increased our pregnancy rate by as much as 10% by going to multi-sire breeding. We have also eliminated the train wrecks like the very expensive bull example mentioned previously. That’s worth a lot,” Cawley concluded.

Did you hear about the two bulls laying under the tree on the top of the hill?

Grady Green, Manager of Draggin’ M Brangus, El Dorado, Arkansas, has elected not to use multi-sire breeding pastures. “We do a lot of E.T. and turn our cowherd over pretty aggressively. As a result, we have some valuable young cows that we offer for sale and most buyers want to know the sire of the developing fetus rather than a list of potential sires. We’re set up for single-sire breeding pastures and get along fine. We A.I. virtually everything and then we turn out top end (expensive) bulls. We are very deliberate in checking on our bulls as frequently as possible so that if there is an obvious issue with an injury or a lack of interest in cycling cows, we can deal with it.”

One old bull and one yearling bull. Upon seeing the cycling activity in the cows down the hill, the young bull jumped to his feet, got all excited, and proclaimed that he was going to RUN down the hill and breed a cow. The old bull slowly stood up, stretched, and said that he was planning to WALK down the hill and breed all of them.

There are two dynamics at play. First, the energetic young sire that chases every hot cow seems to motivate the older (lazy) bull to get with the program and breed cows. Secondly, the young bull may recognize that they’re no match for the older bull so they run from the fight rather than face off against goliath,” Mr. Cawley said.

“Young bulls can wear themselves out with the first cow that comes in heat. Its like they fall in love and want to get married. And then, the rest of the cows start cycling and it takes them a while to get their strength back. The

Savvy stockmen like Chris Heptinstall, Tom Rew, Grady Green, Kiefer Peckham and Bill Cawley have each evaluated their unique operations and have decided to employ or not employ multi-sire breeding pastures for their registered cattle. The objective of this article was simply to help breeder’s think through all the questions they will surely ask themselves as they contemplate using multiple bulls together in a breeding pasture.

For breeders who use multi-sire pastures, IBBA has developed tools within the software system to make it as easy as possible to determine the correct sire of calves resulting from multi-sire mating situations. With new upgrades to the DNA module in Regstr just last month, the process is more automated than ever.

The first step is to set up a multi-sire group.

to Create

A MULTI-SIRE GROUP

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