North American Bull Guide 2012

Western Livestoclk Journa

90 Years 3 GENERATIONS

January 16, 2012 • Section Two • A Crow Publication

April 14, 2012

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CONTENTS 14 Nelson Crow, WLJ’s Founding Leader —Since Western Livestock Journal’s inception, we have published over 4,500 issues. We are proud to be a third-generation family business and in this article, we share some history from the old days.

22 A History of Cattle Selection

—Selection of cattle for economically important traits has brought the beef industry a tremendous distance over the past 90 years.

44 90 Years of Beef Packing

—From sawdust and swinging carcasses to sophisticated sanitation systems and case-ready beef, the U.S. beef packing industry has evolved tremendously since the 1920s.

56 We Go Way Back 86 102

—Five industry legends share their history, their hopes for the future, and a few great memories about the Western Livestock Journal.

Strong Cattle Market Expected to Continue—In the last few years, cattle

producers have seen record-high corn costs to the most severe economic contraction since the Great Depression, but in spite of all that, annual average calf prices posted record highs in 2004, 2005, 2010 and 2011.

90 Years of Growth—Scientific

breakthroughs in technology, medicine and animal nutrition have changed the structure of livestock production over the past 90 years.

INDEX

119 122 126

10

Up-to-Date EPD Listings Sale Calendar Advertiser Index

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

This year’s North American Bull Guide will mark Western Livestock Journal’s (WLJ) 90th anniversary. For 90 years or 4, 700 weekly issues of WLJ, we have tried to assemble and report the news in the livestock industry.

Pete Crow

We’ve recorded a lot of history over that time and we decided to bring 90th you a little history in this Bull ANNIVERSARY 1921-2011 Guide. Dr. Bob Hough has taken a Western Livestock Journal look at the way the cattle industry did its genetic selection over the years. In the early days, the show ring was one of our most valuable genetic selection tools. In those early days, cattle just had to look good and be big. It didn’t tell us much except for how big we could grow these beasts.

Performance evaluations for economically relevant traits came along in the ’50s when breeders started collecting and sharing data and started setting up breedwide data sets to start understanding the implications of their breeding and selecting of beef sires.

Much has changed in how we breed cattle and also the way we produce and market the final product, beef. Steve Kay gives us a brief view of the packing business and how they changed over time and how they handled the product. It seems that there was seldom a time when the cattle industry wasn’t at odds with the packing industry.

WLJ reported on many of these issues along the way and we will share some of the comments made by my grandfather, father and myself. WLJ is a family enterprise just like many ranching operations. It’s a people business and for this Bull Guide, we have selected five well-known personalities in the livestock business to share their views and their relationships with the Crow family and WLJ. This issue is about the history, but we have also provided a snapshot into the future, and Jim Robb at the Livestock Marketing Information Center tells us what to expect in the markets ahead.

PETE CROW WLJ Publisher

NELSON CROW

WLJ’s founding leader

by Pete Crow

Publisher, Western Livestock Journal

Western Livestock Journal (WLJ) is proud to be celebrating 90 years of recording the history of the livestock industry. We have published over 4,500 issues, along with various other publications, since our inception in 1922.

Along with celebrating the 90 years, we are also proud to be a third-generation family business, much like many of our ranching friends.

WLJ was started by Nelson R. Crow.

He learned how to use a typewriter in the army and when he was released, he became a USDA market reporter in St. Joseph, MO. Throughout his early years, he worked as a USDA market reporter in Chicago, San Francisco, and when the Los Angeles Stockyards opened in 1921, he was transferred to Los Angeles to report on the markets there.

The Los Angeles Union Stockyards were owned by the Union Stockyards and Transit Co. There was a very close tie to the Union Pacific Rail Road, and cattle were shipped by train. Management quickly realized they needed a way to communicate with the livestock industry and the Union Stock Yard and

Nelson R. Crow

Transit Co. loaned Nelson the money to start the first era of WLJ, then called the Farm and Ranch Market Journal, and Crow Publications.

The Los Angeles Stockyards was the newest of the central markets in the West, and Los Angeles was growing fast. News and markets pages filled eas-

ily. There were plenty of independent packers and they offered a strong market to livestock producers, attracting cattle throughout the West, including Montana and Texas. Finished steers sold for $7/cwt. in those days. Los Angeles was also one of the largest produce markets in the country. Prior to today’s Los Angeles, covered with homes and concrete, it was one of the largest diversified agriculture regions in the nation.

It didn’t take long for Nelson to earn the respect of everyone in the industry.

The newspaper was a huge success, and in 1939, he was able to pay off his note to Union Stockyard and Transit Co. Then president of the company, Arthur Leonard, wrote: (see letter on next page) Nelson’s livestock industry column always maintained a serious tone relating to hot industry topics. He wasn’t bashful about letting readers know what he really thought. Ironically, Nelson talked about many of the same issues as we do today. In 1932, he takes on a radical tone: “It’s not surprising that Communist and Anarchist are able to make head-

Formal Opening of the Los Angeles Union

14

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

way in the U.S. when we have the sorry spectacle of the political leaders hurling slanderous charges at each other via radio and daily newspapers. Such men make it difficult for aliens to have faith in and respect for our form of government.”

Flipping through past volumes of the Journal, it’s easy to follow the history of the packing industry, which has been at the center of debates for 90-plus years.

In 1936, Livestock Magazine was started and was a nationally distributed publication, and ran more management and feature-length stories about people and places.

The Farm and Ranch Market Journal became Western Livestock Journal in the early 1930s. WLJ carried market news and trade news, but also contained several signature columns. One of the more colorful ones was written by Frank King, a good old Southwest cowhand. His weekly column, “Maverick,” was about the people and places he had met along his travels, including Billy the Kid, and he wasn’t afraid to tell it the way he saw it.

In 1936, King let one of his readers in on the importance of having an opinion, and supporting beliefs with facts. “A feller wrote in the other day from up north of here stoppin’ the Journal. He cancelled his subscription plum off ’n the books on account he is mad at me for endorsin’ the ‘Vigilantes.’”

In that same column, King continues, “The way things is gettin’ to be these days, when shyster lawyers, pin-head governors, an’ sob-sisters workin’ overtime to free law violators, it looks like a little vigilante law might do some good, especially if they work on some of these folks that are so busy hampering justice.”

Bruce Kiskaden, the famous western poet, was another frequent columnist, along with artist Kathryn Field from New Mexico.

Stockyards - Nov. 1, 1922

Drawing By Kathryn Field

Then and Now

By Bruce Kiskaddon

There were officers, outlaws, and gamblers and scrappers, That lived their wild lives in the stirrin’ old west.

There were bull whackers, mule skinners, soldiers and trappers; But the old time cow puncher was there with the best.

The old frontier cattleman, cool and unhurried, Though the danger was close, or the goin’ was tough: Went on with his work, and he never once worried; If he had a few cowboys, well, that was enough.

Now the bobbed wire fences have cut up the ranges.

The cattle themselves is a different breed.

There has been some improvement and plenty of changes.

There’s a heap in the blood, but there’s more in the feed.

The old time cow puncher, the dare devil ranger, With a gun on his hip and the spurs on his heels, Is replaced by a cow hand that works in less danger.

He is surer of shelter and regular meals.

Now the herdsman today has his troubles and losses But he still has the heart of the old time cow hand.

He is doin’ his best just the same as his bosses, To raise the most beef, the best way that he can.

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

15

Nelson enjoyed commenting on the federal government, as would my father and I in future issues of WLJ. In 1947, he wrote: Too high. Government. It is amazing to read of the discussions in the Congress regarding the amount of money that taxpayers will have to pay for the federal government. Certainly there are hundreds of thousands of government employees who are performing no really useful service. A committee of business people who have had to trim their own expenses to meet income should tell the lawmakers how to cut Federal expense.

It’s too bad to fire people but it is an expensive luxury to keep them on the payroll when every citizen is burdened with an almost unbearable tax bill and that goes for local and state governments as well. Give you Congressmen who sincerely want to cut down federal expenses, all the support possible. The cost of government is all together to expensive and can be reduced sharply and must be reduced.

There is recorded history of the Big 5 packers being in cahoots with the federal government on many issues. The Packers and Stockyards Act was at the top, and an issue even before WLJ was first published. Nelson wrote several comments centered around the debates.

In one 1936 column, Nelson is discussing a meeting at the Stock Yards held by the National Livestock Loss Prevention Board. While the meeting centered around packers’ losses caused by animal bruising, Nelson’s comments discussed the blame game played between the groups: “It was pretty much a matter of the pot calling the kettle black at the meeting. Producers were inclined to lay much blame on the packer, the railroad and the truck; the packer was inclined to blame the shipper and the transportation agencies; the transportation people blame the shipper.”

War articles and comments are also scattered throughout the 90 years of WLJ history. World War I and II both had major effects on the livestock production and packing industry. In 1942, Nelson talks about keeping the ranch horse because of the ongoing war, and a shortage of rubber. His glass half full 16

outlook on the country, the industry, and life in general is clear. “Some how, we Americans are inclined to make the best of things. We know that we are going to have to use automobiles and trucks less, but we’ll find some other way of getting around,” he wrote. “The fact is, we’ll all have a good time, using less speed and seeing what is going on around us...[but] …We’ll all be glad to get back to the ‘good old days’ when we had full use of trucks and automobiles, but the big idea now is to lick hell out of our enemies. Then we’ll enjoy our luxuries all the more,” he wrote.

Meat grading was a hot topic in the late 1920s. The government was looking for a way to standardize their meat purchases for the military and food assistance programs. Grading wasn’t popular among western cattlemen and Nelson’s comments in the early years make it clear that he didn’t support the effort until 1938 when he said in one of his columns: “So widespread is the call for U.S. graded meats that instead of one grader in the Los Angeles Area, three men are now regularly employed. Eventually, all beef sold in the United States will be graded for quality: I would like to see Los Angeles become the first large city where U.S. grading and stamping of all meat is compulsory.”

In that same column, Nelson said, “It must be recognized that any sound improvement in the livestock markets must depend largely upon improved

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

business conditions and resultant increased purchasing power on the part of workers.” That same sentence could be reused today.

Stock shows were a major marketing event in the early issues of the paper.

WLJ pages were filled with show results and show news. These stock shows were a way for stockmen to gather and trade news along with their livestock.

In 1932, Nelson was responsible for starting the Great Western Stock Show in Los Angeles. The pages were filled every week with show announcements, the level of entries, and who the judges would be.

One 1936 front page story read, “Hereford President to visit stock show.” The importance placed on the breed association was evident with an entire story dedicated to Albert K Mitchell, president of the American Hereford Association, attending the Los Angeles Stock show. Mitchell, owner of the Tequessquite Ranch, traveled to the show from New Mexico.

WLJ was an all-species publication

September 5, 1939

until the war. Paper rations, along with other rationing of products, would change the paper. Nelson’s growth was limited by the paper allocations. Always the entrepreneur, Nelson realized he could get an additional paper allocation if he started another publication on a slightly different cattle product, so he started Western Dairy Journal. The Los Angeles milk shed was right in the stockyards and the produce markets, so it was a perfect addition. When the war ended, Nelson’s son, Dick Crow, came home from the Navy, and he went right to work on Western Dairy Management as a fieldman in the dairy industry at the age of 20. Not long after, he was the youngest member elected to the California Dairy Advisory Board. Crow Publications would eventually sell the dairy magazine in the early ’80s.

In the late ’40s, with business growing, Nelson hired Forrest Bassford and made him a partner in Crow Publications, Inc. Bassford had worked for the Record Stockman, another one of the western heritage publications, and Hereford Journal. Forest was a broad thinker and when the 1960s rolled around, he was eager to work with the new cattle breeds arriving in the U.S. Forrest was regarded as one of the only journalists who had an open mind about the usefulness of Continental and American breeds. He took a lot of heat for promoting them from the more established Hereford and Angus breeds.

He was instrumental in starting the Charolais Breeders Association, and many other American breeds of cattle.

In a 1998 letter, he wrote, “For many, including me, the 17 western states have been the nations cow country. The land of breed creation (Santa Gertrudis, Beefmaster, Brangus Simbrah, etc.) of breed importation—of breed leadership.” Forrest Bassford would become Nelson’s right hand man, and a great mentor for the future publishers of WLJ. The early1950s were a boom period for the livestock industry, but the boom would not hold, and the country fell into a widespread drought and recession by the mid-50s. Nelson was advising cattlemen to reduce their inventory to protect the value of their cattle.

One thing that both Nelson and Bassford always preached was genetic improvement. Starting in the ’30s, Nelson was encouraging producers to buy the best bulls they could afford and not buy the native scrubs of the day.

In 1956, cattle numbers were at an astounding 93 million head In the mid-50s, Dick joined WLJ as a fieldman in the mountain states after spending 15 years on the Western Dairy Journal. Dick would later become president in 1971 and start sharing editorial duties with Arron Dudley.

In 1952, a small news clip in the Los Angeles Times talked about WLJ on its 30th anniversary, claiming that cattlemen throughout the state swore by WLJ and it had exerted a profound effect in

its increasing war on meddling bureaucracy and unnecessary federal controls.

The article said that “each advance of the livestock industry is assisted by the expert and timely reports and analysis printed in the publication.”

The Times article quotes Nelson on his growing publication. “The little paper caught on in an amazing manner, though. I sent out a prospectus to about 6,000 persons and darned if I didn’t get 2,500 subscriptions right off the bat.

That was plenty to start with and we’ve been going and growing ever since.”

Nelson’s influence was seen not only in the cattle industry, but also in the academic world. Evelyne Rowe Rominger, University of California, Davis graduating class of 1951 and editor of the Aggie in 1949, said she was challenged by academic committee members on a few of her articles—one of them an editorial, “Showmanship, Hah,” criticizing students for their unprofessional behavior at the campus Little International Livestock Show. Committee members thought her criticism embarrassed the campus, she said. “That day, lucky for me, Nelson Crow, editor of the Western Livestock Journal, wrote me a letter Continued on page 20

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

17

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January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

Continued from page 17 saying it was about time someone had said something about it. I thought I was really big stuff.”

Nelson’s comments in the 1950’s Western Livestock Journal Magazine were called, “Observations by the Publisher.”

His December 1950 column starts with, “As we come to the close of 1950, we realize that we have been in a boom period.

Everything is higher than ever before: taxes, wages, income, prices of everything we sell and everything we buy. But people are not too happy about it because every sensible person realizes that our socalled prosperity is based upon the terrible threat of another devastating world war in which the people of the United States may have to fight for survival.”

The 1950s saw beef grades changing.

The new grading system sent previouslygraded Choice to Prime, and some of the good to Choice. “They didn’t like the idea of a new grade to be called Regular—the name didn’t make much sense,” Nelson wrote, discussing the politics of the changes.

Nelson Crow was a true leader in the livestock industry; he knew the issues and knew what the livestock industry needed. He had a good eye for talent and started many legends in the livestock publication industry and earned the eyes and ears of the industry.

In 1952, Nelson had the opportunity to expand and purchased Livestock Magazine from the Biggs family in Denver, CO. It fit perfectly with his operation and created the Mountain Plains edition and the Pacific Slope editions, two editions each week with custom editorial for each region. It also added to the WLJ monthly magazine. This created a very competitive situation with the Record Stockman, which reigned in the Plains states.

The two weeklies were combined in the ’70s to create one national edition of Western Livestock Journal and the monthly magazine was re-named Livestock Magazine, to have national advertising appeal, and split into three editorial editions. Livestock Magazine ceased publication in the early ’80s due to unbearable economic times.

In 1967, an election year, Nelson was voicing concern over government regula20

tion and wrote: “We are concerned about spendthrift policies of our Federal Government which is going deep and deeper into debt; and we are concerned about state and local taxes which approach the point of confiscation.”

This holiday column, dated Dec. 28, 1967, went on: “Congressmen are back home after appropriating $157.4 billion, an increase in one year of $13.5 billion. In the four years President Johnson has held the nation’s highest office, federal appropriations have increased by $53.7 billion!”

Nelson passed in the summer of 1968.

There were a lot of great people and fieldmen who worked with Western Livestock Journal over the years, including Bob Tiele, Mack Jones, Don Dorris and John Cholis. They were all extremely competitive men who loved the livestock industry and the people they worked with. The list goes even longer with the likes of Pat Goggins, E. C. Larkin, Russ Pepper, Lionel Chambers, Beau Meek, Sherm Guttridge, Ralph Heinemann and John

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

Cote, along with a host of others.

The paper would eventually be passed down from Nelson to my father, Dick, who would eventually pass the reins down to me, the current publisher. Today’s fieldmen include Jerry York (30 years), Jerry Gliko (30 years), Jim Gies (25 years), and the newest edition to the field staff, Logan Ipsen.

The personal computer saved the print publication industry. It’s a long way from hot lead type in the 1920s to the instant type setting ability of the personal computer and the internet, which is changing the print publication industry today and the way we deliver news and advertising messages. Quality editorial and industry comment will always be a mainstay of WLJ regardless if it is in our print edition or the new digital edition.

However, WLJ and the livestock industry have always been about the people and the relationships each of the publishers of WLJ have made with the livestock industry.

Whiteface

with 1880s longhorn e nc ue fl in Hereford

As inspiration to write this article, I watched the famous 1925 Buster Keaton movie “Go West” where they take a large group of steers from a desert range, load them on to a rail road car and then Buster leads them through town to Los Angeles Stock Yards. The LA Stock Yards is where the famous Western Livestock Journal (WLJ) opened its doors in 1921 to cover the markets. The cattle were high percentage Hereford, with signs of some Longhorn influence in their body shape.

Early kinds and breeds of cattle Longhorn

If we step back, it all makes sense. Longhorns, previously known as just “Mexican” cattle, were one of the three groups of cattle that came the closest to being the indigenous cattle as we had. Having been brought over by Spanish military, missionaries and colonists, Longhorns were running feral by 1550s. However, between the 1880s and 1927, they had been bred

Constitution, 1850 prime steer, 5 years old, 3,850 lbs.

22

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

practically out of extinction by imported breeds, primarily Herefords. That is when the U.S. government funded a herd in the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Reserve in order to preserve the breed, although, in my opinion, distinctive Longhorn markings could still be seen on some Mexican feeder calves being used in the experimental feedlot at the University of Arizona in early 1980s.

According to John Rouse in “Cattle of the World,” the other two kinds of cattle that existed in the U.S. in the early 1920s were the Florida Scrubs and Natives. The Florida Scrubs, which were very small Spanish cattle imported from the Caribbean Islands, had started running feral in Florida as early as the 16th century. The other was the “Native” American cattle, which was a conglomeration of cattle types brought over by settlers starting in the 1600s from throughout Britain, Continental Europe and Scandinavia. These various types of cattle soon became intermingled and indistinguishable, and the three purposes—meat, draft, milk— “Natives” would find their way to California with farmers and become the basis for many people’s herds.

To improve these cattle, producers almost exclusively imported breeds from Britain where the science of stabilizing breeds was farthest along, primarily Herefords, Shorthorns and Angus. The Shorthorns were the first to be imported (1783) followed by Herefords (1817) and Angus (1873). In addition to the British breeds, Zebu cattle, first imported in 1849, had found a strong niche along the Gulf Coast by the 1920s. There were also a few Charolais imported into Texas as early as the 1930s, but their weight and impact of importation would not occur until 1966.

by Dr. Bob Hough

Dot, purebreed Angus steer

Showring reigns supreme Vying for market share in the 1920s, one could not overstate the importance of the showring. The cattle were similar in size as they are now, but on their way down to smaller sizes. This was a continuation of a trend that had started in 1888 at the Fat Stock Show in Chicago when an 863-day, 1,515-pound purebred Angus steer called Dot beat the long reigning, dual-purpose, 4- to 6-year-old Shorthorn bullocks that were often over 65 inches and 3,000 pounds before being considered prime. Literally, Shorthorn herds that had been having $3,500 sale averages became almost worthless overnight. At 1,515 pounds, Dot was referred to as Baby Beef.

Of course, if a little smaller, earlier maturing animal was good, then people reasoned a lot smaller had to be even better.

This trend would continue until the early 1960s when breeders literally had to dig a hole for their cows and heifers so their

show bulls were able to mount them.

Although Angus gained the reputation as the “butchers” breed, Hereford was by far the most popular breed in the West.

This had all started with the severe winters of 1881 and 1886 when the Hereford cattle out-survived all other improved breeds and their dominance in U.S. pure- Salbury 1898 Imported bred cattle registrations held on until the Hereford from England.

1960s. Angus was more of a regional breed, roughly one-quarter the size of Hereford.

The Angus Association had always built its promotional year around the Chicago International Stock Show, but during World War II, the Chicago Stock Show was shut down. Because of this, Angus decided to place all its resources on the National Western Stock Show in Denver to try to make inroads into Herefords’ western market.

Remember, the showring was everything erican at the time. According to the late Herman Beau Donald, 1916 Am n pio am Purdy, who was on the national champiRoyal Ch on intercollegiate livestock judging team the year before the war and coached the Ernie, 1948 Interna tional Champion

on Hereford Primelad & Lorna Doone Champia Exposition isian Lou at 4 Bulls 190

Ace Broker 1998 National Champion Bull January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

23

champion team right after the war, during the war years, the tallow (fat) was worth almost as much as the lean. This, of course, played into Angus hands because they had the smallest, fattest cattle. According to John Rouse in “World Cattle,” Angus did make some inroads in the West, especially in people wanting to breed first-calf heifers.

In the 1950s, with the showring at its pinnacle, came the widespread appearance of dwarf cattle, mainly in some of the bloodlines popular in the showring in the Angus and Hereford breeds. According to Keith Evans in “A Historic Angus Journey,” the trend towards “compressed” cattle in the showring had reached its zenith by the mid to late 1950s, and the most common form of dwarfism associated with these cattle was “snorter dwarf,” a simple recessive genetic defect. Unlike now when we can do genomic testing for genetic testing, at the time, a breeder either had to go through extensive progeny testing to declare an animal “clean” or, in some cases, whole herds suddenly had little or no value overnight (like in the case of dual-purpose Shorthorns). The cynicism of the showring now started to bubble among first a group of academics and then grew ever wider amongst producers.

Just before World War II came the first few seeds needed for objective selection. Dr. Jay Lush was considered by many to be the father of modern animal breeding and was doing many of the calculations that would be needed by the modern beef industry.

Furthermore, after the war, university faculties would be filled with his protégées at performance hotspots around the country.

The other notable prewar place was the USDA Miles City Experiment Station in Montana that, starting with trials in 1936, identified that performance was heritable.

One other note, the first bull test was held

in Texas in 1941.

Right after the war, the performance movement started to pick up some steam with the scope of people interested expanding rapidly.

This included the academic community, such as Dr. H. H. Stonaker of Colorado State University (CSU) who started the Hesperus bull test; Professors John Dr. Stonaker Knox, Phil Neale and Marvin Koger at New Mexico State University (NMSU); and Virginia Tech and the Front Royal beef cattle research station where they determined that selecting cattle based on growth rate versus type was heritable and genetically independent of type.

A small but significant group of breeders started to gravitate to these thought leaders. Breeders like Waldo and Sal Forbes of Beckton Stock Farm in Wyoming would be influenced by Stonaker to start collecting and performance testing Red Angus, which would eventually lead to the start of that breed. Charlie Redd of Redd Ranches in Colorado is believed to be one of the

first people to consign bulls to a bull test when he sent his Hereford bulls to the Four Corners Bull Test in the 1940s. George Ellis started performance testing Charlie Redd at the Bell Ranch under the watchful eye of NMSU faculty.

From the Bell would come the “205” day weaning weight adjustment breed associations used, as that was their average days of weaning weight when it came to set a number for days to adjust to. Miles City would develop the Line 1 Herefords and greatly influence Ferry Carpenter with cattle and ideas when he would go on to play a key role in most of the upcoming performance programs. Of course, there was Dr. Lush, who directly influenced people like Carlton Corbin of the famous Emulous Angus cattle line.

The great interest in the Front Royal research by Virginia breeders would lead to the university setting up a weighing and grading program starting in 1953, and in 1955, with Dr. Thomas Marlowe hired to be in charge, Virginia became the first Beef Cattle Improvement Association (BCIA) to be incorporated in the U.S. Some of the other first states to have BCIA’s, some even older than Virginia, were California, Colorado, Maine, Montana and New Mexico.

Often, in these programs, a state or university grader would grade the cattle and the cattle would be weighed for average daily gain. From this, an index could be calculated. At the time, grades matched with USDA Quality Grades, since conformation was part of the quality grading system until 1975. In reality, conformation scoring was, for all purposes, stopped by most

Lonestar 1953 Champion Hereford Steer

Conoco, Grand Champion 1969 International Stock Show

Champion Steer Houston Stock Show 1984

Performance genesis

24

Weighing cattle

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

performance programs when USDA Yield Grades were implemented in 1965. In time, well over 35 states would have beef cattle improvement programs.

Bull tests were another important part of these state programs and were spread across the country and in many cases, still exist today. Bull tests like the Pennsylvania Meat Animal Evaluation Center are still run by the Department of Agriculture or university. Many of the more famous bull tests, like Midland in Montana started in 1959 by Leo McDonnell Sr., are privately owned and run, and continue to stay in business by offering unique services like collecting feed efficiency data.

t Federal Exthe t tension Service t took upon hims self the job of c coming up with standardizat tion.

By 1964, five breed assoc ciations had anFerr y Carpenter nounced or were contemplating performance programs.

In January 1967, Ferry Carpenter and Frank Baker held a meeting to bring all

the performance organizations together to discuss how to solve the problem. An ad hoc committee was formed with Frank Baker in charge, and with Sal Forbes keepin g some prodding perfo rmance records from a letter in August of 1967 from Sal Forbes, another meeting was held in January

WESTERN TIRE RECYCLERS

Organizing the performance movement

TIRE WATER TANKS

In 1954, Red Angus Association of America (RAAA) became the first breed association to have a performance program. In addition, it required weaning weights and inspection as a requirement of the cattle for registration. In 1955, a group of West Texas producers and extension agents formed Performance Registry International (PRI), which quickly went national.

They set up many standards like the 205-day weaning weight and ran a Certified Meat Sire program. They actually kept records and printed certificates for individuals, and at Glenn Bu tts one time, kept records for five of the smaller breeds.

Glenn Butts would lead this organization with the enthusiastic support of people like Ferry Carpenter. Still, there was disagreement between PRI and many of the larger breed associations which could not be smoothed over.

By the early 1960s, the industry lacked organization of performance methodology, terminology and practices. Dr. Frank Baker Frank Baker off

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25

1968 to form the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF).The charter members 24 state BCIA’s, eight breed associations, PRI, American Cattlemen’s Association and bull stud organizations.

This would forever change the com-

plexion of the performance movement.

According to BIF’s 25-year history, “Ideas into Action,” there was great support to the fledgling performance movement by a few brave journalists like the late Forrest Bassford of WLJ. At the

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January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

With implementation of the USDA Yield Grades in 1965, and new importation of Charolais in 1966, the cattle industry was starting to look different. At the time, these cattle were larger, leaner and faster growing.

It took judges with conviction to break with the trend of the small cattle. It happened in 1969 when Dr. Don Good of Kansas State picked a “Conoco,” a 1,250 Choice, Yield Grade 2, Charolais/Angus cross at the International Livestock Exposition in Chicago.

That same year, Dr. Robert Totusek of Oklahoma State picked a larger, trimmer, heaviermuscled Canadian bull, “Great Northern,” as Grand Champion Angus. This was as important a type change as when “Dot” was picked in 1888 to make cattle earlier maturing. At first, the showring was very helpful in changing the type of cattle needed in the industry. But as always with the showring, all bets were off as to making them bigger and later maturing until the mid-80s champions were over frame score 10. In 1984, Michigan State and CSU held the “Beef Cow Efficiency Forum,” which was followed by a 10-year crusade by Dr. Harlan Ritchie for more efficient cattle. It was not until the 1990s that judges responded and started backing down the frame of the cattle and adding the slope back into the cattle’s structure that had been straightened out to make them taller, that cattle got back to looking phenotypically like they did 70 years before then. However, for most breeds, objective measures of performance as well as common sense soundness of the cattle had long taken precedence in selection over the showring.

Also at this time of the type change was the first importation of semen from other Continental European breeds including Limousin (1968), Simmental (1968), Chianina (1971), Gelbvieh (1971) and Salers (1974). Along with this, the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) was just starting to come out with exciting news of the value of

1910 Oakville Quiet Lad International Grand Champion Bull

1949 Eileenmere 1032 International Grand Champion Bull

1978 OAS Traveler Top Semen Seller Breed Champion Bull

1925 Quality Marshall International Champion, son of Earl Marshall, weight 2,500, 3 years old.

1955 Prince Peer Champion Bull, Ft. Worth.

1997 BonView New Design 1407

1935 Eileenmere 85 International Grand Champion Bull

1969 Great Northern International Champion Angus

1988 Dameron Linedrive, frame 10+.

Continued on page 32

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

27

Continued from page 27 crossbreeding. This resulted in a tremendous number of speculators associated around the imports of these new breeds and fortunes were made and lost. For one breed, about 80 founding members signed up, paid a hefty entrance fee, and got semen, but only a few had ever seen the breed before joining. It was as common to advertise to bankers and business people as it was to cattle producers. Of course, the glamour and glitz of the showring fit right into this type of speculative cattle business. This happened even with breeds like Simmental where the association was built on performance principles and officially had nothing to do with the showring.

However, the whole practice started to wind down once the tax laws were changed under the Reagan administration, which no longer favored rich investors using cattle as a federal tax haven.

National cattle evaluation In the 1970s, genetic predictions were just getting their starts. Producing Expected Breeding Values (EBV), which would later become Expected Progeny Differences (EPD), was a monumental task by the in-

32

dustry. Dr. Richard Willham of Iowa State University first presented the equations to produce EBVs at the 1972 BIF meeting, and Angus, Hereford, Polled Hereford and Dr. William Simmental breeds quickly jumped on board. However, these first EBVs were rudimentary, assumed no relationship between sires, and were best used in herd. About the same time, Dr. Charles Henderson of Cornell came out with a new procedure called BLUP (best linear unbiased predictions) that could use field data, but computer power was the limiting factor. Dr. Paul Miller had left Cornell for a sabbatical at the Simmental Association, and in 1974, he was the first person to successfully run BLUB procedure for Simmental using the computer mainframe at the Boeing Aircraft Corporation. Between 1974 and 1979, Angus, Hereford, Polled Hereford, Shorthorn, Limousin and Red Angus would follow, but the model used to produce the genetic predictions would only take into account sire and

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

contemporary group.

The big break in genetic predictions came in 1980 when Drs. Richard Quaas and John Pollak of Cornell introduced the animal model (as well as the reduced animal model, RAM), which accounted for all relatives, mating biased, etc. According to Dr. Bruce Golden, in a talk Dr. Quaas gave, they envisioned it as an in-herd tool because of the impossible computer requirements needed to calculate it on a breed. However, by 1985, CSU had used the RAM model on the university’s supercomputer to produce the first truly modern EPDs for Gelbvieh; Red Angus would be next. UGA would be next

Dr. Quaas Dr. Pollak Continued on page 34

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January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

33

Continued from page 32 to implement the technology under the leadership of Dr. Larry Benyshek and the first to do it with the large breeds like Angus and Hereford. For a breed like performancebased Red Angus that had been collecting performance data since the 1950s, their cattle’s genetic trend reveals that significant genetic progress did not start occurring until the implementation of EPDs. Over time, the universities became associated with certain breeds and became competitive on coming out with new traits.

Cornell lined up with Simmental, ISU associated with Angus, CSU with Red Angus, and UGA with a large number of breeds.

Cornell came out with the first markerassisted EPD, tenderness, and acrossbreed EPDs. CSU concentrated on the concept of Economically Relevant Traits and came out with a group of unique genetic predictions like Stayability, heifer pregnancy and mature cow maintenance energy EPDs. This allowed them to collaborate with the RAAA, who had instituted mandatory total herd reporting in 1995, to release the first reproductive sire summary in 2002. AAA had always led the industry in collecting carcass data

and with ISU, revolutionized body composition data collection with ISU’s pioneering work with ultrasound. UGA would come out with new EPDs, such as scrotal circumference and disposition, as well as further methodology to put genomics into EPDs. However, by the turn of the 21st century, universities were starting to decrease support for what they felt were “service” type activities like producing EPDs. Also, many of the university professors were aging and felt they would not be replaced by their institutions, so in 2001, the National Beef Cattle Evaluation Consortium (NBCEC) was formed by the four universities. This was in an effort to stop duplication of effort, refocus the universities on research and education, and slowly turn the reins over to industry to do their own genetic evaluation. This has largely been accomplished over the last several years with ISU and Cornell completely out of the genetic evaluation business. CSU and UGA still do analysis, but only for certain breeds and, in some cases, only for certain traits.

Simmental was the first to take its genetic analysis in house and take on customers with a true multibreed analysis. In 2007, AAA formed a wholly owned subsidiary,

Angus G Genetic Inc. (AG (AGI), A ) to ddo its genetic analysis as well as analysis for other breeds.

Hereford and many other breeds have taken their analysis to Breed Plan, an Australianbased company. With the Cornell model, Simmental offered the first multi-breed EPD analysis.

When AGI was formed, AAA was the dominant breed association over Hereford and the Continental breeds in terms of cattle registrations and resources. AAA Continued on page 36

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January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

Continued from page 34 immediately put these resources to use. They added genomics to their carcass EPDs and then to all their EPDs. They also came out with a genomically enhanced feed efficiency EPD. Last, they increased the frequency of their EPD evaluations until, now, they are done weekly. A number of other breeds also do their analysis with AGI in an external evaluation done for each breed.

When genomics were first introduced, it appeared that acrossbreed panels would be able to be used to enhance genetic predictions. However, it soon became apparent

that for most traits, breed-specific panels are needed, so at the time this article is written, Simmental, Hereford, Limousin and Red Angus are the most active in developing genomically enhanced EPDs. Still, even if they achieve this goal, the submission performance data that is unbiased and contains the full contemporary group will remain critically important to the production genetic predictions.

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January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

Continental breeds, commercial producers quickly realized they could make dramatic changes in their cattle through crossbreeding. More than that, USMARC started actively researching the risks and benefits of crossbreeding when the Fort Robinson, NE, selection experiment was moved to the Clay Center facility in 1971. USMARC quickly started a series of germplasm studies characterizing breeds, which continues to this day.

Early work found that crossbreeding was helpful due to heterosis and breed complementarity. Heterosis is the increase in performance between the average of two parent animals mainly found in lowly heritable traits, primarily maternal traits like reproduction. Breed complementarity is when the strengths of two breeds compensate for each other. In USMARC research of the 1970s and early 1980s, it was found that through heterosis alone, the lifetime production of a crossbreed dam bred to a third breed could be increased 23 percent.

Obviously crossbreeding exploded, but many producers quickly became very undisciplined in their crossbreeding management, instead choosing to use the “breed of the month club” rather than a planned crossbreeding system. This left many herds mongrelized, almost forcing commercial producers to return to straightbreeding to return some semblance of order and marketability back to their herds. Now, hybrids have made crossbreeding much easier, although some of the full benefit of heterosis is sacrificed for ease of use.

In terms of breed complementarities, if you study the USMARC research from 1986 that classifies breed types, AngusHereford crosses were fairly low in milk, growth and mature size while Simmental Continued on page 40

Continued from page 36 and Gelbvieh were high growth, milk and mature size. Finally, Charolais and Limousin were high growth and mature size and low milk. If you look at today’s USMARC acrossbreed EPDs tables and research, the world of breeds has turned upside down. With the exception of Charolais, Angus has more growth than the Continental breeds, and the British breeds now reach a bigger mature size than the Continental breeds. Essentially, the breeds have all striven to be what the other is, although breed complementari-

ties still exist, they are not to the extent they were 25 years ago.

Right now, the industry is at cross roads in terms of crossbreeding.Straightbreeding is definitely the easiest system to deal with in terms of genetic predictions, breeding systems and marketing. Crossbreeding still works biologically, but logistically and marketing wise, it has its challenges.

Large operations can still easily manage complicated crossbreeding systems; the advance of A.I. technology makes introducing bulls of a different breed much easier; and last, hybrids make crossbreed-

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ing available to all producers and essentially have all the ease of a straightbreeding system.

Summary Selection of cattle for economically important traits has brought the beef industry a tremendous distance. The industry must be wary of fads that have plagued it in the past—even in the performance movement.

The showring has served as a promotional tool for some in the industry and, in our history at certain times, an engine for change; but on the whole as a selection tool, the showring has led to little progress genotypically. However, the industry has made tremendous strides genotypically to making the cattle better through the objective selection of cattle, specifically EPDs. If you look at the genetic trend of any breeds, purebred and hybrid cattle have made more genetic progress in the last 25 years than they did in the previous 100. With the enhancement of genomics, EPDs should only get better in the future, but genomics will not replace the submission of performance data.

As we move forward, the beef industry must remember that reproduction is the most economically important trait and the cost of feed is the biggest expense. We are also an industry in which each segment must make money if we are to remain viable, so postweaning and carcass traits are very important. Therefore, the reputation of your cattle for making money down stream in industry is important in topping the market. While straightbreeding becomes ever more popular in our industry, the lessons of crossbreeding still hold true. The take-home message is breeds or hybrids must be good at what their utility is to the market they are serving, whether that is crossbreeding or straightbreeding.

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January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

Modern Balancer Bull 2005

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41

by Steve Kay, Editor & Publisher, Cattle Buyers Weekly

From sawdust and swinging carcasses to sophisticated sanitation systems and case-ready beef. That’s how much the U.S. beef packing industry has evolved since the 1920s. While the fundamentals of the business—turning a live animal into edible form—are still present, just about everything else is different.

Beef packing was and still is a complex disassembly process. But meatpackers of 90 or even 45 years ago would marvel at the way in which today’s packers capture

and add value to every conceivable part of the carcass.

The other huge change is structural.

Meatpacking plants in the 1920s operated alongside large stockyards in cities like Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha, East St. Louis and Denver. Slaughter cattle, all finished on grass, came by the trainloads every day to these terminal markets. The nascent feedlot industry of the 1930s, led by pioneers such as Warren Monfort, gradually changed this. Packing plants eventually began to be built closer to where the grain-fed cattle were finished.

This trend accelerated in the 1960s with the entry of Iowa Beef Packers (later to become IBP). It began with a single plant in the middle of a cornfield in Denison, IA. Remarkably, this plant still operates despite being a slaughter-only operation.

In tandem with IBP’s entry came the development of boxed beef (cutting up

carcasses into sub-primals and shipping them vacuum-packaged in a box). The swinging carcass business was in demise from then on. A much more recent development was the move to case-ready beef, mostly for ground beef but also for some cuts.

As fascinating as the geographic shift is the way the meatpacking industry in the 1920s included names that remain to this day, even if only as a brand. The Big Five packers in the 1920s were Swift, Armour, Morris, Cudahy and Wilson.

One can add John Morrell, established in 1867 and still in business today as a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods. The Swift name is equally enduring. Monfort, Inc. became ConAgra Red Meats in the mid1980s, then Swift and Company before Brazil’s JBS SA bought it in 2007.

The industry came full circle with JBS’s entry into the U.S. meatpacking industry. Immigrant Gustavus Swift had come to Chicago in 1875. At first, he was a cattle buyer. Then, to avoid freight costs, he conceived the idea of slaughtering the cattle in Chicago and shipping the dressed beef instead of live cattle to eastern cities, notes broadcaster and cattle producer Bill Kurtis (in an address to the 2009 Meat Hall of Fame ceremony).

“Some said this was a crazy idea—

Gustavis Swift 44

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

it would spoil before it got there.

But Swift took the risk—perhaps having in his back pocket knowledge of a new technology that hadn’t yet been applied—the refrigerated railroad car. Swift applied the technology and it soon became the accepted method of transporting beef,” says Kurtis.

“Stockyards and meat packing were generating fortunes,” says Kurtis. “If you travel 43 blocks south on Halsted, you’ll come to the old stockyards—they built Chicago. Now they are long gone.

But you can still see the famous names

of Swift and Armour around the shell of what once was ground zero of the beef business in America. It’s still the home of Allen Brothers (a meat purveyor).”

Two seminal events occurred prior to the 1920s but they forever changed the industry and are central to the way the industry operates today. In 1906, an investigative reporter named Upton Sinclair followed the conditions of workers inside the Chicago slaughterhouses and wrote the “The Jungle.”

As Kurtis recounts, “Sinclair was a socialist and wanted to expose the working conditions of what he called wage slavery. Instead, the public focused on food safety, shocked at stories of workers falling into rendering vats and being ground up into hamburger. Foreign sales of American meat fell by half.” The outrage over what Sinclair described caused Congress to pass the first Federal Meat Inspection Act in 19 06 and the Pure Food and Drug Act. The other event was the growing disquiet among cattle producers about retail and packer profits and their supposed monopoly. Several years of producer complaints and government hearings followed. Finally, a 1919 Federal Trade Commission study, conducted at the insistence of cattlemen, was released. Its shocking findings said that the Big Five packers held controlling or minority interests in 762 companies (as reported in “Building the Beef Industry” by Charles E. Ball, published by the National Cattlemen’s Association in 1998). Such a number surely far exceeded the interests of today’s five largest beef packers.

The result was a Packer Consent Decree in 1919 which forced packing companies to divest most of their non-packing interests (everything from

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

45

market newspapers to retail outlets).

The Packers and Stockyards Act followed in 1921. Thus the foundation was laid for the regulation and oversight of the meatpacking industry for the next 90 years.

It’s also interesting to note that the year after that, 1922, saw the founding of the National Live Stock and Meat Board. “It set a new precedent in the industry: build demand by promoting the product. But it would be near the end of the century before the association (NCBA) took that philosophy on as its main agenda,” writes Ball.

The 1920s was to see another development that continues to influence beef production to this day. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1924 published tentative standards for carcass grading. Prominent cattle breeders and feeders, writes Ball,

met in Kansas City in 1926 “to discuss the advisability of grading and stamping the better quality beef as Prime and Choice.”

The large packers opposed the idea and introduced their own house grades, writes Ball. But they later agreed to go along with government grading. Grading began to increase after World War II and by 1996, 81 percent of the total slaughter was graded.

The industry, though, has come full circle, as packers over the past 20 years have

46

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

gradually introduced more of their own specialty lines based on quality and breed to add value and to satisfy the demand for branded beef. They also work closely with supermarket chains, who have their own house brands.

The decades of the 1920s and 1930s were the worst in cattle history, with low, low prices, writes Ball. This led industry leaders to challenge the whole marketing chain from producer to consumer, calling it “unnecessarily expensive, unwieldy and unsound.” Some packers agreed, writes Ball.

Much of the 1940s was consumed by the war effort. Meat rationing began in 1943, as was a price ceiling on live cattle, which packers supported. They were already receiving a government subsidy on beef, which was intended to reduce the price to consumers and encourage production by producers, writes Ball. But neither group felt any benefits. Instead, a black market in beef developed and was so common and accepted by the end of the war that it was called a gray market.

The industry gradually resolved these issues and after World War II, entered what Kurtis calls a new era, “one in which we thought we could do anything…new technology, new ideas were being applied to every industry.” Moreover, the U.S. was starting to produce more corn than anywhere in the world. This accelerated the development of the modern feedlot industry and the move by meatpackers to build new plants, mostly on the southern Plains, as close as possible to the largest numbers of feedlot cattle.

Another phenomenon was sprouting at this time, hamburger chains. This Continued on page 49

Continued from page 46 fundamentally changed the market channel for beef from cull cows. The 1950s saw the emergence of several chains, notably McDonald’s. Today, half of all Americans eat at least one hamburger a week and more and more cuts from fed cattle, as well as their fatty trimmings, go into making hamburgers and various forms of ground beef.

Another concept that began in the 1930s but accelerated in the 1950s was the supermarket chain.Their growth to eventual dominance of the retail meat business changed the entire beef production system, from ranch to meat case. An early decision that benefits beef to this day is that the chains, in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors, used beef as their biggest promotional tool to attract customers.

“The new meat counters displaying all kinds of meat and poultry in refrigerated counters appealed to customers,” writes Ball. “They could see what they were getting. They did not have to wait while the butchers cut it. But to do this, supermarkets had to have uniform quality and size of beef carcasses. They became the big pressure for improved government beef grading.”

All this meant that packers and producers worked more closely together to satisfy the changing market. In 1959, Bill McMillan became the top executive of the then American National Cattlemen’s Association (which later dropped the “American”). McMillan had previously worked for packer Swift & Co. in public relations.

This pattern was reversed with Utah native George Spencer. He was ANCA’s executive vice president from 1970 to 1980 and then joined the rapidly-growing IBP. IBP was born out of the vision of two experienced meat men, Andy Anderson and Currier Holman. They were determined to revolutionize the U.S. beef industry, writes

author Jeff rey Rodengen in “The Legend of IBP” (published in 1998).

“They based their plan on two seemingly simple and supremely logical ideas. First, they wanted to move beef plants away from the big city stockyards into rural areas, closer to where beef cattle are grown. This would save hundreds of dollars per animal on transportation costs. Then they wanted to sell shrink-wrapped beef that had been packaged in convenient boxes, thus eliminating even more transportation waste. If they could accomplish these goals, their company would profit without costing consumers or cattle feeders one extra dollar.”

The new company initially operated a slaughter-only plant in Denison then expanded through the Corn Belt. It built its flagship Dakota City, NE, plant in 196465. It became Iowa Beef Processors and then IBP when it moved into pork processing in 1982. It had previously expanded its beef operations into the Pacific Northwest in the mid-1970s and to the southern Plains with the opening of its Amarillo, TX, plant in 1974. This was a colossal plant by any standards.

But IBP then opened another huge plant, in Holcomb, KS, in 1980.

IBP was not the only company to embrace the concept of boxed beef but it combined the concept with a marketing strategy called Cattle-Pak. It led the industry in forcing labor unions in cities

such as Chicago (in 1979) to accept boxed beef. IBP’s efforts helped end the market for carcass or “swinging” beef, and quickly made IBP the nation’s largest beef processor. It remains number one to this day in terms of annual beef sales and fed steer and heifer slaughter.

IBP was also a leader in that it fought on numerous fronts to make beef processing more cost-efficient. Arguably its toughest battle was against labor unions, as it attempted to reduce labor costs. Several bitter strikes ensued, the first at its Fort Dodge, IA, plant in 1965. Others followed, notably at its Dakota City plant. The end result was that IBP helped reduce the industry’s labor costs. Some companies though, notably in Los Angeles, couldn’t do this and went out of business.

Paralleling IBP’s emergence was that of an even more venerable name in the U.S. beef industry, Monfort. Family patriarch Warren was one of the pioneers of modern cattle feeding. Son Ken expanded the business into beef processing with the construction of a plant in Greeley, CO, in 1960. With this move, Monfort was also a pioneer in moving plants closer to the source of cattle and in fabricating carcasses into boxed beef.

Continued on page 52

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

49

Continued from page 49 It also was the first to move into portion control when it acquired Mapelli Brothers.

And it fought its own battles with unions.

Another big name in U.S. beef processing, Cargill, had its genesis in the 1970s.

MBPXL was formed in 1974 through the merger of Kansas Beef Industries, Wichita, KS, and Missouri Beef Packers, Plainview, TX. Cargill, Inc. acquired MBPXL in 1978 and for the next

52

decade, bought and sold plants. Cargill renamed the business Excel Corporation in 1982 and did so again in 2004 to Cargill Meat Solutions.

Monfort expanded in 1979 when it bought a plant in Grand Island, NE. The same year, it endured a 73-day strike at its Greeley plant, which in part forced the plant to close temporarily in 1980 and nearly put Monfort out of business. The company rebounded and logged $1 billion in sales in 1982 for the first time. But Ken Monfort was a realist and knew the company’s near-

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

death experience might reoccur.

Salvation came in the form of an offer from food company ConAgra, Inc. The latter had long wanted to enter the meat processing business and had unsuccessfully tried to buy MBPXL. Instead, it acquired in January 1987 family-owned E. A. Miller in Utah. Just four months later, it bought Monfort for $365 million and in September bought half of fourth largest beef packer Swift Independent Packing Company (it bought the rest nearly two years later).

This acquisition flurry produced ConAgra Red Meat Companies which, in 1988, became the second largest beef packer after IBP. Third was Excel and fourth was National Beef Packing (which was later rejuvenated by John Miller of the Utah Miller family). The flurry, though, also produced increasing concerns by producers about packer concentration.

“The four largest packers in the 1920s and 1930s accounted for about 50 percent of the cattle slaughter,” says Ball. “New entrants in the 1960s caused the concentration by the Big Four packers to reach a low of 19 percent in 1977. But by 1987, it had increased to 67 percent.” So the National Cattlemen’s Association in 1988 conducted a one-year study of concentration and integration between sectors.

NCA’s report bitterly disappointed packer critics because it emphatically concluded that “the free market is alive and well…Therefore we are unwilling to recommend any major alternatives to the existing system.” More mergers and acquisitions were to follow in beef processing from then until 2007. So criticism from some quarters about “packer power” has remained, more than 90 years after such concerns were first voiced.

The meat processing industry’s cyclical and unpredictable nature meant fleeting ownership of some companies. Greyhound Bus Lines and Dial Soap at one time owned Amour and Wilson Sporting Goods owned Wilson. Oil company Occidental owned IBP in the early 1980s. ConAgra at least was in the food business. But it tired of the commodity nature of its red meat business (which included pork) and in 2002, sold it to two private investment firms for $1.4 billion. The entity thus became

Swift and Company and remained under that name until JBS bought it.

IBP, meanwhile, as a publicly-owned company (since 1986), became increasingly frustrated at seeing its stock being undervalued by investors. This propelled it into a merger with poultry processor Tyson Foods in 2001. The marriage started rockily, as Tyson tried to pull out of the proposed deal and IBP took it to court and won. But the partners quickly settled down and Tyson is now the largest meat and poultry company in the U.S. and the second largest globally behind JBS. National Beef over the past 14 years morphed from being owned by producer cooperative Farmland Industries into being majority-owned by producer group U.S. Premium Beef. The beef industry’s latest change of ownership came in early December 2011 when USPB and National’s other owners agreed to sell 79 percent of the company to investment firm Leucadia National Corporation in a $1.3 billion deal (including $944 million in cash).

No summary of recent packing industry history would be complete without noting the tremendous impact of food safety issues on the sector. These issues, notably around E. coli O157:H7, forced companies as large

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January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

53

by Andy Rieber

As we turn 90 here at the Western Livestock Journal (WLJ), it seemed an opportune time to honor a few of the industry’s great leaders and legends who we’ve been fortunate to know through the years. True to their individualistic cowboy roots, each of these cattlemen and cattlewomen is an original. Some went to the best colleges, others went to the school of hard knocks.

Some are descended from great old ranching families, others built from scratch. But uniformly, they are all remarkable people who share a great passion for our industry, and who have represented it with energy, heart and humility.

It has also been our privilege to have personally known these men and women over the years—and in many cases, their parents—as subscribers, readers, advertisers and friends. So it is with pride and pleasure that in telling their stories, we can also say

with great fondness… We go way back.

Gib Yardley Seed Stock Visionary Some people are never content to let well enough alone, and Gib Yardley is one of them. Throughout his highly successful career, Yardley, owner of Yardley Cattle Company based in Beaver, UT, has been a driving force in the purebred cattle business. His willingness to embrace new technologies, develop little known breeds, and challenge the conventions of the purebred industry has established Yardley Cattle Company as a leader in an extremely competitive field.

Yardley’s great-grandfather settled in Utah’s Beaver River Valley in 1856. “[He] was one of the original settlers in this valley, and my family’s been here ever since,” says Gib. “And we’ve run cattle here ever since.”

In 1908, Yardley’s grandfather and

Gib with his father’s first Grand Champion Market steer.

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January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

uncles expanded the operation when they purchased the beautiful mountain valley ranch along Asay Creek for $5,000, to which they later added several public land grazing permits.

It was into this proud ranching tradition that Gib Yardley was born in 1933.

Growing up, Yardley observed how bucking tradition and experimenting with new breeds could improve performance.

“They used to have Red Durham cattle, an old offshoot of the Shorthorns,” recalls Yardley. “[Then] my granddad brought the first Hereford cattle into this country from Kansas in 1920. We had registered Herefords for a long time then.”

Young Yardley also proved to be passionate about cattle breeding at an early age. When he was 17, he jumped on a Greyhound bus and rode up to Denver to see the stock show. In high school, he also showed several Grand Champions as an FFA member.

Today, under Yardley’s captaincy, Yardley Cattle Company sells purebred Angus, Simmental and Maine Anjou cattle, as well as superior quality ranch horses.

Yardley has been a pioneer in popularizing the Simmental and Maine Anjou breeds in America, which he began introducing to buyers some 45 years back. For almost as long, Yardley has been employing artificial insemination (AI) technology to introduce only the best genetics into his herd.

“We do more [AI] than anybody in Utah,” remarks Yardley. “We do from 350 to as high as 600” head a year.

Yardley’s passion and commitment to raising top quality cattle has certainly paid off. 2011 marked the ranch’s 39th annual bull sale, which now typically sells between 175 and 200 head. Yardley’s popular female

Five industry legends share their history, their hopes for the future, and a few great memories about the Western Livestock Journal.

sale is now in its 34th year. Pens of Yardley cattle have also been highly successful entries at the Denver stock show—among others—close to 40 years running.

Yardley sums up his success: “They’re easy on the eyes, and they grow and perform.”

Both as an advertiser and a reader, Yardley is an enthusiastic supporter of WLJ, dating from way back.

“My dad had the WLJ when I was a boy and I used to read it, and I’ve read it ever since,” Yardley explains. “I’ve been very good friends with Pete Crow, and very good friends with his dad [Dick].”

Yardley points out that as a permit holder, getting good coverage of public lands issues is important.

“One of the things I like the best about the paper is that they keep up on all these environmental issues that concern the western range industry, like these environmentalists that are trying to get the cattle off the permits,” Yardley explains. “I’ve congratulated Pete a bunch of times for those excellent articles that keep us up to date on issues that are of such vital concern to the cattle business.”

Although Yardley has been at the forefront of many new innovations in the industry, he emphasizes that the success of his operation is grounded on simple, timehonored values: knowing good cattle, satisfying buyers, and above all, close family ties.

“Nothing’s more important than family,” Yardley emphasizes, who together with wife Denise has raised seven daughters and one son. “I’ve been so grateful that my kids all love the livestock business. It’s just been such a joy to work with my kids, and we have a wonderful working relationship.

They all have grown to love the ranch and the business, just like I have.”

Asked what WLJ headline he would like

to see run in 50 years, Yardley answered: “Ranch families continue to carry on ranching operations from one generation to the next.”

John Falen Passionate Public Lands Advocate If you reside in the Great Basin but have never heard of John Falen, chances are you have been dwelling under a rock.

A commercial cow/calf producer based out of Orovada, NV, Falen is known widely throughout the region not only as a consummate cattleman, but also as a passionate and tireless servant to the industry. These dual rolls as rancher and industry advocate have taken Falen on some big circles, not only throughout the West, but frequently

to Washington, D.C., on the business of the Public Lands Council (PLC), of which he is currently president.

“They had a weak moment, and nominated me for that,” Falen quips.

Born in Caldwell, ID, in 1937, Falen grew up on his parents’ remote South Mountain ranch outside of Jordan Valley, OR. After graduating from the University of Idaho in 1960 with a degree in animal science, Falen settled for a time in Idaho where he began carving out a reputation as an astute cattle trader.

“I’ve been involved in all phases of livestock industry,” Falen recollects. “I traded Continued on page 61

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

57

Continued from page 57 cattle for a while, worked for a packing house … buying butcher cattle, partnered with a feedlot in Wilder, ID.” But in 1977, Falen and his wife Sharon finally settled in Orovada, NV, where they leased and later bought the Home Ranch.

There, they have raised reputation Charolais-Angus cross cattle ever since, as well as four very accomplished sons and daughters.

The Falen family has a long history as subscribers to WLJ. Reflecting on the roll WLJ has played in shaping the industry, Falen observes: “It’s been good. I think the WLJ has been the strongest voice for the overall livestock industry since I can remember.”

Even back in Falen’s childhood home on South Mountain, WLJ was a household standard.

“I can remember my parents taking the WLJ for years and years and years,” Falen remarks. “And when my parents started to go to some of the conventions, Dick Crow would be there. I was a teenager, probably. I really enjoyed talking to Dick. He had a lot of knowledge, and asked really interesting questions.”

Falen’s interest in advocating for the industry needed precious little encouragement to take root. He chaired the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association (NCA) Public Lands Committee for over 20 years, only stepping down this past November. He has also been NCA president, chairman of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Region Six, and is currently president of PLC. With several decades of experience representing public lands ranchers, Falen is well positioned to take a long view on the changes that have shaped ranching in the West, particularly the forces that effect public grazing.

“We still deal with the same problems with BLM [Bureau of Land Management],” Falen observes. “Faces change.

Challenges don’t change much.”

But Falen points out that public lands ranchers are today facing some new challenges as well, in particular, an aggressive anti-grazing movement that now actively seeks to eliminate grazing on all public lands. Yet, interestingly, through fighting a constant stream of lawsuits from these groups, ranchers and federal agencies have often discovered that they

have more in common than they expected.

“It used to be that the main challenge we had on these public lands was just the BLM. Now over time with … John Marvel [of Western Watersheds Project] and all these other groups, it’s changed the dynamics quite a little bit,” Falen remarks. “Probably for the first time in history, the BLM and the ranchers may be on the same page against those folks.”

As a crystal ball gazer, Falen remains staunchly optimistic about where public lands ranching is headed.

“I’ve said for a long time, and I believe, that we’ll be on these public lands as ranchers for a long, long time yet, provided that we stand up … and be counted... When we lay down on the job, that’s when it’ll all change.”

Asked what headline he would like to run in WLJ 50 years from now, Falen answered: “The livestock industry is alive and well on public lands, and has proven that its stewardship of the public lands has been very fruitful.”

Continued on page 64

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

61

Continued from page 61

Dale Lasater A Family of Innovators In south Texas, the name “Lasater” needs no introduction. The Lasater family’s ranching heritage dates back to Civil War times when they raised sheep, along with mules and horses for the military. The shift to cattle ranching is dated to 1882 when Ed C. Lasater and his father Albert purchased a sprawling cattle ranch in what is now Brooks County, TX. Called Falfurrias Ranch, the operation at

one time spanned 350,000 acres and was one of the largest in Texas. The town of Falfurrias, founded by Ed Lasater in 1904,

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Tom Lasater, Ed’s son, was raised up expecting to inherit this land and cattle dynasty. Instead, the stock market crash of ’29 and the Great Depression all but decimated his father’s storied empire.

“The great holdings, the huge ranch of Dad’s father disappeared,” relates Dale Lasater, Tom’s son. “All those things went by the wayside.”

It was into this atmosphere of uncertainty and loss that Dale himself was born in 1943 in San Antonio. He was to finish out the first grade in Falfurrias before his father Tom packed up the family and moved to Matheson, CO, in 1950, looking for affordable land and a new start in the cattle business.

Tom not only succeeded in reestablishing the Lasater family in ranching, he also developed a strong, innovative bent that would help lead the livestock industry into new territory by developing the Beefmaster breed and advancing an environmental ranching ethic decades before “sustainable” ranching became fashionable.

Dale recalls that throughout his childhood, the Lasater ranch in Colorado was a place of ideas, discussion, experimentation,

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Continued on page 66 64

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

Continued from page 64 and frequent visits from people who were fascinated by Tom Lasater’s unorthodox approach to ranching, including the WLJ staff.

“Going back 60 years, Dad developed an intimate relationship with the Western Livestock Journal and with the array of editors, photographers, and reporters who associated with WLJ,” Dale recounts.

In particular, Dale believes Tom’s long friendship with Forrest Bassford, WLJ publisher emeritus, played an integral part

in the development of Tom’s trailblazing ideas.

“Forrest Bassford was not only an outstanding journalist and writer, [he] became over time a very close friend of my father,” Dale explains. “…Dad had many seemingly eccentric ideas, off-beat ideas. Forrest Bassford was a good friend in the sense that he questioned Dad and was very willing to … discuss things with him.”

Many of these “off-beat” ideas are now widely accepted in the livestock business, such as discontinuing the use of insecticides

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Dale also credits his grandmother, Mary Miller Lasater, with sowing the seeds of innovation. A city girl from Galveston, TX, Mary insisted that Tom go back east for schooling, sending him to the prestigious Phillips Academy for boarding school, and later to Princeton.

“I credit her with the creation of the Beefmaster breed,” remarks Dale. “Dad returned from the East … with a different perspective. He didn’t just do things the way his neighbors did, or the way he would have done had he never left south Texas.”

Dale, who himself attended Princeton and was a Fullbright scholar, carries on the tradition of innovation today by raising and marketing grass-fed beef and standing behind an ecological approach to ranching.

Dale has enjoyed WLJ not only for its reporting, but also for expressing views on how current events impact producers, and why they may be positive or negative for the industry.

“Pete Crow is continuing on that tradition today,” says Dale, “doing a great job and being a clear voice for reason within our industry as we face … a changing world.”

In 50 years, Dale Lasater would like to see this WLJ headline: “Ranchers … embrace the necessity of learning from and understanding the natural world, not just trying to control it and manipulate it to suit our own ends.”

Ellington Peek Marketing Pioneer To the Donald Trumps of this world,

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Continued on page 68 66

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

Continued from page 66 success in business often brings status, privilege, and a certain distancing from one’s fellow man. By contrast, Ellington Peek, owner of the Shasta Livestock Auction Yard in Cottonwood, CA, and principal partner of Western Video Market, is living testimony that modesty, close friendships, and honesty are the coin of the realm in the cattle business. Peek’s forward-thinking development of video sales, along with his legendary sincerity and gentlemanly style, have truly taken the cattle industry into the

21st century.

The son of a reputation cattle buyer, Peek was born in Stockton, CA, in 1928. Even as a youngster in school, Peek was testing his wings by doing a little bit of trading on his own while cowboying on the side. “I’d buy a cow or two or something when I was in high school,” Peek recalls.

It was in these early fledgling days of trading back in the ’40s that Peek became a reader of WLJ. “[WLJ] was in Los Angeles at that time,” reminisces Peek. “In those days,

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January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

they didn’t have auction yards, they had mostly stock yards. …San Francisco had a stockyard, Portland did too. Of course Denver, Chicago, Omaha, Kansas City, they had big ones.”

“Anyhow, when I was young, I’d read the Western Livestock Journal and see how many cows they had and what they brought. So I always read the Livestock Journal, even when I was a little guy.”

Perhaps Peek’s early interest in the cattle market was a sign of greater things to come.

Continued on page 72

up to 100,000 live cattle through the ring annually. Shasta has also been one of the longest continually running advertisers in WLJ, dating back to Peek’s first years.

“I probably started advertising with [WLJ] in 1956, maybe,” Peek recollects. “I knew Pete [Crow]’s dad [Dick] real well.

He’d always call me a lot, to get information. We’d see each other at conventions and different places.”

In 1989, Peek and partner John Rodgers took livestock marketing to an entirely new level by founding Western Video Market

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Continued from page 68 By 1948, at the age of 20, Peek had gotten himself started as a cattle trader in earnest. Then in 1955, opportunity knocked when the Shasta Livestock Auction Yard in Anderson, CA, became available. Peek leased the sale yard, later buying it in 1962.

In 1966, with the support of local ranchers, he was able to move the operation to its present day location in Cottonwood.

The rest, as they say, is history. Shasta Livestock is now the largest volume auction market west of the Rockies, moving

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(WVM), allowing sellers to present their cattle before a national marketplace. Currently, WVM sells cattle from 16 western states, moving almost half a million head a year. The WVM monthly sale travels throughout California, and also is held in Nevada, Wyoming and Nebraska at certain times of the year.

Needless to say, cattle marketing has definitely changed since 1956.

“It’s more complicated,” Peek remarks.

“Lots more paperwork and lots more detail.”

Yet some things, gratefully, are the same as they ever were.

“The quality of the cattle is better now than it was years ago,” Peek points out, “but the ranchers are all the same. Most of the ranchers have been there for years, and have their families running the ranches.

They’re all good friends of mine,” he says warmly.

And therein, more than anything else, lies the key to Peek’s success—genuine relationships with his customers.

“You know, there isn’t much difference in the market a lot of times, but it’s just how you take care of your customers,” Peek observes. “I’ve probably made more deals than most people over the telephone just with a handshake and with nothing else. …We’re all kind of family.”

In 50 years, Peek would like to see the headline “Cattle sell at record price on satellite sale” grace WLJ. But he points out that by that time, satellite technology will probably be ancient history.

Continued on page 75

Continued from page 72

Linda Davis Strong calling, deep roots “Tequesquite� is the Spanish Indian word for “alkali.� It is descriptive not only of the dry and unforgiving country in northeastern New Mexico, but also of the toughness and resilience of the people who settled it and their descendents who still ranch there today. Linda Davis, daughter of renowned cattleman Albert K. Mitchell, is living testimony that these qualities are still deeply rooted in the ranchers who call this arid corner of the West their home.

Born in 1930 and raised on the family’s remote Tequesquite Ranch, Davis grew up 160 miles from the nearest hospital and schooled by a ranch-hired tutor. When Davis’ mother tragically passed away in 1934, Mitchell single-handedly shouldered the job of raising Davis and her two brothers. “My brothers and I were raised by my dad,� Davis explains. “Now that I look back on it after raising six children of my own, I was quite an accomplishment for a Continued on page 78

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single man!” she chuckles.

Mitchell was a major figure in the ranching industry at that time, serving terms as president of the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association and the National Cattlemen’s Association, as well as serving in the legislature. In addition to running the Tequesquite Ranch, Mitchell also managed the Bell Ranch through most of the ’30s and into the ’40s.

“He flew a plane, and was active in everything,” Davis recalls. “My dad was probably ‘Mr. Cowman’ of the last century.

He was well-known and very busy in the industry.”

Mitchell also was closely connected with WLJ. He and WLJ founder Nelson Crow often worked together advocating for ranchers. The common purpose would form the foundation of a long friendship.

“Nelson Crow and my dad were great friends,” recalls Davis. “They served together on many …advisory boards. They worked very, very closely for the benefit of the industry, explaining agriculture and some of the responsibilities that agriculture had immediate post war.”

Although it was rare for the time, Mitchell often brought his children with him to industry functions. Davis remembers that even as a young person, Nelson Crow made a favorable impression on her.

Continued on page 82

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January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

“Cattle people can’t express themselves, in general, [but] Nelson Crow was a marvelous speaker,” Davis reflects. “He could keep an audience in these meetings just mesmerized with …his use of the language and his kind way.”

In 1952, Davis graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, with a degree in agricultural economics.

“It was an eye-opening experience, and probably the turning point in my life,” acknowledges Davis. “I … realized the responsibilities that we in agriculture have.”

“The thing that changed my life more than anything [is] the fact that I got out of New Mexico,” says Davis. “I had done all the practical things on a ranch, and I knew southwestern ranching.” But the responsibilities of feeding the world after the devastation of the Second World War represented a new and important calling for Davis as a cattle producer.

In 1952, Davis returned home to help her father run the Tequesquite. She married Les Davis in 1953 and moved to the CS Ranch.

Founded by Les’ grandfather, the CS had originally been part of the Maxwell Land Grant. The ranch continues on in the Davis family to this day.

“It’s a commercial cow/calf operation,” says Davis. “It’s family owned and run, and it’s been in business since Feb. 21, 1873.”

At 81, Davis is actively running the CS Ranch with her children. Asked if she gets ahorseback much, Davis answers “Yup. I sure do. Whenever we work cattle.”

“I stay very active,” Davis adds. “I feed the crew most every day. If I get called away, I usually have a backup somewhere.”

Indeed, Davis sometimes has need of a backup. She has been an oncall EMT for over 10 years, as well as having served on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, the National Cattlemen’s Foundation, and a lengthy list of other industry groups. She is also currently on the board of the National Cowboy Museum and Western Heritage Center.

When asked what headline she would like WLJ to run in 50 years, Davis answers, “Right now with the drought situation that we have, I would love to see the headline: Due to the great moisture situation throughout the agricultural lands of America, we are producing the best crop in history.”

by James Robb

Livestock Marketing Information Center

Drought and record high feedstuff costs in 2011 forced continued downsizing in the U.S. beef cowherd. In the last few years, cattle producers have become all too familiar with everything from record high corn costs to the most severe economic contraction since the Great Depression. In spite of all that, annual average calf prices posted record highs in 2004, 2005, 2010 and 2011.

In calendar year 2011, the annual average fed cattle price surged 20 percent above a year ago. In the Southern Plains, steer calf (500- to 600-pound) prices in 2011 averaged 21 percent, or over $25 per cwt., above 2010’s. Yearling steer (700- to 800-pound) prices increased 22 percent in 2011 versus 2010’s. But the only real beneficiaries of those price levels were cow/calf pro-

86

ducers and breeding stock providers in non-drought regions. Cattle feeders’ margins struggled in 2011 with red ink on closeouts dominating the months of May through December.

Even though there are lots of unknowns, cattle and beef prices are expected to continue higher in 2012 and 2013. How high calf and yearling prices go depends on two factors: 1) the economic environment (domestic and foreign); and 2) feedstuff costs. Breeding stock prices are forecast to set new highs. Profit margins will remain strong for cow/calf producers, but tight cattle supplies, high feedstuff costs, and excess capacity will stress feeding margins.

Packer margins will be under pressure due to excess capacity and difficulty passing on high beef prices to their customers (retailers and restaurants).

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

Cattle inventory, production and beef demand: Where we are Heading into 2011, the U.S. beef cowherd was expected to show signs of stabilizing, following several years of declines. But drought and record high grain prices took that prospect away.

As of July 1, 2011, the total number of all cattle and calves was 1.1 percent (1.1 million head) below a year ago.

That was the fifth consecutive annual decline. The number of beef cows at 31.4 million head declined by 1.1 percent (about 350,000 head) compared to a year earlier. According to the mid-year report, the number of beef heifers held as replacements continued to shrink with a year-on-year drop of 4.5 percent. By historical standards,

the number of replacement beef heifers implies further beef cowherd reductions are ahead.

As the third quarter of 2011 progressed, drought intensified in Texas and reached west-to-east from Arizona to Georgia and north into Kansas. Southern Plains pasture and range conditions were devastated and hay costs surged to all-time record highs.

As of mid-summer, over 25 percent of the U.S. beef cowherd was in major drought zones. Also, high grain prices have caused some mixed cropping/ cow operations in the Midwest and some additional states to reduce forage production (hay and pasture) and eliminate or downsize their livestock enterprise to focus on selling grain.

In contrast to the multi-decade low in cattle numbers, U.S. beef production in 2011 was the smallest in just two years. Of course, the long-term shrinkage in cattle numbers has largely been made up for by heavier carcass weights. In most years, U.S. beef production has not declined even with a shrinking cowherd. Although beef production is the major contributor to domestic supply, a better representation of beef availability is per capita consumption (or more correctly, disappearance per person).

Per capita consumption takes beef production, adjusts for two factors (international trade and stocks in cold storage), and then divides by population. The U.S. population is growing.

U.S. per capita consumption of beef has been dropping quickly. Importantly, especially in recent years, declines in U.S. per person consumption reflect increasing purchases by overseas consumers.

After adjusting for population and international trade (exports and imports), U.S. production is put on a retail weight basis (estimated weight at grocery store, not actually eaten, and including bones, etc.). In 2011, per capita retail weight

consumption of beef was 57.5 pounds, which will be the smallest since before 1955. U.S. per capita beef consumption peaked at 94.6 pounds in 1976.

In recent years, increasing exports Continued on page 91

ANNUAL AVERAGE CATTLE PRICES Southern Plains

$ Per Cwt

— 500-600 lb.

155

Steer Calves

135

— 700-600 lb.

115

Feeder Calves

95

— Fed

Calves

75 55

1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013

Livestock Marketing Information Center Data Source: USDA-AMS, Compiled & Anaylsis by LMIC

ESTIMATED AVERAGE COW CALF RETURNS Returns Over Cash Cost (Includes Pasture Rent), Annual

$ Per Cow 150 100 50 0 -50 -100

1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

Livestock Marketing Information Center Data Source: USDA-AMS, Compiled & Anaylsis by LMIC

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

87

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Continued from page 87 have compensated for lower U.S. per person beef consumption. Further, beef prices would not be where they are today if it were not for record export demand. On a tonnage basis, U.S. beef exports in 2011 finally eclipsed pre-BSE levels. Remember, U.S. beef exports collapsed after the December 2003 BSE incident; on an annual basis, U.S. beef export tonnage represented 9.5 percent of production in 2003 and fell to 1.9 percent in 2004.

Of course, U.S. per capita beef consumption is not the same thing as beef demand; consumption is just one of two important components of the domestic beef demand relationship.

Demand is a relationship that also incorporates a price dimension. Often, aggregate consumer demand for beef uses per capita retail sales weight and a rather crudely calculated inflation adjusted retail beef price by USDA using data collected to calculate the national rate of inflation (Consumer Price Index). According to those quarterly indexes, beef demand has improved slightly on a year-over-year basis, but remains below pre-recession levels.

Estimated U.S. cow/calf returns for 2011 Economic incentives to expand beef U.S. cowherds have increased each of the last two years. Since the early

1970s, the Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC) has estimated cow/calf returns over cash costs plus pasture rent based on typical production and marketing practices in the Southern Plains. The estimated numbers are designed for market analysis, thus, actual cow/calf returns will vary considerably, especially in drought years like this year.

For 2011, as calculated by LMIC, most non-drought impacted cow/calf operations will cover their cash pro-

duction costs plus they will have significant money available for their fixed costs (management, operator labor, etc.). In fact, the estimated LMIC return will be about $90 per cow, the highest since 2005.

Over time, estimated cow/calf returns have varied dramatically. The most recent negative return year was 2009 (-$31 per cow). Years of positive and negative returns tend to be in clusters. In the last 37 years of LMIC estimates, 14 years, or 38 percent,

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91

had negative returns, with only five of those years posting losses greater than $75 per cow (1975, 1976, 1983, 1984 and 1996). Over that same time frame, seven years had estimated positive returns of over $75 per cow (1987, 1990, 1991, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2011).

Where are we headed?

On a national basis, another significant year-on-year cattle inventory decline will be reported as of Jan. 1, 2012. Texas and Oklahoma, for ex-

92

ample, will likely record their largest annual beef cowherd percentage drops ever during 2011. Nationwide, the beef cowherd likely declined by a full 2 percent during 2011.

Regional changes in the location of the U.S. beef cowherd will likely continue for at least the next year. Besides drought-impacted states, beef cowherd numbers will likely continue to shrink in some Midwest states as more mixed cropping/cow operations downsize or exit the sector. Some southeast

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

states also will continue to switch to intensive crop production at the expense of cows. In contrast, producers in many northern states will increase their cowherds in 2011. Beef cowherd increases will be most prevalent in the Northern Plains, Central Plains, and western states. In 2011, some of those cows, especially in the Central Plains, were relocated from drought-plagued states.

If drought in the Southern Plains subsides significantly, 2012 will become a year of transition toward national beef cowherd stabilization. That is, cow slaughter will drop dramatically and heifer hold-back for breeding purposes will gain momentum. Still, as reported by USDANational Agricultural Statistics Service, year-over-year increases in the number of beef cows that have calved in the U.S. could easily be delayed until Jan. 1, 2015.

In 2012, LMIC estimates beef production will drop to just over 25 billion pounds, the smallest since 2005. That will translate into per capita consumption of about 55.5 pounds (retail weight basis), down about 2 pounds from 2011’s. Preliminary LMIC forecasts put that number even lower in 2013 (about 53.7 pouds) as cattle slaughter and beef production decline. If U.S. Continued on page 97

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93

Continued from page 92 beef exports do not collapse, the amount of beef available to U.S. consumers per person will erode further after 2013.

There are implications of tighter beef supplies. Beef prices will continue to set record highs. How much will depend on the strength of both the U.S. and world economies. The growth rate of U.S. beef export tonnage will likely be capped by tight supplies and associated record high beef prices. Unfortunately for beef industry participants, given biological lags in the beef pro-

duction system, poultry and pork may begin back-filling domestic and foreign consumer demand beginning as early as late 2012.

Price and return outlook for 2012 Forecasts for 2012 put the slaughter steer price 5 percent to 8 percent above 2011’s. The strongest fed cattle prices of the year are forecast to be in the second and fourth quarters, similar to the seasonal pattern of 2011. For the first time ever, quarterly average fed cattle prices over $120 per cwt. are expected.

Cull cow prices should follow into new record high territory.

In the Southern Plains, forecasts call for cattle prices in 2012 to increase, however, the rate of gain should moderate compared to the surge of 2011.

Fed cattle prices are forecast to post an 8 percent to 10 percent year-overyear gain in 2012. A strong fed cattle market should keep yearling and calf prices setting new record highs.

Continued on page 100

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January 16, 2012 â&#x20AC;˘ WLJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s North American Bull Guide â&#x20AC;˘ Section Two

Continued from page 97 However, yearling and calf price percentage increases in much of 2012 could be below those of fed cattle due to high feedstuďŹ&#x20AC; costs and red ink for cattle feeders.

The major uncertainty for yearling and calf prices in 2012 is feedstuďŹ&#x20AC; costs. Currently, forecasts are for feedstuďŹ&#x20AC; costs to remain historically high but to moderate as the new growing season progresses. For the calendar year, 700- to 800-pound steers in the Southern Plains are forecast to average 5 percent to 8 percent above 2011â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, which would be in the $140s per cwt. for the ďŹ rst time ever.

In the Southern Plains, calf prices (500- to 600-pound steers) are forecast to average in the $150s, 3 percent to 7 percent above 2011â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. If a normal yielding U.S. corn crop with increased acreage harvested develops in 2012 as expected, calf prices in the fourth quarter of 2012 will be well supported. Cow/calf returns in 2012 should exceed 2005â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s record (estimated by LMIC at about $165 per cow).

Prices and returns in 2013 Both the U.S. and world economies must grow if consumers are going to pay higher and higher beef prices. In 2013, continued anemic economic growth could limit cattle price gains.

Preliminary forecasts indicate that 2013â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s year-over-year increase in fed cattle prices could be 2 percent to 6 percent. Yearling and calf prices are forecast to largely follow those of fed cattle. Planning prices for steer calf prices in the fourth quarter of 2013 slightly above 2012â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s currently look realistic, and could be conservative.

If those prices materialize, cow/calf returns in 2013 will set a new record high because the up trend in calf and cull animal sale prices are forecasted to out-pace production cost increases.

by Traci Eatherton

Editor, Western Livestock Journal

Scientific breakthroughs in technology, medicine and animal nutrition have changed the structure of livestock production over the past 90 years.

1920s During this decade, ranchers and farmers saw the beginning of the use of mechanized power, creating an increase in farm production.

Total population: 105,710,620; farm population: 31,614,269; farmers 27 percent of labor force; number of farms: 6,454,000; average acres: 148 Agricultural exports: $1.94 billion/ year or 42 percent of total exports.

Agricultural surpluses became a primary agricultural issue, with prices reflecting the boom in production, be-

102

ginning 20 years of an agricultural depression.

The cotton-stripper was developed, along with the first successful light tractor.

Ceres wheat was distributed and the first hybrid-seed corn company was organized.

Truckers began to capture trade in perishables and dairy products.

The Hoch-Smith Resolution requires the Interstate Commerce Commission to consider agricultural conditions in setting railroad rates.

1930s The Great Depression set in during this decade, changing agriculture in a number of ways. Farm prices, along

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

with income, decreased dramatically.

Total population: 122,775,046; farm population: 30,455,350; farmers 21 percent of labor force; number of farms: 6,295,000; average acres: 157; irrigated acres: 14,633,252 Agricultural exports: $765 million/ year or 32 percent of total exports.

One farmer fed and supplied 9.8 people in the U.S. and abroad.

15-20 labor hours required to produce 100 bushels (2-1/2 acres) of corn with 2-bottom gang plow, 7-foot tandem disk, 4-section harrow, 2-row planters, cultivators, and pickers; 1520 labor hours required to produce 100 bushels (5 acres) of wheat with 3-bottom gang plow, tractor, 10-foot tandem disk, harrow, 12-foot combine, and trucks The Taylor Grazing Act was created, withdrawing public lands from settlement, location, sale or entry.

Penicillin came into wide use in human health during the 30s, and it opened the door for similar discoveries in veterinary medicine.

Feed additives were also beginning to play a roll. Researchers were working on improving the feed that cattle, hogs and poultry were being given.

During the war, there was a shortage of livestock feed crops, yet the prices for meat were record high. So, livestock producers looked for synthetic compounds to supplement their feed.

Urea was the first organic chemical to be synthesized, and in the 1930s, it became a valuable feed supplement.

Producers realized that if they spent a little money on urea, they made much more by increasing their meat production. Cattle grew faster. Poultry were

2 mules, 1-row plow, 1-row cultivator, hand hoe, and hand pick Land-grant college enrollment increases greatly as veterans enroll under the G.I. bill.

In 1943, microbiologist Selman Waksman was working at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and discovered the next generation miracle drug called streptomycin.

He discovered the compound in some mold on a clod of earth extracted from the throat of a sick chicken. When

they tested the new drug on animals and, eventually, humans, it proved effective on many of the same diseases as penicillin, and even more effective on a larger list. The new diseases that streptomycin was effective on included tuberculosis, pneumonia, urinary infections, typhoid fever and dysentery.

In spite of the obvious human health benefits, Waksman had actually been working on drugs for livestock, and most of the new antibiotics that Continued on page 106

Maternal Performance with Carcass Quality much more productive.

The all-purpose, rubber-tired tractor with complementary machinery became a popular item on farms and ranches.

In 1938, a cooperative was organized for artificial insemination of dairy cattle.

Bankhead-Jones Agricultural Research Act more than doubles federal support of extension work.

1940s World War II ended during this decade. The business of manufacturing animal feed began to boom as more was discovered about animal growth.

Total population: 131,820,000; farm population: 30,840,000; farmers 18 percent of labor force; number of farms: 6,102,000; average acres: 175; irrigated acres: 17,942,968 Agricultural exports: $2.42 billion/ year or 22 percent of total exports.

One farmer would feed and supply 10.7 people in the U.S. and abroad.

10-14 labor hours required to produce 100 bushels (2 acres) of corn with tractor, 3-bottom plow, 10-foot tandem disk, 4-section harrow, 4-row planters and cultivators, and 2-row picker; 42 labor hours required to produce 100 pounds (2/5 acre) of lint cotton with

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January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

103

Continued from page 103 developed during this period were used on animals as well. Streptomycin alone helped wipe out bovine tuberculosis, a disease that was widespread before.

It also helped defeat mastitis, an infection in the udders of dairy cattle.

As antibiotics began to be used in livestock herds, farmers and researchers noticed a curious thingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the animals were not only healthier, but they also grew faster on the same amount of feed.

Folic acid had been shown to be an important nutrient for poultry and animal nutrition in 1946. Vitamin B12 was discovered in 1948 and shown to be an important growth factor.

In the early 1940s, frozen foods became popular.

The 1940s began what was called the second American agriculture revolution as farmers switching from horses to tractors became the norm. Acreages of crops, such as oats, required for horse and mule feed dropped sharply

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January 16, 2012 â&#x20AC;˘ WLJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s North American Bull Guide â&#x20AC;˘ Section Two

as farms used more tractors.

U.S. saw an increase of use in herbicides and pesticides.

U.S. cooperated with Mexico to prevent spread of foot-and-mouth disease.

During the 1950s, the U.S. entered into a recession.

Total population: 151,132,000; farm population: 25,058,000; farmers 12.2 percent of labor force; number of farms: 5,388,000; average acres: 216; irrigated acres: 25,634,869 Agricultural exports: $3.53 billion/ year or 22 percent of total exports.

One farmer would feed and supply 15.5 people in the U.S. and abroad.

6-1/2 labor hours required to produce 100 pounds (4 acres) of wheat with tractor, 10-foot plow, 12-foot row weeder, harrow, 14-foot drill, self-propelled combine and trucks.

In 1958, the Humane Slaughter Act became legislation.

Legislation provides for the Great Continued on page 108

Continued from page 106 Plains Conservation Program.

Trucks and barges compete successfully for agricultural products as railroad rates rise.

For his streptomycin discovery, Waksman received the Nobel prize for medicine in 1952.

In the early 1950s, chloramphenicol and tetracycline were discovered and introduced as antibiotics.

The number of tractors on farms exceeded the number of horses and

mules for the ďŹ rst time.

Anhydrous ammonia was increasingly used as a cheap source of nitrogen, spurring higher yields.

In 1959, a mechanical tomato harvester was developed.

1960s The 1960s saw the beginning of the Vietnam War, helping to expand businesses, including agriculture.

Total population: 180,007,000; farm population: 15,635,000; farmers

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8.3 percent of labor force; number of farms: 3,711,000; average acres: 303; irrigated acres: 33,829,000 Agricultural exports: $5.76 billion/ year or 22.9 percent of total exports.

One farmer could feed and supply 25.8 people in the U.S. and abroad.

5 labor hours required to produce 100 bushels (3 acres) of wheat with tractor, 12-foot plow, 14-foot drill, 14-foot self-propelled combine, and trucks Along with the Wilderness Act, other agricultural legislation, including some that would help keep land in farming, increased.

Financial condition of northeastern railroads deteriorated in the 1960s, with rail abandonments common.

Agricultural shipments by cargo planes increased. 99 percent of all sugar beets and 96 percent of all cotton was harvested mechanically.

The U.S. government began to offer federal loans and grants for water/ sewer systems.

1970s In the 1970s, antibiotic resistance Continued on page 110

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January 16, 2012 â&#x20AC;˘ WLJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s North American Bull Guide â&#x20AC;˘ Section Two

Continued from page 108 became a hot topic, and inflation outran economic growth.

Total population: 204,335,000; farm population: 9,712,000; farmers 4.6 percent of labor force; number of farms: 2,780, 000; average acres: 390 Agricultural exports: $19.8 billion/year or 19 percent of total exports.

One farmer would feed and supply 75.8 persons in the U.S. and abroad.

3-3/4 labor hours required to produce 100 bushels (3 acres) of wheat with tractor, 30-foot sweep disk, 27-foot drill, 22-foot selfpropelled combine, and trucks; 3-1/3 labor hours required to produce 100 bushels (1-1/8 acres) of corn with tractor, 5-bottom plow, 20-foot tandem disk, planter, 20foot herbicide applicator, 12-foot selfpropelled combine and trucks No-tillage agriculture techniques became popular.

Molecular biologist Paul Berg pioneered the techniques that make possible the transfer of genes from one strand of DNA to another.

In 1979, the American Agriculture Movement organized a “tractorcade” demonstration in Washington, D.C.

1980s The 1980s saw another recession, and a farm financial crisis affected farmers with heavy debt loads.

Total population: 227,020,000; farm population: 6,051,000; farmer 3.4 percent of labor force; number of farms: 2,439,510; average acres: 426; irrigated acres: 50,350,000 (1978) Agricultural exports: $35.6 billion/year or 15 percent of total exports.

3 labor hours required to produce 100 bushels (3 acres) of wheat with tractor, 35-foot sweep Continued on page 112

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January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

Continued from page 110 disk, 30-foot drill, 25-foot self-propelled combine and trucks; 2-3/4 labor hours required to produce 100 bushels (1-1/8 acres) of corn with tractor, 5-bottom plow, 20-foot tandem disk, planter, 20-foot herbicide applicator, 12-foot self-propelled combine and trucks The Southeast’s then worst summer drought on record takes a severe toll on many farmers, and global warming becomes the new concern of scientists.

More farmers began using no-till or low-till methods to curb erosion.

Farmland values bottom out after a six-year decline, signaling both a turnaround in the farm economy and increased competition with other countries’ exports.

After several slow years, the end of the ’80s saw sales of farm equipment rebounding.

In the late ’80s, more farmers began to use low-input sustainable agriculture techniques to decrease chemical

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January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

applications.

Low prices and growing debt affect many farmers in the Midwest; many rural counties decline in population.

Willie Nelson hosts his first Farm Aid concert to benefit farmers.

30 million acres are retired under the Conservation Reserve Program of the 1985 Food Security Act.

1990s The recession ended in the beginning of the ’90s, boosting net farm income to a record $54.9 billion. Rural counties begin to gain population after losing ground in the 1980s.

Total population: 261,423,000; farm population: 2,987,552; farmers 2.6 percent of labor force; number of farms: 2,143,150; average acres: 461; irrigated acres: 49,404,000 (1992) Agricultural exports: $48.2 billion/ year or 9.5 percent of total exports.

One farmer could feed and supply an estimated 100 people.

Negotiations begin for a free-trade agreement with Mexico and Congress approved General Agreement on Tarrifs and Trade. In addition, the new North American Free Trade Continued on page 114

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114

Continued from page 112 Agreement lowered trade barriers and enhanced export prospects.

The information technology begins to catch on in agricultureâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;precision techniques become increasingly popular.

Biotechnology brought important new developments in dairy, corn and other commodities; genetically engineered crops and livestock appear.

Livestock waste and runoďŹ&#x20AC; becomes a concern.

USDA meat inspection programs are modernized in response to concerns about food safety.

In 1994, farmers begin using atellite technology to track and plan their farming practices. The use of conservation tillage methods, which leave crop residues in the ďŹ eld to combat erosion, continues to rise.

The Food and Drug Administration grants ďŹ rst approval for a whole food produced through biotechnology.

Farm Bureau celebrates its 75th anniversary.

The ďŹ rst weed and insect-resistant biotech cropsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;soybeans and cottonâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; are available commercially.

January 16, 2012 â&#x20AC;˘ WLJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s North American Bull Guide â&#x20AC;˘ Section Two

By the 2007 census, there were 2,204,792 farms (75,810 more farms than in 2002), and 922,095,840 acres (a loss of over 6 million acres since 2002).

The mid 2000s saw 346,231 farms, or 38,547,450 acres, enrolled in conservation programs.

125,000 farms produced 75 percent of the value of U.S. agriculture production.

A shift to female farmers and ranchers recorded 306,209 women in charge (a 30 percent increase from 2002).

Acrossbreed EPD adjustments as a comparison of breeds Table 1. US MARC Adjustment Factors to Add to EPDs of Ten Largest Breeds to estimate Acrossbreed ELDs Birth Wt. 1 Angus 2 Hereford 2.8 3 Charolais 8.5 4 Simmental 4.8 5 Red Angus 2.3 6 Gelbvieh 3.8 7 Brangus 4.1 8 Limousin 3.6 9 Beefmaster 6.8 10 Shorthorn 5.9

Weaning Wt. (1.5) 40.1 25.9 (1.5) 3.9 14.9 0.9 36.4 17.9

Yearling Wt. (17.1) 48.9 24.5 (8.7) 10.4 14.0 (31.3) 37.9 41.7

Milk

Backfat

(18.7) 4.6 15.3 (1.5) 10.2 1.3 (13.4) 2.6 19.6

(0.051) (0.222) (0.218) (0.038) n/a N/A N/A N/A (0.151)

Ribeye Area (0.07) 0.87 0.95 (0.12) n/a N/A 1.06 N/A 0.24

Table 2. Breed Average EPDs for the Ten Largest Breeds 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Angus Hereford Charolais Simmental Red Angus Gelbvieh Brangus Limousin Beefmaster Shorthorn

Birth Wt. 1.9 3.6 0.6 0.7 (0.03) 1.3 0.8 2.0 0.6 2.0

Weaning Wt. 44 45 25 31 32 41 24 42 11 14

Yearling Wt. 81 74 44 57 61 74 43 79 17 23

Milk

Backfat

21 18 7 4 17 14 11 21 2 2

0.009 0.003 (0.001) 0.020 0.000 n/a 0.002 N/A 0.010 (0.020)

Ribeye Area 0.27 0.22 0.20 0.08 0.08 0.10 0.29 0.51 0.03 0.13

Marbling (0.32) (0.41) (0.51) n/a N/A (0.69) N/A (0.10) Marbling 0.39 0.04 0.03 0.04 0.08 0.04 0.15 (0.04) 0.00 0.12

Table 3. Acrossbredd EPDs on an Angus Base for the Ten Largest Breeds Birth Wt. 1 Angus 1.9 2 Hereford 6.4 3 Charolais 9.1 4 Simmental 5.5 5 Red Angus 2.0 6 Gelbvieh 5.1 7 Brangus 4.9 8 Limousin 5.6 9 Beefmaster 7.4 10 Shorthorn 7.9

Weaning Wt. 44.0 43.5 65.0 56.9 30.5 44.9 38.9 42.9 47.4 31.9

Yearling Wt. 81.0 56.9 92.6 81.5 52.3 63.6 57.0 47.7 54.9 64.7

Milk

Backfat

21.0 (0.7) 11.6 19.3 15.5 24.2 12.3 7.6 4.6 21.6

0.009 (0.048) (0.223) (0.198) (0.038) n/a N/A N/A N/A (0.171)

Ribeye Area 0.27 0.15 1.07 1.03 (0.04) n/a N/A 1.57 N/A 0.37

Marbling 0.39 (0.28) (0.48) (0.47) 0.08 n/a N/A (0.73) N/A 0.02

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

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ALL BREEDS

BALANCER

Mar.17 – Utah Beef Improvement Assn, Bull Test Sale, Salina, UT

Apr. 7 – Redd Ranches, Bul ull S Sa ale le, le, e P Pa arad adox ox, C ox, CO O Apr. 14 – Bar T Bar Ranch h, Bull u S ul Sa a ale le le e,, Ye Yerin ring ri gto to on, n, NV NV

ANGUS

CHAROLAIS

Feb. 6 – Windmill Angus, Production Sale, Haigler, NE Feb. 8 – Meadow Acres Angus, Production Sale, Echo, OR Feb. 9 – Booth’s Cherry Creek Angus Ranch, Bull Sale, Veteran, WY Feb. 10 – McConnell Angus, Bull Sale, Dix, NE Feb. 11 –Bradley 3 Ranch, Ltd., Bull Sale, Estelline, TX Feb. 11 – Schaff Angus Valley, Production Sale, St. Anthony, ND Feb. 13 – Carter Family Angus, Bull Sale, Haythorn Ranch, Ogallala, NE Feb. 14 – Double R Ranch, Production Sale, Eltopia, WA Feb. 14 – Kessler Angus Ranch, Milton-Freewater, OR Feb. 18 – Minert/Simonson Angus, Bull Sale, Dunning, NE Feb. 18 – Nix Angus, Nevada Cattlemen’s Association, All Breed Bull Sale, Fallon, NV Feb. 20 – Bulls of the Big Sky Sale, Billings, MT Feb. 20 – Teixeira Cattle Co., Bull Sale Terrebonne, OR Feb. 20 – Weaver Ranch, Production Sale, Ft. Collins, CO Feb. 21 – Kessler Angus Ranch, Milton-Freewater, OR Feb. 22 – TC Ranch, Production Sale, Franklin, NE Feb. 25 – Rocking R Cattle Company, Ranchers Choice Bull Sale, Eltopia, WA Feb. 26 – Buchanan Angus Ranch, Bull Sale, Klamath, OR Feb. 27 – Reyes-Russell Ranch, Bull Sale, Wheatland, WY Feb. 28 – Haynes Cattle Co., Bull Sale, Ogallala, NE Feb. 29 – Bear Mountain Angus Ranch, Bull Sale, Palisades, NE Mar. 3 – Trinity Farms Auction, Generations of Excellence, Ellensburg, WA Mar. 4 – Ward Ranches, Bull Sale, Gardnerville, NV Mar. 5 – Mytty Angus Ranch, Bull Sale, Florence, MT Mar. 5 – Vision Angus, Production Sale, North Platte, NE Mar. 6 – Thomas Angus Ranch, Bull Sale, Baker City, OR Mar. 8 – Mytty Angus Ranch, Bull Sale, Florence, MT Mar. 8 – Sunny Okanogan, Production Sale, Okanogan, WA Mar. 10 – Lucky 7 Angus, Bull Sale, Riverton, WY Mar. 10 – Riverbend Ranch, Bull Sale, Idaho Falls, ID Mar. 10 – Yardley Cattle Co., Bull Sale, Beaver, UT Mar. 13 – Wagon Wheel Ranch, Production Sale, Yuma, CO Mar. 15 – Harrison Land & Cattle, Production Sale, Belt, MT Mar. 17 – York Ranches, Bull & Female Sale, Alturas, CA Mar. 19 – Malson Angus & Hereford, Production Sale, Parma, ID Mar. 22 – Jones Stewart Angus Ranch, Production Sale, Benkelman, NE Mar. 23-24 – Leachman Cattle of Colorado, Production Sale, Wellington, CO Mar. 24 – Sinclair Cattle Co., Inc., Bull Sale, Buffalo, WY Mar. 27 – Culver Cattle, Bull Sale, Walden, CO Mar. 30 – Silver Bit Angus Ranch, Bull Sale, May, ID Mar. 30 – Stipe Charolais & Angus, Bull Sale, Moiese, MT Mar. 31 – Belle Point Ranch, Lavaca, AR Apr. 4 – Black Ranches Inc./Nine Irons Seedstock, Production Sale, Antioch, NE Apr. 7 – Brusett Angus Ranch, Production Sale, Jordan, MT Apr. 7 – Redd Ranches, Bull Sale, Paradox, CO Apr. 10 – Spruce Mountain Ranch, Bull Sale, Larkspur, CO Apr. 11 – Walter Angus Farms, Bull Sale, Ogallala, NE Apr. 14 – Bar T Bar Ranch, Bull Sale, Yerington, NV Apr. 16 – Jorgensen Land & Cattle, Bull Sale, Winner, SD Apr. 27 – Fair Oaks Ranch, Bull Sale, Paso Robles, CA Sept. 16 – Oak Ridge Angus Farms, Production Sale, Calistoga, CA

January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

Feb. 14 – V-A-L Charola aiss, Bul ull Sa ull Sale, Sale, le e Ny Nysssa sa, OR Mar.13 – Romans Ranchess, Pr Produ ducti ction on n Sal Sale ale e,, Val Valle, e, OR OR Mar. 23-24 – Leachman Cat attle tlle le of of C Color Color lorado lo a o,, Prrod ado oduc o uct u ccttio ion on Sale, Wellington, CO Mar. 30 – Stipe Charolaiss & An An Ang ngus, us, Bu ulll Sal Sale, Sa alle, a e, Mo Moi M oiie o esse, ese MT Apr. 14 – Hebbert Charo ola aiis, s, Bu B llll Sa Sale, e Hya yya ann nni niiss,, N NE E

COMPOSITES Apr. 4 – Black Ranche es In nc. c./Ni /Nine /N ne e Iro ons ns See Se Se ee ed dsstto dst tock ock, Production Sale, Antioch,, NE

GELBVIEH Apr. 7 – Redd Ranches, Bull ul S ul ull Sale,, P Pa arad radox, o CO Apr. 14 – Bar T Bar Rancch, Bullll S Sa ale, e, Ye Y rin ri gto gton, NV

HEREFORD Feb. 4 – Upstream Ranch, B Bu ulll Sa Sal a e, e Tay Ta a lor ay o , NE Feb. 24 – Jamison Herefforrds ds Bu ds, Bull ull Sal Sa e, e Qu uin nte ter, te r, KS KS Mar. 5 – Harrell Hereford d Ranc ncch h,, Bul B l & Fe em mal ma al ale eS Sale ale e, Baker City, OR Mar. 19 – Malson Anguss & Her Her erefo refo eford, rd P rd, Prod odu ducti cctttiion on Sal Sale a e, e, Parma, ID

LIMOUSIN Mar. 30 – Wulf Limoussin n Farm Farm arm rms, ss,, Pro P du Pr uctio tion on Sa ale e, e, Morris, MN

MAINE ANJOU Mar. 10 – Yardley Cattle Co. o o., ., Bull u Sa Sale, Sale le, le e, B Be Beave eave vver, r, U UT T

RED ANGUS Feb. 23 – Lorenzen Ran nch ch he es, s, B Bul ullll Sa ale le, Pend le en e nd dlet let eto e on on, n, OR Mar. 1 – Bieber Red An ngus Ran an h, anc h, Pro Pro od du duc u titio uc tion on S Sale ale, ale a Leola, SD Mar. 2 – Sutherlin Farms, Prod ro odu od ucccttion on Sa o Sale, le, le e, St Steve evensv ns ill nsv ille, e, e, MT Mar. 15 – Loosli Red Ang gu g uss,, Pro Produ Pr duc u tio tion n Sa ale lle e, Asht shton, on, on n,, ID Mar. 22 – Mushrush Red ed An Ang gus u , Prod od du uccct ction tion on Sale Sale le, e, e Strong City, KS Mar. 23-24 – Leachman C Cat at atttle eo off C Co olor orad ad do d o, Prod oduct uct ction iio ion on on Sale, Wellington, CO Mar. 30 – Pieper Re ed Ang Ang ngu us, s, Pro Pr d duc du uction u tio on Sale Sale e, Rushville, NE Apr. 4 – Black Ranche es Inc nc. n c./Ni / ne e Iro ro ons ns See Seedst dstoc dstock ock c , Production Sale, Antioch,, NE Apr. 7 – Redd Ranches, Bul ulll Sa ale, e P Pa ara rad ad a do ox, ox x CO O Apr. 10 – Beckton Red Ang ngus us, us, s Bu Bulllll & Fem Fe ema male m le Sal Sale Sa le, e, Sheridan, WY Apr. 13– 5L Red Angus, P Prrrod od o odu ducti d ction nS Sal Sa ale, e, She Sh herid dan an, a n,, n MT Apr. 14 – Bar T Bar Rancch, Bull ull Sa S le, le e, Y Ye erin ringt gto g to on, n NV V

SALER Mar. 4 – Ward Ranches, Bulll S Sa ale, le e, Ga G rd rdn ne errv rvill illllle e,, NV NV

SIMANGUS Feb. 19, 2012 – Bar CK KC Ca att ttle Co., ttl o.. Produ Produ od o d ducctition ion on Sal S e Sa e,, Madras, OR Feb. 20 – Bulls of the Big g Skkyy Sa Salle S e,, Bil Billin lin lin ng gs, gs s, MT s, T Mar. 3 – Trinity Farm ms Auct Auct uction ction ion on,, Ge en nerat ration ion ion ns of Excellence, Ellensburg, WA WA

SIMMENTAL Feb. 20 – Bulls of the Big g Skkyy Sa Sa Sal ale, e, Bil Billlin Billi ing gs, gs s MT s, MT Mar. 3 – Trinity Farm ms Auct c ion io on n, Ge ene nerat n atio a ion on ns of Excellence, Ellensburg, W WA A Mar. 10 – Yardley Cattle Co Co. o., Bull ull Sale Sa S le, e Beave Beaver, Be ave ver,, UT UT Apr. 7 – Redd Ranches, Bu ullll Sa Sale le, e, Pa P ra rad ad a dox, dox, oxx, o x, C CO O

STABILIZER Mar. 23-24 – Leachman Cat attlttle eo of Co Color lo o ado or ado ad d , Prod Pro rod o uct od u tio ion on n Sale, Wellington, CO

COMMERCIAL Apr. 11 – Western Video o Ma ark rkket, e Ho H lid liida ayy In Inn nn, Visa Visa allia ia a, a, CA Jul. 9-12 – Western Vide eo Mar Mark arkket, e Si et S lver lvve ver Lega eg g cyy Hot ga H e Ho ell & Resort, Reno, NV

5L Red Angus .............................................21 Genex Hawkeye West .................................72 A1-Mist Sprayers ........................................82 Gilchrist, Kyle - Auctioneer ......................124 ABS Global .................................................85 Goggins, Joe - Auctioneer .........................124 Accelerated Genetics .................................107 Grandin Livestock .......................................78 Allflex USA, Inc. .......................................111 Hardesty Cattle Co......................................34 American AgCredit .....................................78 Harrell Hereford Ranch ..............................73 American Akaushi Association ...................60 Harrison Land & Livestock ........................28 American Angus Association ....................104 Haynes Cattle Co. .....................................128 American Hereford Association ..................39 Hebbert Charolais .......................................88 American Live Stock .................................122 International Brangus Breeders ...................36 American Salers Association ...............42, 120 Jamison Herefords & Quarter Horses .........37 American Shorthorn Association ..................2 Jones Steward Angus Ranch........................91 American Simmental Association .............115 Jorgensen Land & Cattle Co. ......................80 Animal Health Express ...............................97 Kessler Angus ..............................................30 Aristocrat Angus Ranch ..............................92 King Herefords/Charolais ...........................71 Bakko Industries........................................112 Las Vegas Ranch .......................................114 Bar CK Cattle Company. ............................81 Lasater Beefmasters .....................................37 Bar T Bar Ranch, Inc.....................................4 Leachman Cattle of Colorado ................... BC Bear Mountain Angus Ranch......................82 Lienemann Management Productions .....120 Beckton Red Angus.................................... IC Live Auction, TV.......................................117 Beefmaster Breeders United ........................89 Livestock Marketing Association .....55 Loosli Belle Point Ranch..........................................7 Red Angus .................................................101 Bethany Ridge Farms ..................................48 Lorenzen Ranches .......................................12 Bieber Red Angus Ranch ............................79 Lucky 7 Angus ..............................................6 Biotracking ..................................................58 Malson Angus Ranch ..................................70 Birdwell Auction, Inc. - Auctioneer...........124 Mason & Morse Ranch Company ..............58 McConnell Angus .......................................96 Black Ranches Inc./ Nine Iron Seedstock ....................................94 McPhee Red Angus ....................................83 Booker, C.D. “Butch” - Auctioneer ......26, 124 Meadow Acres Angus Ranch ......................74 Booth’s Cherry Creek Ranch .......................30 Minert/Simonson Angus Ranch .................77 Bradley 3 Ranch, Ltd...................................62 Moly Manufacturing ...................................98 Brusett Angus Ranch ..................................67 Montana Red Angus Association ................33 Buchanan Angus Ranch ............................114 Montana Simmental Association ................64 Bulls of the Big Sky Group .........................59 Multimin .....................................................75 Carter Family Angus .................................106 Munks Manufacturing Inc...........................74 Carter, Dustin - Auctioneer.......................124 Mushrush Red Angus .................................68 Cattle Visions ............................................121 Mytty Angus Ranch ................................... IB Cattlemens Livestock Market .....................65 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association ......109 Chandler Herefords.....................................66 Nix Angus .................................................116 Circle D Corporation ..................................51 North American Limousin Foundation ....113 Conover, Al - Auctioneer ..........................124 Oak Ridge Angus ........................................40 Culver Cattle ...............................................11 Parasal Manufacturing.................................58 Cumming Realty .........................................50 Pieper Red Angus......................................116 Dorran, Steve - Auctioneer........................124 Powder River Livestock .............................104 Double R Ranch........................................110 Powell Scales ..............................................88 Dow Ranches ..............................................53 Pratt Farms ................................................103 Duarte, Eric - Auctioneer............................42 Red River Farms ..........................................78 Duralite Trailers, LLC .................................88 Redd Ranches................................................8 El Rancho Espanol De Cuyuma ...............108 Reyes/Russell Angus ...................................84 Fair Oaks Ranch........................................112 Ritchey Mfg. Co. .........................................48 Flying U Angus Ranch................................99 Riverbend Ranch .........................................31 For-Most, Livestock Equipment .................26 Robbs Brangus ..........................................100 126 January 16, 2012 • WLJ’s North American Bull Guide • Section Two

Rocking R Cattle Company ........................18 Rocky Mountain Sire Services, Inc..............74 Romans Ranches .........................................90 Running Creek Ranch Co. ............................5 Schaff Angus Valley .......................................3 Scott Mfg...................................................100 SEK Genetics ..............................................50 Select Sires ..................................................29 Silver Bit Angus Ranch ...............................43 Silver Spur Ranch........................................19 Sinclair Cattle Co., Inc. .................................1 Spruce Mountain Ranch .............................13 Stewart, Trent - Auctioneer .......................120 Stipe Charolais & Angus.............................70 Stockman’s Market - Auctioneer .................35 Sunny Okanogan Angus Ranch ................118 Super-Sort/Div. of Heartland Ag Products.....52 Sutherlin Farms Red Angus ........................90 Sweet Pro Feeds ..........................................38 Swihart Sales Company...............................69 TC Ranch..................................................123 Teixeira Cattle Co./Ankony Oregon ...........80 The Cattle Range.........................................52 Thomas Angus Ranch .................................73 Triner Scale .................................................70 Trinity Farms...............................................32 Troutt, Kelly - Auctioneer .........................124 Upstream Ranch ........................................125 Utah Beef Improvement Association...........51 V-A-L Charolais Ranch ............................120 Vermeer .......................................................93 VF Red Angus ............................................41 Vigortone Ag Products..............................108 Vision Angus ...............................................61 Wagon Wheel Ranch ..................................30 Walter Angus Ranch ...................................88 Ward Ranches .............................................63 Weaver Ranch .............................................51 Weishaar, Lynn - Auctioneer .....................124 West Coast Brangus Breeders Assn.............70 Western Feed Supplements .........................76 Western Tire Recyclers ................................25 Western Video Market/Shasta Livestock......1 0 5 Westway Feed Products ...............................83 White Ranch Angus..................................100 Whitestone-Krebs .....................................127 Windmill Angus Ranch ..............................48 Wulf Limousin Farms ...................................9 Yardley Cattle Co. .......................................50 York Ranches ...............................................47 Y-Tex Corporation.......................................54 Z Tags - North America..............................95