Leachman Stabilizers – 30 years in the making! • Built on Science: First designed in the 1970’s by USDA ARS scientists at the Meat Animal Research Center as the Marc II composite: ¼ Red Angus, ¼ Hereford, ¼ Simmental, ¼ Gelbvieh. • Privatized: A private herd was developed by Pat Vinton, Gordon, NE and later sold to the Tessari family in Babb, MT – thus becoming the foundation for the Leachman Stabilizer herd. • Modernized: From 1988 – 2003, Leachman modernized the Stabilizer composite: ▪ Reduced the birth weight. ▪ Made the cattle solid colored and polled. ▪ Increased the post weaning gain. ▪ Improved convenience traits including disposition and udder quality. ▪ Introduced black lines in addition to the original red lines. ▪ Injected top hybrid and purebred sires form the Angus, Simmental, and Gelbvieh breeds. • Moved to Colorado: In 2003, Leachman Cattle of Colorado was formed with a nucleus of cooperators that included the Tessari herd and several other Stabilizer cooperators. • Selected with $Profit: LCoC began selecting the Stabilizer using $Profit with significant results: ▪ Dramatic further reduction in birth weight while increasing yearling growth. ▪ Significant improvement on marbling to now exceed average marbling Angus cattle. ▪ Substantial selection for reduced feed intake and improved feed efficiency. ▪ All of which coincided with a huge annual progress on $Profit. • Expanded Internationally: In 2016, Leachman offered genetic analysis services to Stabilizer breeders in the UK, New Zealand, and Australia. This expansion increased the total Stabilizer herd being selected for $Profit to over 20,000 breeding females. Genetics are now flowing to and from each of these herds – increasing the rate of global selection improvement. Excerpts from a 2001 letter written by Dr. Keith Gregory, Research Geneticist at U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) to Jim Leachman: “Your contributions to beef cattle breeding are unmatched in the history of beef cattle breeding. No one has had a greater impact on beef cattle breeding on a global basis. I have stated on several occasions that no one is implementing more of the available beef cattle breeding technology than Leachman Cattle Company.”
Page 40