Riding Shotgun

It’s All About Product

As we travel the highways and by-ways of the Limousin family and breed we often cuss and discuss the cattle business, sports, politics, great cheeseburgers and most of the time, the promotion and marketing of Limousin cattle.

Through “Riding Shotgun” we invite you to join us in the righthand seat, so that we can let you in on what we find to be our marketing pet peeves, shortcuts and some of the favorite habits of top-flight professional producers. Grab a cup of coffee and take the ‘shotgun seat’—we are pleased to have you riding along.

The spring sale season is well underway and in our view from the Shotgun seat, it is obvious there is a demand for quality Limousin and Lim-Flex bulls. We see new people, repeat customers and breeders with lots of interest in bulls that have thickness, power and a solid EPD set. There is a demand for performance bulls that can move, for thick bulls with expression and for bulls that have a number set with commercial appeal to it. In plain words, it follows completely one of our sayings on the road, “It’s all about product!”

If you are finding that your customer demand is lacking, it might be time to look at your product. The market is extremely competitive. There are lots of places for commercial men to buy bulls of your breed and others. Pick up any progressive livestock paper and you can see the tens of thousands of bulls offered any week of the year. Now with internet buying and internet exposure, you are not only competing in your general area, but with the whole country. If your cattle do not compete, your marketing gets much tougher. You need to study your calf crop with a critical eye. There are lots of tools for improvement, if you are just raising a male calf with testicles, it is an uphill struggle.

Speaking of product, I want to send a shout out to all of you that participated in benefit auctions through the early spring. Many of the auxiliary arms of the Limousin breed function with funds raised by quality organizations. NALJA, Heartland and various state organizations often have benefit auctions to continue their operations. Selling donated puppies, quilts, trips, embryos and semen gathers cash for worthy projects and all involved have a little fun in the process. Cheers to ACS, MC Marketing, R&R Marketing, Bev and Dean Summerbell of the Heartland and the nation’s Juniors and Juniors Advisors for finding creative ways to not only raise money but also foster camaraderie. If you see something at one of these auctions that you can use, give a call to the organizers, they could use your help and it goes to a good cause.

Be careful out there and we will see you down the road.

CONTACT THE AUTHOR Mark A. Smith email: grgenetics@aol.com phone: 515-229-5227

FULLBLOODS Since 1995

Pounds Pay... and Muscle Still Matters. Join our list of customers who reap the benefits of our Fullblood cattle having that extra punch of muscle.

WILODGE CERBERUS

Outcross Import Fullblood • Wilodge Tonka x Wilodge Priceless Calves Avg. 71 lbs. at birth. • Exceptional 400-day growth averages. World leader in muscle growth rates. • Daughters have extremely high milk levels.

Call or come by anytime. We love talking about Fullblood Limousin cattle.

VIDOR, TEXAS 77662 • WWW.GOSSLIMOUSIN.COM ANTHONY GOSS 281-794-1339 • DAVID GOSS 832-260-5885

Breed with

the Best We selected Earning Power and Fios as we felt they were exactly what our program needed. Their power, performance, and eye appeal are unmatched within the breed. We are extremely impressed with their progeny on the ground thus far. Breed with the best, order semen today.

AHCC Earning Power 900E

HP/HB • 81% Limousin MAGS Anchor x LVLS 9066U BW: 1.4 WW: 80 YW: 131 MK: 16 MB: 0.23 $MI: 65 AHCC Earning Power 900E shows you can have big numbered, high percentage Limousin cattle that incorporate advanced marbling, strong growth and an outstanding phenotype. Owned with Magness Land & Cattle and Hager Cattle Co. Semen $40 through Grassroots Genetics, 515.965.1458

TMCK Fios 575F

HP/HB • 56% Lim-Flex MAGS Cable x TMCK Applause 301A BW: 1.8 WW: 84 YW: 132 MK: 24 MB: 0.48 $MI: 74 Fios combines calving-ease and marbling into a balanced package chocked full of performance. Combined with impeccable structure and impressive thickness, Fios is capable of shaking things up. Owned with Tubmill Creek Farms, Whitewater Limousin and Brehm Farms Semen $40 through Grassroots Genetics, 515.965.1458

MIKE SMITH & MICHELLE McENTIRE • 76412 Palmer Junction Rd., Elgin, OR 97827 (801) 949-4408 or (541) 805-1007 • sales@buffbeef.com •www.buffbeef.com

BuLLS...

to build a brand.

As we continue to develop our program and build our brand, we have selected some of the breed’s most dominant sires to strengthen our herd sire battery. These bulls have been selected for their elite phenotype, proven genetics and balanced performance traits. These sires, along with a select group of AI sires, are what we are building our herd around. CELL Granite 9245G

Homo Black / Homo Polled • 34% Lim-Flex HA Cowboy Up 5405 x MAGS Xtra Rest CE: 11 BW: 3.2 WW: 94 YW: 146 MK: 14 CE: 4 SC: 1.1 DC: 16 YG: -0.10 CW: 42 REA: 0.60 MB: 0.32 $MTI: 71 Featured bull in the Linhart 2020 Sale. Semen available through Grassroots Genetics.

Wulfs GameBoy C911G ET

Homo Polled / Black • 80% Limousin Wulfs Xcellsior X252X x MAGS Dealing Magic CE: 11 BW: 2.2 WW: 81 YW: 125 MK: 21 CE: 3 SC: 0.4 DC: 10 YG: -0.46 CW: 51 REA: 1.34 MB: 0.27 $MTI: 68 Top-selling bull in the Wulf Cattle 2020 Sale. We are pleased to be a part of this syndicate.

TMCK Humvee 767H ET

Homo Black / Polled • 56% Lim-Flex AHCC Hemi 0901E x TMCK Applause 301A CE: 10 BW: 3.8 WW: 94 YW: 160 MK: 22 CE: 3 SC: 0.95 DC: 18 YG: -0.26 CW: 62 REA: 1.24 MB: 0.08 $MTI: 64 Top-selling bull in Tubmill Creek Farms’ 2020 Sale. We are excited about being a part of the syndicate on this promising young sire.

B Bar Serratelli 72H

Red / Homo Polled • Purebred RPY Paynes Cracker 17E x B Bar Foxtrot 32E CE: 11 BW: 0.4 WW: 69 YW: 106 MK: 23 CE: 6 SC: 1.2 DC: 16 YG: -0.49 CW: 30 REA: 1.10 MB: -0.08 Co-Owned with Glendenning J Bar J of Lebanon, MO Top-selling bull at the 2020 B Bar Cattle Fall Sale Watch for his semen syndication at the 2021 American Pie Sale 5.22.21

We welcome your call or visit to see the progress we are making.

PUREBRED & LIM-FLEX “Better Genetics for Bigger Gains”

JAMES D. HERR - JEREMY HERR 17329 S. Nebo Dr. - Versailles, MO 65084 ph: 573/378-0500 - fax: 573/378-5137 - jherr@gvsdis.com