POINTS TO PONDER
From the Field Helge By
Is the propensity for a bull not to pass a semen test at an early age hereditary? This bull sale season saw more bulls fail their semen test or be decision deferred (DD) than ever before. The tremendously long stretch of cold weather in January to early March did play a role in this without question. Some of the fails or defers where because of cold shock, but there were also a higher number with proximal droplets than normal. Was some of this because the bulls were in survival mode of get up, go eat and go lay down again in the straw pack to stay warm and not ride or express themselves as they do when the weather is warmer? I am not sure of all the factors, but could one be hereditary that showed up more because of this stressful winter? Driving down the road Candace started analyzing some sales and seeing if there was a pattern. First off, I will say that we don’t have great enough numbers to make this scientifically accurate but have a look at your own program and see if you find some patterns. In one sale 8 out of 12 (66%) of one sire were out or DD, while another sire had 3 out of 6 (50%) and a third sire had 7 out of 21 (33%). Further examination into this sale showed that 3 cows had sons out or deferred in the last two years. In another sale with a high number of fails and DDs one sire group had 8 out of 12 (66%) another sire had 8 of 14 sons (57%) and a third sire had 6 out of 27 (22%) Coincidence? Possibly, but again look at your own herd and see if you see some patterns in sires and dams and let me know. One thing I noticed this spring is a tendency for some breeders to compare their sale results with other breeders, sometimes even within their own sales. This is a dangerous waste of energy and has no value. 6
For one thing, you are never comparing apples to apples. No two programs are exactly the same, no two feeding programs are exactly the same, no two marketing programs are exactly the same, no two customer service programs are exactly the same. Secondly, there is no benefit to this line of thinking. A more positive approach to analyze at the end of your sale would be: What was the atmosphere at the sale this year? Did my customers come? Did I sell as many bulls as last year? Were my bulls as good as last year? Did the bulls that did not sell have a reason for not selling? What can I do differently next year to improve my event? Try to be objective. If you think about this and are still having a hard time pin-pointing things you can improve, ask someone you respect for an objective opinion. When they give it to you, be gracious not defensive. You don’t have to believe them, but it will give you something to think about over time. One thing that I can’t stress enough, about preparing cattle for sales, is that picture day is as important as sale day for having the cattle looking their best. Try to have your animals at 12 o’clock on picture day and then coast them to sale day. Quality photos with the cattle looking their best in the advertisements and catalogue will be a deciding factor for many, as to whether they will inquire about the offering, read the catalogue and attend the sale, as anything. Creep feeding your bull calves is a great way to get them started on feed and get a head start on getting them to the point you need them for picturing. Years ago, I had a very interesting visit with an eighty something producer/educator at the Denver Stock Show. I asked his opinion of creep feeding and he was all for it. I asked what he felt was a good ration for doing this. He thought 1/3 oats, 1/3 barley and 1/3 wheat was balanced enough and to feed it Charolais Banner • May 2019
whole. I questioned the not cracking it and he said that if you ever milked cows and saw the milk eat a hole in the cement from dripping from the cream separator, you would understand. If the lactic acid can eat through cement do you not think it can get through a hull of grain? He felt until a couple of weeks after weaning there was still enough in their stomachs to accomplish this. I am not saying this is what you should be creeping, but I found it interesting. Weaning early will also benefit the process with the animals gaining better on quality feed rather than grass and probably not enough milk at this stage of their lives. Starting early and feeding a lighter ration longer is way better than trying to play catch up because you are behind. That is when damage starts happening to livers, feet, etc. As you read this many of you will be well into breeding for next year and I hope that you have listened to your customers’ wants in producing your next calf crop. Calving ease has been the trend in many programs and the most accepted bulls in a lot of the sales. I just hope we don’t go too far down the rabbit hole and give up too much performance. Back when there were association sponsored bull sales, there were minimum weight requirements that really weren’t that high. With today’s improved feeding and management in breeder’s programs, these are easily attained unless you make them too small genetically. Canadian genetics are finding their way around the world too. In a group sale in Victoria, Australia, the high selling bull was a son of Kay-R Velocity that sold to Thailand. We see it every year that the promoted animals are valued higher in the sales. The next issue is the Herd Reference issue and a great place to showcase your program. Get the good pictures of your herdsires and great continued on page 10