Volume 14 Issue 1 January 2015 What’s Inside Dave Solverson Simmental Fit With Pasture-ToPacker Ranching Operation
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From the Gate Post / Appuye sur le poteau de cloture The Showring & Its Influence
12, 16
Genomics & Its Use By The CSA / Genomique et son Utilite pour l’ASC
30, 42
BCRC - Neonatal Disease
48
Vet’s Advice / Les Conseils de Veterinaire
58, 64 From The Director’s Chair
76
Canada Beef Focusing On Expanded Market Stratagies In China
82
What’s Happening
126
Publication Mail Agreement # 40012794
Commercial Country
Dave Solverson Simmental Fit With Pasture-To-Packer Ranching Operation
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ave Solverson has worked with several different beef breeds over his life-long ranching career and continues to do so on his central Alberta farm, but he prefers to keep Simmental genetics in his cross breeding program, to bring size, good carcass grading, and strong maternal traits into his beef herd. Solverson, who ranches with his daughter Joanne and brother Ken, along the Battle River near Camrose, Alberta, was in the purebred Hereford business from about the mid-1960s until the mid-‘80s and in his opinion those British genetics are still important. Along with the hybrid vigour, good growth and rate of gain, he’s looking for other characteristics that best suit their pasture to packer program at Woodwind Ranches. “In the early ‘80s we had an opportunity to buy more land that would significantly expand our ranching operation, so we decided to switch to a commercial operation,” he says. “We had a well establish Hereford cow herd so we just kept them and started breeding them to Simmental. We tried a Charolais-cross for a while and that produces a good terminal cross calf, but we were impressed with the Simmental and how it produced good maternal traits. So we have kept that in our herd.” Today Woodwind Ranches runs about 800 Simmental cross cows and heifers. With the mature cows Solverson likes to maintain genetics at up to about half Simmental influence with Hereford and Angus females, while with heifers a composite that includes about 3/8 Simmental and 5/8 Angus makes for a very nice heifer. “We have been producing our own replacement cattle for several years, so we like to keep the maternal traits in our breeding program,” says Solverson. “And at the same time we also finish all our own calves so we need the genetics that are going to produce a good rate of gain and a high grading carcass. The Simmental influence has a very good fit with everything we are trying to do.” “With a program that includes finishing our own calves in our ranch feedlot we can get the best performance and greatest return from the genetics we’re using,” he says. “We may lose a bit of efficiency being a small feedlot, but on the other hand we have plenty of feed available in the area, we’re feeding our own cattle and don’t have the cost of buying and hauling in feeder animals. We can deliver a full load directly to the packing plant, so we have some economies that make up for any shortfall.We’re proud of our track record that shows our cattle are selling at or near the top of the market due to our reputation of delivering cattle with predictable performance.” APRIL IS CALVING SEASON The Woodwind herd begins calving in April. Cattle are overwintered on pasture and grain fields and are fed different types of hay before calving out on the more open native grass slopes along the Battle River. As the herd calves and new spring grass becomes available the cow-calf pairs are moved to pastures in a variety of locations. “We’ve had a cattle liner for 20 years which makes it more economical to haul cattle to grass,” says Solverson.
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