Town Creek Farm Since 1993
WINTER 2021
Vo l u m e 9 , I s s u e 1 • P u b l i s h e d b y To w n C r e e k Fa r m , We s t Po i n t , M i s s i s s i p p i • B r a n g u s a n d U l t r a b l a c k
Staying in Rhythm BY JOY REZNICEK SUNDBECK MUCH OF OUR DECISION MAKING COMES FROM A LIFETIME OF ACCUMULATED EXPERIENCES, TRUSTED INSTINCTS, READING AND LEARNING FROM OTHERS. WE SET UP SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURES TO GUIDE OUR LIVES THAT KEEPS US IN SYNC WITH RHYTHMS OF MAKING GOOD DECISIONS ON A DAILY BASIS.
PRIVATE TREATY BULLS ARE NOW AVAILABLE.
The Grit welcomes your inquiries and feedback. The Grit is published by Town Creek Farm, West Point, Mississippi.
Town Creek Farm Milton Sundbeck, Owner Office: 32476 Hwy. 50 East West Point, Mississippi 39773-5207 (662)494-5944 www.TownCreekFarm.com Joy Reznicek Sundbeck, President (205)399-0221 Joy@TownCreekFarm.com Clint Ladner, Bull Development (662)812-8370 CLadner@TownCreekFarm.com Cody Glenn, Herdsman (601)508-8689 Cody@TownCreekFarm.com Anne Sutherland, Quarter Horses (662)295-6144 Anne@TownCreekFarm.com South American Representative Ing. Agr. Federico Maisonnave (011) 595 981 362 898 Maisonnave.Federico@gmail.com TOTAL COMMITMENT
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When I look back, I was fortunate to have been mentored by a father who clearly believed in doing things right the first time, or we would do it again. Then life took me to Future Farmers of America, 4-H, and college, which provided more pressure to build discipline and respect. For 30 years Joe Reznicek provided unwavering mentorship and companionship. Today, I have yet another great partner by my side. But it is our customers who provide invaluable mentorship for my team and me. Nothing shapes us more than seeing powerful customer cow herds, hearing their success stories and learning from adversities. Over a recent phone conversation with a customer, I listened to a story of his good friend’s son. “I’d been making subtle suggestions to him for a while about improving his management, he said. He wouldn’t listen until he gathered his calves for weaning and realized he was short of calves. He had half of the calves he thought he should have. Only 50 to 60 percent of his cows had weaned a calf. In a 425 head cow herd, that is a lot.” “My fear was his cow herd was full of trich. He had not been palpating cows or semen testing his bulls until this,” he said. Turns out, he was clear of trich but one-half of his herd bull battery failed their breeding exams. Only six bulls passed. Almost every bull in his battery had been bought for him by cattle brokers. That is the way it was done. Just like his dad had done. Our conversation went on to two young brothers to whom he also provides guidance. The brothers had leased an Angus bull from a reputable Angus seed stock operation. Unbeknownst to the brothers, the bull came into the herd with trich. At pregnancy check, only 60 percent of their cows were bred. “It took me by surprise. I certainly didn’t expect it. It took a lot of years and a sizable financial hit for the brothers to work through their problem,” he said. Well-intended changes can lead to unintended consequences. Take a neighbor whose intent was to maximize stocking rates. He increased his carrying capacity by turning his hay ground into grazing pastures and then outsourced hay needs. But his challenge was sourcing consistent, high-quality hay. “We
couldn’t buy the quality hay I wanted. But I knew I could produce silage and it would be a very consistent product,” he says. So, he opted for feeding his cow herd corn silage, which he sourced from local farmers. Not only did the consistency and energy of his feedstuffs improve, but silage was more palatable than hay and he was able to stretch his forage. But he soon realized the expense, handling, storage and equipment necessary to feed silage was not costeffective. Then came the effects on the cows. “Cows were producing too much milk, he recalls. It messed up udders and conception rates plummeted.” During a Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) conference, a presenter shared a story of Kentucky ranchers who operate a large commercial Angus cow herd. They consistently experienced over 90% conception. The ranch used maternal bulls to achieve these results. Then they changed directions and started using high carcass and growth bulls. Conception rates dropped to 80% over time. No matter what their gains were on growth or carcass, it didn’t overcome their loss of fertility or profitability. The ranch was focused on one result – a race to higher weaning weights and carcass traits. Their replacement females sired by high growth bulls marginalized reproduction and maternal traits, and restricted opportunities for cows to get bred. There is nothing wrong with going after results, as long as it doesn’t undo existing successes. My intent here is not to fault. Rather, to present an approach to systems-based ranching which is cost-effective and will decrease risk over time. Most decisions we make in our business have compounding effects. Every layer of cowcalf production is intertwined. A miscalculated decision can have lasting effects on the productivity of your cow herd and the sustainability of your enterprise. At Town Creek Farm we employ a systematic approach to management to minimize risk. Our team has daily rhythms, monthly rhythms and yearly rhythms, which are generated from our system principles. We benefit from a disciplined, well-planned consistent series of good decisions. We rarely have surprises, and our system maximizes employee efficiency. Risk in the cattle business comes to you at every turn. Our business is complex and meaningful change happens over long periods of time. Deciding not to do something or miscalculating a decision can undo or suspend your lifetime’s work.