THE HISTORY
Sometime in 2021 I received a call from John Hall telling me about an AI program using Braunvieh sires he had begun with a commercial producer in Arkansas to gather and compare data on genetics within our breed. There are many important and meaningful things that are being done by Braunvieh breeders, and I don’t want to discredit any of those worthwhile endeavors, but when John told me what he was doing I quickly decided that this could be the most meaningful thing ever done for the good of the Braunvieh breed. As we discussed the progress he had made and started discussing what still needed to be done, I asked him how he was going to get these additional steps done, he told me “that’s why I am calling you I need your help on this,” which I quickly agreed to do.
As this program has evolved, new partnerships and processes have been implemented to accomplish a meaningful data set for the entire Braunvieh breed. However, the initial vision remains the same, to compare worthy bloodlines from multiple breeders within a contemporary group so all Braunvieh breeders could better choose what genetics are the most legitimate options for them to use in their breeding programs. Birth weight, gestation length, calving ease, disposition, calf vigor, weaning weights, yearling weights, feed efficiency, gain, marbling, rib eye area, are the traits being measured with all phenotypic data entered into the BAA database to quantify and influence our EPD’s accuracy and real usefulness and including genomics to drive results for all of to use.
The BAA has collaborated with us and has allowed us to enter all data into digital beef making this a real joint effort between breeders and the association. Also, without the partnership with our commercial herd, this project could not be possible. Every year they synchronize a large part of their 900 head cow herd to be AI’ed to enrolled sires. Many Braunvieh breeders also contributed clean up bulls which will provide us with more useful data.
In order to get feedyard data a notable Hereford TX feedyard has partnered with us in this project. Also, to collect intake data and to make this a multi breed data set, two breeders with non Braunvieh cattle have collaborated with us to make both of these things happen. West Texas A & M is assisting us with data collection and entry to ensure credible data and much appreciated help.
To date, 1500 cows have been AI’ed over 7 breeding seasons and included 4 total breeds with half or more AI sires being Braunvieh. 5 sets of calves have been born during this time, 4 sets weaned and sent to the feedlot, 3 sets of calves have been efficiency tested, and 2 sets have been harvested.
Thank you to everyone who is participating and for all those of you who are viewing this Semen directory. All proceeds from the development of this directory are being used to defray sire evaluation expenses. All semen you purchase from this directory will help breeders continue to participate in this endeavor to breed and provide truly beneficial genetics to our great Beef industry and beef consumers.
Sincerely,
Mark Nelson
THE GENETICS
EPD Definitions
Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) are a statistics that help us predict the performance ability of a sire or dam for certain traits relevant to beef production. Cattle breeders use EPDs to make comparisons between animals about their genetic potential. EPDs take into account an animal’s performance data (their own and any related cattle), pedigree, and if available, genomic testing information in their calculation.
If you were comparing two bulls to buy at a sale, these are the EPDs you might see listed in the catalog:
Calving Ease Direct (CED): The CED EPD is listed as a percentage of unassisted calvings. A higher CED EPD predicts a sire that will have a higher percentage of unassisted calves.
Birth Weight (BW): Compares the differences in the weight of calves at birth. It is measured in pounds, and cattle with higher BW EPDs are predicted to produce heavier calves.
Weaning Weight (WW): The WW EPD is expressed in pounds and predicts differences in weaning weight of a sire’s calves. Bulls with higher WW EPDs predict heavier calves across the scale at weaning.
Yearling Weight (YW): Just like WW, only at the next stage of life. The YW EPD is expressed in pounds. Higher YW EPDs are likely to produce heavier yearlings.
Milk (MK): The hardest trait to measure, since we don’t measure milk production in beef cows. The MK EPD is measured in pounds of calf weaning weight due to his mother’s milking ability. A higher MK EPD predicts that a bull will sire daughters who raise heavier calves due to their milk production.
Total Maternal (TM): Total Maternal EPD is a simple formula. TM= MK EPD + ½ WW EPD. It measures impact on calf weaning weight due to both milk production and the cow’s genetics for growth. Bulls with a higher TM EPD should sire daughters with a bigger impact on their calves’ weaning weight.
Calving Ease Maternal (CEM): Measures the ability of a bull’s daughters to calve unassisted as two year olds. The higher the CEM EPD, the easier calving should be when a bull’s daughters have that first calf.
Stayability (ST): Cows who work longer make more money. The ST EPD predicts the ability of a bull to sire cows that “stay around”. The ST EPD is shown as a percentage of how much more likely a bull’s daughters will stay in your herd to the age of 6. A higher ST EPD bull is more likely to have daughters stay around for a long time.
Docility (DOC): Docility is becoming increasingly important in the beef cattle industry. The DOC EPD utilizes breeder-submitted docility scores to determine which lines of cattle exhibit more docility. Animals with a higher DOC EPD value are expected to produce more docile calves.
Carcass Weight (CW): The CW EPD is all about pounds of beef on the rail. Higher CW EPDs mean that a bull is more likely to sire feeders with heavier carcass weights..
Ribeye Area (REA): REA is measuring the size of the muscle that gives us the ribeye in square inches. Higher REA EPDs indicate a bull is expected to produce larger ribeyes in their offspring.
Marbling (MB): The MB EPD is in units of percentage of intramuscular fat within the ribeye. Higher MB EPD bulls should sire higher marbling (and grading) feeder calves.
THE GENETICS
Fat Thickness (FT): Inches of backfat (in hundredths of an inch) is the unit of measurement for FT. More negative FT EPDs are indicative of a bull that should sire less backfat in his calves.
Selection Indexes
Selection indexes weight multiple EPDs with an economic value to create a simplified selection tool built to meet the goals of your (and your bull customers’) operation. Whether it’s production of superior replacement females or quality feeder cattle, selection indexes combine the traits that drive profits to identify the genetics suited to meet your needs.
All Purpose Index (API): Evaluates sires for use on the entire cow herd (bred to both first-calf heifers and mature cows) with the portion of their daughters required to maintain herd size retained and the remaining heifers and steers put on feed and sold in quality-based marketing scenarios. Combines traits of importance for both maternal characteristics, as well as traits of importance in the fed cattle market. Commercial customers who raise their own replacement heifers should consider API as their index of choice.
Terminal Index (TI): Evaluates sire for use on mature cows with all offspring put on feed and sold in grid-based marketing scenarios. The TI index focuses solely on traits of importance for marketing feeder cattle into the supply chain and places no emphasis on traits of importance when selecting for replacement females. Commercial producers who sell all their calves into the feeder cattle sector should use TI in their decision making.
Accuracy
EPDs are able to give us an idea of what an animal can produce in our herd, but they aren’t perfect predictors. They need information feeding the calculations to make them better. We use EPD accuracies to help us determine the reliability of an EPD. Accuracy is expressed as a value from 0 to 1, with higher values giving us more confidence in that EPD value.
The EPDs on a yearling bull start with a baseline of the average between his parents, a very low accuracy EPD (less than 0.20). As his data is recorded, his EPDs change to reflect his performance and his accuracy will increase. Genomic testing will further increase accuracy (up to about 0.40), but large volumes of progeny performance data are what lead to high accuracy EPDs on a sire.
EPD Accuracies
Very Low
Low
Medium
High
Less than 0.20
0.21 - 0.40
0.41 - 0.70
Greater than 0.71
Young cattle with little data
Cattle with data and genomics
Young sires with progeny data
Heavily used sires
If you’re looking for true fullblood power this bull has it. Easy fleshing, eye appealing phenotype, and all the numbers to back it up. He had an impressive WW of 853 and equally impressive YW of 1355. In addition, he was GrowSafe tested with a 4.7 ADG and did it efficiently with -1.34 RFI/ 5.9# feed to gain. Traditional and heifer plus semen available.
bottom side. Heifer Plus semen available at $40. Volume discounts for both registered and commercial breeders.
DCT DIAMOND
Well balanced fullblood bull with a low 0.78% COI. Outcross genetics along with Silverwood Dragon 4Y and TLC True Grit W311ET on the top side and foundation bulls Nelson and Aron on the
MR CEF 811 ET
Mr CEF 811 ET is a moderate framed, thick made bull. He is a phenotypic copy of his grandsire Yukon’s Image, and his mother Miss JF Grace Mae L102 is an integral part of our donor program. Yukon’s Image heifers have placed 9 out of 18 times in the fullblood breeders cup, and 811’s daughters are following in their footstep. 811 spent his first two breeding seasons in Montana in commercial herds and those producers were extremely happy with his progeny. He will add pounds to your calf crop and a disposition second to none.
With Silverwood Dragon, Northstar Vernon, A97, and Sam 627, Vigor’s pedigree is saturated with some of the best original fullblood genetics. Moderate size calves who excel to match Vigor’s weaning and yearling EPD’s while being extremely calm and easy to work with. Longevity at it’s best.
TLC VIGOR Z2119
R&D Farms & Windy Valley Farm For Semen Contact: Daniel Roberts
We bred Bob with the sole purpose of being a heifer bull. He comes from the tried and proven BLC Tru Pol Ranger. He’s not what you generally picture when thinking of a heifer bull. This polled traditional colored bull packs a clean build on a moderate frame. GrowSafe tested and feed efficient. His first calf crop was out of a herd of Dexter/Braunvieh’s being used in the Mini Braunvieh project, they had an average BW of 54#, and all calved without assistance. These aren’t your typical throw away first calves. So if you need a guarantee low BW sire that brings a little appeal, then Bob’s your man.
BLC EZ SLEEP 811G
Does your herd need improved calving ease and lower birth weights? EZ Sleep can turn those numbers around in one generation. EZ Sleep is an outcross to most of the popular bloodlines, and his pedigree is packed with calving ease genetics, with the bonus of being homozygous polled. EZ Sleep is in the top 1% of the breed for CED, BW and API. He had an actual birth weight of 66 lb. out of a first time momma. We have five calf crops on the ground, and most were out of first calf heifers. An EZ son, BLC High Noon 624J is now a herd sire in our own operation, and a High Noon son was Grand Champion bull at the 2023 Tulsa State Fair.
If we had been showing the last couple years, High Noon would have been the standout in the show string. Instead, he was home breeding cows. His first calves were born in Spring 2023, and one of those was selected Grand Champion Bull at the Tulsa State Fair. Our visitors like these calves, and so do we. High Noon combines the calving ease from his sire, EZ Sleep, with the power of our “524” cow family on the bottom side of the pedigree. High Noon is in the top 10% of the breed for CED, 30% for BW & CEM, with strong WW & YW. Combine these in the indexes and he’s in the top 1% for API and top 2% for TI. High Noon is homozygous polled.
BLC WARLOCK 470D
Warlock has brought us tremendous calving ease genetics and sires both bulls and females with calm dispositions, great conformation, and top performance. He ranks at the top of the breed for CE, CEM, and API. He stamps his offspring no matter which cow line we’ve used him on which makes him so easy to use.
Yankee Rivera is a heterozygous polled bull purchased from Brink Livestock in fall 2021 to utilize in our pastures between Big Blue Braunvieh and Lazy H Farms. This bull should meet your expectations as he is thick made and attractive.
Creek
BLC YANKEE RIVERA 801E
JBB DAWSONS CREEK 9521G
Denaro has proven himself to be an all around bull. He’s a big volume, polled bull that passes that on to his progeny. His disposition is second to none. He’s had several progeny make their way to the backdrop.
JBB DENARO 6-23D
J Bar Branvieh
Shade Tree Cattle is excited to present JBB DENARO H01 ET. This young bull goes back to MHF Xerox and a great Larry Yates cow, YB S263. H01 was tested in the national bull test at PX Feeders. He had an ADG of 4.5 lbs per day, a 3.8 IMF score, and a negative 2.01 RFI. He is a big volume bull with a great disposition that will pass that on to his progeny.
JBB DENARO
Sire of JBB Denaro H01 ET
Echo is a homozygous black, homozygous polled Undaunted son. He’s a moderate-frame structurally correct bull with an outstanding disposition. If black calves are what you are looking for. Echo will deliver.
Kargo is a homozygous polled Milestone grandson who performed well on his GrowSafe test with a -2.25 RFI, 1.41 REA/CWT, AND 3.37 IMF. We are excited to see what his progeny will bring to our program.
JBB ECHO 791E
JBB KARGO
If EPDs are your thing then Lord Culpeper is the bull for you. A Xerox son that brings calving ease and unparalleled growth. His sons are consistently the highest weaning weights in the pen. In addition, his daughters are sound, long, and have very large pelvic measurements. At seven years old his longevity cannot be questioned. He gets out and covers as many cows as you can put in front of him. If you need a dark hided purebred that brings tremendous power look no further.
Our newest sire. Designed for making cows. Potential to be the most complete bull we have ever produced. Top BW - EPD’s. Homozygous Black & Homozygous Polled. MR
RCB J177
Homozygous Black and Homozygous Polled. We had success using him on heifers. Calves come easy and grow well.
MR RCB J173
Rock Creek Braunvieh
Semen Contact: Kendall Schlake 402-300-0745
Montoya progeny recorded four out of five prime carcasses at the JHL Ranch. Montoya excelled in every trait at Green Springs Test. Paternal sib to Polarsteel, with their sire the shortest gestation sire ever at the 7 Ranch. Maternal brother to Havelock, with their fertile Dam being one of the best ever at the 7 Ranch posting a 149 MPPA.
N7R MONTOYA 27E
Owner: Alexander Braunvieh Ranch, JHL Ranch & Diamond N 7 Ranch For Semen Contact:
Homozygous polled, great disposition, and backed by a stacked pedigree of great cows with great udders. Polarsteel maybe the best option in the entire breed to improve structure, with progeny earning Grand Champion at the Cattleman’s Congress and Tulsa. Paternal sib to Montoya. 41@98 BW and 9@102 WW.
A bull that puts it all together. NE Skynyrd is a powerful, big footed, structurally correct kind of bull that can work for any purebred or crossbreeding herd. Skynyrd stems from a bloodline of performance in and out of the show ring. This bull is out of our top donor cow, SG BLC Ozportunity D901. She has raised offspring that excels not only in the show ring, in the pasture, and on test. A powerful bull with a powerful pedigree that is destined to work.
N7R POLARSTEEL II 57E
Sire
N7R REDHAVEN 16B
FR N7R BONAFIDE Z211 x DIA N HERSHEY 16X
Dam
N7R ARCTIC BERRY 57Z
DIA N POLAR BEAR 922W x MISS GOLDEN LINK 2015
REG: PB93728 | HOMO POLLED | DOB: 7/25/2017
Purebred: 90.7%
$30 CONVENTIONAL/$100 SEXED
Owner: Blue Bonnet Braunvieh & Diamond N 7 Ranch
For Semen Contact: Benny Phillips 903-641-1594 or Mark Nelson 402-705-3907
NE SKYNYRD
Owner: Jordyn Walker & Emory Livestock For Semen Contact: Walt Emory
or Jordyn Walker 405-255-6775
Bojangles has been an outstanding sire for our herd, producing quality females and bulls for our herd. Many of his progeny have had success in the show ring. Bojangles should provide an optimal growth curve with added milk and calving ease to his daughters. Bojangles was purchased from Dove Cattle Company.
One of the leading calving ease bulls in the breed. The calves come light with a lot of growth that doesn’t sacrifice on the other end. Just as he does, his calves have a “ Teddy Bear” disposition.
OCC MR BOJANGLES 152D ET
PJDC TEDDY BEAR
High % Homo polled bull with a huge spread from birth to weaning with a BW of 68lbs, WW of 714lbs from a first calf heifer and no creep feed, YW of 1,130lbs. Polar Bear is deep bodied, structurally correct with a great disposition. With sire, PJDC Teddy Bear, and Flagstaff 604D on his maternal side, Polar Bear will give you calving ease with growth and performance. Top 20% CED, Top 25% BW, Top 30% API.
Homozygous Polled. Appalachian is easy going just like his sire Montoya and is in the top 5th percentile for docility. Wide based, thick, and good footed. His first calf crop averaged 79 pounds at the 7 Ranch and look like they will have above average weaning weights. His mother was a top cow at Ridgefield Farms in North Carolina.
RDF POLAR BEAR 1232K
RF N7R APPALACHIAN 749J
Owner: Blue Feather Ranch, Wilderness View Braunvieh, Diamond N 7 Ranch For Semen Contact: Kent Garrett 303-888-7262, kndgarrett2@gmail.com, Miles Hatter 208-697-3521, bobcathound1@gmail.com, Mark Nelson 402-705-3907, Mark7ranch@gmail.com $35/STRAW
Homozygous Polled calving ease sire. Listed in the Active Sire Trait Leaders List for CED/BW/CEM/DOC. Napoleon’s offspring are docile and easy to handle. Napoleon is beginning to show up in the pedigrees in the show ring. Heifer Plus enhanced semen available for $30
WDL’S POLLED NAPOLEON
If EPD’s are your thing then Pinto is the bull for you. He currently has an API score of 157 and is a BW specialist. He comes from the highly proven Angus sire “Stevenson Turning Point” and our Blondie cow that hung numerous show banners and was Reserve Champion Beefbuilder Show Heifer of the year. Pinto was her first calf and weighed 57# at birth, but exploded when he hit the ground. We have raised a lot of bulls that have growth, but Pinto is different. His adjusted WW was 868# which can be attributed to being Homozygous Leptin. This is a prime example of heterosis, and this bull can gain weight standing on a rock. To top it off he has some real curb appeal which is evident by the pic. Breed him to any show heifer and rest easy and watch them grow.
JAMS PLATINUM PIMP has been a standout since he hit the ground! This impeccable Beefbuilder bull is extremely attractive on profile, as he is clean and extended throughout his front and progresses back to a level and square hip, all while being robust in his fore rib and stout and opened up trough his pin set, and it is impressive that he still manages to get out and go sound and square off both ends. Descending from IN GOD WE TRUST and JBB KINSEY 9511G, PLATINUM PIMP has been nothing short of extraordinary. We have had the pleasure of exhibiting this sire in many show rings across the nation and he has be crowned champion numerous times, being named 2023 Champion Beefbuilder Bull of The Year as a yearling has been his most exiting accolade for us. That is not taking anything away from his breeding versatility, he should have no issue in producing well built, well balanced, and functional offspring that will enhance any operation. Take advantage of this opportunity and do not be hesitant to go PLATINUM! - Negative TH, PHA.
JAMS PLATINUM PIMP
Kid Rock is a very complete young bull in a miniature package. If you are interested in a mini program you need to think about using this bull
MQL MR Jeremiah J605 is an eye-catching high performing high percentage beef builder bull out of the great DRR Wizard of OZ U570. He is DNA tested to be homozygous for both polled and leptin genetics. This bull has a lot to offer for anyone’s herd with being a high enough percentage to produce purebred calves on the right cows and for the commercial operation will offer plenty of growth as well as passing on his extraordinary structural characteristics. Jeremiah has had several wins in the show ring and still preforms in the pasture covering cows. This is a bull which should not be overlooked!
JBB KID ROCK 43K
Sire Index
4KR BLACK PINTO - Page 28
4KR HOCHATOWN BOB 8H - Page 14
4KR KING EURO IMPERIAL G19 - Page 10
BLC EZ SLEEP 811G - Page 14
BLC HIGH NOON 624J - Page 15
BLC WARLOCK 470D - Page 15
BLC YANKEE RIVERA 801E - Page 16
DCT DIAMOND GRIT 26H - Page 10
JAMS PLATINUM PIMP - Page 28
JBB DENARO H01 ET - Page 17
JBB DAWSONS CREEK 9521G - Page 16
JBB DENARO 6-23D - Page 17
JBB ECHO 791E - Page 18
JBB KARGO 230K - Page 18
JBB KID ROCK 43K - Page 29
MHF LORD CULPEPER C73 - Page 19
MQL MR JEREMIAH J605 - Page 29
MR CEF 811 ET - Page 11
MR RCB J173 - Page 20
MR RCB J177 - Page 19
N7R MONTOYA 27E - Page 20
N7R POLARSTEEL II 57E - Page 21
NE SKYNYRD - Page 21
OCC MR BOJANGLES 152D ET - Page 22
PJDC TEDDY BEAR - Page 22
RDF POLAR BEAR 1232K - Page 23
RF N7R APPALACHIAN 749J - Page 23
TLC VIGOR Z2119 - Page 11
WDL'S POLLED NAPOLEON - Page 24
Owner Index
4 Kings Ranch - Page 10, 14, 19, 28
Alexander Braunvieh Ranch - Page 20
Big Blue Braunvieh - Page 16, 22
Blue Bonnet Braunvieh - Page 21
Brink Livestock - Page 14, 15
C Farms - Page 15
Diamond N 7 Ranch - Page 20, 21
Eades DCT Farms & Ranch LLC - Page 10, 24
Emory Livestock - Page 21
J Bar Braunvieh - Page 11, 16, 17, 18, 28, 29
JHL Ranch - Page 20
Jordyn Walker - Page 21
Jose Antonio Munoz - Page 28
Lazy H Farms - Page 16
Michael Lehmann - Page 29
R & D Farms - Page 11, 22, 23
Rock Creek Braunvieh - Page 19, 20
Shade Tree Cattle Co. - Page 17
Superior Braunvieh Farm - Page 23
Windy Valley Farms - Page 11
Advertiser Index
Brink Livestock - Page 26
J Bar Mini Braunvieh - Page 31
Jay H Farms LLC - Page 13
JMS Cattle - Page 7
Keith & Keith Braunvieh - page 27
Mill Iron P Cattle Company - Page 25
Riomax - Page 27
TB Ranch - Page 25
Texas Braunvieh Association - Page 25
Vytelle - Page 27
W/W Cattle Company - Page 12
West Texas A & M University - Page 24
Wild Sage Collective - Page 13
