Sale Season Round Up
Arapahoe 1
2022 Sale Highlights
218 (GLS PLG Rising Power X Protege) @ $14,000 342 (CLRS Guardian X Protege Profit) @ $8,500 352 (W/C Husker X Profit) @$8,500 Sold 50 head for $4,500-8,000
Castle Dale, UT
447 (Relentless X Goldmine) @ $7,750 190 (Big Easy X Makers Mark) @$7,500 Sold 30 head for $4-7,000
Arapahoe 2
321 (Payweight 453 X Protege) @ $12,000 355 (MR SR 71 Right Now X MAR Innovation) @ $11,000 266 (CDI Innovator X Buford Bluestem) @ $10,000 493 (LCDR Favor X Hook’s Broadway) @$9,500 Sold 56 head for $4,500-9,000
Thank you for another successful sale season and your continued support! Bulls sold to 12 states with 85% selling to returning buyers.
New Bull Management
I like to think everyone has seen the old Western, The Cowboys with John Wayne. For as long as I can remember, that scene with the old bull and the young bull has been something I have never forgotten about. Today, if Mr. Wayne asked me about herd bull management I would highly recommend that he not put the old bull and the young bull together, especially before turnout. Now, it is a movie so I must let it slide. However, that does make me ponder what some of our customers do with their new herd bulls when they unloaded them or I drop them off. I know space is often an issue, and bulls like to tear up things - I have come to the conclusion they just get bored and need something to rub on or play with. Regardless, they are still necessary if you are going to be in the cow business. Our recommendation, if space allows, would be to keep any new yearling or virgin bulls together and away from the old bulls. Seperating the two age groups will also help minimize the risk of injury to everyone. The next thing to keep in mind is that these young bulls are still growing, which means they are going to need some feed upon arrival at their new homes. Provide them with at least adequate forage and a complete mineral. After breeding season, consider feeding them an energy and protein supplement to help put some weight back on. Similar to your first calf heifers, the first year in production can take a lot out of them, so they will need a little more care. As a customer, treat these young bulls like the investment that they are. View them as more than simply a means of getting cows bred; see them as the new genetics that are going to move your herd and operation forward.
Truth Be Told
You’ve all hard it - “reputation, brand, generations of only the best genetics, AI quality, only done the best way, year after year sale toppers”, and the auction quotes go on and on. In many cases, these warm and fuzzy words at feeder cattle sales enlist a sense of endorsement to buyers that they should spend more, but in today’s marketplace is this what you are relying on to get the most out of your calves? Today’s buyers, and furthermore the cattle feeder is looking for more than just auctioneer or sale pavilion praises. Honestly, once the cattle have past the ring, those folks rarely see wht happens to any of the day’s sale toppers. Today’s cattle feeder is putting their trust in the producer each time they bid. The key to successfully marketing your feeder cattle is building relationships with potential buyers based on the knowledge of your genetics, animal husbandry practices, hard work, and willingness for an open conversation. The producer’s ability to candidly share detailed information regarding the operation’s cowherd genetics, bulls, environment, and nutrition let the buyers know you are willing to stand behind your brand. Calves that have been invested in by the producer tend to be heavily reinvested in at sale time. An operation’s health protocols and preconditioning practices are significant driving factors for potential buyers. These are not the areas to short cut. Be honest with yourself and your interested buyers. Precondition every calf! Don’t call them all preconditioned if a few got missed during gathering. Misleading information can ruin your reputation with buyers. Utilize the industry’s best practices and products that are available to you, and share them at sale time. Keep in mind that appearances do matter - keep a uniform tagging system, clean brands, and do not overcrowd at shipping. Give your calves the best opportunity to look the part of a premium product. At Powerline Genetics, we love discussing how to get more to your bottom line. Whether it be about adjusting genetics and goals for your next calf crop, or what best practices are being utilized by others with success, we are here to listen and suggest. We encourage PLG bull customers to let us know about your upcoming calf sales and have open discussions about the premium calves that carry your brand.
Meet the Multiplier
Art Lienemann and his wife Marsha relocated to the Ayr, NE area from West Omaha back in 2005. The couple has been involved in the seedstock business for several years, and they have been part of the Powerline program for over two decades, supplying eye appealing fault free cattle. He calves primarily in January and Febrauary, with most of his bull calves selling in the January Arapahoe and Utah sales. Art supports the program every sale season by purchasing a bull to utilize in his herd. This year’s acquisition included one of the popular Impact X Ms. Geneva ET bulls as well as a Favor son. Art has been focusing on ways to continue to improve his genetics. He purchased Brookdale Jodie 786 from Brookdale Angus’ Young Cow Dispersal in the fall of 2020. She is a Resource X Final Answer that is on the road to becoming quite the producer. Art has been flushing her to purebred Simmental bulls with the goal of making superior half-blood herd bulls for the program as well as replacement females to market down the road. Some exciting matings are on the way! At his core, Art is a cattleman and a family man. He is actively involved with his grandkids’ activities and 4-H projects, and it is very common to see one of them helping him on any given day around the farm. His daughter Jana, and her husband Eric are also part of the day to day responsibilities at Lienemann Farms.
Program Bulls
During the past four years, we have been working diligently to build up our program and expand our brand. We continue to utilize popular A.I. sires in order to bring in new and fresh genetics, as well as expanding on our bull battery within the group. This year, all of our genetic multipliers stepped up and made bull purchases. These young herd sires are the next piece to the puzzle. Not every cow is going to settle A.I. or keep the embryo that was put in her. Therefore, in order to bridge the gap between the A.I. and ET calves and the bull breds, high end bulls are turned out for clean up. Several of these young bulls are also collected for A.I. The plan for the geneticly superior calves sired by these herd bulls is to put the top end bull calves back into the Powerline program, keep the top end heifers for replacements, and feed out the rest with the idea of earning a premium either at the barn or at the feed yard. One of those bulls that continues to “earn his keep” around here is GLS PLG Rising Power. He was the high seller back in 2019 that went to Meyring Cattle Co. and Heath Wills. Rising Power was collected, and has not only been A.I.’d to, but has also been flushed to. He has sired 30 bulls that have sold through our program including this year’s high seller pictured below. His sons have averaged $4400 the past two years and continue to be popular amongst our commercial customers. The other bull that comes to mind when we think of program bulls is JHW PLG Powerweight 488. The Basin Payweight 1682 son that was the high seller in 2020. The 2022 sale season was the first to offer his sons, and they held their ground at $4570 on 10 head. Next year will be the first for Powerball, Eagle Eye, and Wills Big Easy 200 sons. We are excited to see what these cattle will be bringing to the table.
PLG Franchise 21-128
Out of one of Art’s good Ranch Hand daughers. Sold in the Jan. Arapahoe Sale.
Art & Marsha Lienemann
Eric, Jana, Colten, Brinley, and Jaksen McNeill
Customer Highlight
Meet the folks behind Bolin-Wulf. Brad and his wife Katy have two daughers, Keri and Paige. Keri owns and operates the Red Cloud Animal Hospital and is married to Casey Fangmeyer. Paige teaches school in Red Cloud and married Justin Bolin. Justin has been actively involved in the family farming operation ever since. Brad and Justin are very passionate about the cattle business, and their Powerline sired calves! Brad has been purchasing bulls from JD and Powerline Genetics for over 20 years, and when he began looking for additional financial opportunity for the family farm, he was given the chance to market his calves through the Power Genetics grid at Cargill. Brad and Justin study the bulls together and compare notes identifying which potential herd sires are best suited for their goals. They run a spring calving cow herd with 75-80% calving in the first 30 days. The two retain their own replacements and feed out the rest with the goal of having the feedlot empty by May 15th. That is an impressive turn around. They are raising efficient, high performing cattle that yield pounds and premiums. We appreciate their business!
Brad & Katy Wulf Family
PLG United 19-300 purchased in 2020
PLG Rising Power 21-218
PLG Powerweight 21-408
Carcass Weight
The Simmental Association’s carcass weight EPD is starting to get utilized here at Powerline. The EPD references pounds of carcass weight, which is valuable when you are looking for a terminal geared herd bull, or you are looking to add performance to your cows. This particular EPD is Angus based, and is therefore effected by the breed composition of the specific animal. Because there are so few actual or phenotype records of carcass data available to the association, we also look at yearling weight and ribeye area as well as those respected EPDs for comparison to the carcass weight EPD. As with all selection criteria, it is good to use a balance of multiples instead of basing decisions on one specific factor or feature. Based on the information we have seen to date, cattle with more performance have larger carcass weight EPDs. Given the fact that we use yearling weight as a means of predicting the size of a finished fat steer, it also makes sense that cattle with more actual pounds, would have more carcass weight as well. We also see the trend of high carcass weight value with cattle that scan with more actual ribeye area. Interesting and completely logical, right?
P.O. Box 259 McCook, NE 69001 www.powerlinegenetics.com
#qualitycountsvaluematters Herd bulls for the commercial cattleman.
115 - Windholtz
142 - Stewart
155 - Berke
198 - Miller
208 - Thompson
250 - Hauxwell
272 - Goings
280 - Grimes
300 - Conner
349 - Andrews
352 - Bortner
496 - Koch