July 2021 Gelbvieh World

VIEW FROM THE BOARD

What’s Your Why?

by Dan McCarty

I was visiting on the phone with a well-respected Gelbvieh breeder awhile back. We were discussing bulls and mating decisions and the weather, you know, the usual when a couple breeders get together or call one another on the phone. He was giving me a rundown of the bulls he has added to his program this past year and how the calves were looking and performing. We then began discussing what bulls he was going to breed to this year when inmid-sentence he stopped and said, “You know, breeding season is my absolute favorite time of year! Just thinking about all the possible matings and the calves you’ll have hit the ground next spring, after all these decisions are made, gets me excited – it’s what keeps me doing this year after year!”

Recently, I was thinking about that conversation as I was out checking pairs that had been turned out on grass for the summer. They had been turned out long enough that the calves were really starting to give you an indication of what they were going to be come weaning time later this summer. As I was watching one of my favorite bull calves, I began to think about the pure excitement in that breeder’s voice that evening on the phone. I also began to think about how seeing that bull calf, grazing green grass and practically growing in front of my eyes, was the culmination of not just the decision we made last spring on who to breed his dam to, but a string of decisions

going back several years and cow generations that made this bull into what he is today.

I am not sure I can point out my absolute single favorite time of the year, but for those of us at higher elevations that feed hay way too many days of the year, the day we open the gate and pairs trickle out onto grass must rank pretty high. That day also marks the beginning of a couple week-long transition period where both our cows and calves will change their appearance more than any other timeof year. It is quite amazing what a little grass will do for a cow after a long winter of dry hay; it is always exciting to see calves slick off for the first time and really start packing on the pounds.

The pages of this edition of Gelbvieh World are filled with dozens of well thought out mating decisions by progressive breeders from across the county. The cattle on these pages represent generations of decisions and investment by operations committed to producing the highest quality genetics that will have a positive impact on the entire beef industry for years to come. In this business, the payoff certainly isn’t instant as it takes months and many times years, for our decisions to come to fruition. I guess that is why it is important that we all have those times throughout the year that really get us excited about the business: to “keep us doing this year after year!”