Pictured are Maine-Anjou steers on feed at South Dakota State University, Brookings, S.D.
FEEDLOT PERFORMANCE Powered by Maine-Anjou Efficiency
by Joshua Cribbs, AMAA Commercial Developement Director Fall is quickly approaching. This time last year, we were getting ready to source our first set of cattle – in sometime – for a University run research trial. Since coming on board with the American Maine-Anjou Association (AMAA), it has been my goal to help foster relationships between land grant universities and the AMAA. These connections allow us to create not only current and forward thinking, but data that is third party verified and significant from a results perspective. This plan was brought about so we could use the research for promotional materials, as well as to help build a commercial image for our breeders. We were able to attain those goals with South Dakota State University (SDSU) and Dr. Zachary Smith, head of the feedlot and research facility and assistant professor. We hoped Dr. Smith and the SDSU would be a tremendous resource to verify the cattle that we all know have the power to perform in the yard. We sourced in a total of 190 steers from two breeders within South Dakota – because of the geographic region and closeness to the yard. The AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020
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cattle were born in March and April of 2019, weaned and arrived to the feedyard in mid-October. Both Blake and myself, along with the AMAA Board of Directors at the time, had high hopes for the data when we embarked on this project. We wanted to debunk the fact that Maine-Anjou cattle couldn’t grade Choice. We wanted to confirm that we were going to cut large ribeye areas and generate low Yield Grades. We also wanted to know if the cattle could remain efficient in the process. What we were after is the confidence to go to bull buyers and say, “When you use MaineAnjou genetics your feeder calves will land in the yard and excel, make money, keep feed cost low, and look good while doing it.” All of which should keep yards and buyers coming back for more. We were also hopeful to get published scientific journal articles that cite Maine-Anjou cattle as the breed used and in turn show they are a strong and viable option for research and the feedlot. We were able to secure the first of a couple manuscripts in July 2020 when Dr. Smith published and accepted the manuscript entitled:
