RED DOC MEASURES UP

If you’ve been following the Red Doc Farm program, you know the empahsis they place on data collection…and the value bull buyers should place on it. If you’ve read this far, rest assured that the pages that accompany this letter are the best this industry has to offer given the market climate we are enduring. Over the past 12 months, I have regularly checked two sources of information: the US Drought Monitor, and the grain markets. Quite frankly, neither have been particularly rosy for the beef industry. However, if there ever was a time in history to be resilient with your genetic selection, it’s now!

Without question, cattle that can ‘do more with less’ have never offered more value to the beef industry than they do today. Let’s do some cowboy math: if it takes 100 bushels of corn to finish a feedlot steer, that’s $650 in today’s market. A 10% reduction in Dry Matter Intake (DMI) would make that same steer consume 90 bushels of corn worth $585. That’s a feed cost savings of $65 per head. Multiply that over 20 head per year ($1,300) for 4 years owning the bull, and you’ve saved $5,200 on steer progeny alone. Coupled with that, the research suggests that the same bull’s daughters will consume less forage, stretching hay and pasture supply for the same level of maternal performance. The addition of Grow Safe feed efficiency data to this set of bulls in 2019 could not have come at a better time!

I’ve been analyzing the information collected from Red Doc Ranch since 2015, attempting to present buyers the information they demand…in a form they can understand. The Red Doc Ranch team shows you every data point they collect! That being said, I would still urge potential buyers to use EPDs at the forefront of their selection process when they are available. They are still the best tool in the box for evaluating genetics. The top end of these bulls are incredibly efficient, numbers that would compete with elite genetics in other breeds collecting the same information. As usual, the carcass attributes of Red Doc bulls are unprecedented in the Santa Gertrudis breed; they can grade Choice or better, have muscle, and all within a window of acceptability on fat cover. Best of luck to the Red Doc crew, the beef industry certainly appreciates your efforts.

Best regards,

Patrick Wall

Area

Beef Field

Specialist – SE Iowa

PAW Livestock, LLC

Marion County Extension Office

210 N. Iowa St., Knoxville, IA 50138

O: 641-842-2014

C: 515-450-7665

USU/Red Doc/SGBI Collaboration

It’s hard to believe that USU, Red Doc and SGBI are entering into the sixth year of our collaborative project. Initially, the major focus was to evaluate if Santa Gertrudis sired calves would be able to survive calving in Northern Utah. These calves have not only survived but they have thrived in this environment. This crossbreeding project has resulted in a significant increase in productivity for our herd (75lb average increase in weaning weights, increase in calf survivability and increased live cover conception rated from the bulls). We have also shown that these calves will grow in the feedlot (13% less feed than their contemporaries) will not sacrifice carcass quality (no significant difference in marbling scores) but significantly better yield grades when comparted to their Angus sired contemporaries. While these previous years have justified the productivity and efficiency of the calves, we are continuing to work towards the most significant impact we think the Santa Gertrudis will have on our herd; replacement females. Currently, we have been keeping replacement females from the Santa Gertrudis project into our herd to evaluate female performance. Specifically, we will be evaluating longevity, calf performance related to the damn, and overall production system resilience of these females. As we all are well aware the drought these last few years has been hard on our ranches and even harder on our animals. However, the ~50 Santa Gertrudis females that we have incorporated into our herd (ages 1-4) have held up remarkably well and have not suffered any lapse in productivity. However, it is important to note that we will be evaluating these females to determine if they remain productive well beyond the 6-year mark so we are still very much in the infancy of our female project but are extremely happy with how it is going thus far and will be incorporating more females into the herd in the coming years. We also know that Red Doc will continue to produce bulls that meet our need, production goals and our production environment going forward. As such, we are excited to see what the future of this project will tell us and look forward to working with Red Doc Farms far into the future.

Red Doc Farm is grateful for our customers and their trust in Red Doc genetics. We are committed to our customer’s success and are pleased to offer, in collaboration with Superior Livestock Representative Mike Arnold, a weaned calf/feeder calf program designed to bring more dollars to your bottom line. The Red Doc Direct program offers a number of marketing options for Red Direct customers.

Requirements for the Red Doc Direct weaned calf/feeder calf program are detailed below. We understand the standards will not fit everyone’s program; however, we hope these marketing opportunities help your cattle bring as much value as possible.

Calves must be at least 85% sired by Red Doc bulls

Bulls must be castrated, and females open

VAC 60

Calves vaccinated twice: At branding or 2-4 weeks prior to weaning and booster at weaning, OR at weaning and booster to label instructions.

Home Raised and Weaned minimum of 60 days prior to delivery.

Vaccination requirements:

• 2 doses 7-way, 8-way, or 9-way Clostridial.

• 2 doses viral 5-way (IBR, PI3, BRSV and BVD Type I & II). IBR and PI3 must be chemically altered modified live or modified live with veterinarian’s approval. BVD and BRSV can be modified live or killed.

• 1 dose Mannheimia Haemolytica and/or Pasteurella Multocida prior to weaning or at weaning and booster to label instructions.

• Internal & External Parasite Control Recommended.

BVD-IP Free

Cattle have been tested BVD-PI free

Certified Natural Plus

Individually Identified with ranch tag, Free of Ionophores, Antibiotics, Growth Promoting Hormones/Steroids, Beta Adrenoceptor, or any type of animal by-product. Plus, seller will sign additional Natural Affidavit(s) for buyers as they apply ONLY TO NATURAL STATUS on the cattle.