FALL 2019
Fall 2019
BEEF PROGENY TOUR On Thursday, October 4th, Minnesota/ Select Sires Co-op, Inc. hosted its first Beef Progeny Tour. The first stop was at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center. This is a Red Angus based cow herd that North Dakota State University uses with various research projects. They are also a test herd for our young sire program, which means that they sample our newest Red Angus bulls,
along with a proven bull or two, so that we can get data back on birth weights, weaning weights, yearling weights, and individual carcass data. Here we saw about 80 A.I. sired calves by 7AR73 CINCH, 7AR79 LIBERTY, 7AR75 PACESETTER, 7AR81 X PORTER, and 7AR78 TESLA. continued on page 2
AFTER 28 YEARS OF SERVICE,
DENNIS KUEHNE TO RETIRE
By Andrew B A d Swanson S Beef Business Manager (507) 829-4133 aswanson@mnss.coop
After 28 years of service, Dennis Kuehne is retiring from his Account Manager position at Minnesota/Select Sires Co-op, Inc. Growing up in Long Prairie, MN, Dennis began breeding cows at a young age of 14 years old. He attended the University of Minnesota Crookston and later, North Dakota State University for a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science. Following graduation, he decided to dairy farm with his wife in Clarissa, MN. After years of farming, he was offered a job at Minnesota/Select Sires Co-op, Inc. as an Account Manager in North Dakota, and he has been there ever since.
When asked what he enjoyed most about his career, he answered that it’s the people. “I enjoyed working with people to improve their genetics whether it was dairy or beef. It is fun to see their continual progression throughout the years. I also enjoyed seeing the next generation come onto the farm. With some of my customers I have even seen the third generation start to become involved in the operation.” Dennis states that he will miss his job because of his customers that became friends and because he has gotten to know their families and built a relationship with them over the years.
Through Dennis’ commitment in serving his local cooperative, he has seen many changes in the industry over the past 28 years. “In the beef industry, the largest change is in cow handling,” says Dennis. “We used to crawl over gates and crawl back out to breed animals, but now most people have hydraulic chutes or good sorting systems and alley ways. It’s much easier to breed 200 head now than it was to breed 20 head years ago.”
Dennis is excited to spend time with his children and grandchildren in retirement. He is also hoping to do some golfing, fishing and reading.
Many know Dennis from the numerous A.I. schools he taught, along with Dave Dockter. Ending his career with over 100 A.I. schools, he recalls all the students that walked through the doors each spring and fall. “Many of the students I taught were children of my customers, and a few years later I would see the next generation interested in A.I.,” Dennis comments.
Gordy Keranen will be taking over sales responsibilites in North Dakota. He can be reached at 218-841-0996 or gkeranen@mnss.coop. More information will follow.
FALL 2019
BEEF PROGENY TOUR
continued from page 1
We were also able to see the BW and WW averages sorted by each sire group. They were as follows on the steer calves: Sire
BW
WW
Cinch
86
521
Liberty
93
532
Pacesetter 83
482
X Porter
81
457
Tesla
89
491
They were as follows on the heifer calves: Sire
BW
WW
Cinch
80
498
pre weaning growth than originally expected. The X Porter bull appears to be the safest bet in terms of calving ease compared to the other sires used. Following the Red Angus stop in Carrington, we drove to the NDSU Central Grasslands Research Extension Center near Streeter, ND. This is also a research herd for North Dakota State University and a young progeny test herd for 8 years for Select Sires Inc. The cowherd is primarily Angus based. Here we saw calves by 14AN502 TAHOE, 7AN516 DARK FIRE, 7AN480 BONANZA, 7AN482 GENUINE, and 7AN351 CAPITALIST. I would say that the favorite sire groups were Tahoe, Dark Fire, and Capitalist.
We also had lunch and celebrated Dennis Kuehne’s retirement (October Pacesetter 75 445 31) as a full-time employee. We X Porter 70 409 enjoyed telling stories about our experiences with Dennis and would Tesla 79 480 like to thank him again for the last 28+ years of service to Minnesota/ The Cinch calves were my favorite sire group, as they were eye appealing Select Sires Co-op, Inc. Dennis plans to continue to work as a Beef Sales and correct with plenty of growth. It Representative and breed cattle as appears that the Liberty calves will come with more birth weight and more an independent contractor starting in 2020. Liberty
85
461
IMPROVING GUT HEALTH
ELIMINATES SCOURS FOR WAKEFIELD For Kyle Wakefield, gut health is a top priority for newborn calves. Wakefield runs 150 head of pure bred Charolais and Red Angus cattle near New Richland, MN. Kyle uses ConvertTM Day One Gel on all newborn calves in addition to a strong vaccination program. “I started using the product in January 2019 and gave all 80 calves that winter a 15-cc dose of Convert and none of the calves got scours,” credits Kyle. With environment conditions and weakened immune systems, Kyle’s calves would often get severe cases of scours within the first 2-3 rt he experienced weeks of life; however, after using Convert no instances of scouring in his calves. With th the research behind the product, improved gut ut health and the peace of mind that it works, Kyle will g be using it this fall during calving season.
SAV AND SAT
PROGENY REPORT
Flat Top Bull Calves
Tahoe Pair
by Andrew Swanson, Beef Business Manager Earlier this month I visited Schaff Angus Valley to see progeny by our up and coming calving ease and cow maker bull, 7AN466 SAV Rainfall. Boy was I glad that I went! The Rainfall progeny were excellent. The bred heifers by Rainfall were moderate and deep bodied while being extremely functional. I believe that Rainfall will sire quality females with a tick more frame than 14AN426 Charlo. The bull calves by Rainfall looked impressive as well. This will be a nice sire group of calving ease bulls for SAV at their 2020 sale, which will be held on the second Saturday in February. Look for Rainfall to be used heavy in seed stock operations and in commercial heifer projects in the spring of 2020.
sire group for phenotype and muscle shape. The bull calf pairs were sorted in groups between young cows and mature cows. The best sire group of young cows with bull calves was easily Tahoe as well. These calves caught your eye throughout the pasture. Muscle shape, thickness, functional and moderate with growth are words that best describe this sire group.
My second favorite sire group that we saw was 7AN451 Flat Top. The Flat Top calves had plenty of length and substance in them for calving ease bulls. In my opinion, this was the best set of calves that I have seen at the Talkington Ranch in the last six years. If you are in the market for a new sire group in 2020, I would I also spent some time on the edge of encourage you to give Shane a call and the badlands with Shane Talkington head to Belfield to see these calves touring the Talkington Angus Ranch for yourself. The SAT bull sale will be calf crop. First we looked at Shane and at the shop just north of Belfield on Amanda’s registered cows with heifer February 14, 2020. calves. The Tahoes were the standout
NEW FOOT STRUCTURE EPDs:
CLAW SET AND FOOT ANGLE
This spring, two new EPDs were released to the American Angus Association membership. They include Foot Angle and Claw Set EPDs. These EPDs have been in a research environment for the past 16 months. This research period allowed for continued data collection and validation.
ered a "breed improver" for that trait. For example, Bull A has a +0.5 claw set EPD and Bull B has a 0.0 claw set EPD. Bull B's progeny, on average, would be predicted to score half a score better on the 5-9 scale compared to Bull A's progeny.
Foot Scores, Defined: Claw set EPD (Claw), is expressed in units of claw-set score, with a lower EPD being more favorable indicating a sire will produce progeny with more ideal claw set. The ideal target for claw set being toes are symmetrical, evenly and appropriately spaced. Foot angle EPD (Angle), is expressed in units of footangle score, with a lower EPD being more favorable, indicating a sire will produce progeny with more ideal foot angle. The ideal target is an animal with a 45-degree angle at the pastern joint with appropriate length of toe and heel depth. The breed average for both traits is around +0.5. This means an animal with EPDs less than 0.5 can be consid-
Producers are encouraged to continue to collect foot scores not only on their yearling age cattle, but also on their mature females. As with any EPD, the genetic predictions are only as good as the data behind those specific traits. For more information, visit www.angus.org.
6601 Gregory Park Rd, St. Cloud, MN 56301
TOGETHER WE’LL MAKE
YOUR NEXT GENERATION THE BEST
Products listed are merely distributed by Minnesota/Select Sires, Co-op, Inc. Buyer assumes all responsibility for use, storage, and handling of these products. All claims, representations, and warranties, expressed or implied, are made only by the company responsible for manufacturing and not by Select Sires Inc., its member coops, its agents or employees. In the unlikely event that any of the products shall be proven defective, damages from their use shall exclude consequential damages and be limited to their purchase price. ™CONVERT is a trademark of Agrarian Solutions™, Middlebury, Ind. ® FIRST DAY FORMULA is a registered trademark of Select Sires Inc.
CONTACT YOUR LOCAL
BEEF SALES REPRESENTATIVE Minnesota Brady Breitenfeldt Frazee, MN 218.850.0316
Joey Schreck Appleton, MN 320.297.0308
Simple. Safe. Scientifically Proven.
Ryan Brenner Avon, MN 320.290.1317
Andrew Swanson Southwest, MN 507.829.4133
Quality
North Dakota Dustin Bishop Nome, ND 701.680.2236
Brandon Koenig Woodworth, ND 701.320.0560
Eric Rosenau Upham, ND 701.263.7218
Jordan Braaflat NW & Central, ND 701.497.3053
Dennis Kuehne Valley City, ND 701.840.0913
Bryan Stroh Tappen, ND 701.269.1331
Todd Buchholz Lehr, ND 701.321.2936
Bob Merten S of 94/W of river 605.920.0256
Shane Talkington West Central, ND 701.290.7222
Dan Donnelly Valley City, ND 651.353.7282
Brian Moch Edgeley, ND 701.709.0032
Nick Wall Sheldon, ND 701.680.8937
Wayne Jallo Fordville, ND 701.331.1409
Liz Quissell New Salem, ND 701.206.0661
FIRST DAY FORMULA®
Same level of IgG (150) fed to each calf every time.
Quantity
Every calf receives the same known amount of colostrum every feeding.
Quickness
Extremely fast & easy to mix.
Paul Tveten Southeast, MN 507.450.1649