Todays Angus Advantage Winter 2023 Special Bull Buyers Guide

” has been high on BAR-E-L Stamina 11F. The first 17 progeny at auction averaged almost $9500. Sons & daughters available.

for $11,000.

The “ROI

Thanks to Cowtrax for purchasing this Stamina daughter

Thanks to Elkridge Farms for purchasing this Stamina daughter for $20,000.

P

Dave & Terri Rajotte & Family

Dave: 306-736-8698

Ben: 306-495-7727

Carlin: 306-495-7292

dtrajotte@sasktel.net

SALE MANAGED BY

Bull Sale

Ranch | Highway #1

BOX 745 GRAVELBOURG SK S0H 1X0 JPMFARMS.COM

SIRES ON OFFER INCLUDE the first sons of Ellingson Three Forks 0252, the #1 weaning and yearling weight bull in the 2021 Ellingson sale and our $32,000 selection. Three Forks 0252 was the natural born March calf of iconic donor, EA Queen Dolly 3246. Earning a 112 weaning index and 1030lb weaning weight. Maternal brother include the $110,000 Ellingson Rider Pride 7282. In 2021 EA Queen Dolly 3246 offspring averaged $25,800 and in 2022 averaged $21,600.

OTHER SIRES INCLUDE: MAR INNOVATION IMAGE 1843 | S A V 707 RITO 9969 | BASIN RAINMAKER 4404 | S A V RESOURCE 1441

FORKS 0252 EA Queen Dolly 3246 DAM OF ELLINGSON THREE FORKS 0252

ELLINGSON THREE ELLINGSON THREE FORKS 0252 2241990 // IMP 0252H // 01/03/2020 CE: -4.0 // BW:5.0 // WW: 110 // YW: 189 // MILK: 23

ELLINGSON OPEN BID ONLINE Todays Angus Advantag e 9

As we go forward into this new year, we must reflect and be thankful for 2022. Now there were some miracles… Covid became “the flu” so the press went back to whipping the climate change pony in the comfort of their offices… and the Minister of Agriculture travelled west of Winnipeg.

What a great year in the livestock industry with strong prices in all categories… and they need to be as we compare those prices to the cost of expense in running a farming or ranching operation. Many of these operations are Mom and Pop managed as there is a labor shortage in the agricultural sector.

There is definitely a shortage of breeding stock throughout North America. The USDA inventory report as of July 1, 2022 reported 98.8 million head of cattle and calves in the USA, down 2% from the year prior and of that number 30.4 million were beef cows also down 2%. The number of milk cows decreased to 9.45 million. In Canada, the inventory totaled 12.3 million head down 3% from a year ago. Combined the US and Canada was down over 2% while cattle on feed were unchanged.

The stats evidence that the strong market will maintain or accelerate over the coming years as herd rebuilding takes time in the beef cattle industry. Furthermore, the consumer has adapted to $15.00 a pound ribeye and the packing industry can ill afford a shortage of ground beef. Quality heavy weight feeders in the 650 to 800 range lead the stocker market as time on feed and grain prices were key factors in price setting but the most important influence was quality.

The purebred sector of the beef industry hosted a record setting year in virtually all breeds. High quality new genetics yielded a premium and recorded new levels. In addition to domestic demand, exports of breeding stock to the United States and Mexico were strong and set record levels. The increased demand relates to the quality of Canada’s seed stock and its respect in the world market. Congratulations are to those seed stock producers who have taken the time and expense to exhibit and promote their product at shows and events domestically or on foreign soil…. Promoting your breeding program is promoting the breed.

Cattle shows and youth go “hand in hand” in developing our future.

Cow/calf producers should feel good about the bulls and females which they breed and select as they are of the best in the world. You might not believe in shows and showing cattle but you are judged by the front row in every sale barn throughout the country.

It is bull sale season… a herd bull is fifty percent of the herd… select for soundness and quality and use all the tools available to upgrade the quality of the product you produce. EPD’s will give you an idea of calving ease, performance, maternal and carcass values but soundness and quality is a visual appraisal.

Enjoy our 2023 Bull Buyers Guide, designed for you to save some time and miles, in selecting your breeding stock. Yes, on Facebook or Tik-Tok, the ad is free but only for a very limited time span. Feel free to call or visit any of these breed leaders for your next profit-maker!

Barry: 306-482-7952

Robb: 306-339-8330

Cordell: 306-482-8318

WARD’S RED ANGUS

Annual Bull Sale

MARCH 4, 2023 AT THE RANCH, SK

RED & BLACK FALL BORN BULLS, YEARLINGS & SELECT FEMALES ON OFFER...

WARD’S KOHL 18K

SIRE: LOCK 7047 GUNNER 270G

RED WARD’S KARMA 21K

SIRE: RED SIX MILE WICK 60H

SALE MANAGED BY

Chris Poley: 306-220-5006

Ben Wright: 519-374-3335

Shane Michelson: 403-363-9973

View the catalogue on www.buyagro.com

CLARKE & DENISE WARD

G.S. 707 RR #7 Box 39, Saskatoon, SK S7K 1N2

P: 306.931.3824

C: 306.220.6372

www.wardsredangus.com

SPECKLE PARK

ANGUS

ANGUS ANGUS

SPECKLE PARK

SPECKLE PARK

SOUTHLAND BULL SALE

Friday ▪ March 3, 2023 ▪ 2:00 PM

Heartland Livestock Swift Current, SK

Sired by: Crawford Guarantee 9137

Southland Guarantee 42K ▪ CAD 42K

Feb. 23, 2022 ▪ Reg # 2258233

Sired by: EXAR Entitlement 9743B

Southland Entitlement 33K ▪ CAD 33K

Feb. 02, 2022 ▪ Reg # 2250502

Sired by: Crawford Guarantee 9137

Southland Guarantee 20K ▪ CAD 20K

Jan. 21, 2022 ▪ Reg # 2250487

Sired by: Mogck Entice

Southland Entice 20J ▪ CAD 20J

Feb. 14, 2021 ▪ Reg # 2194365

SOUTHL A ND

ANGUS • CHAROLAIS

Shane & Lexi Cadieux

Shane cell 306-297-7781

Lexi cell 306-294-8877

Cole cell 306-294-8334

scadieux@sasktel.net

Sired by: KR Pacesetter

Southland Pacesetter 1K ▪ CAD 1K

Jan. 01, 2022 ▪ Reg # 2258254

Sired by: JMAR Benaiah 1E66

Southland Cowboy Science 40K ▪ CAD 40K

Feb. 21, 2022 ▪ AICA # EM969534

Chris Poley: 306-220-5006

Shane Michelson: 403-363-9973

Ben Wright: 519-374-3335

Shane Castle: 306-741-7485

Mark Forsyth: 306-784-7844

Arrowsmith Red Angus Blairs.Ag

Byman Cattle Co.

Cleveland Farms

Dennis Metz

Diamond A Farms Ltd.

Duff Cattle Co.

Dumanski Farms Inc.

Greg Bodnar

Luke Lewis

Mario Hernandez

Matthew Hamil

MJT Cattle Company Ltd.

Netherdale Ranch

Nu Horizon Angus

Rancho Buenavista Carlos Gonzalez

RK Cattle Co.

Sadler Ranch

Skyline Farms Inc.

twin creek farms

Westman Farms Ltd.

29th Annual Bull Sale

Saturday, March 4, 2023 - 1:00 pm

At the Ranch, Carievale, SK (heated sales arena)

180 Bulls Sell!

Supplying Quality Herdbulls to progressive Cattlemen for over 50 years!

McMillen Ranching LTD

Lee: (306) 928-4820

C: (306) 483-8067

Dave: C: (306) 483-8660

Jim: (306) 928-4636

C: (306) 483-7986

Sale Barn: (306) 928-2011

F: (306) 928-2027

E: mrl@sasktel.net www.mrlranch.com

“THE BULL BUSINESS” IS WHAT WE DO! representing

Arriving soon

Your source Work or

Cargo Trailers

Formula,Haul-About,AmericanHauler available now

Trailtech available now

• Ranch raised, coming from 400 mama cows

• Over 95% of the bulls sell to repeat buyers

• Semen tested and Guaranteed

• Bulls DNA tested for colour and polled genetics

• Fed Total mixed ration with high roughage

• Free delivery to western Canadian & boarding States

LEEWOOD RS LOVER BOY 38K

MRL Rattler X DS-R Plus Bugsy

BW 79 LBS ADJ WW 993 LBS

LEEWOOD BS MOTO MOTO 28K

IPU Bentley X Kop 49X

BW 112 LBS ADJ WW 1015 LBS

LEEWOOD FF IMPACT 9K

Thunder 273X X Virginia Treasure

BW 87 LBS WW 886 LBS

38th Annual Bull Sale

February 25, 2023

315 Bulls Sell

110 Black Simmentals

60 Red Simmentals

40 Fullblood/Fleckvieh

80 Black & Red Angus

25 1/2 & 3/4 Blood Bulls

Producing high quality, hard working bulls for progressive cattlemen for over 40 years

● Affordable bulls selling to a 90-95% repeat customer base

● Semen Evaluated and Guaranteed

● Genetic testing for POLLED, COLOR and CARCASS

● Calving ease, maternally oriented, sound built, easy fleshing, high performing bulls built for todays times

● Offering yearling and extra age bulls, (no carry-overs from the year before)

● Bulls developed on a high roughage ration

● Free delivery in Western Canada

Kyle Lewis: 780-220-9188 kyle@lewisfarms.ca Ken Lewis: 780-818-3829

Fullblood Division: Mark Land & Cattle Lenny Mark 780-842-7207

LFE 3015J

LFE 3043J SAV AJAX X LFE 2024E ( BANK NOTE) BRAVO X LFE 2012G (BONAFIDE)

LFE 836J BRAVO X LFE 2027C (HARVESTOR)

LFE 403K DUTTON X LFE 657F (SENSATION)

LFE 419K

DUTTON X LFE 124G (BRAVO)

LFE 801J BLOODLINE X LFE 6G (BRAVO)

LFE 841J BRAVO X LFE 38D (HARVESTOR)

LFE 862J BRAVO X LFE 637G (FINAL ANSWER)

LFE 391K CORNERSTONE X LFE 636H (BONAFIDE)

LFE 395K ATTRACTIVE X SIXM 603A (IMPRESSION)

LFE 3010J BRAVO X LFE 33D (HARVESTOR)

LFE 3013J BRAVO X LFE 1D (SOUTH DAKOTA)

Todays Angus Advantag e 49

2022 Past Sellers

High Quality Sustainable Pasture-raised beef

Shipped directly to your door step!

THINKING OUTSIDE the BOX

Origins

Henry Sanden was born in Harmony Township, Minnesota in 1882 his parents having come from Norway as many did at that time due to the state of agriculture. Looking to expand the farming operation Henry and Hilda Sanden immigrated to Craik, Saskatchewan in 1903 to the homestead. The family broke native prairie grass and started cropping wheat, flax, and oats alongside raising animals including cattle which the pastureland and valley pastures are suited for. “We have family pictures of them running an 11-man harvest crew after only a few years here. They were fortunate in that their arrival differed from others in the area who maybe arrived right off the boat without anything where Henry and his family they did operate a farm in Harmony before moving up here.” Henry and his wife, Hilda, had three children, Richard, Vernal, and Silvia. Having received their century farm status in 2003, this year marks 120 years and six generations of the Sanden family on the original homestead.

The eldest son, Richard (Dick), continued farming with his father after returning home from the war, where he served primarily as a pilot instructor. Dick and Peggy lived on their homestead located north of Henry’s yard. They had three sons, Philip, Richard, and Kirby. Dick eventually took over the main farm acquiring more land and animals while continuing to develop the homestead.

In 1971, Dick’s son, Philip, and his wife Charlotte, purchased 10 heifers and 6 Holstein cows to establish their own cattle operation while maintaining the grain

farm with Dick. They built a home 1 mile east from where Dick and Peggy raised their boys. Together, they grew the farming operation, acquiring more land and a larger amount of beef cattle. It was Phil who introduced the Red Angus genetics to the farm. Being the oldest of three boys his decision to come home prompted them to expand by buying land from neighbors and family starting the cow/calf operation with a Red Angus base. Over the years they have used multiple breeds of bulls on the herd including Charolais and Gelbvieh but always come back to the Red Angus. When asked about the size of the herd at the time Josh states “We would have calved anywhere from 150-200, throughout the 80s, until 2010. There might have been a little bit of influx in those numbers. I think the biggest challenge, was probably based on feed and we were also slowly putting a bit of land back in the grain farming. BSE was a hard shot on everybody, and we were able to grain farm some of that land which penciled out better during some of those years. So that number fluctuated by as much as 50 pairs almost every other year, or every third year, kind depending on the weather as well.”

The dairy herd got up to 12 head and they shipped cream out of Craik to a creamery in Regina every Tuesday. Phil and his family also had a local market for cream, eggs, and sides of pork. During BSE they also peddled 1.5 lb packages of hamburger into the city to customers, so we’ve seen a bit of that small box sales program — only out of the back of the trunk in a parking lot.

“My grandpa Phil, he was always there. The Real Trail Feedlot, they tried to start out right off highway 11, between Craik, Holdfast and Chamberlain area. My grandpa was a big part of that. There were around a dozen local farmers and cattlemen in the area working to get it up and going. We did downsize a little bit when he was working on that because he was the primary cattle guy. I know that took a lot of work to try and get that that running, and it ended up not going through. They couldn’t get enough funding, or interest from outside partners.”

Phil and Charlotte had three children, Steve, Mark and Angela.

Phil continues to grain farm with his boys and grandchildren. Phil, along with his sons Mark and Steve, dispersed the primary herd in 2011 at the Johnstone Auction Mart to make things easier to split ownership, opening the way for the future generations.

In 1993, Steve moved into his grandparent’s farmhouse with his wife Wendy, continuing on the family legacy. After the dispersal in 2011 he immediately purchased 30 Red Angus bred heifers building the herd to what it consists of today. They went that way because of the mindset “why fix what’s not broken”. They are also close to a lot of good Red Angus breeders that made buying good replacements bulls convenient.

Steve and Wendy had three children, Josh, Aiden and Hanna. Growing up with their love of the farm, all three children attended the University of Saskatchewan to study Agriculture . He continues the mixed farming operation with his dad, brother Mark, and his two sons.

Josh was born and raised born in Craik, like his family before him. Throughout his high school, while he had many friends in 4H and showing cattle, he and his siblings chose a sports route. “My mom worked full time as an RN off the farm and my dad worked as a mechanic early on in my life along with the farm. I don’t remember him saying “one or the other” but sports just took up and consumed so much of our life so that was primarily what

we did. I got my first set of cows, personally, when I was eighteen. I finished high school, my parents again, had ambitions that we are welcome to stay around, but we had to go do something else before we started farming. I ended up at the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Science in Agri business degree. I convocated in 2017 and through all my summers during University, I found employment with BASF. It was awesome, they let me live at the farm and I was still active with seeding and harvesting, helping with the animals, cutting hay and stuff. I found full-time employment with them soon as I graduated. Now there is lots of time on the phone, some travel as well but it’s a good fit for what we’ve got going on, in terms of the personal side outside of work.”

bred back to Red Angus making F1’s. “There’s always talk of my dad wanting to have maybe one Charolais or two Simmental bulls around, for some of the older sale cows. They run the herds separately running their few Simmental cows and young 2-3 year old Red Angus with a Red Angus bull. The calving herd right now is Red Angus with the potential to throw a Simmental or Charolais back in there, but as of today, they are running reds on reds that way.”

Josh met his wife Alana who is originally from Bethune through sports and their many of mutual friends. “Between sports and the agriculture industry as well, it’s a small world. Even through Agribition and stuff, I remember her uncle working with the Johnstone Auction Mart so there always seems to be some mutual connection.” She finished high school in Lumsden and then attended the University of Regina nursing program and has been an RN at the Regina General Hospital and then in Moose Jaw in the new hospital there as well.

Since the birth of their son Etsyn in 2021, they realized it was time to move the family on the farm where generations before them have raised their families and this year they plan on moving to the farm to continue the legacy of the Sanden farm. They are expecting another baby this spring and as Josh puts it “yeah piling them up now, I guess.”

To add to the Red Angus base last year, they started bringing a little bit of the Speckle Park influence in with the plans that they will be

They consider themselves part of the beef business more than a classic cow/calf operation. “Primarily right now, we’re calving from March 15th start date and April 15th end date. With the grain farm, we get pretty hard about the deadline. Maybe give or take, if there’s a really good cow that happens to calf three or four days late, no problem. If we have the young ones that start to make a habit of even April 20th, we’ll cull that kind of thing. So late March, early April, is our primary window. Then we’ll keep them at the farm until seedings done and then we’ll start to move in the pasture. We will send the young ones one way and then the older cows another way. typically to be bred to different bulls.”

“The grain farm is about 7500 acres, amongst the four partners. Everyone in the family does run their own entity per se, on paper, but share a lot of the equipment and everything else that way. Of the pastureland, my uncle is running some Dexter cattle, or I should say did. Amongst my dad, my grandpa, and my uncle, there’d be two sections of pasture that we would have at home. When you start talking about hay land, that’s another thing. We probably have, amongst everybody, six quarters devoted to cutting hay. That’s one thing we’re probably changing every year to be a little bit less and less. We’re finding a lot more success with going through the green feed route, meaning less land is required to produce the same amount of feed. With grain farming there is always pressure on that as well — do we have had enough hay feed for what we’re doing but there’s always that calculation, are we better off buying?”

What kind of changes have you seen over the generations from your grandparents to your parents until now?

“Obviously, the whole technology side and I know maybe with cattle it’s not as evident as the grain farm, but I think let’s just talk feed for a second. I don’t remember as a young kid doing anything with green feed, even our neighbors who would be much bigger producers, none of them were cutting silage back then. They still had the amount of cattle that they do today, if not more. I think, even on our own farm, green feed and straw feeding is something we are doing a whole lot of. Same thing with grazing, management is something we’ve focused on a little bit more. Hoping the weather cooperates a little bit, but even something like going and fertilizing some hay ground and trying to pencil in what that looks like has been one thing. we are starting to implement.”

“The generations ‘learning as we go on’ is probably a bit of a new mindset that, even my dad and myself have kind of gotten that way. Whereas my grandpa, I remember his seeding farmland back down to hay if he was short year over year, so I think just a lot of those little metrics come into play more these days. Same thing with technology I guess with the tractors and the balers and even building facilities to keep short

tractors inside versus running cans of ether through them every morning. My grandpa’s never really built any structures beyond the house, any animals or any equipment my dad has, he makes sure that he has the infrastructure right.”

“That cold snap before Christmas, I think that was one of our points, to make sure there was room to put some equipment inside. Even coming from my grandpa and my dad — what we’re looking for in cattle differs a little bit over time. We’re looking for things that are easy calving. It’s probably not always on top of everybody’s mind but I think, for us, perhaps that’s one of the top. If we get into mid-April gearing up to go to the field you know we really need to make sure we can check in and we don’t have to intervene a whole bunch, that’s a really big benefit for us on the farm, on the grain side.”

“I think probably it’s just as unique that, or I should say it’s interesting, to see how agriculture and public comes in swings a little bit. Everybody, although there’s five generations on the farm, everybody had to work off farm, from my grandpa onward. Even with a relatively decent sized land base, and the animal mix, everybody still had a job off the farm. My grandpa, he was a welder, my dad is a mechanic, I went to university to work in the Ag industry, so did my brother, my uncle spent winters working away, I think that’s something that probably helped with succession. When you do have lots of people involved, I guess I’m an advocate for it if you are able to do that. I think it helped a lot of tough years to come together.”

“I think there’s a cost and the biggest thing I talk about all the time and especially my generation, is what is your time worth. I think that’s one thing, my grandpa, if you asked him what his time was worth, he probably say “Well I’m here anyway”, whereas myself, I’ve got a big price tag in my mind of other things we could be doing around the farm

or with my current employment.” How did West 3rd Ranch come into being? Did your family always sell beef off the farm?

“I remember my grandpa and grandma always did it to some degree. Primarily just the relatives, my grandma had a big family, all over, lots of them from Calgary and Regina. My grandpa’s two brothers were both in the city, so in some fashion, on top of beef for the family use, they always make sure that there was more around for the people that needed it. I remember they were even, selling beef jerky at the golf courses and stuff like that locally. My grandpa saying, they used to do a bit of it, but it was really hard then with just word of mouth marketing. How do you advertise in the 90s kind of thing, putting ads in the papers, so that was start of it. My dad didn’t do quite as much, just given the grain farm was expanding. If you take us to where we started, the pandemic wasn’t good for much, but I think it’s probably taught us a lot about consumers in the way people access food or maybe take the access that we have to food for granted, a little bit. We actually started with a meal subscription service here in Craik, I think probably right before the pandemic. We started trying it through some discount codes and stuff and I just couldn’t get over how convenient it was for every Tuesday for there to be a box on my doorstep with everything in it. The price, I knew was more, but I didn’t care because of the convenience. One of the things I remember, is cooking it with my wife and like most farmers we’re spoiled in that I don’t know if I’ve been to the grocery store to buy beef more than five times in my entire life, if that, or because I was on holiday or something. Having a farming background, we’re used to farm raised beef, and you could tell the cuts in the meal subscription boxes were not good. I remember multiple comments about “all this would

be awesome, if we could just get the ingredients and the produce and let us apply the meat” and then we honestly, from there, started looking into what that would look like, and this was born. Talking with my wife, she’s made some friends through the pandemic, a lot of people probably spent a lot of time networking or just talking online and were curious about us. If we are selling a lot of beef, a big thing was “we don’t have storage for anything else outside of what subscription boxes bring us”. We said “OK, that’s interesting, but it makes sense. A lot of people that live in the city don’t even have deep freezers” I would say it just had a snowball effect of the “it would be cool if we could have our own meat In these boxes” to “OK could we make boxes” to “what would you take?” Basically, from there, we found a supplier of insulated boxes, established suppliers for dry ice, if our shipments were outside of a certain window, I found a list of couriers that come by Craik. I had no idea what happened, it just kind of grabbed momentum overnight.

We have always had a few steers that we would background anyway so it’s not like we had to go out and buy animals to background or anything like that, we had some ready. We found the butcher that would meet our specifications for packaging and then we started that way. The pandemic obviously was hard for a lot of things, but I do think it was a bit of that push to draw it up, that connection between the consumer and what they’re eating, and what they’re willing to pay or inquire about because of it.

Right, you’re always going to pay a premium for quality, but that’s not a bad thing, right?

No, I think the convenience maybe even trumps quality a little bit. I’m a prime example of the meal subscription service, so that was one of our models too. Right out of the gate, I didn’t want to be driving to Regina to sit in Costco parking lot for four hours and then people will meet there to buy. I wanted the model that say, you want it to show up at your doorstep or if you live rural, let it show up somewhere you can go grab it. That was one of our things right out of the gate that was non-negotiable, for the convenience.

What kind of time line, how long did it take to figure out packaging? Was it quick?

To be honest with you, we still are a little bit. From a like

logistics standpoint, I work with a good friend of mine who was involved with the cultivator program through Conexus. He has been a really good resource on the technology side of things. Somebody that was able to put a website together, so it could have a shipment label created in there, and all that stuff. I think once we understood that the website was possible, the box and the insulator were actually really seamless. The way the supplier website was setup, they sent me out a couple sample boxes and insulators that I used. One of the bigger challenges was what people want. If we go to the market with either too much or too little or too expensive or too cheap, I think that was probably one of the hardest points to figure out. We tried to run a bit of a thinking pool with some of our friends and family of what they’re willing to spend, but when you ask people you know, you probably don’t get a very fair answer out of them. They’re going to say what you want to hear. I think that, out of the gate, was a challenge we went a little bit blind into. If we’re not selling halves and quarters, which most people were used to, what do people want? So basically, we started this in October, I would say with our first launch, first go to market, it was a little bit slow out the gate. We pre made our boxes so when we got our animal back, we had an inventory list and I wanted to make sure we didn’t have anything left in the freezer and those boxes were sold. That’s how we started it, how many boxes could we make and X, Y and Z. It worked out to the pound of ground beef, if I’m being honest with you, that took about a month to sell. In the midst of that, we were doing online giveaways, trying to get some foot traffic on our social media and just found tremendous success. I would say, the word grew overnight and we correlated data visits on the website, that we could also track. It just kind of correlated to sale, so we launched that in

October, it took through the first week in November to sell out. We butchered again that first week in November, we launched it before Christmas and sold out in a day, like in 4 hours. The whole brand itself grew substantially within 8 weeks. January 26 is our next estimated launch date. It’s crazy, we have some people asking if they can get on a list, and I’m trying to stay out of that right now. I just wanted to be first come, first served. The 26th will be our next launch, in a perfect world I’d be able to do one a month. Especially if I could have my animals finished over a period of time versus all at once, now it goes back to you asking me if we’re trying to breed calves twice a year. I think that might help us answer a little bit of our problem. Obviously not a quick solution, because of how long it takes to get animals to get weighed but I think that’s where we want take it.

You were telling me you are going to have an option so customers can reorder every week?

That is one of the things that we are considering. When you look back to the meal subscription service model, I think it worked because you’re on a subscription basis, so it basically is like an auto ship kind of thing. There have been weeks where I’ve forgotten

to go on and skip it if we aren’t home and then shows up at my doorstep. We were talking about going that way, but I know you’d ask me maybe where a few bumps are going to be. I’m a little worried about that from using my own supply chain. If we had a steer fall into the dugout that we had scheduled or we had a sickness come through, or whatever it is, there’s 100 things that could happen to some of the animals. If I have one that is pre-sold, what do I do? I don’t want to go down the road to a neighbor to buy a steer because our model is, it’s ours from calf to finish, so I don’t think that we’re there yet. I’ll be honest we are in the honeymoon phase a little bit here. Maybe if you got outside of that, if you were trying to promote a little bit more repetitively, you could offer subscription, you could offer a discount, it would definitely help with that for sure, and it would probably help your herd management. Are you going to buy more breeding stock? Are you going out to buy more feed? I think that would, be a good tool, like hedging your calf crop a little bit. I think the idea of it is a great idea, I just think it would take a

little bit logistically to probably get there. Just from the position we’re in anyway. We just we don’t have enough cattle yet because we don’t calve twice a year, just yet but probably after that, it’s coming.

October was our first selling, this has been a brainchild from March to last May. Farm machinery is my favorite place to stop and think. Sometimes it gets dangerous and you overthink,

but I think you get a lot done going back and forth, so I think back to our October. We found out we’re also left a little bit to the environment. We had a truck that picked up a box from us, breakdown on the side of the road, a courier truck, so it’s out in a 25 above day, for six hours waiting to be towed. That’s one thing I can’t control. We were working with the purchaser, trying to find ways to have a bit of an insurance program. We started shipping stuff, if we know it’s going a certain distance, if

ended up costing you another 13 cents/kilometer or something like that, you have to kind of eat that on the back end. There are things like that that you’re trying to stay on top of. I think it is a bit of a challenge if you’re only as good as the information. I think that’s probably the challenges we’ve seen and been able to overcome a little bit.

it potentially might be not till the next day or making sure there’s dry ice. If the couriers ran into some bad weather, or sick employees, even delays from our processor or the butcher shop, it pushed things back two weeks, so we were scheduled for the 26th launch date, but if that were to happen, that would be February 9th, then back your subscription comment, potentially the next subscription is only going two weeks apart. I don’t know if there’s any gold star there yet but that’s something where we’re kind of learning as we as we go. Also, the variable costs are hard to play with. Not so much the cattle, if you had to go buy feed I guess when feed is more expensive than other years and all that, more so speaking directly to some of the beef selling where there’s a fuel surcharge, adjusted every week. Our prices are only adjusted every launch, all of a sudden, you have some packages that get shipped out to Saskatoon, which

I think where we want to go, is continue on with our story. We’re not the only company selling beef off the farm. I would probably even admit, ours aren’t the best, because I know some really good cattle producers that are doing it. I think one of our big mission statements is, let’s tell the story and let’s be really upfront with what the animals are eating, and what kind of life that they’re living. I think there’s been a huge demand for that at the grocery store level, at the consumer level, and that’s one thing we’re really trying to provide for consumers. I think at the same time too, we are trying to promote the industry a little bit. I need to do a better job of that. That’s the one thing I’m really trying to wrap my head around. How we could get on board together and everybody respects the farmers, it’s the bigger picture. How can we help promote the cattle industry a little bit more, I don’t have an answer for that, otherwise I would tell you today. I also want to take a little bit of our, call it our split print, that we’re trying to make here and spend some time promoting, not just our company, but let’s promote the guys that are producing the purebred bulls, for myself and others to use. For the consumer at the end of the day that control, a lot of the trends, we want to see beyond just our brand.

Right, do some supplier profiles, where you say, hey this is the guy…

Yeah for sure, whether it’s where we are buying our bulls from or even if the neighbor up the road, who’s maybe selling the bulk beef that we’re not. Helping guys,

share success. I was asked to I speak at the Sask Young Ag Event last week, actually about this, and a guy came up to me after, and just asked “Who do you use for your couriers for ‘cause I can’t drive around the province” and I had no problem sending contacts to him. He wasn’t actually sharing his company name or anything, but we have to do that to help each other out and I think that’s one thing we’re always going to continue to do.

There are very few guys that would be close enough to major centers to even make it viable.

Oh for sure, and that’s the thing, we’re on the main vein of the province with highway 11, so this works primarily because of that. I’ll be the first one to admit that, I don’t think this model works if you live in Nipawin, SK with limited shipping avenues of same day service.

The time and work it takes to do it too, I think, if you’re if you’re selling out in days or hours it becomes pretty easy to put a day’s work to it, splitting up boxes and stuff if you had to do it for three hours every day, then it needs to pay going back to, like you were saying, the value of your time.

in growth model too, so it’s no different than working off farm again. This is another way to try be profitable on the beef farm that is up against it and I’m sure you’re aware that.

Yeah, everyone is. Just off the top of my head anyone who I’ve bought beef from, I can’t see a single one of them selling four steaks and a pound of whatever…

We talked a little bit about the subscription, but another thing we want to be able to do is we want this to be seen as an item that you could provide your staff for a Christmas gift. We did up some custom boxes for a business that wanted to give to their staff as a Christmas gift, instead of a bottle of booze. Where they could take it home and enjoy it with their family. One thing that we said was “OK let’s even tailor them to the seasons that we’re in promotions”. Also, I think getting on other social media platforms. It breaks my heart a little bit to even say, we’re hoping to be on TikTok. We’re going to try and go that way, just help with sharing our story little bit. I just go back to the amount of people, kids or teens that are on TikTok, learning how to put air in their tires, that’s where they’re going to learn things. I think we’ve got to show up there to show them how we feed our cows right. I mean probably for the average person, even in this province, if you could somehow help someone understand a little bit more about how animals are fed, not even for promotion, not to generate revenue, just clear straight up knowledge. We are fortunate with these gadgets over here, I think is a tool we want to try and use as well.

I think another part of that too, is the major centers and just being close enough to the cities to promote. It’s really easy for us to say, when somebody says Craik, everybody knows where it is. As well, my brothers coming back to the farm, and my dad is still

Right, each generation gets further removed from the farm. Those younger kids are another generation further from say, going out to grandpa’s farm. Absolutely, I think the more you can share that, the better.

U2 MALBEC 195D

Tuesday, March 21, 2023 – 1:30 p.m.

JTM LIVESTOCK, MINITONAS, MB (5 miles East of Swan River on Highway 10)

• Big, Solid Bulls that can Cover Pasture

• Lots of Hair – Full of Meat • More Bull for Your Dollar

• Semen Tested and Ready to Work! • Performance Tested

• Good Feet, Structurally Sound, Easy Fleshing

Orland Walker Box 235, Hudson Bay, SK S0E 0Y0 T 306-865-3953 C 306-865-6539

diamondw@sasktel.net

SALE MANAGER: 306-584-7937

Helge By 306-536-4261 charolaisbanner@gmail.com

Commercial Consultants: Clayton Hawreluik, Heartland Livestock, Yorkton, SK 306-621-3824; Ron Reed Livestock, Lethbridge, AB 403-625-0233; Jared Moisiondz 204-281-5588; Randy Hart 204-734-8624 Sale broadcast live at DLMS.ca

TWo Year Old Bulls

ese 2 year old bulls selected as calves for 2’s and pastured separately, weaned later and back grounded on silage and chopped feed en they go to grass early June until October. en they are fed similar to the yearlings until sale time. ey will last a long time. Many of the Two year olds were selected for their potential as heifer bulls. ese aged heifer bulls will breed more animals than yearlings and are a very good investment.

lot

U-2 ANEXA 271Y

RED CROWFOOT MOONSHINE 8081U

RED SIX MILE MOONSHINE MAN RED LAZY MC SPARKLE 2

RED RSL MISS TEE 284D

RED STOCKMAN OF CUDLOBE 12L

RED SPITTALBURN MISS 407P RED SIX MILE MISS TOPPER 91G

- very smooth shouldered, long Bull

- very well muscled bull with an excellent wide top line.

53

52 lot

- another extreme calving ease bull that has the ability and muscling to be used on heifers and cows.

- brother sold to Curtis Laventure (20)

Extra Genetic Evaluations

The Canadian Angus Association arranged for three additional genetic evaluation runs through the 2021–2022 bull sale season, and member feedback was extremely positive. Members and sale managers appreciated the faster two-week turnaround for updated GEPDs from genomic and performance information. To help members get their yearling weights, ultrasound scan information, and Angus GS genomic information incorporated into their GEPDs in time for sale catalogues, we have arranged for three additional genetic evaluation runs through the 2022–2023 bull sale season. Below is the genetic evaluation schedule and deadlines for data to be included in the evaluations. Please contact the office if you have any questions.

Deadline for Performance Information

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Monday, December 5, 2022

Thursday, December 15, 2022

Monday January 9, 2022

Sunday, January 15, 2023

Monday February 6, 2023

Monday, February 20, 2023

Friday, December 2, 2022

Friday, December 16, 2022

Friday, January 6, 2023

Friday, January 20, 2023

Friday, February 3, 2023

Friday, February 17, 2023

Friday, March 3, 2023

NEED TO RECHARGE THE BULL BATTERY

Alberta Simmental Breeders have your BOOST

February

10 GENETIC EDGE 24TH ANNUAL BULL SALE

RIMBEY, AB

11 JNR FARMS BULL & FEMALE SALE

WILLINGDON, AB

15 FUTURE LEGENDS 4TH ANNUAL SIMMENTAL BULL

17

17

SALE - INNISFAIL, AB

MADER RANCHES 34TH ANNUAL BULL SALE

CARSTAIRS, AB

TRIANGLE STOCK FARM 12TH ANNUAL SIMMENTAL

BULL & FEMALE SALE - PARKLAND COUNTY, AB

18 P & H RANCHING & CIRCLE G BULL SALE

18

20

21

INNISFAIL, AB

TRIPLE THREAT 5TH ANNUAL BULL & FEMALE SALE

FALUN, AB

ULTRA/CZECH-MATE 6TH ANNUAL BULL & FEMALE

SALE - INNISFAIL, AB

W2 LAND & CATTLE BULL SALE – CHAPTER 5 -

VERMILION, AB

23 BULL RUSH SIMMENTAL BULL SALE

24

24

RIMBY, AB

MAXWELL/RANCIER 28TH ANNUAL BULL SALE

CAMROSE, AB

LONE STONE FARMS SIMMENTAL & RED ANGUS BULL

SALE - WESTLOCK, AB

25 LEWIS FARMS 38TH ANNUAL BULL SALE

SPRUCE GROVE, AB

25 TRI K CATTLE BULL & HEIFER SALE

BEAVERLODGE, AB

26 BULL FEST ’23 SIMMENTAL BULL SALE

CAMROSE, AB

27 BEECHINOR BROS. SIMMENTAL BULL SALE

BENTLEY, AB

27 KSL SIMMENTALS 5TH ANNUAL BULL & FEMALE SALE

BEAVERLODGE, AB

March

1 RUSYLVIA CATTLE CO 3RD ANNUAL BULL SALE

DERWENT, AB

1 THE EVENT 3RD ANNUAL BULL & FEMALE SALE

OLDS, AB

1 SPRING LAKE SIMMENTALS, THE ZIMMERS BULL SALE

DAYSLAND, AB

1 MCG SIMMENTALS & GUEST TEMPEST RED ANGUS

BULL AND FEMALE SALE - STAVELY, AB

2 WESTWAY FARMS 20TH ANNUAL BULL SALE

DIDSBURY, AB

3 CHITTICK FAMILY 12TH ANNUAL BULL SALE

MAYERTHORPE, AB

4 LOCKHART VALLEY 18TH ANNUAL BULL SALE

RIMBEY, AB

4 LEEWOOD RANCH 7TH ANNUAL SIMMENTAL BULL & FEMALE SALE - MANNVILLE, AB

4 MAPPIN SILVERSMITH 18TH ANNUAL SIMMENTAL BULL SALE BYEMOOR, AB 4-5 THE ASSOCIATES BULL SALE

AB 6

BULL SPECTRUM SIMMENTAL SALE

7 JOHNSON RANCHING 10TH ANNUAL BULL SALE

AB

8 PLACE YOUR BET BULL SALE - CAMROSE, AB

5TH ANNUAL NEXT STEP BULL SALE

FEMALE SALE

15 ADAIR RANCH BULL & FEMALE SALE

23

JANZEN RANCHES 30TH ANNUAL SIMMENTAL & RED

REDRICH FARMS 5TH ANNUAL BULL & FEMALE SALE FORESTBURG, AB 29

CAMDEN CATTLE CO. 11TH ANNUAL BULL & FEMALE SALE - NEW BRIGDEN, AB

April

10 TRANSCON’S PEACE COUNTRY SIMMENTAL BULL SALE BEAVERLODGE, AB

The third Monday in March

March 20, 2023 • 1:00 PM Medicine Hat Feeding Company

Commercially Driven Cattle with Industry Leading Purebred Genetics

Great Selection of Yearlings and Two-Year Olds on offer

Catalogues and videos available at www.bylivestock.com. Sale broadcast live on DLMS.

Sale contact: OBI Livestock

Mark Holowaychuk 403.896.4990 Kurt Pedersen 780.209.9999

Sale Manager: By Livestock • 306.584.7937

Helge By 306.536.4261

Guest Consignors: Snake Valley Farm Charolais • Cash Cattle Co.

FVC KICK IT UP 43K Calving Ease Bull Cedarlea Hendricks 40H X PCC Kentucky Rain 836F

K LAZY T STUNNER 31’22 Calving ease- smooth make-profitable style Musgrave 316 Stunner X K lazy T Chisum 179’12

K LAZY T ANGUS RANCH 16’22 Heavy build. Massive, deep & thick SBF Angus Ranch 8062 X SAV Final Answer 0035

K LAZY T RENOWN 4’22 Maternal package JL Renown 7110 X SBF Angus Ranch 8062

FVC KENTUCKY MORNING 40K Member of the Medicine Hat Grand Champion Pen PCC Kentucky Rain 836F X JWX Silver Bullet 524W

K LAZY T BLOODLINE 11’22 Long bodied, deep sided attractive make SAV Bloodline 9578 X K lazy T Keepsake 243’16

CANADIAN WESTERN Agribition

FEMALES

JUNIOR CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

SHOW RESULTS

BLACK ANGUS - Brett Wildman

Gutzke Ranch, Weyburn, SK with Gutzke Bellemere 14K sired by Brooking Retro 9071

RESERVE JUIOR CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Brooking Angus Ranch, Radville, SK and Cathleen Hamil with Brooking Beauty 2244 sired by Brooking Emerald 9179

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Brooking Angus Ranch, Radville, SK and Wheeler’s Stock Farm with Brooking Annie K 2147 sired by Brooking Emerald 9179

RESERVE INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Boss Lake Genetics, Parkland County, AB with Boss Lake MS Rosebud 204K sired by BAR EL Natural Law 52Y

SENIOR CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Brooking Angus Ranch, Radville, SK as well as Dusty Rose Cattle Co., Lewis Farms, Triangle K and Dyson Doolaege with Brooking Dusty Blackcap 2122 sired by Brooking Emerald 9179

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Schwan Angus Ranch, Swift Current, SK with Schwan Miss Blackcap May 2038 sired by S A V Renovation 6822

JUNIOR CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Brooking Angus Ranch, Radville, SK as well as Steven Knutson and Rideau Angus Farm with Brooking Beauty 1266 sired by Conley Express 7211

JUNIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Rafter D4 Cattle Co, Ardrossan, AB with NLF Cruel Girl 108J sired by Colburn Primo 5153

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER AND RESERVE CHAMPION FEMALE

JT Livestock Ltd. - Stettler, AB with TZ Rosebud 209J sired by Boss Lake Premium 914J

INTERMEDIATE RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Merit Cattle Co., Radville, SK with Merit Socialite 1028J sired by U-2 Coalition 206C

SENIOR CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Merit Cattle Co., Radville, SK with Merit Flora 1004J sired by KR Incredible 8149

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Jaymarandy Livestock, Beausejour, MB with Jaymarandy Georgina 103J sired by Severtson G-Man 288E

CHAMPION TWO YEAR OLD FEMALE

Ter-Ron Farms, Forestburg, AB with Blair’s Forever Lady 646H sired by S A V National Anthem 5740 with her calf Terron Forever Lady 56K

RESERVE CHAMPION TWO YEAR OLD FEMALE

Merit Cattle Co., Radville, SK with Merit Flora 14H sired by GDAR Insight 7201 with her calf Merit Flora 2050K

SENIOR CHAMPION AND GRAND CHAMPION FEMALE

Enright Farms, Renfrew, ON and Oattes Cattle Company, with EF Primrose 925 sired by Dameron First Class with her calf EF Oattes Primrose 2234

RESERVE CHAMPION SENIOR FEMALE

Lakeland College, Vermilion, AB with OAV Classy 42D sired by DMM Roar 16X with her calf OAV Classy 6K

CANADIAN WESTERN Agribition

BULLS

JUNIOR CHAMPION BULL CALF

SHOW RESULTS

BLACK ANGUS - Brett Wildman

Jesse Waldner, Swift Current, SK with Waldner Net Worth 205K sired by S A V Net Worth 4200

JUNIOR RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Blairs.Ag Cattle Co., Lanigan, SK with Blair’s Whiskey 535K sired by Merit Whiskey 8010F

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Hollinger Land & Cattle, Neudorf, SK and CSI Angus with HLC CSI Elevation 100K sired by SAV Bloodline 9578

INTERMEDIATE RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

BAR-E-L Angus, Stettler, AB with BAR-E-L Boulder 47K sired by BC Robust 0807

SENIOR CHAMPION BULL CALF

Perrot Cattle Co., Alameda, SK with Perrot Moonshine 7K sired by SAV Bloodline 9578

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Compass Ranch, Cochrane, AB and Golden Oak Livestock with Compass Go Rolex 219K sired by BC Robust 0807

JUNIOR CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Jaymarandy Livestock, Beausejour, MB with Jaymarandy The Lion 125J sired by Severtson G-Man 288E

JUNIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Rafter D4 Cattle Co, Ardrossan , AB as well as Northline Angus and Doug Satree Angus with DAJS Power Trip 322 sired by 5T Power Chip 4790

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL AND RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION BULL

RoyMac Angus, Cut Knife , SK and Daron Priest with HF Showbiz 226J sired by Schiefelbein Showman 338

INTERMEDIATE RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Wilbar Cattle Co, Dundurn, SK with Wilbar Juncture 45J sired by Conley South Point 8362

SENIOR CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Hollinger Land & Cattle, Neudorf, SK as well as Worth Mor Cattle Co, Poplar Meadows Angus and CSI Angus with HLC CSI Private Stock 879J sired by SAV America 8018

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Brooking Angus Ranch, Radville, SK as well as Ranch Covey Hill, Mac Angus Farm and Bohrson Marketing Services with Covey Hill Unbelievable 4J sired by Coleman Bravo 6313

SENIOR CHAMPION AND GRAND CHAMPION BULL

Freyburn Angus Farms, Oxbow, SK and Merit Cattle Co. with Merit Bobcat 76H sired by BAR S Range Boss 4002

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Pieschel Farms, Rockyview County, AB and TJL Enterprises with PF TJL Hendrix RLP 8H sired by Musgrave 316 Stunner

CANADIAN WESTERN Agribition

FEMALES

JUNIOR CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

SHOW RESULTS

RED ANGUS - Owen Lagaarden

Blairs.Ag Cattle Co., Lanigan, SK with Red Blair’s Yankee 129K sired by Red Mann Red Box 55C

RESERVE JUIOR CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Six Mile Red Angus Ltd., Fir Mountain, SK and Sloane Hertz, SK with Red Six Mile Marta Stark 428K sired by Red Wheel Stark 67G

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Six Mile Red Angus Ltd., Fir Mountain, SK as well as Red Diamond Red Angus and Jackson Bragg with Red Six Mile Taffeta 70K sired by Red Wheel Stark 67G

RESERVE INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Blairswest Land & Cattle Ltd., Drake, SK with Red Blairswest Fanny 21K sired by Red U2 Township 17G

SENIOR CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Blairswest Land & Cattle Ltd., Drake, SK with Red Blairswest Marta 17K sired by Red Six Mile John Wick 882E

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Steen Angus, Dundurn, SK with Red Steen Dynamint 21K sired by Red Duff Red Bear 18154

JUNIOR CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Blairs.Ag Cattle Co., Lanigan, SK with Red Blair’s Jessie 157J sired by Red Mann Red Box 55C

JUNIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Double B Angus, McLean, SK and Gus Reid with Red Double B Priscilla 121 sired by Red Red Mann Red Box 55C

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Ter-Ron Farms, Forestburg, AB with Red Allison Lassie 103J sired by Black Wheel Dracarys 86G

INTERMEDIATE RESERVE CHAMPION

YEARLING HEIFER

Harvie Crest Cattle, Olds, AB with Red Six Mile Ms Frado 344J sired by Red Wheel Stark 67G

SENIOR CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Wheeler’s Stock Farm, Saskatoon, SK as well as Tate Wheeler and Blairs.Ag Cattle Co with Red Wheel Annie Oakley 57J sired by Red Red Mann Red Box 55C

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

T Bar K Ranch, Wawota, SK with Red Allison Carlee 28J sired by Black Wheel Dracarys 86G

CHAMPION TWO YEAR OLD FEMALE AND RESERVE CHAMPION FEMALE

Ter-Ron Farms, Forestburg, AB with Red Ter-Ron Lauryn 63H sired by Red Ter-Ron Riddler 57F with her calf Red Ter-Ron FC Kraken 1K

RESERVE CHAMPION TWO YEAR OLD FEMALE

Six Mile Red Angus Ltd., Fir Mountain, SK and Tyson Buist with Red Six Mile Ms Extra 373H sired by Red Six Mile Element 10E with her calf Red Six Mile TJB Ms Extra 334K

SENIOR CHAMPION AND GRAND CHAMPION FEMALE

Wheeler’s Stock Farm, Saskatoon, SK and Ty Wheeler with Red Wheel Ginger Barbie 1E sired by LFE BA Lewis 3008B with her calf Red Wheel Caliente Barbie 50K

RESERVE CHAMPION SENIOR FEMALE

South View Ranch, Ceylon, SK as well as Keaton Kaufmann and Sunberry Valley Ranch with Red SVR Coca 48G sired by Red NCJ Coming In Hot 24E with her calf Red SVR Coca 13K

CANADIAN WESTERN Agribition

BULLS

JUNIOR CHAMPION BULL CALF

SHOW RESULTS

RED ANGUS - Owen

South View Ranch, Ceylon, SK with Red SVR Bankrupt 53K sired by Red W Sunrise Bank Note 284G

JUNIOR RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Triple L Angus, Viscount, SK with Red Triple L Sriracha 24K sired by Red Piro Sriracha 0111H

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Six Mile Red Angus Ltd., Fir Mountain, SK with Red Six Mile Anchor Kolt 65K sired by Red Six Mile John Wick 882E

INTERMEDIATE RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Six Mile Red Angus Ltd., Fir Mountain, SK with Red Six Mile Stark 82K sired by Red Wheel Stark 67G

SENIOR CHAMPION BULL CALF

Redrich Farms, Forestburg, AB with Red Redrich Kujo 270K sired by Red MRLA Respect 42G

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Wilbar Cattle Co, Dundurn, SK with Red Wilbar Hennessey

3K sired by Red Wilbar Highlight 624H

JUNIOR CHAMPION YEARLING BULL AND RESERVE

GRAND CHAMPION BULL

Double B Angus, McLean, SK as well as Angus El Sauz and Cabana Tres Marias with Red Double B Red Watch 129 sired by Red Red Mann Red Box 55C

Legaarden

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL AND GRAND CHAMPION BULL

Shiloh Cattle Company, Craigmyle, AB as well as Miller

Wilson Angus and Riverside Angus with Red DMM Rumble 74J sired by Red Goad Messin’ Around 144’18

INTERMEDIATE RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Wauter Valley Ranch, Coaldale, AB and C&L Weiss Ranching with WVR Route 66 280J sired by Red U2 Township 17G

SENIOR CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Wheeler’s Stock Farm, Saskatoon, SK with Red Wheel King Slayer 62J sired by Red Wheel Stark 67G

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Triple L Angus, Viscount, SK with Red Goad Mission 148J sired by Red DMM Mission 94A

SENIOR CHAMPION

PIRO Red Angus, Stettler, AB and Triple L Angus with Red Triple L Hacksaw 1H sired by Red U2 Reverence 149A

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

DKF Angus, Gladmar, SK and Deep Lake Land & Livestock with Red DKF Did It Again 148H sired by Red DKF Easy Decision 69E

Internship Opportunity

Application Deadline: March 3, 2023

The Canadian Angus Association and Canadian Angus Foundation are collaborating on a summer internship that will provide a hardworking youth with exposure to many elements of the day-to-day operations at the Canadian Angus Association. The successful applicant will gain a full understanding of CAA activities.

Responsibilities will cover the entire spectrum of CAA programs and that will include supporting:

- Canadian Junior Angus program

- Canadian Angus Foundation

- Marketing and communications initiatives

- Historical preservation and restoration

- Archiving

- Commercial engagement

- Supporting new technology development

- Research support

Additional tasks will depend upon CAA needs and the intern’s skills and interests. See www.cdnangus.ca/about-caa/team for the full job posting and submit your application to ayuen@cdnangus.ca.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

BRYAN KOSTIUK

P: 306-933-4200 E: BRYAN@TBARC.COM

CHRIS POLEY

P: 306-220-5006 E: CHRIS@TBARC.COM

OFFICE

P: 306-933-4200 F: 306-934-0744

INFO@TBARC.COM

VISIT US AT WWW.TODAYSPUBLISHING.CA

THE ANGUS-BRANDED TAG PROGRAM

HELPS OUR PRODUCERS BE RECOGNIZED

WE SUPPORT AND PROMOTE YOUTH INVOLVEMENT IN THE ANGUS INDUSTRY

WE BELIEVE IN PRESERVING OUR HISTORY TO HELP OUR FUTURE

WE USE INNOVATIVE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO HELP OUR MEMBERS

A Breeder’s.... Veterinary Perspective

Improving Reproductive Performance in Your Herd

STARTING WITH HEIFER MANAGEMENT

By Colin Palmer, DVM

A widely accepted management goal is to have heifers birthing their first calves by 24-months of age. Add a few months on to grow her first calf and you come up with at least 2½ years of development and maintenance costs that are now equivalent to the net revenue of 6 commercial calves. Recouping those costs points to longevity of the cow herd being a key variable in the profitability equation. There are almost no good financial reasons to keep an open cow as she will only have the additional burden of her current-year maintenance costs added to her costs of development and will not break-even. A nation-wide survey of American cow-calf producers conducted over 15 years ago pointed to non-pregnancy as the number 1 reason for culling with age/ bad teeth coming in a close second position. Together they accounted for 2/3rds of the culls. Cow productivity peaks at about 5 to 7 years of age and drops off more sharply after 10 years. Culling open cows is always a good thing to do but if more than 10 to 15% of your open culls are young cows then there is a need to consider what went wrong. Low level attrition in a cow herd can be due to a number of problems including difficult calvings; c-sections; prolapses; temperament; udder problems, cancer eye; poor-doing calves and other issues such as bad feet which when combined accounted for an additional 15% of the reasons for culling in that survey; often before these cows reach their prime.

Careful selection and development of replacement heifers is vital to improving herd productivity. The chances of establishing a pregnancy at a heifer’s first heat, or pubertal estrus, are about 20% less than that of her already cycling herd mates. Heifers need to be cycling regularly at the beginning of the breeding season which means that puberty should have occurred at least 2 months before turnout. By the 3rd or even 4th heat conception rates improve greatly. Pubertal status at the onset of the breeding season is one of the most important factors affecting conception rates. Several years of experience breeding heifers in timed artificial insemination (AI) programs has shown me that a proportion of heifers will not have reached puberty in time to be feasibly included. Although, timed AI protocols utilize treatments to encourage follicular recruitment,

development and ovulation results show that pregnancy rates are much better in animals that are cycling and display estrus behaviour before breeding. Follicles produce estrogen that is responsible for causing estrus behaviour. If follicles are too small, they will produce very little estrogen, therefore, estrus behaviour is unlikely. Furthermore, small follicles may or may not respond to ovulation-inducing therapy and those that do have been associated with poor conception rates.

Several factors influence the onset of puberty in heifers. Heifer age and body weight are the most important, direct determinants. Breed, cow family and sire, including sire’s scrotal circumference are indirect factors that influence the age and weight when puberty will occur. Amongst the fertile, maternal breeds it is not uncommon to hear of heifer calves becoming pregnant while still nursing the dam. Within a herd these cases typically represent only a fraction of the heifer calves, and they are almost invariably the oldest and biggest. However, any underfed heifer including these precocious heifers will reach puberty later, at an older age, than her betterfed contemporaries despite her genetic makeup. Since body weight can have such a profound effect on age of puberty a good rule of thumb is that heifers should be developed to 2/3rds (about 65%) of her predicted mature weight at the time of breeding to ensure that they have reached puberty. Knowing what your mature cows weigh is very important. Frame sizes, hence mature weights, can vary by several hundred pounds within breed.

Selection of sires with larger scrotal circumferences translates to earlier puberty and increased lifetime fertility in female progeny. Earlier onset of puberty led to the idea that heifers could be grown to 50 - 55% of mature weight to save on feed costs. Initially, most research seemed to support this theory, but careful examination of the results suggests otherwise. In one study fewer heifers developed to 53% of mature weight were cycling at the beginning of a 45-day breeding season compared to their herd mates developed to 58%, but there was no difference in pregnancy rates. However, another study compared heifers with a more substantial, 10%, difference in

is an Associate Professor of Theriogenology (Animal

Western College

pre-breeding weights. Heifers developed to 55% and 65% of mature weight at breeding had no differences in pregnancy rates at the end of an 80-day breeding season, but it was noteworthy that significantly more heifers developed to 65% of mature weight were pregnant within the first 45 days of the breeding season and that the lighter weight heifers took longer to begin normal estrous cycles following their first calves. Not surprisingly in yet another study, substantially fewer heifers at 50% of mature weight established pregnancies in the first 30 days of the breeding season compared to herd mates developed to 55%. Knowing how big your mature cows are is an important consideration. Five percent of a 1400-pound mature weight is only 70 pounds – 65% of 1400 pounds is 910 pounds, whereas 55% is just 770 pounds. Targeting your heifer development program toward a 65% of mature weight at breeding will ensure that more heifers will get pregnant early in the breeding season and have a greater chance of remaining in the herd as productive females. Very young heifers that are not likely to make 50% of mature weight by breeding season are not viable replacements. Using this example, the nonviable heifers would weigh 700 pounds or less.

Reproductive tract scoring by transrectal palpation is a simple yet very worthwhile procedure; especially, when selecting heifers for timed AI programs. Ultrasonography may seem like the more modern and technologically advanced way to perform a reproductive exam, but uterine tone and texture can only be appreciated by touch. Assessment of the size and texture of the uterine horns and palpating the ovaries for follicles and corpora lutea (CLs) will reveal those heifers that are cycling. To ensure success, retain the cycling heifers for breeding and remove the others.

When is the best time to administer vaccines to heifers prior to breeding? For many, a convenient time is when heifers are being put through the chute for breeding programs - but is this safe? Recommendations tend to vary depending upon whether a modified live or a chemically altered, inactivated (killed) virus vaccine is being used and whether it is the first vaccination being administered to naïve animals, or a 2nd (booster)

vaccination. Modified live virus vaccines have been shown to have a negative effect on corpus luteum development, the ovarian structure responsible for maintaining pregnancy, that may last for as much as 2 months. In a study which included non-vaccinated control heifers, heifers vaccinated with the same killed virus vaccine 36 and 8 days before breeding, heifers vaccinated 8 days before breeding with the killed virus vaccine and heifers vaccinated 8 days before breeding with the modified live vaccine it was evident that vaccination with a MLV vaccine just 8 days before breeding had a negative effect on pregnancy status. In a comparison of MLV and killed virus vaccine administered to heifers 30 days before a timed AI heifers vaccinated with the MLV had lower pregnancy success following AI than those vaccinated with killed virus vaccine or heifers not vaccinated at all. Chemically altered, inactivated virus vaccine has been known to impart a weaker immune response than MLV vaccines but have been proven to impart enough of a response to provide adequate protection from abortion during the subsequent pregnancy. Many studies comparing the effect of pregnancy status suffer from having too few animals to show a real difference. A very robust, welldesigned study where cows received a booster vaccination of either a MLV vaccine or a chemically/ altered inactivated virus vaccine administered between 27 to 89 days before AI showed that pregnancy results were significantly better in the killed virus vaccine group amongst animals vaccinated with either vaccine less than 6 weeks before breeding; however, the negative effect disappeared when the MLV vaccine was administered six weeks or more before AI. Therefore, sound advice is to complete your MLV virus vaccine protocol 6 weeks to two months before breeding. If this is not possible use of a chemically altered, inactivated vaccine is a very good way to prevent pregnancy loss in the herd.

Reference: Perry G. Improving reproductive management in cow herds. Clinical Theriogenology. 2022; 14: 174-192.

Dr. Colin Palmer

Reproduction) at the

of Veterinary Medicine. Originally from Nova Scotia, Dr. Palmer worked in mixed practices in Ontario and British Columbia and has owned/operated a practice in Saskatchewan. Dr. Palmer along with his wife Kim and children Lauren, Emily and Carter run a herd of purebred Red Angus cattle under the KC Cattle Co. name.

FARMFAIR Interational

SHOW RESULTS

BLACK ANGUS

FEMALES

SUMMER CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Crooked Creek Angus with CROOKED CREEK DEWDROP 98K sired by VIN-MAR JOHNNY CASH 3513

SPRING CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Boss Lake Genetics with BOSS LAKE MS DONNA 273K sired by EXAR CLASSEN 1422B

RESERVE SPRING CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Miller Wilson Angus with DMM MISS ESSENCE 110K sired by BOSS LAKE BONAFIDE 722E

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Boss Lake Genetics with BOSS LAKE MS ROSEBUD 204K sired by BAR E L NATURAL LAW 52Y

INTERMEDIATE RESERVE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Wauter Valley Ranch with WVR LAKOTA 350K sired by U2Q

PRESIDENT 64H

SENIOR CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Miller Wilson Angus and Tattykeel Meat & Sheep with DMM

GEORGINA 7K sired by MERIT CHIEF 6059D

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Greenwood Cattle and Vee-Tee Angus with GREENWOOD BEAUTY 8K sired by GREENWOOD HIGH CLASS JJP

JUNIOR CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER AND GRAND CHAMPION FEMALE

Rafter D4 Cattle Co. with NLF CRUEL GIRL 108J sired by COLBURN PRIMO 5153

JUNIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Rafter D4 Cattle Co with DAJS SALLY 300 sired by Colburn Primo 5153

INTERMDIATE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Rainbow Red Angus and Koberstein’s Triangle K with BLAIRSWEST ERICA 77J sired by BROOKING

FIREBRAND 6068

INTERMEDIATE RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

JT Livestock Ltd with TZ ROSEBUD 209J sired by BOSS LAKE PREMIUM 914J

SENIOR CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Rockytop Cattle Company and Brad Tkacik with ROCKYTOP ROSEBUD 128J sired by CONLEY SOUTH POINT 8362

RESERVE SENIOR CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Brandl Cattle Co with BCC LYNN 34J sired by BCC LOTTO MAX 31F

CHAMPION TWO YEAR OLD FEMALE

Miller Wilson Angus with DMM GEORGINA 7H sired by BAR S RANGE BOSS 4002

RESERVE CHAMPION TWO YEAR OLD FEMALE

Ter-Ron Farms with BLAIR’S FOREVER LADY 646H sired by S A V NATIONAL ANTHEM 5740

CHAMPION MATURE FEMALE AND RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION FEMALE

Renegade Farms with GGA CONANGA 2E sired by EATHINGTON SUB-ZERO

RESERVE CHAMPION MATURE FEMALE

BMB Brewin Angus with COUNTRY LANE ROYAL LASS 3 sired by S A V SENSATION 5615

GRAND CHAMPION FEMALE

FARMFAIR Interational

SHOW RESULTS

BLACK ANGUS

BULLS

SUMMER CHAMPION BULL CALF

Startstruck Livestock with STARSTRUCK BLACK TIE 7K sired by LLB RAIN DANCE 897H

SPRING CHAMPION BULL CALF

Renegade Farms with HARPREY TZ River Cree 100K sired by KR CASINO 6243

SPRING RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Trafiak Ranch with TRAFIAK SUB-ZERO 7K sired by TRAFIAK SUB-ZERO 6F

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Justamere Farms with JUSTAMERE JFV WESTERN FEEL 607K sired by JUSTAMERE 101 JUSRICE 610F

INTERMEDIATE RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Pieschel Farms and Southern Comfort with PF KINDEL RLP 19K sired by BROOKING FIREBRAND 6068

SENIOR CHAMPION BULL CALF

WILBAR CATTLE with WILBAR TORRENT 138K sired by REMITALL F RAINMAN 2H

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Justamere Farms and BARRY GOLINOWSKI with JUSTAMERE 9213 EXPRESSION sired by CONLEY

EXPRESSION 9213

JUNIOR CHAMPION YEARLING BULL AND RESERVE CHAMPION BULL

Rafter D4 Cattle Co. with DAJS POWER TRIP 322 sired by 5T POWER CHIP 4790

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Boss Lake Genetics and First Class Marketing with BOSS LAKE THE KRAKEN 119J sired by SAV PRESIDENT 6847

INTERMEDIATE RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Miller Wilson Angus and Freeway Angus with DMM ROLLIN’ NORTH 62J sired by DMM ROLLING STONE 10G

SENIOR CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Justamere Farms and Gower Family Angus with JUSTAMERE 305F THE SHADE 347J sired by HLC GQ 278F

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Rockytop Cattle Company and Roger Kappel with ROCKYTOP SOUTHPOINT 112J sired by CONLEY SOUTH POINT 8362

CHAMPION TWO YEAR OLD BULL AND GRAND CHAMPION BULL

KT Ranches with RUST FORGED OF FIRE 0412 sired by BROOKING FIREBRAND 6068

RESERVE CHAMPION TWO YEAR OLD BULL

Greenwood Cattle and Nordal Limousin & Angus with GREENWOOD HIGH CLASS JJP 87H sired by SCHIEFELBEIN SHOWMAN 338

GRAND CHAMPION BULL

RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION BULL

FARMFAIR Interational

SHOW RESULTS

RED ANGUS

FEMALES

SUMMER CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Cinder Angus with RED CINDER BAYBERRY 38K sired by RED CINDER VISION 93H

RESERVE SUMMER CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Cinder Angus with RED CINDER BAYBERRY 038K sired by RED CINDER VISION 93H

SPRING CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Six Mile Ranch with RED SIX MILE MARTA STARK 428K sired by RED WHEEL STARK 67G

RESERVE SPRING CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Cinder Angus with RED CINDER HEATHER 701K sired by RED CINDER VISION 93H

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Wilbar Cattle with RED WILBAR BLOCKANA 47K sired by RED PIE QUARTERBACK 0814

RESERVE INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Six Mile Ranch and Red Diamond Red Angus with RED SIX MILE TAFFETA 70K sired by RED WHEEL STARK 67G

SENIOR CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Redrich Farms with RED REDRICH FIREFLY 52K sired by RED SSS TYCOON 225E

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Cinder Angus with RED CINDER FREYJA 129K sired by RED W SUNRISE BANKNOTE 284G

JUNIOR CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Northline Farms with RED NLF SUGAR TART 114J sired by RED WFRA MR. MISUNDERSTOOD 5060

JUNIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Towaw Cattle Company with RED TOWAW ESSENCE 459J sired by RED SVR TORNADO 167C

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER AND RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION FEMALE

Twin Anchor with RED RAINBOW LARK 68J sired by RED AHL FLASHBACK 446B

INTERMEDIATE RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Ter-Ron Farms with RED ALLISON LASSIE 103J sired by BLACK WHEEL DRACARYS 86G

SENIOR CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Wauter Valley Ranch with RED WVR LADY MAY 48J sired by U2 TOWNSHIP 17G

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Shiloh Cattle Company with RED SHILOH ANGIE 19J sired by RED DKF RACER 8E

CHAMPION TWO YEAR OLD FEMALE AND GRAND CHAMPION FEMALE

Six Mile Ranch and Tyson Buist with RED SIX MILE MS EXTRA 373H sired by RED SIX MILE ELMENT 10E

RESERVE CHAMPION TWO YEAR OLD FEMALE

Hawes Show Cattle with RED NORTHLINE RR NEBRASKA sired by RED COMBEST TITAN 1615D

GRAND CHAMPION FEMALE

FARMFAIR Interational

SHOW RESULTS

RED ANGUS

BULLS

SPRING CHAMPION BULL CALF

Hawes Show Cattle with RED HAW NORTHLINE MAX sired by RED NORTHLINE TUCKER 54E

SPRING RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Redrich Farms with RED REDRICH KRIMSON 128K sired by RED SVR YOGI 15H

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Ariam Farms with RED AIRAM RB RAMBO 43K sired by RED GOLDEN SUNSET RED BOX 18H

INTERMEDIATE RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Riverside Angus with RED RIVERSIDE KNOCKOUT 205K sired by RED SIX MILE STEALTH 269F

SENIOR CHAMPION BULL CALF

Redrich Farms with RED REDRICH KUJO 270K sired by RED MRLA RESPECT 42G

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Wilbar Cattle Co with RED WILBAR HENNESSY 3K sired by RED WILBAR HIGHLIGHT 624H

JUNIOR CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Hawes Show Cattle with RED NORTHLINE MEAT LOAF sired by RED NORTHLINE ROCK STAR 911U

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL AND GRAND CHAMPION BULL

Shiloh Cattle Company with RED DMM RUMBLE 74J sired by RED GOAD MESSIN’ AROUND 144’18

INTERMEDIATE RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Wauter Valley Ranch and C&L Weiss Ranching with RED WVR ROUTE 66 280J sired by U2 TOWNSHIP 17G

SENIOR CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

McAleer Ranching and Brennan & Puis Schachtel with RED EYE HILL MAMA’S BOY 23J sired by RED U-2 MAMA’S BOY 167X

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Arntzen Angus with RED DTA VIEW POINT 13J sired by RED HRA LOOKOUT 711E

CHAMPION TWO YEAR OLD BULL AND RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION BULL

Pedersen Livestock and Clement Cote Farm with RED DURALTA 43 FORTRESS 82H sired by RED SIX MILE FIFTH SENSE 43F

RESERVE CHAMPION TWO YEAR OLD BULL

Shiloh Cattle Company with RED SHILOH HOLLYWOOD 129H sired by RED DKF RACER 8E

GRAND CHAMPION BULL

RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION BULL

Round Up

RED ANGUS JUDGE - Katie Songer

GRAND CHAMPION BULL

SHOW RESULTS

144’18

GRAND CHAMPION FEMALE

RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION BULL

Tracy Dietrich, Forestburg, AB with RED REDRICH KUJO 270K sired by RED MRLA RESPECT 42G

RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION FEMALE

Baxter Blair, 146 Brownlee Avenue, SK with RED DOUBLE B

LARKABA 9010 sired by RED DKF RAZOR 55C

Darcy Olesky, Craigmyle, AB with RED DMM RUMBLE 74J sired by RED GOAD MESSIN’ AROUND

Rob Adams, Forestburg, AB with RED ALLISON LASSIE 103J sired by BLACK WHEEL DRACARYS 86G

Tubing a young calf with colostrum, colostrum substitute, electrolytes or for various other reasons it can be a common procedure on today’s cow calf operations. This procedure must be done properly keeping in mind biosecurity and the number one motto, do no harm. This article will outline proper procedures for tubing as well as some treatment parameters and instances where I have seen things go wrong over the years. Hopefully by the end producers will be more confident when you need to do it and will use it in a timely fashion. There are definitely times when tubing a calf in a timely manner will save its life.

Most cow-calf operations will have at least one esophageal feeder around. There are several makes of feeders out there. I prefer the McGrath as it kinks off automatically when hung down and you can administer with one hand while you hold the calf with the other. The bags sometimes don’t seal as well and sometimes need two people to run. Find a make you like, stick with it and replace it when the tube gets damaged and rough from teeth marks. For biosecurity reasons I also like one used only with newborn calves for colostrum and colostrum substitutes and another used for sick or scouring calves and have them marked accordingly. I suggest washing the entire unit with warm water and dip the tube in a gallon of previously mixed “Virkon” disinfectant.

Fill the feeder with product and make sure the line is clamped off, so no product is running when you pass the tube. That is imperative. Using a small amount of water or sterile lubricant on the bulb end in case the esophagus of the calf is dry from dehydration. This will facilitate it sliding in easier. The calf should either be standing or sitting up in sternal. This allows gravity to help the liquid to flow and prevents the possibility of

regurgitation. Do not tube the calf when it is laying on its side as regurgitation and aspiration are definite possibilities. When passing the tube, do so gently and the calf should swallow it. If any resistance stop and retry. You can feel for the tube running down the neck and under your finger just left of center. When you feel this, you know you are in the right position and can let the fluid run in. I like to rub the throat area to stimulate swallowing and it keeps the calf occupied. Any sudden throwing their head, kicking, etc. stop the flow right away and make sure the tube has not slid out to any degree. When done kink the tube and pull it out. The kinking does not allow any fluid to run out when withdrawing and makes aspiration of any fluids almost impossible.

Tubing with colostrum you want to make sure to give at least one liter or more. When sucking naturally the calf creates a groove which has the milk flow through the third stomach into the fourth. With tubing this groove is not created and the colostrum flows into the rumen. It takes about 500 ml to fill the rumen and the excess then runs into the abomasum, so volume is important when it comes to feeding a newborn. The liter or more is necessary to get enough into the abomasum to start being absorbed. Ideally with colostrum milk or electrolytes for that matter it is nice to try and get the calf to suck. Most times tubing is done because the suckle reflex is slow or in the interests of time tubing is faster and you know what the calf has received. In severely dehydrated calves you may be tubing up to three to four times a day so that is why being gentle is imperative to not creating any injury or irritation to the throat area.

The large bulb at the end of the tube facilitates swallowing. If a calf has just been pulled and is gasping or open-mouthed breathing, for example, now is “NOT’ the time to tube. One has to wait until a normal breathing pattern has commenced. The open mouth breathing state is where the tube can be taken into the lungs and you essentially would drown the calf. I have seen too vigorous of tubing and it results in perforation of the esophagus. The swelling and cellulitis from the damage is almost sure death. This is very rare and results from ramming the tube down the throat or the calf severely struggling when being tubed. The fluid should also flow pretty freely when unkinked or the clamp released. If not, simply reposition the tube by pulling back a little bit. The tubes are generally designed to be put in until the hard end is just protruding out of the end of the mouth. Keep a close eye as I have had cases where the tube either came off or broke off the hose and was swallowed. We need to go in surgically to remove the tube from a severely stretched out rumen. There was one batch of feeders defective years ago and the others were from old feeders getting brittle. A good reason to replace them depending on usage but every couple of years for sure.

One must be cognizant especially with treating sick calves that you could be the spread of disease from calf to calf so again disinfect in between usages. Your clothes, boots and hands could also be the spread so clean up well in between treatments is ideal.

In clinical practice we may even tube older calves with the same esophageal feeders for bloat or be using activated charcoal or kaopectate mixed in with electrolytes for diarrhea treatment. Esophageal feeders are a very necessary device for cow calf producers and one that can give calves the necessary nourishment they need. If hesitant to use one get someone skilled to show you the right way to proceed. They will save calves.

Now to make things easier than ever the calf four part video series “911 Calf” put out by BCRC has a pictorial and verbal description of what I have just said. If you search 911 calf, the four YouTube videos will come up and is on properly tubing a calf. If in doubt watch the video a couple times and you will have no hesitation using one when it is necessary. Also I will include a picture of how the feeders can be labeled and there are now more models than ever of esophageal feeders. For colostrum placement in a slow doing newborn to dehydration treatment in a scouring calf timeliness is critical but keep them clean in between usages and only used for the purpose indicated. Also the videos I just mentioned are in a poster format for putting up in the barn. Ask for them at your veterinary clinic or look them up on the BCRC website beefresearch.ca. They also have a QR code on them so the videos can be accessed through your phone. The more people that can learn and teach others the better. The benefit will be towards better calf health.

THE ROYAL

Agricultural Winter Fair

SHOW RESULTS

FEMALES

JUNIOR CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Gilchrist Farms, Lucknow, ON with GF PROVEN QUEEN 229K

RESERVE JUNIOR CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Premier Livestock, Milverton, ON with PREMIER PRIDE 234

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Chelsey & Jeff Stephens, Troy, ON with STEPHENS RUBYS GEMSTONE 3K

RESERVE INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Worth Mor Cattle, Campbellford, ON with WORTH-MOR RITA 212K

SENIOR CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Premier Livestock, Milverton, ON with PREMIER LUSCIOUS 214

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

Premier Livestock, Milverton, ON with PREMIER PRIDE 207

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER AND RESERVE CHAMPION FEMALE

Hawthorne Farm, Mountain, ON with HAWTHORNE LILLY

INTERMEDIATE RESERVE CHAMPION

YEARLING HEIFER

Indian River Cattle Company, Indian River, ON with GRASS ROOTS DUCHESS 133

SENIOR CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Grylls Cattle Co., Listowel, ON with PREMIER EMPRESS 103

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER

Irvineside Cattle Company, Fergus, ON with IRVINESIDE JAMBOREE 1J

CHAMPION SENIOR FEMALE, GRAND CHAMPION FEMALE, SUPREME CHAMPION OF THE SHOW AND ABERDEEN ANGUS CATTLE SOCIETY CHALLENGE CUP

Enright Farms, Renfrew, ON with EF PRIMROSE 925

RESERVE CHAMPION SENIOR FEMALE

Gilchrist Farms, Lucknow, ON with JEM BLUEBELL 2F

THE ROYAL

Agricultural Winter Fair

SHOW RESULTS

BULLS

JUNIOR CHAMPION BULL CALF

Gilchrist Farms, Lucknow, ON with GF SUAVE 683K

JUNIOR RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Ranch Dynamic Angus, Marieville, QC with DYNAMIC KRAKEN 11K

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Rail Line Farms, Lucknow, ON with RAIL LINE KRYPTON 16K

INTERMEDIATE RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

Iris Creek Farms, Paisley, ON with ICF SHOW ME THE MILES 16K

SENIOR CHAMPION BULL CALF

CEDARVIEW CATTLE CO, PAKENHAM, ON WITH CEDARVIEW KEROSENE 8K

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

PREMIER LIVESTOCK, MILVERTON, ON WITH PREMIER KONVOY 211

JUNIOR CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

Mac Angus Farms, Havelock, QC with THE MAC CROWN ROYAL 56J

SENIOR CHAMPION YEARLING BULL, GRAND CHAMPION BULL AND DON HEAD CHALLENGE TROPHY

Indian River Cattle Company, Indian River, ON with BUCHANAN’S BRUNO C656

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL AND RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION BULL

Worth Mor Cattle, Campbellford, ON with HLC CSI PRIVATE STOCK 879J

UNDERSTANDING FEMALE REPRODUCTION ACCELERATES POSITIVE MOMENTUM IN THE COW HERD

Latest Angus University webinar discusses improving fertility and overall income.

Written by Whitney Whitaker, Angus Communications

Everyone wants cattle that breed easily, calve early and display good reproductive performance. Though this may sound simple enough, how do cattlemen achieve those things simultaneously?

“I’m a big fan of a concept called ‘positive momentum’ because I believe really good reproductive success this year ensures really good reproductive success next year,” said Dr. Bob Larson, a veterinarian with the Beef Cattle Institute at Kansas State University.

During the Angus University webinar, Keys to Reproductive Success: Female Edition, held Dec. 13, Larson shared tools and practices to help cattlemen achieve optimal success in their cow herds.

One way to achieve this goal is to benchmark a producer’s current situation and compare it to a desired plan. For example, a producer with an eight percent open rate might set a goal of Larson’s ideal open rate of five percent. This allows for a significant increase in earned income as earlier calving cows leads to heavier weaning calves and a faster rebreed window.

Larson also described the difference in reproductive success for firstcalf heifers. To meet the constraints of having an 83-day period for cows to rebreed and calve at the same time next year, Larson recommended heifers calve ahead of cows for their first calf. To help ensure heifers reach puberty at the right time, he advised assistance from your veterinarian.

“It is important for veterinarians to really evaluate the heifers to make sure each individual heifer and the group as a whole can reach puberty in time to get bred a little ahead of the cows,” Larson said.

He explained how the onset of puberty is primarily influenced by age and weight within breeds. Which leads to a common question, what is the appropriate target weight?

“The real question is, what ration should I feed heifers to result in the desired number reaching puberty by the desired date,” Larson said. He emphasized again how working alongside a veterinarian and nutritionist helps producers answer those questions.

Larson reiterated for producers to achieve this success in their operations, they must avoid the primary threats to positive momentum. These threats include having heifers who don’t calve ahead of cows, calving in thin body condition, bulls that fail to successfully breed cows and diseases ending pregnancy. Avoiding these issues promises potential for success year after year.

To dive deeper into Dr. Larson’s presentation, visit bit.ly/ DecemberAUrecording. To learn more about Angus University webinars and the upcoming episode, Keys to Reproductive Success: Bull Edition, visit www.angus.org/Pub/AngusNewsRoom/2023-cattlemenscongress-au-session.

For more information, contact: Holly Martin, director of communications 816-383-5143 hmartin@angus.org

Putting Premiums in the Cattleman’s Pocket

Marketing for a Premium

“The best way for cattlemen to engage with the brand is to help increase supply,” said Kara Lee, CAB director of producer engagement.

Accessible premiums motivate that. Nearly 85% of North American packing plants are licensed to certify carcasses into the Certified Angus Beef ® brand.

The first and most simple piece of CAB qualification is that cattle be predominantly black-hided, defined as having no white behind the shoulder, above the flanks or breaking the midline (excluding the tail). According to USDA data, more than 70% of fed cattle are Angus-influenced and meet these criteria, Dykstra said.

Through genetics and progressive management, the opportunity exists for cattlemen to earn premiums on cattle sold.

Those premiums translate to more high-quality product available to the consumer through retail or restaurant avenues. When they choose the Certified Angus Beef ® brand, it boosts demand.

“Folks want the best beef, and they seek it out,” said Paul Dykstra, Certified Angus Beef (CAB) director of supply management and analysis. “As a result, the premium structure of the beef industry has developed around the brand and the attributes that it represents.”

During Angus University, at the 2022 Angus Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, CAB shared ways that producers who are focused on raising high-quality beef can be more connected with the brand.

The first of its kind, CAB got its start in 1978. Since its inception, 101 other USDA-certified beef brands developed, and as of now, 80 of those also have Angus in the name. While the competition is growing, the brand’s team of 150 diligently works to differentiate CAB from the rest of the pack. Consumers can feel confident purchasing the Certified Angus Beef ® brand, a high-quality product that is the result of Angus farmers’ and ranchers’ commitment to quality.

As demand grows, producers receive these market signals in the form of premiums throughout the supply chain. Capturing those takes genetic, marketing and management strategies.

Then, those eligible carcasses must meet all 10 of the brand’s specifications: (1) modest or higher marbling, (2) 10- to 16-square-inch ribeye area, (3) 1,100-lb. or less hot carcass weight, (4) 1 inch or less fat thickness, (5) medium or fine marbling texture, (6) 30 months of age or younger, (7) superior muscling, (8) no neck hump exceeding 2 inches, (9) practically free of capillary rupture, and (10) no dark cutters.

In 2021, CAB premiums reached $182 million, or roughly $500,000 paid daily by licensed packers to owners of cattle qualifying for the brand. That incentive is the market communicating strong demand for the leading brand of premium beef.

“CAB premiums are happening all through the supply chain, even if it doesn’t always get its own line item on a receipt,” Dykstra added.

Farmers and ranchers have a history of success in hitting a market target with a financial reward. While retaining ownership through the feedyard is the most direct way to earn CAB premiums, there are more ways to capture some of that.

Cattle should be marketed in a way that communicates the potential value they hold under the hide. For seedstock breeders, it’s by making sure customers know this potential and the value of the genetics they’re buying, Dykstra said. “When those commercial feeder calves are weaned in the fall, a phone call to a feedyard or cattle buyer is a basic but great place to start. If they’ve got the genetics backing them up, that’s greater marketability for the seller,” he said.

The best way to engage with Certified Angus Beef is by raising cattle that qualify for the brand. By Morgan Boecker

Cattlemen receive market signals in the form of premiums throughout the supply chain. Capturing those takes genetic, marketing and management strategies.

The Right Genetic Base

The more cattlemen produce for the brand, the more beef CAB-licensed partners can sell. Last year that total came to 1.234 billion pounds, the second-highest sales year on record. The brand’s goal is to sell more than two billion pounds annually.

“We first have to put two billion pounds of the Certified Angus Beef ® brand in a box, and we don’t do that today,” Lee said. The recent average acceptance rate into the brand is 35%, but it needs to be closer to 50% to reach that goal. “The number one reason carcasses are not successful in earning the brand most often comes down to marbling,” Dykstra said. “That’s why we talk about it a lot.” Marbling is a lifetime event and highly heritable, so it’s an easy place for Angus breeders to start. The correlations are relatively weak between marbling and many other traits that are important to cow-calf producers, like performance and maternal function, Lee said. Those weak correlations allow for simultaneous progress across multiple traits in a cow herd.

For Angus breeders who put an emphasis on carcass genetics, an easy tool to identify animals with greater potential for those traits is the Targeting the Brand™ logo. Any registered Angus animal that meets a minimum expected progeny difference (EPD) for marbling of +0.65 and Value Grid Index ($G) of +55 can be marketed alongside the Targeting the Brand logo.

Cattlemen need a balanced cow herd, ensuring cows and bulls are also phenotypically correct. Targeting the Brand is

simply a marketing tool – a threshold – to quickly identify those bulls and females with the genetic potential to produce more CAB qualifiers. But it also gives them latitude to look for other economically important traits needed in their commercial programs, Lee said.

After marbling, a ribeye too large, heavy hot carcass weight or excessive backfat are the next most common areas where cattle miss certification for the brand.

“We’re not going to capitalize on mating decisions at the consumer level for a few more years,” she said. “So we have to live with those decisions for a long time, whether they’re good or bad.”

With genetics only part of the equation, responsibility falls on cattlemen and women to manage cattle and resources for optimal performance.

Progressive Management

As the leading data collectors in the cattle business, Angus breeders can take it a step further by validating and documenting their management practices.

An easy and effective way to communicate how cattle are cared for at the ranch is through Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certification or an equivalent program. “But we really need you to tell us that you’re certified,” she said.

“Not because we think farmers and ranchers are doing things wrong and we’re trying to fix their ways. We’re trying to help producers get more credit for the things already being done,” Lee said.

That’s why CAB launched a rancher-facing campaign called “Cut the Bull.” The campaign highlights BQA certification as a tool for truth for farmers and ranchers to verify the good work they do every day raising cattle. If interested, cattlemen and women can share their BQA or equivalent certificate at CutTheBull.info.

Little details go a long way in differentiating the brand from other programs. It helps consumers feel good about their beef and keeps them reaching for the Certified Angus Beef ® brand on grocery store shelves.

“The new dollars in our business come from the consumer,” Dykstra said. “We get to share consumer dollars back through the beef supply chain based on what we’ve achieved at CAB by each player capitalizing on a margin opportunity. Otherwise, they wouldn’t do it.”

Cattlemen receive market signals in the form of premiums throughout the supply chain. Capturing those takes genetic, marketing and management strategies.

MANITOBA Ag Ex

SHOW RESULTS

ANGUS JUDGE - Jeff Lees

FEMALES

JUNIOR CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

FISK CATTLE CO, BIENFAIT, SK with FISK FAY 206 sired by DMM MAXIMUS 18G

RESERVE JUIOR CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

HALL’S CATTLE CO, CRAVEN, SK with HALL’S ELBA 284K sired by CONLEY DIECKMANN PROWESS

INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

SECTION 7, ROCANVILLE, SK with S7R LHCC ONYX 700K sired by COLEMAN BRAVO 6313

RESERVE INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

DALE EASTON, WAWOTA, SK with EASTONDALE ANNIE K 29’22 sired by LORENZ ENDURANCE 4F

SENIOR CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

KCH CATTLE CO, RAPID CITY, MB with KCH ROSE 204K sired by KCH TRENDSETTER 5H

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION HEIFER CALF

PILLER SHOW CATTLE, NEUDORF, SK with PILLER

PRETENTIOUS 2211K sired by PVF INSIGHT 0129

JUNIOR CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER AND GRAND CHAMPION FEMALE

MERIT CATTLE CO., RADVILLE, SK with MERIT SOCIALITE 1028J sired by U-2 COALITION

JUNIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING HEIFER MERIT CATTLE CO., RADVILLE, SK with MERIT FLORA 1004J sired by KR INCREDIBLE 8149

CHAMPION TWO YEAR OLD FEMALE AND RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION FEMALE

MERIT CATTLE CO., RADVILLE, SK with MERIT FLORA 14H sired by GDAR INSIGHT 7201 with her calf MERIT FLORA 2050K

RESERVE CHAMPION TWO YEAR OLD FEMALE CARVEY DARREN AND SHANNON, ALEXANDER, MB with BAR-H ELBAR 101H sired by BT TITAN 0626 with her calf SWINDON HOPE 101K

MANITOBA Ag Ex

SHOW RESULTS

ANGUS JUDGE - Jeff Lees

BULLS

JUNIOR CHAMPION BULL CALF

PILLER SHOW CATTLE, NEUDORF, SK with PILLER

ALPHA MALE 2216K sired by SILVEIRAS STYLE 9303

JUNIOR RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

MAINSTREAM GENETICS, WATROUS, SK with MAINSTREAM HEAD OF STATE 21K sired by WIWA CREEK

MONARCH 53’08

SENIOR CHAMPION BULL CALF

MAR MAC FARMS, BRANDON, MB with RED MAR MAC DM

LANDAMRK 10K sired by RED MAR MAC LINCOLN 106H

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION BULL CALF

STEPPLER FARMS LTD, MIAMI, MB with STEPPLER HIGH CLASS 81K sired by COLEMAN TRIUMPH 9145

JUNIOR CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

RAMROD CATTLE CO, MEDORA, MB and BJ CATTLE CO, DEL BONITA, AB with RAMROD RIP 110J sired by DMM

MAXIMUS 18G

JUNIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL

SWINDON RANCH, ALEXANDER, MB with SWINDON

BLACK KNIGHT 616J sired by MICH WHEATLAND 8103F

SENIOR CHAMPION AND GRAND CHAMPION BULL

FREYBURN ANGUS FARMS, OXBOW, SK and MERIT

CATTLE CO., RADVILLE, SK with MERIT BOBCAT 76H sired by BAR S RANGE BOSS 4002

SENIOR RESERVE CHAMPION YEARLING BULL AND RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION BULL

HOLLINGER LAND & CATTLE, NEUDORF, SK and MADSEN ANGUS, ARDEN, MB with HLC GRIT 705H sired by HLC GRIT 310F

TIGHT CATTLE SUPPLIES AND INCREASING CARCASS WEIGHTS

November 16, 2022

MARKET UPDATE

Fed cattle prices were steady last week with a $152.73/cwt. average six-state steer price. The northern end of the feeding region sold some as high as $156/cwt. but a volume at $153/ cwt. Very light cash trade volume in Kansas and Texas found an average near $150/cwt.

Live Cattle futures contracts have traded up and down in the past two weeks with the December contract gaining nearly $2/cwt. from the beginning of the month through last week. With volatility in the markets, that increase has since been erased in the past four days with the contract closing yesterday at $151.27/cwt. The February 2023 contract has declined around $3/cwt. since the first of November.

the typical seasonal demand climb. We reported recordhigh tenderloin prices two weeks ago and the trend has only strengthened in the meantime. This Tuesday’s heavy Choice tenderloin price was $15.24/lb., wholesale, versus $13.73/ lb. a year ago. Last week the heavy CAB tenderloin price was $1.20/lb. premium to Choice.

Across the rest of the carcass items, prices are mixed with notably weaker prices on thin meats and round subprimals. Chuck rolls have been difficult for buyers to source in the past few weeks and are consequently 25% pricier at wholesale than a year ago.

TIGHT CATTLE SUPPLIES AND INCREASING CARCASS WEIGHTS

The current cattle markets can provide a history lesson for those new to the scene. With last week’s $152/cwt. fed cattle average, feedyards experienced the highest price since June 2015. To give a quick recap of that era: record-high prices, fueled by a supply chain starved for cattle numbers, came to an abrupt end. The November 2014 record steer price of $171/cwt. eroded rapidly and bottomed out 9 months later in September 2015. Following the 31% drop to $117/cwt., the market stabilized and turned higher. This signaled the end of tight cattle supplies, caused by drought liquidation, and beef cattle producers were able to restock the nation’s cow herd.

In the same timeframe, corn futures worked to the cattle feeder’s advantage with a 40-cent drop from November 1 through Monday morning’s opening. Reports this Tuesday of Russian aggression in Ukraine spilling over into Poland sent corn prices higher as heightened tensions in that region once again generated volatility in grain prices.

Despite the weekly average data showing the CAB cutout $2.18/cwt. higher last week, the Choice boxed value has declined daily since last Tuesday by $0.07/cwt. With Thanksgiving meal preparations at the focus of many retailers, the beef spot market demand tends to decline in the week prior to the holiday. Emphasis on “spot market” is important since beef purchasing for late fourth quarter needs has been well underway.

Ahead of Thanksgiving, ribeyes and tenderloins are not giving up any ground. These two cuts, in each of the quality grades (including the Certified Angus Beef ® brand,) are reflecting

At the market high in November 2014, weekly steer/heifer slaughter head counts were near 445,000 head, just 13% smaller than the average in the most recent four-week period. At the 2014 market high, carcass weights averaged 874 lb. whereas most recent carcass weights in 2022 have been 18 lb. heavier at 892 lb. The resulting estimated carcass tonnage is 15% larger in recent weeks than in November 2014.

It’s interesting to note that while fed cattle prices declined precipitously in 2015, weekly slaughter head counts continued to trend lower in 2015 as well. As a matter of fact, fed slaughter was 4.8% smaller in 2015 than the prior year even as price declined at three times this pace.

The feedlot sector’s response to tight cattle supplies in late 2015 was to send carcass weights to new record highs. During that October steer carcasses averaged 930 lb., 24 lb. heavier than the fall 2014 high and 51 lb. heavier than that period in 2013. It was a conscious effort by packers and feeders to capture more pounds from fewer head.

As noted, today’s weekly slaughter is much more robust than in 2015 and cattle supplies are at least adequate for the short term. Yet fed cattle numbers will certainly tighten as we move into 2023 due to the shrinking cow herd and a 2022 calf crop at least 1% smaller than last year according to USDA’s July report . The latest steer carcass weight average of 928 lb. is just two pounds lighter than the 2015 fall heaviest, a record that, at the time, seemed an excessive departure under extreme circumstances.

As we stare down the road at a scenario similar to what we experienced a decade ago it’s difficult to imagine that we’ll be able to capitalize on more pounds per head in the fed cattle sector. Carcass weights are starting the upcoming supply dip at an already-elevated level. The beef industry has added an average of 5 lb. of carcass weight annually across a very long time span. Another two-year, 50 lb. increase response to tight head counts is a bit unimaginable today. However, odds are great that carcass weights will press upward, within normal seasonal patterns for many months to come.

CAB Awards $70,000 in Scholarships

The Colvin Scholarship Fund recognizes students for the commitment and energy they bring to agriculture, their education and community involvement. Young leaders with bright ideas for making the best beef even better earned five production agriculture, ten undergraduate and five graduate scholarships in 2022.

Tell Us Who You Think Represents Beef Excellence

The best cattle feeders and ranchers live up to a code of excellence every day, one based on a solid foundation of economics, ethics and sustainability. They work for their families and everyone in the supply chain right on to consumers who appreciate the best. If that sounds like someone you know, nominate them for one of our producer awards.

Taste Drives Demand and Profit

Why marbling matters for beef demand, and how it all depends on production management at the ranch.

By Lauren Mosher, Certified Angus Beef intern

Quality starts long before feedyard rations reach the bunk, and it weighs heavily on the bottom line. Brian Bertelsen, vice president of field operations for U.S. Premium Beef LLC (USPB), discussed marbling’s impact on grid marketing at the Certified Angus Beef (CAB) annual Feeding Quality Forum.

“Quality is not a recent trend, but instead a long-term trend,” Bertelsen said. With a Choice-Select spread of $12/cwt. in 2020 and $18.50/cwt. in 2021 (the highest in 10 years), the numbers speak for themselves. Prime percentages keep growing, averaging 10% in recent years, but rewards on the grid are actually larger. Our industry is supplying a higher quality product, with better eating satisfaction and consumer demand drives that higher premium in the wake of increased supply. Historically, most Prime is purchased by restaurants. When supplies increase, it allows for wider retail availability.

Bertelsen elaborated, due to decreasing percentage of Select in the industry from 37% to 14% in just six years, the industry has pushed retailers to purchase less Select, and instead buy higher quality meat. “Select may be cheaper for the grocery store, but consumers notice that taste difference,” he said.

What does that demand all come down to? Marbling.

“You can use EPDs (expected progeny differences) to build genetic potential—but then you have to manage the animal to express that,” Bertelsen said.

Specifically, producers must carefully manage body condition scores, herd health, docility, calving season and colostrum. To tweak it even further, bull calves should be castrated early and once weaned, fed grain-based growing rations.

December 1, 2022

For Immediate Release

While the calories in corn enhance marbling, the key management component is targeting an optimal end weight or body fatness, he said. That’s where partnering with a seasoned cattle feeder becomes critical. Summarizing individual animals marketed on the USPB grid, sorted by Yield Grade, showed that as Yield Grade increases so does carcass weight, marbling and total dollars per head on the grid.

Bertelsen noted that marbling continues to influence the grid and adds to the bottom line.

In the 2021 packer survey conducted by CAB, premiums from cattle qualifying for CAB reached $182 million, or more than $3 million per week paid to producers. The top reason cattle don’t qualify for the brand has always been insufficient marbling.

In search of those premiums, cattlemen may wonder if it’s possible to meet the specification on marbling by feeding cattle longer. Bertelsen said, “it definitely helps”.

“Cattle with the most genetic potential are the ones we ought to feed longer,” Bertelsen said. “If an additional three weeks on feed is the line between achieving a higher quality grade, those extra days will increase total value because we’re adding marbling, carcass weight and total dollars per head.”

Marbling has the biggest effect on the price per pound of a carcass on a grid, but ribeye size and backfat are the best indicators for muscling and leanness. For cow-calf producers, it’s a balance between carcass quality and maternal traits, Bertelsen said.

And that balance comes down to personal preference, genetics and the market.

The growing availability of USDA Prime allows grocery stores to purchase more high-quality product for their shoppers. “Select may be cheaper for the grocery store, but consumers notice that taste difference,” USPB’s Brian Bertelsen said.

“How long we feed them depends on the potential for the animal and market conditions, or premiums on the grid,” Bertelsen said. “If cattle producers are willing to change their mindset, there can be significant increases in total income through feeding to the proper endpoint and marketing on a value-based grid.”

Taking the time to fine-tune marbling potential affects the cattleman’s bottom line and consumer demand, he concluded.

Find more Feeding Quality Forum coverage at FeedingQualityForum.com.

Summarizing individual animals marketed on the USPB grid, sorted by Yield Grade, showed that as Yield Grade increases so does carcass weight, marbling and total dollars per head on the grid.

Just in time for calving season, we’re excited to share that the new Canadian Angus calving book app is now available as a free download from the Apple Store for your Apple device (the Android version will be available soon). Search for “Canadian Angus Calving Book” in the Apple app store.

This technology has been developed to bring added value to Canadian Angus members, therefore there is no cost to download the app, however a CAA membership is required to use the app. For more information about the app, visit www.cdnangus.ca/calving-book

MARCH 2023

Bryan Kostiuk Editor

306.933.4200

C: 306.292.7763

Chris Poley Marketing

C: 306.220.5006

Shane Michelson Marketing

C: 403.363.9973

Ben Wright Marketing

C: 519.374.3335

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February

7 BLAIRS.AG CATTLE CO PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

BULL SALE

SEDLEY, SK

9 BENCH ANGUS LONG YEARLING BULL & PUREBRED

BRED HEIFER PRODUCTION SALE

SHAUNAVON, SK

15 STEPPLER FARMS ANNUAL BULL SALE

MIAMI, MB

18

MOOSE CREEK RED ANGUS ANNUAL 2-YEAR OLD

BULL SALE

KISBEY, SK

18

FEBRUARY FREEZE ALL BREEDS FROZEN GENETICS

ONLINE SALE

23 CHAPMAN CATTLE COMPANY BULL SALE

STETTLER, AB

25 38TH ANNUAL LEWIS FARMS BULL SALE

SPRUCE GROVE, AB

25 KAY-R LAND & CATTLE BULL SALE

WASKATENAU, AB

26 M&J / GLASMAN FARMS SIMMENTAL & ANGUS TWO

YEAR OLD BULL & FEMALE SALE

RUSSELL, MB

28

DOUBLE BAR D “BEST OF BOTH WORLDS”

SIMMENTAL BULL SALE

GRENFELL, SK

March

1 D&N LIVESTOCK ANGUS BULL SALE - PEEBLES, SK

2 JP CATTLE CO. ANNUAL SIMMENTAL & ANGUS BULL SALE

MCAULEY, MB

3 SOUTHLAND CHAROLAIS & ANGUS BULL SALE

SWIFT CURRENT, SK

4 WARD’S RED ANGUS 13TH ANNUAL BULL SALE

SASKATOON, SK

4 29TH ANNUAL MRL BULL SALE

CARIEVALE, SK

4 LEEWOOD RANCH 7TH ANNUAL BULLS SALE

MANNVILLE, AB

6 CANADIAN CENTRAL SIMMENTAL & ANGUS / PRAIRIE

GATEWAY SPECKLE PARK BULL SALE

NEEPAWA, MB

6-7 BLACK CHROME LIVESTOCK ONLINE BULL SALE

DLMS FARMAGTE

8 MAR MAC FARMS AND GUESTS BULL SALE

BRANDON, MB

9 BAR-H LAND & CATTLE ANNUAL ANGUS BULL & FEMALE SALE

LANGENBURG, SK

9 BAR-E-L ANGUS BULL & SELECT FEMALE SALE

STETTLER, AB

10 MERIDIAN AG CHAROLAIS & ANGUS BULL SALE

ACADIA VALLEY, AB

10 26TH ANNUAL ARDA FARMS / FREEWAY ANGUS

BULL SALE

ACME, AB

10 STANDARD HILL CONNECTION BULL SALE

MAIDSTONE, SK

11 LLB ANGUS 37TH ANNUAL BULL & FEMALE SALE

ERSKINE, AB

12 SPRING THAW ONLINE FROZEN ANGUS GENETICS

DLMS FARMGATE

12 EARLY SUNSET RANCH “ONLY THE GOOD ONES

SELL” BULL SALE

EDAM, SK

13 SOUTH SASK SIMMENTAL & ANGUS SALE

MOOSE JAW, SK

13 REMITALL FARMS BULL & SELECT FEMALE SALE

OLDS, AB

13 PALMER CHAROLAIS 12TH ANUAL BULL SALE

BLADWORTH, SK

13 BLAIRSWEST BULL SALE

DLMS.CA

14 REID ANGUS HEAT SEEKER BLACK ANGUS BULL SALE

BROOKS, AB

15 28TH ANNUAL TOOLS OF THE TRADE BULL SALE

DUNDURN, SK

16 STRONGBOW FARMS LTD. ANNUAL BULL SALE

HARTNEY, MB

16 JPM FARMS ANNUAL BULL SALE

GRAVELBOURG, SK

17 DURALTA FARMS ANGUS BULL & FEMALE SALE

VEGREVILLE, AB

20 HIGHWAY 21 GROUP CHROLAIS & SIMM/ANGUS

BULL SALE

HANNA, AB

20

20

BROOKING ANGUS 11TH ANNUAL BULL SALE

RADVILLE, SK

SIMPLE AS BLACK & WHITE BULL SALE

MEDICINE HAT, AB

21 HOLLINGER LAND & CATTLE CO. 11TH ANNUAL

ANGUS BULL & FEMALE SALE

NEUDORF, SK

21

DIAMOND W CHAROLAIS & RED ANGUS

21ST ANNUAL BULL SALE

MINITONAS, MB

22 CMT FARMS BLACK ANGUS ANNUAL BULL SALE

COCHIN, SK

23 WHEATLAND CATTLE CO. 19TH ANNUAL BULL SALE

BIENFAIT, SK

23

RIVERCREST 20TH ANNUAL BULL & SELECT

FEMALE SALE

GALAHAD, AB

25 CLARK FAMILY FARMS INC. BULL & HEIFER SALE

BLENHEIM, ON

25

SHILOH “TRENDSETTER” BULL & FEMALE SALE

CRAIGMYLE, AB

26 19TH ANNUAL BEST OF THE BREEDS BULL SALE

YORKTON, SK

27 31ST ANNUAL EVERBLACK ANGUS BULL SALE

VERMILION, AB

28 ANDERSON CATTLE CO. RED & BLACK ANGUS

BULL SALE

SWAN RIVER, MB

30 HBH ANGUS FARMS CATTLEMAN’S CONNECTION

BULL SALE

BRANDON, MB

April

1 SIX MILE RANCH 45TH ANNUAL BULL SALE

FIR MOUNTAIN, SK

1 25TH ANNUAL CRESCENT CREEK ANGUS BULL & FEMALE SALE

GOODEVE, SK

1 32ND ANNUAL LAURIN RED ANGUS BULL SALE

DIDSBURY, SB

1 BURNETT 39TH ANNUAL BLACK ANGUS BULL SALE

SWIFT CURRENT, SK

1 TRIPLE L SUDDEN IMPACT SALE

VISCOUNT, SK

2 MOMENTUM SPECKLE PARK & ANGUS BULL & FEMALE SALE

ST. DENIS, SK

3 SPIRIT OF THE NORTH BULL SALE

SPIRITWOOD, SK

3 JUSTAMERE ANGUS 28TH ANNUAL BULL SALE

LLOYDMINSTER, SK

3-4 JAYMARANDY LIVESTOCK ONLINE BULL SALE

DLMS FARMGATE

4 19TH ANNUAL BUY THE BEEF BULL SALE

NEEPAWA, MB

5 PEAK DOT RANCH LTD. SPRING BULL SALE

WOOD MOUNTAIN, SK

5 WHITE CAP CHAROLAIS - ROSSO CHAROLAISHOWE RED ANGUS 33RD ANNUAL BULL SALE

MOOSE JAW, SK

6 23RD ANNUAL SOUTHVIEW RANCH BULL SALE

CEYLON, SK

6 RAINBOW HILLS RANCH 18TH ANNUAL BULL & FEMALE SALE

DELBURNE AB

7 RIGHT CROSS RANCH RED & BLACK ANGUS BULL SALE

KISBEY, SK

7 33RD ANNUAL NORTHERN PROGRESS BULL SALE

BATTLEFORD, SK

8 TRIPLE A ANGUS BULL SALE

MOOSE JAW, SK

8 MID-WESTERN ONTARIO ANGUS BULL & FEMALE SALE

LUCKNOW, ON

10 MOOSE CREEK YEARLING BULL SALE

KISBEY, SK

11 20TH ANNUAL YOUNGDALE ANGUS BULL AND FEMALE SALE

ALAMEDA, SK

12 THE PRIME PLUS BULL SALE

NEEPAWA, MB

15 45TH ANNUAL SHORT GRASS BULL & FEMALE SALE

ANEROID, SK

15 LEADING EDGE SPECKLE PARK BULL & FEMALE SALE

HAGUE, SK

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