Add MORE - Make MORE: Genetic commitment and common sense are helping these commercial producers find as much demand for their cows as for the premium-busting calves they produce

摘要

"What we're doing isn't rocket science," says Kim Leeper of Mule Creek Ranch, Wilmore, KS. "Anyone can do the things we do." Perhaps, but few enough do so that theirs is an awesome sight: pastures filled with pea-pod uniformity, better than 95% calvesweaned/cow exposed in 60 days or less, all without pampering; gain and cost of gain in the stocker pasture and feedlot that sets the standard; carcass performance that commands a reliable premium; discussions that revolve around helping the next guy inline succeed with the same cattle; and sincere enthusiasm about being in the cattle business as a business. The same principles apply at eight other commercial ranches parlaying their breeding females into one of the industry's hottest commodities.In three years, their annual Profit-Proven commercial sale at Pratt, KS, has traded 3,234 breeding females for an average of 1,088 dollar. This year's sale averaged 1,331 dollar. Understand that the bred cow-price across the U.S. is expected to average ahistoric high near l,050 dollar/head this year. So, buyers are paying at least 27% more than average for their females. In return, they get documented genetics, documented pasture, feedlot and carcass performance, source verification, added conveniences that include freeze-branded ID numbers, and a ready market for the calves produced by these females. Arguably, as much as anything, buyers are paying the premium because they realize they are getting the very breeding stock their progressive peers would have kept longer in the past.