Beefmaster Breed Featured on The American Rancher

hello and welcome to the American Rancher I'm Pam medic we're going to bring you a story on beefmaster cattle today and visit several operations that have thrived for years with them in all phases of beef production beefmaster cattle are known for their excellence and fertility longevity and docility as well as both pre and post weaning game our guests today include Stockman from Texas and Florida as well as our friend major league baseball legend and beef master cattleman Nolan Ryan we'll see some great ranch country and learn about the essential six certified commercial female that is poised to play a major role in rebuilding our nation's cow herd we've got a good show for you we're glad you joined us so stay tuned we'll be right back you welcome back to the American Rancher beefmaster cattle are truly a unique breed developed on essential traits for profitable beef production they also possess these characteristics like weight confirmation and hardiness in a very good balance their adaptability is proven and has spread the popularity of beefmaster cattle across the world beginning in the early 1930s Tom Lassiter the breeds founder developed beef masters from a systematic crossing of Hereford Shorthorn and cattle that were the foundation of the American Brahman his purpose was to develop cattle that were more productive than existing breeds cattle that would produce and make money during economically hard times in the harsh environment of South Texas the breed was developed on what has become known as the six essentials weight conformation milk production fertility hardiness and disposition these essentials became the economic strengths of beef masters and have made them favorites with those who depend on cattle for a living beef masters are the only beef breed specifically developed to excel in these important economic traits Lorenzo Lassiter EBU past president and grandson of breed founder Tom Lassiter is a fourth generation beef master breeder he resides in San Angelo Texas and has seen beefmaster cattle evolve over the years firsthand one of the things that makes the beefmaster breed completely unique is they were developed purely using economic criteria that we know is the six essentials and this philosophy of all a little bit by accident my grandfather came from a commercial background out of the depression but he saw quickly that the way to affect the kind of change that was meaningful in cattle was using economic traits as opposed to any kind of aesthetics which is how most B fries develop most develop around an aesthetic like color or size or type and so V pastures were were developed uniquely only using these six essentials and that resulted in cattle that I think are genetically quite different than a lot of a lot of other breeds that are available because those economically viable traits are imprinted in them and these are all traits or of importance to the commercial cattlemen not not to some other other interests but basically to to producing beef in a low cost environment although red is the most common color the breed has no color standards beef masters were recognized by the US Department of Agriculture as a breed in 1954 in today's cattle industry where the nation's cow herd is being rebuilt beefmaster cattle are just as relevant now as ever their unquestioned longevity fertility and docility team with generations of range proven hardiness make them a solid economic choice my grandfather believed the fertility was kind of the cornerstone of the philosophy obviously cattle that can breed early and breed often are the most profitable kind of cattle and breed over a long lifespan is that is another critical thing that's often overlooked you began pregnancy testing in 1947 and began shortening his breeding season rapidly ending up at a 45 day treating season for many generations of cattle where it remains today and with those the the imprinted fertility and the gene pool of beef masters is very very strong and that obviously has tremendous economic ramifications for anybody that uses the genetics the ability of cattle to breed early and breed for a long period of time is money in the bank a couple of other traits that are of real importance and often overlooked disposition is one also known as docility and again my grandfather did the same thing to move the needle there by culling any animals or outliers over a long period of time that pays dividends up and down the beef chain whether you're a cow calf guy or you're in the feed yard you know docile cattle pay pay big dividends and the final and probably the most obvious one to anybody in the beef business is the gain these masters excel over most competing breeds and taken whatever type of cow you may like and getting more pounds at weaning out of them while still giving you tremendously valuable heifers excellent feeder calves all those things but in a commercial setting the calves that gain fast and wean off heavy that's where the magic happens that's where our customers get paid since the early 1970s when the breed began rapid expansion from its South Texas birthplace beef masters have steadily expanded across the United States and worldwide Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and Texas rancher Nolan Ryan has some 40 years experience in the beef industry beefmaster cattle have always played a significant role in Nolan's commercial cattle endeavors you can talk about their longevity and talk about the milking ability but I think raising a calf every year and breeding back and I just think the maternal side of it is what got my attention and is why I've really stuck with beef masters because I feel like the under the circumstances that we ranch here and with the droughts that were constantly faced with with the different locations of our ranches from humidity to insects to arid areas they're very consistent on raising their calves and breeding back and I think that's that's a real basis of it dr. Tommy Perkins serves as executive vice president of beef master breeders United headquartered in San Antonio Texas Tommy's background includes time in both academia and genetic research his presence gives added value in positioning the beefmaster breed for greater market share and future opportunity in the beef industry we have really the things that the commercial cattle industry needs in terms of longevity docility fertility we know we've got a nation of what I call a black outed cow herd and we need that balance of heterosis and to add that back into the cow herd beefmaster genetics offer that really at a level that no other breed can do beef masters were developing a commercial setting and our founder Tom Laster I mean he did a really good job of sorting out the traits that are economically important that make you profitable account business the uniqueness of Tom Lassiter's ideas on the six essentials of cattle breeding have always focused on the fundamentals of economic sense progressive cattlemen around the world understand that profitability must be the focus of their program fertility and disposition is the cornerstone of what the beefmaster breed was built on from its inception again it goes back to our founder he said a cow has a kit every year or she's not gonna remain in the herd and that's the way it has been done in this breed forever so that cow brings a calf in every year and we've got cows out there 18 20 years of age and still bringing in a calf every year and the cool thing about it is not only bringing a calf in but it kept is excelling in the weaning weight when that calf comes off the cow it's not a poor doing cap even at an 18 year old count one of the things I think the industry's gotten away from that that I think the real asset for beefmaster cows is their longevity and you know I think that a lot of times people don't give that enough thought but we'll have cows that stay in a herd 16 17 years and be very productive and and you know if your cows falling out of 8 or 9 years you're constantly faced with that expense and so I think that's one of the big pluses with our breed the BBU essential commercial female program is a prime example of expanding the market for beefmaster cattle referred to as the certified east 6 program this system focuses attention on the strong maternal traits of beefmaster cattle and helps commercial cattlemen develop stronger markets and greater value for their beef master and beef master cross heifers the word essential is included in the name because the six essentials upon which the breed was founded certification as an e6 female is based on positive inspection by BBU staff whereby the animal is tagged or branded certified East six females are commanding premiums as replacements there's a lot of demand form and they are suited for really anywhere in the United States mainly in the southern half the United States are very adaptable and that way people can cross them with whatever bull then one across them so it's been very good venture for me in my cattle operation with more than 38 years experience in breeding beefmaster cattle current BBU president Steve Evans of Fairfield Texas is a man of practical vision Steve's focus is set on producing what he calls the good one well I'd read a lot about beef masters when I was in college and I just like the things I read about and especially the extra weight and milking ability of the replacement heifers I've had these cattle 38 years and we've had lots of droughts especially the last 15 years and these cattle will survive and they'll breed back under harsh conditions they're proven to stay in the pasture - they're 12 13 14 years old producing marketable calves the beefmaster female is a time proven product she will work out in the pasture and make you money beefmaster cattle are designed for all environments and bring versatility that allows Stockman to customise them into diverse crossbreeding operations they are efficient and economically productive cattle will continue our beef master story with feedlot performance and more when we return you're watching the American ranch or please stay with us you welcome back to the American rancher we've learned that beefmaster cattle were originated on six essential traits that are directly tied to economic viability the beefmaster East six female is quite a package the beefmaster influence feeder steer has been thoroughly documented in the yard and on the rail and has been valued proven as well here's more on our story beefmaster cattle have proven through performance and efficiency testing that they excel in both pre and post weaning game and do it more efficiently with less input and less time in a diverse and wide range of environments trace your ranch manager of collier farms in Brenham Texas knows the importance of selecting performance tested bulls time and again Trey has proven that beef masters excel in efficiency gain and docility for the feeder calf producer the beefmaster bull and beef master genetics should be more valuable to the commercial cattlemen and commercial cattle feeder because they can add gain ability docility and overall efficiency to the cattle that they have in the feed yard beef monster genetics are more docile which leads to easier processing easier handling less stress better health and fewer dark cutters at the Packer additionally the gained ability adds towards efficiency you'll see more average daily gain you'll see better gains in the yard and you'll see lower cost of games also with the conversions at 5 to 1 or less we see profitability go up which is an overall benefit to the beefmaster cattle if commercial cattlemen can't go out there and have efficient cattle that are docile that will put more dollars in their pocket we're going to find it hard to survive in today's environment beef master bowls are valued for the maternal attributes of their female offspring that include early breda high calf survivability and overall longevity in the cow herd beefmaster influence feeder calves are appreciated for efficiency of gain fewer days on feed and Industry acceptable quality and credibility with high dressing percentages tremendous amount of dates and data out there to show that our cattle will excel in what we'll call post weaning gained up to harvest gain those cattle excelling and I'm telling you they will really beat most cattle on a DG but the cool thing about is they're very efficient cattle they take less pounds of feed to get the same pounds of gain per day and they'll finish in the feed yard at a shortened number days on feed which is really really neat but also the best thing about it is those cattle will grade in terms of quality grade adequately and excel in yield grade we talk about cut ability of our cattle our cattle will high cut ability they may not be the highest marbling cattle in the group but they were going to at least meet or exceed industry standards and I promise they're going to exceed your grading credibility of other breeds of cattle breeders understand the advantage of efficiency that beef masters possess due to their easy fleshing ability and heavier weights due to advancements in technology that has been collected proving their efficiency on feed through measuring residual feed intake in the fall of 2012 at the genetic Development Center in Navasota Texas beefmaster bulls marked the lowest or best RFI test score among a field of some 112 bulls representing 10 breeds tests were conducted using grow safe systems technology and were supervised through Texas A&M in tests that we've seen across the country what we're finding out is beefmaster bulls have been placed in comparative groups with other American bred Bulls all the English bred Bulls and what we in decay shion's are is that the beefmaster bulls are excelling when it comes to efficiency they're rising to the top on these tests beefmaster breed in general is very efficient performance testing is essential in our being younger breeder we can go to sales today purchase females or bulls with performance data and using the gross ape system or getting feed efficiency data we're getting average daily gains RFI and at the end of the day I know what I'm buying and it was well worth the money spent beefmaster breeders united provides age and source verification for producers that feed out beefmaster influence calves qualifying these cattle for export markets beefmaster breeders United is an authorized facilitator for tri merit this agent source program offers members as well as commercial BBU producers the ability to take advantage of value-added premiums beefmaster cattle work in all regions of the United States in different climates and environmental conditions from north south east and west John McCarthy is vice president of Two Rivers Ranch and a commercial cattleman from Dade City Florida he is as beefmaster bulls on his commercial Red Angus cows to increase weaning weights on high moisture Florida grasses our program is basically we use a beef master on the Red Angus cross cows and the Red Angus bulls on the beefmaster car Scout so we're always going back and forth the the main thing that we need here is is for them to be able to survive in our environment and to breed back every year have us a calf we're getting a 90 percent on our half on our keeping heifers breeding them to calves start calving in about 23 months 22 and a half 23 months and we probably make more money on our beefmaster calves and we do any anything else we sell just for the simple fact that they outweigh everything else so we're interested in the end the dollar that we put in our pockets of the beef masters are working for us beef masters growth around the world is overwhelming the easy adaptability of these cattle to both arid and tropical climates as well as their ability to fit in low input management environments has bolstered the presence of the breed in all international markets I'm very proud to send our beefmaster cattle around the globe and I believe the better job we do is beef maestra breeders and giving our message out we've got the right cattle and we've come out of our hiding and we're getting our message out outside the borders of the United States so it's opening up many opportunities for breeders around our country not just in Texas but breeders from California breeders from North Carolina from Florida they all have the same opportunities that we have and that's why we're called BBU we're beefmaster breeders United because we're out for one cause and that's to improve the cattle industry around the globe Steve Anderson is heir and president of livestock operations for Martin O'Connor cattle company based in Victoria Texas the ranch has a long family history in the commercial cattle business and appreciates the value of heavier beefmaster cross calves at weaning time Steve also emphasizes the resulting beefmaster cross female keeps him using the breed leaf Master Bulls add weight to my swimming weight to my steers add pounds and they also make it where I can have really good replacement females and then South Texas they're there they're very Hardy they're tough they do well their disposition is a very big thing for me in that we can handle them we can cross them with anything and really get a number one calf we get number one calf prices for our cast beefmaster cattle are a solid foundation to vast numbers of commercial herds across the country beefmaster bulls and females are remarkably versatile they bring adaptability structural correctness and reproductive efficient see I tell ya I've only been here four years and I love the cattle when it comes down to it more efficient cattle produce more pounds of beef on less grain that means more money in your pocket I've been in the business for 40 years and I've had beefmaster cattle for 40 years and I think I understand the cow and know what they're capable of doing and if you were going to rate them as as you would a ballplayer you would rate them as a high utility player because of what what they can do and consider them as a day-in day-out type player fertility longevity growth performance you will also not find a more docile breed of cattle with the adaptability to excel in any environment you put them in beefmaster breeders United is a great group of cattlemen who

Channel: Beefmaster Breeder

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Keywords: Cattle, Beefmasters, Beef, Rancher, RFD-TV, American, Cow

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Length: 21min 1sec (1261 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 09 2013