Jersey cow in Central Florida.

[tyusclan]

If there's anyone in the Central Florida area looking for a milk cow, there's a "Jersey family cow" listed in the Florida Market Bulletin in Bartow.

Here's the link for more info if you're interested:

www.florida-agriculture.com/fmb/cattle.htm

[Up North]

I'm thinking those Zebu bull calves would look good on your ranch, LOL

BTW what's the origins of the Santa Gertrudis breed?

[tyusclan]

The Santa Gertrudis breed was developed by the King Ranch in the Santa Gertrudis region of South Texas. The basic genetic makeup is 3/8 Brahman and 5/8 Shorthorn. They had made several breedings trying to come up with cattle that would produce well in the heat and humidity, and have resistance to the insects. A red bull calf showed up that was exactly what they were trying to accomplish. His name was Monkey, and he became the foundation sire for the Santa Gertrudis breed. They used very tight inbreeding for several generations revolving around Monkey to set the type that they wanted.

BTW, those mini-Zebus are sized right for the size of my "ranch".

[Up North]

So one might say the King Ranch was Monkeying around, LOL.
Your Florida site sure has a lot of cattle with African Origins. Little Bro spent 4 years there with the Peace Corps, and saw or milked many of the African Breeds. Imported Holstiens tended to just die from the disease, insect, and parasite load.

[tyusclan]

There is a small breed of cattle known as the Florida Cracker that is highly adapted to our weather and has a high resistance to mosquitoes and other pests. They're a smaller relative of the Texas Longhorn. The introduction of the Brahman was nearly a death knell to the Cracker. Crossing with the Brahman allowed cattlemen to breed to the "improved" European genetics and raise bigger cattle. They were almost gone until a group of interested people started trying to locate them and saved the breed. I'm in the process of trying to get a small herd of them started, but the challenge has been trying to find cattle that will produce a "beefier" calf with little or no inputs. Many of the Crackers are like some of the Longhorns in that they can be a bit "rawboned". They'll survive on nearly nothing, but won't put any meat on. I have seen some "beefy" lines of the Cracker, but those raising them tend to feed a lot of grain. I don't think they'll produce that type of calf without the grain.

The Brahman has fallen out of favor in the last several years because of late maturation and difficulty in finishing. Many still like to have about 3/8 or so in the mama cows, but a calf that shows more than about 1/4 just won't sell well. Too much ear will cost you big in the sale ring.

There usually are several Watusi's advertised, but they're still pretty much a novelty. I don't really see commercial cattlemen of any size wanting to deal with the horns.