Genetics for Rotational Grazing

[kycn]

Hello all, newbie here (to cows and this site). I have been working my way through the very long thread on Rotational Grazing (shout out to Agmantoo). I am only on page 10! Maybe some of this is already in there, but I thought I would just post a new thread. I have 10 cows and heifers and am looking toward breeding. I am trying to figure out which direction to go in for the best breed/genetics for rotational grazing. I have researched Dexter's and Lowline Angus a lot. The Lowline seems to fit exactly in what I am reading for the rotational grazing. I will post pics of the cows as soon as I figure out how to edit them down. I started this past spring with 4 bottle heifers 3 beef/dairy cross and 1 jersey. The three are all black. Then a friend went in with me and we bought 3 cows (look mostly longhorn) who had 3 heifer calves this past year and are supposed to be pregnant (no babies yet). So I have a mixed herd of varying quality. Some I am seeing may not be the best, but I am hoping to improve through good genetics instead of scratching and starting over and losing money. Most people don't seem to hold longhorns in high regard. But aren't they breed for the scrub of texas, so wouldn't they do good on grass here in central KY? Then if I breed better meat into them, I would have good things to sell? At least that was my thought process. It seems like my neighbors (who have cattle) don't think very highly of any of my stock. Although one neighbor thought the beef/dairy cross made good moms. I feel like I am rambling, so I will stop and see what people have to say.
Thanks for any help/advice.

[kycrawler]

here in indiana longhorns are hard to get any money for I had a herd of 20 longhorn /corinette cows that i bred to angus and herford bulls . some of the resulting calves are decent i still have a few of the heifers from them but have since sold the cows .

Right now we raise jersey and jersey cross cows and have between 5-15 head milking at any given time We break some cows to hand milk and sell as family cows and raise calves on the milk from the rest of the herd . I buy all the calves i can from the local amish and buy some started heifers at auctions . We are in beef cattle country and none of the neighbors think our cattle are worth having but it all comes down to what you can sell . My cattle would do poorly here at our local auction . But in 2 years i made enough off the cows and calves to pay for 2 small farms and buy a used tractor in cash .

So don't worry what the neighbors think . Figure out what you enjoy or can make money off of and go for it .

My advice would be to keep the dairy heifers and sell out the longhorns private sale probably through craigslist .

[Gabriel]

Originally Posted by kycrawler

So don't worry what the neighbors think . Figure out what you enjoy or can make money off of and go for it.

^Good advice. Of course, the same thing could be said of the advice you'll receive here... lol! Sift through it all carefully.

Originally Posted by kycrawler

My advice would be to keep the dairy heifers and sell out the longhorns private sale probably through craigslist .

I can't tell you what I'd do until I know how you intend to market the offspring. There's lots of options and lots of types of cattle, people can make money doing the dangdest things. But some are better than others, so give us a basic plan for how you intend to do things. Full or part time, how intensively managed, marketing plan...

[kycn]

Well to start, I would like to head toward the managed intensive grazing where you are moving every day, that is a ways off right now. I am making an attempt at moving them now though with big areas. I would also like to eventually make the farm my full time income. Not just cattle, we are developing a small, diversified farming business, we sell eggs and had a market garden this past year. Everything is in the early stages. That said who knows how long it will take to develop the business. I would like to have cow/calf and direct market the beef from the cows. So I guess in that sense breed doesn't matter. We have 10 animals now, so that is 10 calves, how long until I can sell all that beef? Until then I will take to the stock yard, then breed matters more. In my original post I mentioned lowline and dexter. In the research I have done it seem that Dexter gets high praise on the quality/taste of the beef. So if I am going the direct market and stockyard I thought one of those might be the best option because of grazing/quality/stockyards(everyone likes black). I was talking to a man at the feed store today and I asked if he had heard of Lowline, and he said "oh, the miniature angus" Are they really that small? He thought they would not sell well at the stockyard. I am not set on those two, it just seems like the best combo.

There is a lady in IN that has Lowlines and I can get a percentage bull for $1200. But my business partner thinks we should get a registered bull. A registerd Lowline is way too much money. The partner thinks that if/when we want to sell the bull we would get better value for it. I found a registered Dexter for $800.

I guess those are all my thoughts at this point.

[kycn]

I am trying to upload pictures. Can you only upload to another site and then have the link here? The "insert image" button says type in URL?

[sammyd]

Yes this site does not host the picture. You need to have the picture on something like photobucket. I keep mine in a folder on my own web site.
Then whenyou want to post an image you can either link to it by using the url tags or show it by using the img tags

[Gabriel]

Well to start, I would like to head toward the managed intensive grazing where you are moving every day, that is a ways off right now.

Good, your management will have more impact on the financial bottom line than the genetics.

I would like to have cow/calf and direct market the beef from the cows. So I guess in that sense breed doesn't matter.

Yes, it does. A consistently good product is paramount when selling direct. Now, that doesn't mean that you can't find a niche in which your animals will do well, but not all animals fill all niches. So find out what your market wants, then cater to that. Lean ground beef? Longhorns will work fine. Marbled steaks? I'd pass on the Longhorns and try Lowlines.

In my original post I mentioned lowline and dexter. In the research I have done it seem that Dexter gets high praise on the quality/taste of the beef. So if I am going the direct market and stockyard I thought one of those might be the best option because of grazing/quality/stockyards(everyone likes black).

I'd recommend the Lowlines for anyone just starting out. You should always have an exit plan for your business, and unless you know you can sell Dexters, you'll take a bigger hit at the sale barn with them than with the Lowlines.

I was talking to a man at the feed store today and I asked if he had heard of Lowline, and he said "oh, the miniature angus" Are they really that small? He thought they would not sell well at the stockyard.

Well, small is a relative thing. If you get the Lowline X bull and use him with your existing cows, you'll end up with calves that aren't that much smaller than normal ones. Smaller calves generally go for more $ per Lb. Also, if you're successful in direct marketing, most people appreciate the smaller animals. It can be difficult to fit half a beef in a freezer if the animal was huge!

There is a lady in IN that has Lowlines and I can get a percentage bull for $1200. But my business partner thinks we should get a registered bull. A registerd Lowline is way too much money. The partner thinks that if/when we want to sell the bull we would get better value for it.

Take your time, don't spend big $ on a bull 'til you're sure of what you're doing. Any bull that gives you live calves on the ground will get you the management experience that you desperately need. Like I said, first worry about the pasture management. If you're in a hurry to improve the genetics, have you considered AI? If/when you do buy a bull, it's best to get one that was raised like you intend to raise your cattle.

Subscribe to the Stockman Grass Farmer. They have plenty of ad's for bulls that were developed on forage alone, as well as plenty of good articles of course.

[Allen W]

Originally Posted by kycn

I am trying to upload pictures. Can you only upload to another site and then have the link here? The "insert image" button says type in URL?

You can now upload attachments but there is a thirty day thirty post rule. Post Attachements

[kycn]

If you're in a hurry to improve the genetics, have you considered AI?

Yes, I have been researching AI. Questions...What is the best way to ensure pregnancy? I talked to an AI service that explained he would give them a shot to bring them into heat, do the AI, wait, do it again (typically get %50 conception) and so on for 3x. I didn't think at the time to ask how he finds out who is pregnant. I have talked with 2 different farmers who AI their own cattle and I think they both AI's 2x and then ran a clean-up bull.
So what should I do? The other farmers still have a bull.

As a side note, we have not built any facility/headgate/pen. Those doing rotational grazing, what would you recommend? I have been wondering about a "round pen" made of panels that would be movable (because of practicing rotational grazing).

[kycn]

I forgot to add one of the farmers pays a vet to come out and ultrasound in-between. That seems like it could get pricey.