Is there such a thing as a cow for all seasons or a cow for all environments? Based on my 35 years of experience, I say, “Yes, there is a cow size and type that works best in all seasons, as well as in nearly all environments.” I realize this goes against popular opinion – but so be it.
Some will say, “Since I live in a better environment, I should be able to have large, heavy-milking cows.” I don’t see what difference that makes. I could run 1800-pound Holstein cows on the desert of eastern Colorado – but I wouldn’t be able to run very many.
No matter how good or how bad your environment is, you can run a higher number of moderate-sized, low-maintenance cows on the exact same forage resources. Compared to the status quo (high-maintenance) cows, the smaller cows will ALWAYS produce MORE TOTAL POUNDS that are worth MORE PER POUND. If you are concerned about PROFIT, this is a no-brainer!
For three decades… our cattle have been bred and selected to do the most for the least– in many different environments. We have cooperative herds from the winter wonderland of Minnesota all the way to the sweltering gulf-coast states of Alabama and Mississippi. We have cooperative herds from hot, humid fescue country in Missouri to the high-plains desert of Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado. We have cooperative herds on high-elevation, mountain ranches in Colorado and Wyoming. We also have cooperative herds from the southern plains of Texas all the way to the northern plains of Nebraska, North Dakota and Montana.
We develop our bulls slowly and naturally on grass in four different states – soon to be five. We have sold bulls into 45 of the 50 states – including Hawaii. We have also sold bulls to customers in Canada, Mexico and Australia. Our bulls have been used AI in six foreign countries on four different continents. Our cattle have proven they will work very well in every environment we have put them in.
We have NEVER found an environment where our low-maintenance cows cannot produce MORE POUNDS and MORE PROFIT per acre than the status quo, high-maintenance cows most cow-calf producers have. As the cost of inputs continues to increase, you will eventually be forced to produce low-maintenance cows – or to get out of the business. Why not get a head start on everyone else? High-maintenance cattle will eventually go the way of the dinosaurs.