Herd Quitter Blog

More and more seedstock producers are using GrowSafe equipment to measure and compare feed efficiency in the bulls they sell. On the surface, this seems like a very simple and accurate way to test and compare animals for feed efficiency. There is one very important...

Johan Zietsman, a very astute rancher and consultant from Zimbabwe, said, "Grass-efficient animals will look like eight pounds of sugar in a 5-pound sack." We believe that to be a very accurate analogy. Grass-efficient animals will be moderate in height, with extreme...

Recently, I have had several phone conversations with customers and potential customers about how many cows you should run with a bull during breeding season. As you might expect, there is a difference between what status quo bull producers recommend and what Pharo...

The status quo beef industry was built on cheap land, cheap fuel, cheap equipment and cheap labor. That era is over – and it ain’t coming back! This notion is strongly reinforced and supported by an article written by grazing guru Jim Gerrish in our Winter 2023...

During my presentation in Beaver, Oklahoma, we branched off on a discussion of "wedge-shaped" cows. For many of our subscribers, this is old news. However, most cow-calf producers get a confused look on their face when we mention "wedge-shaped" cows.We returned home...

For as long as I can remember, observant ranchers have noticed calves will have larger birth weights after a long and cold winter. This observation was confirmed by research conducted by the University of Nebraska back in the 1990s. Prolonged low temperatures and...

Question: Why are your bulls able to cover more cows for more years than bulls coming out of other programs? I am also wondering how many cows you recommend putting with a bull. Answer: The fact that our bulls can cover more cows is a result of two things....

The current beef industry was built on cheap feed and cheap fuel. That era is over – and it ain’t coming back! In the last 50 years, fossil fuel-based expenses have risen four times faster than cattle prices. Consequently, a cow-calf producer’s net profit is quickly...

The first step most cow-calf producers need to take to start maximizing their profits and building wealth will not cost them a single dime and it will not require any physical labor. It will require nothing more than a change in thinking. Producers must STOP focusing...

My mom, Shirley (Kimmel) Pharo, was born in a small adobe house on the edge of a small town in extreme Eastern Colorado. The date was October 6, 1929. That was just 23 days before the infamous Black Tuesday when all the stock markets crashed.Black Tuesday was the...