Cattle.com

Blog Archive February 2016

Show Ring Before and After

While filming the dairy judging contest at San Antonio I thought that the shavings looks especially nice and fluffy and wondered how two weeks and several thousand cattle would change that...


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Changes to Texas Breed Classification Guidelines - Hereford

I'll be posting point by point changes to the Texas Breed Classification Guidelines over the next week.


The actual guidelines are readily available HERE.

What I'll be posting here are detailed lists on a word by word basis detailing the changes from the guidelines in place for 2016 to the guidelines that will be in place from 2017-2021.

Ideal Breed Characteristics
  • Added “Some white on the back of both ears”
  • Changed “Feather neck” to “Traditional feather on crest”
  • Acceptable Breed Characteristics
  • Replaced “Solid red or solid white ear; must have some white on the back of both ears; ear size and shape are questionable” with “Solid red ear(s)”
  • Removed “or on rear end” from “Black hair in tail, ear, or on rear end of animal”
  • Changed “Black spotting/smut or freckling on the nose” to “Freckling on the nose”
  • Removed “Line back” and moved it to discriminatory

Discriminatory Breed Characteristics
  • Added “Solid white ear(s)”
  • Added “Questionable ear size and shape”
  • Added “ or tail above the switch” to “Straight-line white markings on legs”
  • Added “Line back”
  • Added “Coarse joints, head, or ribs”
Absolute Disqualifications
  • Added “extreme muscle definition” to “Double muscling”
  • Added “Solid black nose”
  • Changed “White off shoulder in the feather” to “Streaking of white from the feather off the shoulder”

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Top Web Sale Lots Week of 2/22/2016

Top individual sale lots of the past week...

  1. $13,500 - Bull sired by Pilgrim
  2. $12,500 - Bull sired by I-80
  3. $6,750 - Bull sired by CRR 719 CATAPULT 109
  4. $6,250 - Bull sired by Duff Hobart
  5. $6,250 - Bull sired by Built Right
  6. $6,001 - Bull sired by CRR ABOUT TIME 743
  7. $5,000 - Bull sired by Perfect Storm
  8. $4,500 - Bull sired by NJW 98S R117 RIBEYE 88X ET
  9. $4,500 - Bull sired by I Believe
  10. $4,250 - Bred Heifer sired by SAV Harvestor 0338


March Heifers

Remember, regardless of what you see out in your fields, they haven't been born yet.


Wait until Tuesday to post those pictures to Facebook.


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Got judging terms?

Think your judging vocabulary is pretty solid?


Here are the positive and negative terms that Shane Bedwell used in the reasons for just the first two classes of Charolais steers at San Antonio today...

Positives

Athletic
Attractive hip
Big backed
Big footed
Big muscled
Bone
Bulk
Burley
Clean
Complete
Deep ribbed
Dimension
Enough muscle
Fits well
Freshness
Front end quaulty
Good bodied
Good cattle
Good kind
Got to his weight
Joint flexibility
Length of body
Long
Look
Looks the part
Mass
Massive up high
Moderate
More bone
More substance
Moves nicely
Muscle expression
Muscle shape
Muscular
Nice ribbed
Nice shape
Power
Powerful through chest
Pulled apart
Quality
Quality from side
Rib shape
Smooth
Soundness
Stout
Stylish
Thick
Ties topline into hindleg
Trueness

Negatives

Came appart on balance
Chunkier through neck
Coarser in joints
Coarser in shoulder
Comes apart
Doesn't blend
Flatter over rib
Jammed up on move
Little stale
More bark
Narrower underneath
Need more muscle
Needs flexiblity
Needs more ideal finish
Not as massive
Not as much forerib
Not quite as fresh over loin
Not quite as fresh over rib
Past twelveoclock
Plainer
Plaines out over loin
Rougher over loin
Rounder
Set out in shoulder
Tailhead comes up a bit
Tigher in flank
Weak in topline


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Last Chi Steer Show in San Antonio

Today is a slightly historic day at the San Antonio market steer show.

It’s the last time a champion Chianina steer will be crowned at that show and in a few weeks it will be the last time that a Chi champion is crowned in Houston.  If you don’t know why, you’re likely somewhere other than Texas, but I’ll write about that tomorrow.  
The Chianina breed was doomed in Texas steer shows the day they started looking at nose colors.

It means the end of two things going forward….

1 - Constantly Misspelled Weight Cards

It’s C-H-I-A-N-I-N-A.  The common abbreviation should be “Chi”.

Based on looking at weight cards at prospect shows evidently one out of three of you think it’s supposed to be spelled “Key”.

2 - Idea that Nose Color Matters

I know you guys in the Midwest think everything about our visual classification system is stupid, but this is bar none the dumbest part of it.

A few years ago somebody arbitrarily decided that Chi steers need to have a certain colored nose.  It hit a lot of people by surprise when they tried to class as a Chi at the majors and ended up being put in the AOB class.

The idea that a calf has to have a certain color of nose because he’s 1/8 Chianina is absolutely preposterous.  When you get the percentages of Chi blood that the actual Chianina association requires, the cattle can look like anything.  A person could have something that looks like a purebred Brahman that would be registered as a Chianina.

I want to go on the record that the first time I heard they were kicking steers out of the Chianina breed because they had orange noses, I said the breed would be gone in Houston and San Antonio within five years.

Of course, I said that the idea of “breeds” altogether would be gone but I’ll just give that another ten years.

Also....

The San Antonio steer show is broadcast onlinet at WaltonWebCasting.

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Top Web Sale Lots Week of 2/15/2016

Top individual sale lots of the past week...

  1. $24,000 - Bull sired by AAR Ten X 7008 SA
  2. $20,000 - Bull sired by Bullseye
  3. $20,000 - Bull sired by Avalanche
  4. $17,500 - Steer sired by Monopoly
  5. $17,000 - Bull sired by Cerveza
  6. $16,000 - Bull sired by Kesslers 100 X 3520
  7. $15,502 - Bull sired by Reimann Firewater
  8. $15,500 - Bull sired by Monopoly
  9. $15,000 - Bull sired by VAR Reserve 1111
  10. $14,000 - Bull sired by EXAR Classen 1422B


Why Kids Chose to Show Cattle

Some can’t understand the concept of showing livestock, and they really can’t understand how kids can lead an animal that is triple their size. It’s scary for some to let their kids show an animal that stands taller than them. For the families and kids that choose to teach a massive one ton animal to follow them with nothing but a halter, it seems like common sense. It’s all about the trust, and the stronger the relationship between livestock and exhibitors, the better. 

You build a relationship with that animal. When I began showing I was tiny, and wasn’t the strongest girl in the barn. I knew that the only way that this relationship would work out with that steer, was to have that steer trust me. Trust is a two way street, as soon as I trusted him, he trusted me. The lead wasn’t forced, and he knew that we were going to be okay. 

It’s an unusual feeling knowing that you are leading something so big with just a halter. It’s even more unusual thinking that the animal has a personality bigger than they are. One of the things I always looked forward to was picking my steer out of the field and then seeing what kind of personality he possessed. The larger the animal, the larger the personality. 

Showing cattle teaches kids the basic fundamentals on how to be successful in life. In order to win that purple banner you have to work for it, and showing cattle is a great way to teach the most stubborn kids how to work harder. The hard work really shows in the ring. 

You can usually tell who the kids are that work countless hours in the barn with their cattle, and the kid that just walked into that show ring that day. They probably had put the halter on it about twice the entire time they owned them. It’s sad to see kids that haven’t worked with their animals, walk out into the ring expecting to win it all. Don’t be that kid, work with your animal. It looks bad on you and your school when you don’t work for what you want. 

I think everyone should show a heifer or steer at least once in their life. For the parents out there who are unsure if cattle would be the right project for their kids, give it a try. As long as your cattle is use to you, they won’t be as bad. Granted there are times when animals are thrown to throw a fit or two. Once that bond between livestock and exhibitor is established, it’s pretty easy. 

Plus how cool is it to lead a one ton animal around. It’s like facing a giant for some. 

4

Oatmeal’s Web

We all know what would have happened to Oatmeal, the blind steer, if it weren’t for steer shows.  He would have gone to the auction barn, some order buyer on the front row would have stopped bull ****ing with his buddy for two seconds to point at his eyes, and the auctioneer would have immediately dropped the price by half.

Instead he got a life with all of the daily baths, pampering, and grooming that any steer worthy of getting their cheek burned at Fort Worth gets.  He got to live his life with dignity.

Even steers with good stories are destined for the slaughter house and it is an insult to agriculture to pretend otherwise.
But since some reporter on assignment to find a human interest story got wind of him he became the latest rallying cry for the anti-ag zealots who think nothing of attacking a young woman to make their point.

To be clear, even when the uproar over the calf was at its highest I didn’t feel sorry for the young lady one bit.  I WOULD have felt sorry for her if she did not  have a solid family behind her to let this situation become a learning experience.  But she does have a family willing to stand up to the idiots and the entire thing will make her a better adult because of it.

Mr. Williams was clear about the story of Oatmeal, how animal ag works, and didn’t allow the situation to make his daughter a victim.  It was a downright honorable reaction to a bad situation and he deserves credit for it.

What’s disappointing is whoever it was that orchestrated the calf’s trip to College Station let those actions go to waste.

Giving in to the activists at all, even the cleverly calculated move to send him to Texas A&M for “research” and judging workouts, is a mistake.  It’s only going to cause the "vegan warriors" raising hell over the situation to stop paying attention long enough to move on to something else they can hate about animal agriculture.

Of course, getting them to stop paying attention long enough to forget about it and move on to something else appears to be the entire point of the decision to "save" him.

Make no mistake, their goal isn’t to save Oatmeal.  Their goal is to stop animal agriculture.

This wasn't an animal welfare fight, there is nothing that even hints that Oatmeal was ever treated inhumanely.

No, this was a debate about whether the entire idea of animal agriculture is acceptable.

If they got their way, Kane Beef wouldn’t just send the calf up Hwy 77, they’d be out of business.

You don’t try to make people happy when they are opposed to your very existence.  They’re not going to be happy with anything you do other than close up shop and it’s a downright foolish game to play.

Instead of following the lead of the Williams family, standing behind the truth, and being honest with the public that these projects are destined for the slaughter house from the time they are born AND THERE IS NOTHING AT ALL WRONG WITH THAT, it’s feeding into the idea that they’re pets that should be saved if they have a good enough story.

Let’s call it the Charlotte’s Web Dilemma from here on out.

"Don't worry Suzy, if you love your show steer enough, old ladies and radical animal rights activists will attack you on social media and pressure the right state representatives into saving his life for a few months."

I guess that's the lesson to be learned from all of this.

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Top Web Sale Lots Week of 2/8/2016

Top individual sale lots of the past week...

  1. $87,500 - Bull sired by Yardley Utah Y361
  2. $53,001 - Steer sired by Man Among Boys
  3. $46,000 - Bred Heifer sired by Remington Lock N Load 54U
  4. $35,000 - Bull sired by WCS Mr. Husker 3076A
  5. $32,500 - Steer sired by Unstoppable
  6. $27,000 - Bull sired by JS Sure Bet 4T
  7. $26,000 - Bull sired by WCS Mr. Husker 3076A
  8. $21,000 - Bull sired by W/C Lock Down 206Z
  9. $20,000 - Bred Heifer sired by Remington Lock N Load 54U
  10. $20,000 - Steer sired by King of Swing

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Fort Worth Breed Specific GeoMaps

These are maps of where the branding steers from each breed came from.










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Fort Worth Grand Champion Steer Prices 1991-2016

Based on news reports from the archives of the Fort Worth Star Telegram...



The growth rate for the prices from 1991 to 2010, when prices basically levelled off, was 10.8%.

I couldn't find a price for the 2004 grand champion.

The 1996 grand champion only got $100k because it was the 100th anniversary of the show.

That big dip below $150,000 was in 2009, the February after the 2008 financial crisis stuff hit the fan.

Based on normal inflation, the 2016 sale price of $210,000 is still five times what it was in 1991.

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GeoMap of Fort Worth Branding Steers

Tradition is pretty darn important to the Fort Worth stock show and as is tradition, the Lubbock area cleaned up in the steer show. 

In fact, that area isn't even given proper credit by this map because there are so many large dots stacked on top of each other that you can't see over half of them.


The cities and towns with 4+ steers branded...

1. LUBBOCK, TX - 10
2. MIAMI, TX - 7
3. DALHART, TX - 6
4. ABERNATHY, TX* -  5
SHALLOWATER, TX* - 5
6. DENVER CITY, TX - 4
HEREFORD, TX - 4
PILOT POINT, TX - 4
SLATON, TX* - 4
TAHOKA, TX* - 4
WEATHERFORD, TX - 4

* - towns that are essentially "ag suburbs" of Lubbock.

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Top Web Sale Lots Week of 2/1/2016

Top individual sale lots of the past week...

  1. $47,000 - Bred Cow sired by Irish Whiskey
  2. $40,000 - Bred Heifer sired by Mr HOC Broker
  3. $34,000 - Bull sired by Matern Made
  4. $30,000 - Bred Heifer sired by GCC Whizard
  5. $29,000 - Bred Cow sired by Bodacious
  6. $22,000 - Bred Heifer sired by GCC Whizard
  7. $22,000 - Bred Heifer sired by GCC Total Recall
  8. $22,000 - Bred Cow sired by SS Ebonys Grandmaster
  9. $20,000 - Cow sired by Alias
  10. $20,000 - Bred Cow sired by TC Total

2

Can I watch Fort Worth online?

I've made a handy tool that will tell you everything you need to know about watching the Fort Worth steer show online.


Just visit...


...for all the details you need to know.

5

Exhibitors Want to Trust You as a Judge

There was an excellent article floating around last week about showing proper respect to the judges.

My only slight disagreement with it would be that the crazies who think the only good judges are the ones that pick them won’t care one bit about it.  They're going to criticize judges for anything they can find because they've gotten so focused on their own efforts that they can't comprehend a judge not appreciating that effort just as much.

The best strategy for shutting those guys up is proving them wrong by providing the one thing that every other exhibitor at a major wants from you as a major show judge.

They want to be able to trust you.

Why do people like Greiner?

He’s as big an outlier, at least for Texas major show judges, as you’ll find nowadays.  The big boys who preach that you should just buy the best calf and never buy one for a specific judge throw that advice out the window as soon as they hear he’s judging a major.  He likes big butts, big tops, and they may not be the soundest set of cattle in the world.

But you know that and you can trust him that he’s not going to suddenly change direction and decide the steer show should be judged like a heifer show. 

People like showing under him because they know that and they can trust him to pick a specific type of animal.  If you don’t like his type of cattle, you still know what you are expected to bring.  You can use that to make strategic decisions on animal selection and feeding throughout the year and go into the show knowing with a fair bit of confidence that your work has been toward the proper end.

Why do people like Mark Hoge?

They trust him that when they go into the ring, they will get a solid look and that he’s going to bust his tail making sure he takes the entire show seriously.

They know the year of work that went into that calf for 15 minutes in a show ring will be respected and if they don’t get picked, it will be because they didn’t have a calf that was good enough.

They don't worry that they won't be seen because he's feeling tired during their class or there are too many cattle in the ring.

When exhibitors can trust you that you will judge every calf in the ring in a consistent manner they’ll drown out the crazies that will never be satisfied.

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Politics in the Showring








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Post January Texas Cup Standings



Rank Team Points Top 20s
1 Fort Bend County 1887 10
2 Washington County 1326 6
3 Needville FFA 1247 8
4 Bellville FFA 1106 5
5 Angleton FFA 1037 5
6 Navasota FFA 1027 5
7 Harris County 920 7
8 Guadalupe County 892 4
9 Caldwell County 867 6
10 East Bernard FFA 752 4
11 Sealy FFA 731 4
12 Rudder FFA 729 4
13 Hamilton FFA 707 5
14 Coryell County 648 3
15 Robertson County 567 5
16 Floresville FFA 504 2
17 Burleson County 483 2
18 Taylor-Katy FFA 472 4
19 Klein FFA 462 2
20 Pearland FFA 461 4
21 Young County 455 4
22 Live Oak County 447 7
23 Johnson City FFA 420 3
24 East Central FFA 413 4
25 Refugio County 403 3

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Past Posts