Cattle.com

Blog Archive August 2013

Dear Gerald Timmerman and Harvey Dietrich,

I realize you didn’t write that stuff on your site, you paid Susan Stern to do it.

I don’t fault you for having concerns with beta agonists.  Nobody that knows anything about them denies that there can be issues with them in certain situations. While I disagree strongly with the point of view that they should be banned entirely, I can also respect a person that comes to that conclusion and argues for it in a rational manner.

What I absolutely refuse to respect is two supposedly grown men turning loose a hired gun on a mission to slander show ring kids. 

I assume Susan hopes to follow the old “if you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it” theory but let’s be clear about something, kids are not cheating when they feed their calves beta agonists

It is not against the rules.

It is an FDA approved supplement that is also sold in quantities and concentrations labeled specifically for use in show steers.

When you imply and outright claim that feeding them is cheating, you are a lying.

About kids.

Good kids.

Stock show kids.

Our kids.

Kids that don’t deserve to have some woman sit at her desk in Omaha and slander them online and in the news.

To question the ethics of the kids who feed beta agonists and compare them to pro athletes using performance enhancing drugs is a level of ignorance that would be a much better fit for the ranks of HSUS and PETA.  I realize it is not beneath Susan Stern but I would hope it is beneath you.

Susan Stern is actively avoiding opportunities to discuss the language she’s using with people in the industry while people post PRO-VEGAN comments on your Facebook page.  I’ve attempted to contact her regarding this issue via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Youtube, and the phone number on your website.  She avoids all attempts.

At this point I’m straight up questioning your character as men if you keep paying this person to slander kids for using FDA approved legal feed additives.

Do you have a point to make?

Okay, fair enough.

Make it like men that have an ounce of respect for the industry they are trying to influence.

Don’t sic hired dogs on children.


Susan Stern, Stern PR

You may know her as the lady that says you are all cheating by doping your cattle with performance enhancing drugs when you feed your cattle Zilmax or Ractopamine based supplements.  Based on a review left on her Google+ page by the two cattlemen behind Beef Additive Alert, she's the one that wrote that long winded condemnation of you people of questionable ethics.

She's a "PR" person based out of Omaha, NE and I've been trying to get an interview with her all week.  I haven't been sneaky, I'm pretty clear that I disagree with her but that I'll let her say what she wants and post it here unedited.

She's more than happy to speak with reporters that have absolutely no knowledge of beef cattle production or show steer feeding but she's not exactly jumping at the opportunity to speak with me.

She deleted my first comment on her Youtube video which was this...

Susan, I tried contacting you about an interview regarding your repeated use of the word cheating in reference to on label use of FDA approved beta agonists but I haven't heard back from you.

I'm interested in discussing your views of which completely legal FDA approved performance enhancing drugs (hormone implants, supplements, etc.) your organization thinks are okay and which you think should be banned and what your basis is for deciding that.

You have my e-mail address.


Then she deleted this comment on her Youtube video from somebody else...


Pretty poor way of reporting the "news".  Just the type of overhyped miss information that the agriculture industry does not need.  Approved for use in cattle so it is NOT cheating.


So I posted this and took a screen shot because it was quickly becoming apparent what type of "PR firm" she is...



Which of course she deleted and then...



I've tried contacting her via their Facebook page but those get deleted pretty quickly as well.  Nothing rude, I promise, just asking for the upteenth time if she'd be interested in doing an interview with me.

Oddly enough, at the time she had left the "go vegan" and "perhaps the cattle were fed GMOs" type comments up.


If I developed breed association sites...

...I'd have a search box on the upper right hand side of the site template/layout that automatically determined whether the search term was a registration number or not and searched accordingly.


If the search matched a ranch name, it'd take me to that member's contact information.

If it was any other words, I'd do the regular search of our registry for cattle with the words in their name.

If I can do it for a cattle game with 8,000,000 records, you guys ought to be able to crack the right whip to get it done on your sites.


What I love about you people...

…is that I realize most of you reading this will watch this commercial and have the exact same opinion that ruins the entire thing.  I'm also fairly confident that your opinion on the subject will be much stronger than it should be.



1 – Who raises dairy cattle in the forest?

2 – How did Longhorn cows produce a Holstein calf?

3 - If he's a dairy guy, why is he dressed like a cowboy?  If he's a longhorn guy, where are his yuppie clothes?


Here’s a business for one of you go getters…

You've been there, some kid or parent takes a picture of their new calf and want you to tell them what you think.  You think he's so tight gutted and posted legged that you want to ask which show it won in the 80s.

You also have a bit of tact and realize that if somebody really cared what you thought, they would have asked you before they bought it.  Asking you now is All they're doing is fishing for compliments like a teenage girl on Facebook.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a service where they could get the opinion of people like yourself BEFORE they buy the calf?  No strings attached, just a straight and honest opinion that would help prevent new buyers from making a mistake?

Well, here you go, a custom wrapped business idea....

This one will be providing a service that actually helps people that really need help and has a well defined source of revenue.

Put down those plans for a carbon copy of an existing service and do this instead…

Your Customer

Primarily new but also experienced parents looking at potential projects for their kids.

Service

You provide qualified and unbiased opinions of calves, pigs, wethers, and goats via an app that the customer pays for.

Example...

Let’s say I pay for the service.  I’m at a sale and I see a calf that catches my eye.  I snap a picture of him with my phone and submit it along with any comments I want to the service via an app.  I could also submit a link to an online sale lot.

A notification is sent out to the evaluators that work with the service.  The evaluators that choose to respond are not given info on who is asking or anything beyond what I tell them.  They submit their opinion of the calf and any concerns back to me and I get it within seconds.

I do not know who submitted what feedback on the calf unless the evaluator chooses to include his name.

Within 10 minutes of seeing a calf, I ought to be able to get 3-4 second opinions to confirm what I was thinking or influence me to second guess myself.

Where the Money Goes

A straight revenue share where the service keeps 50% of the revenue.  The other 50% is paid out monthly/quarterly to the evaluators based proportionally upon how much feedback they are able to provide to the customers.

The Evaluators

Get former members of collegiate judging teams, jackpot judges, traders, etc. to work with you.  It’d be something that’s completely part time and they work when they want.  They can turn the notifications that somebody is asking for input on or off depending on their availability.

The evaluators select which types of animals they'd like to provide feedback on and their feedback can be rated by the customers.

Get a diverse enough group of evaluators on staff and you ought to be able to eliminate the quid pro quo that comes along with trying to get feedback on a calf from somebody that ‘plays the game’.  

Even forgetting the ominous side of things, somebody like me (who is too stupid to realize he should be isn't afraid of ruffling feathers) isn't going to tell you that I don't like so-and-so's calf that he's put in a sale.  It just doesn't feel right.  It'd be different if it were anonymous and about a calf I don't the owner of though.

Price Point

Not sure there’s a ton of money in it but if I were getting started, I’d certainly pay $100 per ‘steer season’ for it.  Perhaps a payment structure where you pay $XX for X reviews.

I'd do it myself but I would never be able to get the evaluators it would need.

You do it.


So it begins, the great supplement battle of our time

I had my head in coding land last week and didn’t even notice these guys until I got a Google alert right after Jesse Pinkman doused...okay, sorry…I won’t be ‘that guy’.

Before I say anything else, I want to make something clear.  I’m 100% in favor of allowing beta agonists to be fed to show steers.  

I think the big picture impact of Zipaterol on the show ring is the importance of spending tons of money on a prospect is decreased by as much as the importance on proper evaluation of structure and knowledge of feeding is increased.  Especially in slick shows.

The calves that beta agonists wreck are calves that weren’t as structurally sound as the calves that end up winning because of them.

There’s nothing in it for me to be in favor of the stuff, I just like the larger scale impact of it.  I’m not in bed with any of the supplement manufacturers and to imply so would make a little butt chewing I got feel quite ironic in retrospect.

Folks, long story short, if you want to be able to feed beta agonists to your show steers, you better get off your toushies and do something.  For all I know, the supplement guys could have thrown their hands up in the air and given up already.  If not, the guys on the other side are going to do everything they can to make sure they do.

Those guys are hiring PR firms to fight you.

Who are “those guys”?

“Arizona Cattle Rancher Harvey Dietrich and Nebraska-based Cattleman Gerald Timmerman”

I don’t know much about them other than the fact that they're prominent beef cattle guys and I disagree wholeheartedly with them on this issue.  I also think that they’re resorting to the same kind of hyperbole and semantic tomfoolery that organizations like HSUS and PETA resort to.

Gerald Timmerman registered both beefadditivealert.com and the .org back in March of this year.

He’s smart and he knows how to get the attention of the press.  He managed to get his input into the Wall Street Journal article on beta agonists from last Monday.  He’s gotten exposure from his local Fox 42 News in Nebraska which has this gem of a quote…


"We're sending children the wrong message," said spokeswoman, Susan Stern.  "It's creating an unlevel playing field in the show ring."


To claim that they create an unlevel playing field in the ring indicates to me that Susan Stern either has absolutely no clue how the show ring actually works or she’s more than happy to play it fast and loose with her words.

But that’s just one symptom of how they’re going to play.

Like I predicted two weeks ago, they have absolutely no qualms about playing with words.  They LOVE using the words “doping”, “cheating”, and “performance enhancing”.  Their site is “powered by” a “PR firm” and the use of that language is in no way accidental.

On just the front page of their site…

They use the word “doping” ten times. 

They use the word “cheating” four times.

They use the phrase “performance-enhancing” three times.

They mention “ethics” three times.

Let’s be clear, they are coming directly at you.

They’re not wishy washy about what they are fighting for.  This isn’t a generic ‘clean up the show ring’ movement.  They want to take beta agonists away from you as a feeding tool for your show animals and they want the government to do it.

They’re going to use the same linguistic weapons against you that the animal rights activists do.

They’ve already got the publicity ball rolling.

They’re intelligent.

They’re organized.

Are you?


Top Web Sale Lots Week of 8/19/2013

Top individual sale lots of the past week...

  1. $3,900 - Pregnancy sired by Red Haycow Cutting Edge
  2. $3,800 - Pregnancy sired by Red Wrights Iron Hide
  3. $3,300 - Pregnancy sired by Red Haycow Cutting Edge
  4. $3,200 - Pregnancy sired by Red Haycow Cutting Edge
  5. $900 - Embryo sired by Red Wrights Iron Hide
  6. $875 - Embryo sired by Red Haycow Cutting Edge
  7. $750 - Embryo sired by Power Eye
  8. $700 - Embryo sired by Red Haycow Cutting Edge
  9. $625 - Embryo sired by Red Wheel Alliance
  10. $600 - Embryo sired by Red Ringstead Kargo 215U


Sire Diversity in Steers Midwest vs South

How much diversity in sires is there when comparing the steers sold in the Midwest vs the steers sold in the South?

Midwest

Top 2% of bulls sire 48% of the steers sold.

Top 10% of bulls sire 68% of the steers sold.

Top ten bulls sire 52% of steers sold.

South

Top 2% of bulls sire 35% of the steers sold.

Top 10% of bulls sire 57% of the steers sold.

Top ten bull sire 39% of the steers sold.


If I were a betting man...

…which I’m not (at least not since my house was robbed when I had to cancel a poker night at the last minute due to my grandmother’s stroke) this is what my completely uninformed and entirely speculative prediction would be…

Merck’s study is going to “discover” that if Zilmax is fed improperly, too long, or in too high a dosage it can cause structural issues that lead to lameness in cattle.  They’ll claim that it has no noticeable effect if it’s fed properly.

They’ll start selling it again with the stipulation that it must be fed by a trained professional.

I’d be surprised if the show calf market for that stuff makes up anywhere near 1% of their production.  Because of that, and because it would score public relations points to act like they’re looking out for kids, they’ll limit its sale to feedlot fed cattle.


If you don't like Frye Cattle's Facebook Page

...you're missing out on almost daily vintage pictures like the one below.  Their posts have have become one of the things I look forward to online now.



Top Web Sale Lots Week of 8/12/2013

Top individual sale lots of the past week...

  1. $325 - sired by Monopoly
  2. $221 - sired by Heat Wave
  3. $55 - sired by I 80
  4. $52 - sired by I 80
  5. $45 - sired by Monopoly 4
  6. $45 - sired by Who Made Who
  7. $40 - sired by Texas Tornado
  8. $40 - sired by Texas Tornado
  9. $40 - sired by Man Among Boys
  10. $40 - sired by Man Among Boys


WSJ - Merck Suspends Sale of Zilmax



Merck & Co. (MRK)'s animal health division said Friday it would temporarily suspend sales of its widely used feed additive Zilmax in the U.S. and Canada.

Zilmax is a growth-promoting drug that is fed to cattle in the final weeks before slaughter, and can add about 2%, or 24 to 33 pounds, to an animal's weight.

The announcement follows Tyson Foods Inc.'s (TSN) decision last week to suspend purchases of cattle fed Zilmax. Tyson said in a letter to suppliers it would stop buying such cattle effective Sept. 6, because it is concerned Zilmax may have been a factor in some cattle showing up at its slaughter plants unable to walk or to move.

"We remain confident in the safety of the product, based on our own extensive research and that of regulators and academic institutions, and are committed to the well-being of the animals that receive it," KJ Varma, senior vice president of research and development of Merck's animal health unit, said in a statement Friday.

This isn’t a show calf supplement company recalling it over a labeling issue or running out of supply. This is the company that those guys buy it from and much more importantly, the company that feedlots buy it from suspending the sale of it.


While we’re on the subject…

I have absolutely no doubt this has been considered before but what would the NCAA ramifications of local high school big time recruit raising rabbits and then selling them at the county show to big time university donor?


American Angus Association Developmental Duplication Policy

The AAA put out their policy on the newest recessive genetic disorder...


http://www.angus.org/Pub/DD/DDLetter08142013.html


There are alternatives to mandatory testing and, over the past five years, our members have shown a willingness to embrace them. These include a better understanding and acceptance of the ability to manage around a known genetic condition by avoidance of breeding carrier to carrier and by the use of voluntary, strategic DNA testing. Equally important, our commercial breeders also understand and embrace these management principals.


Read the entire letter.

It pretty clearly describes the association's shift in policy on genetic disorders and gives clear and valid reasons for that shift.  They assumed the original wave of problems in 2008 was a once in a lifetime deal and have come to realize it's going to be an ongoing thing for every breed (they make sure the italicize "all breeds" twice for dramatic effect) and as such, the policies regarding them should reflect that.

Now the TH/PHA zealots on the club calf side that claim its inhumane or somehow unethical to breed carriers are not only extreme within their own field, they're extremists when compared to commercial cattlemen as well.


Interesting Sam Kane Story on SLS

For those up north that aren't familiar with the area, Sam Kane Beef is the packer for pretty much all of southern Texas.  They impact you guys up there because, believe it or not, they play a role (the size of that role depends on who you talk to) in keeping the majors down here slick.


Sam Kane himself was a man with an extremely interesting story, just a brief part of it told in this story about his death...


Kane overcame the Nazi occupation of Europe, was a World War II resistance fighter and survived the loss of much of his family to the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. He came to America in 1948 to start over, with his wife, Aranka, who preceded him in death.

Kane embodied the American dream, building a tiny meat counter into Sam Kane Beef Processors, Inc., the seventh largest meatpacker in the world. He shook hands with presidents and counted some of the world’s most powerful as his friends.


Full Story Here

Earlier this year, his family sold the company to a group of cattlemen...


For more than 60 years, South Texas cattlemen and feed yard owners have relied on Sam Kane Beef Processors to buy their product and the packing plant has relied on the ranchers and feedlots of this area to provide the beef. It is a relationship that has stood the test of time and has been mutually beneficial for the regional economy and has profited and promoted the large and viable South Texas beef industry. Today it is the only beef processing plant in the southern part of the state and in April 2013, the Kane family, who founded and operated the plant since 1949, sold it to a group of cattlemen headed by Lou Waters.

In June, Southern Livestock Standard sat down one-on-one with Waters, the company’s new CEO, and discussed the purchase and the future of the company under the new ownership.


You can read the full story at the Southern Livestock Standard.

So what's the story behind the story?

If those guys --who have a bit of clout with the Texas majors-- decide to follow the lead of Tyson and stop accepting cattle fed Zilmax......

2

I'm calling it now.

Perhaps I'm going too far out on a limb over this but I don't think so.

This will become the standard way in which Zilmax is referred to by the public…


They're not going to stop.

They’re going to spin the conversation to call the use of Zilmax doping and draw parallels with performance enhancing drugs.

You won't be able to stop them because, despite how blatantly slanted those descriptions are, they hold just enough truth to allow the lie to stick.

Zilpaterol hydrochloride (ooooh, hydrochloride, that sounds scary) is going to become the poster child for people that want to know what is in the beef they are eating.

The packers won’t stand up for the feeders on the subject because let’s be honest, zilpaterol hydrochloride isn’t about the quality of the product, it’s about the quantity of the right cuts.

Then it’s going to get worse.

The fact that Tyson claims it’s no longer going to accept it's use because it crippled cattle will turn it into an animal welfare issue.

You're going to be left arguing for a feed additive that doesn't do anything for the quality of meat, is banned in many overseas markets, and causes structural issues.  It's not exactly a winning hand.

In five years, you won’t be able to use zilpaterol hydrochloride.

To be clear, I think that's the way we're headed but I also think it would be a terrible change for the show ring.

For those that aren't familiar with them Zilmax, Ractopamine, and implants all combine to emphasize structural soundness in prospects because they have to be sound as a cat to handle what those things do to the body.  It allows steer feeders to take a moderately muscled but really sound calf and turn him into a work of art.

Without them, the emphasis on power and a more terminal type of calf will have to increase when buying calves to keep up with the Horns Joneses.

Tyson could have said they were going to start labeling Zilmax fed cattle and keep that meat separate from cattle that haven’t.  That would have gone a long way to getting them access to foreign markets.

They could have banned it completely and said they were doing so to satisfy foreign markets.

They didn’t do that.

They said they’re stopping its use because it cripples cattle.

That's an important little fact from last Thursday that will be brought up again in the future.


Top Web Sale Lots Week of 8/5/2013

Top individual sale lots of the past week...

  1. $7,250 - Cow sired by Heat Wave
  2. $5,252 - Bred Heifer sired by Jakes Proud Jazz
  3. $5,250 - Bred Cow sired by Jakes Proud Jazz
  4. $5,000 - Bred Heifer sired by Solid Gold
  5. $4,250 - Bred Cow sired by Jakes Proud Jazz
  6. $4,250 - Pregnancy sired by Solid Gold
  7. $4,250 - Pregnancy sired by Solid Gold
  8. $4,000 - Bred Heifer sired by Heat Wave
  9. $3,750 - Bred Cow sired by Heat Seeker
  10. $3,750 - Bred Heifer sired by Snowball


Spoiled Brats and Autographs

Stop it.

Stop trying to get me to bite.

I’ve never defended his off the field shenanigans.  

I’m not one of those Aggies that try to claim that anybody would act like that if they were in his position.  Once “too frat to care” came across his twitter feed, I was out on him as anything but somebody that's fun to watch on Saturdays.

I love watching him on the field but he’s as solid an example of the terrible risk rich people have of making horrendous parents as it gets.  Everyone knows a few guys who had more money in their bloodlines than sense between their ears and didn’t get spanked enough as kids.  This one happens to have won a Heisman.  I look at his “oil money” (not meant to be derogative in this context) enabling family and worry for the future of shale boom areas.  

I honestly don't care who the QB is for A&M.  The only reason I’m really rooting for the stories to be false is so Darren Rovell can take the hit for being the first to break it.

Am I worried about A&M?  Do I think the entire program was built around Manziel?

Sumlin has started seasons with three different quarterbacks in the past six years.

Six years ago it was with a 3 star freshman QB while OC at Oklahoma, he later went on to be picked first overall in the draft.

The second was a two star sophomore QB at Houston and he turned him into the NCAA career passing yardage and touchdown leader.

The third was a three star freshman UT defensive back reject and he turned him into a Heisman winner.

Let’s see what he does with Matt Davis, Kenny Hill, or Kyle Allen before attributing all of this success to Manziel.

And on autographs…

Seriously guys, why?  Why on earth do you want the autograph of another man?

I’ve never understood it and the entire practice has pissed me off ever since we had to stay around for an hour after a Doug freaking Supernaw concert at the Hall of Fame because some friend of my then girlfriend (and now wife) had a strange infatuation with “I Don’t Call Him Daddy” even though her parents were happily married.

Do you know the only people I’ve sat in a line and waited for an autograph from?


Yep.  You read that right.

Jack.

And.

Annie.

Scoreboard.

And I didn’t have to potentially crush the dreams of hundreds of thousands of Aggies to do it.


Percentage of Successful Bids

This chart shows what percentage of bids placed at times in reference to the auction end time are successful...



For example, right around 30% of the bids placed 30-minutes after the initial closing time of the sale turn out to be the winning bid.


Tweet Deck Set?




Check.

Okay, let's actually get some work done today.


When Bids are Placed on Online Sales

These two charts show when bids are placed in red and when the winning bids are placed in blue.


The range goes from 120 minutes prior to the closing time to 120 minutes after the closing time.

The peak for both is right at the initial closing time.

Percentage of bids...


Total bids out of the 2,417 bid data set...


Online Auction Bidding Trends

The next couple days are going to be information I’ve gleaned from a study I did yesterday on the bidding in online sales.  I finally got around to collecting that info and took a quick look at bids, winning bids, and when they’re placed.

This study analyzes a sample set of 2,417 bids placed on 320 different online sale lots.

So when are the winning bids placed?

The average winning bid is placed 10 minutes after the initial closing time of the sale.

The median winning bid is placed 23 minutes after the initial close.

Percentage of winning bids by bid time in relaction to the sale closing time…

20% are placed at or before the closing time.

15% are placed within 10 minutes of closing.

23% are placed 10-30 minutes after closing.

21% are placed 30-60 minutes after closing

21% are placed 60 minutes or more after closing.


So the police entered my house the other day.

We did our pre-calving working of cows last Friday morning.  It was one of those mornings that starts off with getting upset that I’m the only one that actually showed up at 6AM and slowly deteriorated into a day of dehydrated guys yelling at each other.  It’s why we don’t let other people work cattle with us.

Anyway, long story short, I got kicked in the shin pretty hard developing a nice hematoma....only to have the spot checked twice later by two more relatively direct hits.  I wasn’t moving too well so when I got home and checked the mail, I didn’t notice my son go inside.  He can get in the door but he’s not tall enough to turn the alarm off.  I heard it going off but I wasn’t able to get there fast enough to stop it before it went nuts.

Typically, they call so I kept my phone with me while I sat Luke in front of the TV and jumped in the shower.  They never called (they still think we have a land line which we haven't for about four years) so I assumed my wife had taken care of it and I also assumed it was her that I heard opening and shutting doors.

It wasn’t.

It was police officers who had stood outside my front door yelling for somebody to come outside but that I didn't hear.

Like a scene out of a movie where police go through a crack house and the abused/ignored kid is aimlessly watching television, they walked right by the living room while Luke was watching Dino (insert one of ten dinosaur show names here) and went for the bathroom where they could hear a shower going.

They knocked on the door to a quite shocked but unable to get too alarmed naked guy.

So why is this story here?

Because I explained to the sheriff why I was slow getting in, that I had gotten kicked by a cow.  He asked what breed we raise and I explained that we’re a crossbred operation that raises calves for feeder calves and show steers.  He said he has a niece that is doing a commercial calf this year and they’re interested in going to show steers next year and asked for my card.

So I gave it to him and told him to get in touch with me next spring around San Antonio time.

While water was literally dripping off my still wet behind onto the floor.


Top Web Sale Lots Week of 7/29/2013

Top individual sale lots of the past week...

  1. $1,700 - embryo sired by Lone Wolf
  2. $1,515 - embryo sired by Lone Wolf
  3. $1,500 - Embryo sired by Solid Gold
  4. $1,500 - embryo sired by Spotted 419
  5. $1,500 - embryo sired by Solid Gold
  6. $1,350 - Embryo sired by Man Among Boys
  7. $1,300 - embryo sired by Bean O
  8. $1,300 - embryo sired by Lone Wolf
  9. $1,200 - embryo sired by Born Free
  10. $1,200 - embryo sired by Solid Gold


Past Posts