Barzona_Bulletin_Winter_2023

Raising Quality Barzona Cattle for 46 Years. Bulls & Females Available 2-Year-Old Bulls Available Now F & F Cattle Company On another note, we have some cattle for sale to list! BBAA members have bulls in Tennessee, Alabama, Iowa, Texas, Ore gon and potentially a few others. Members also have females for sale in Missouri and Iowa. Most of these are listed with pic tures or videos on the BBAA Facebook page ( www.facebook. com/BarzonaBreeders ). Make sure to follow us there. If you would rather call, I have most of those pictures and videos avail able to send via message or email as well. BB By Alecia Heinz, Golden Hz Farms, BBAA Secretary From Our Association Secretary F rom what I’ve gathered interacting with breeders all over the United States, this winter has not been a nice one. Hay expenses are up for everyone, and efficiency has played a major role in operations across the board. From moder ate-sized cows to corn expense for feedlots, this is one trait that has become a fixation point for multiple reasons. The Barzona Breeders Association of America (BBAA) is putting out feelers for anyone who would be interested in placing Barzona calves into a BBAA feedlot test. More than 30 different data points will be collected for both association and breeder use. Ownership of the calves can be passed to the feedlot upon delivery if you choose to sell them. Forms and entry details will be posted on the website. These are not contracts yet, they are simple forms to gather info from potential participants. If you have any ques tions, please contact me.

Finally, the last consideration is identifying the operation’s cost centers and opportunities to reduce the costs of produc tion through genetic improvement. For instance, traits such as mature weight, maintenance feed requirements and dry matter intake become important as they represent the cost of feed as sociated with production. If there are tools to reduce the main tenance feed requirements or feedlot intake (while maintaining gains) in retained ownership programs, these will all help im prove overall profitability. One aspect often overlooked in the context of reducing costs is calving ease. Elevated incidences of dystocia often requires additional labor to deal with calving difficulties in an attempt to improve calf survival. One of the challenges associated with trying to select and make simultaneous genetic improvement in multiple traits is that the more traits used to select breeding animals, the slower the rate of genetic improvement in any one of those traits. By considering these four key factors characterizing breeding sys tems, the list of traits upon which selection is based can be re duced to only those that influence profitability. These are often known as the economically relevant traits, or ERTs. Hopefully these recommendations will improve your ability to select the animals most suited to your production environ ment and marketing plan and, in turn, improve profitability. BB Selecting Bulls to Match Your Management, Environment and Marketing System Continued from page 1 Once you get your bull home it is recommended you keep your bull up by the house for a month to keep an eye on before turning out with the herd. This will give him time to acclimate to a different environment and feedstuffs as well as clean out any potential pathogens or other things from the previous herd without exposing yours. BB President’s Message Continued from page 2

Weichman Feedyard, L.P. We have more than 30 years’ experience finishing cattle and more than 10 years’ experience finishing Barzona cattle. We offer a value-based marketing systemwith a history of premiums for Barzona cattle. Give us a call (620) 872-2945 Office (620) 874-5236 Cell

Mike & Pat Fitzgerald 130 Fitzgerald Lane, Mosquero, NM 87733 (575) 673-2346 ffcattleco@plateautel.net

Hampton Cattle Company Breeding Purebred Barzona since 1973 Fertile Range Cattle Steve Hampton P.O. Box 134 • Kirkland, AZ 86332 (928) 442-3438

4030 Highway 83 North Scott City, KS 67671

WWW.BARZONA.COM • WINTER 2023 | 3