Braunvieh_World_Summer_2022

President’s Message with Robert Williams

My original thoughts for this letter were to keep the same agenda that’s been my platform for the past several years, which is our need as a breed to become more per formance focused and data driven. I have felt for years that, from a genetic evaluation standpoint, we were at a tremendous disad vantage to the other major beef breeds that are our competition in the marketplace. Now that we are part of IGS, the largest multi-breed beef cattle evaluation in the world, we now have the tools and the oppor tunity to make informed breeding decisions, if we are willing to take advantage of it. While doing some research for this let

BRAUNVIEH ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA 7607 NW Prairie View Rd. Kansas City, MO 64151 (816) 599-7780 info@braunvieh.org www.braunvieh.org BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT • ROBERT WILLIAMS Section, Ala. (256) 599-5432 wwcattle@centurytel.net VICE PRESIDENT • COLBY KING Webber Falls, Okla. (918) 773-2153 Colbyking19@yahoo.com SECRETARY • NESHA SMITH Rose Bud, Ark. (501) 454-3775 Nesh a.s mith@ymail.com TREASURER • BOB GUNNETT Billings, Mo. (417) 343-3635 rgunn ett@ greatsouthernbank.com DIRECTORS BENNY PHILLIPS Chatfield, Texas (903) 641-1594 Bpbluebonnet42@gmail.com DANIEL ROBERTS Franklin, Ky. (270) 598-9848 randdfarmsbraunvieh@msn.com DEANA IMHOFF Boonville, Mo. (660) 888-3349 deana@imhofffamilyfarm.com JASON PFEIFER Russell, Kan. (785) 483-1805 pfeiferjason@yahoo.com

ter, I came across a couple of articles – “Best Practices for Seedstock Produc es” and “Best Practices for Genomic Testing” – from the American Simmental Association, which you can read on page 22. I encourage each of you to study and implement these practices; we will all benefit from it. It is said that it is an art to be a cattle breeder. Now, thanks to such things as genomically en hanced expected progeny differences, it is also a science. I’ve also been reflecting on some the lessons and things that I have learned and experienced in my nearly 50 years of being in the cattle business and thought I would share them with you, in no particular order.  My first trip to the stockyard as a seller is where I learned one of my early lessons: Don’t do business with pen hookers. The pen hooker learned a lesson that day also: Don’t take advantage of a 15-year-old boy when his mom is along.  Don’t make breeding or buying decisions based solely on full-color, glossy ads.  Never fire someone, quit a job, lose a friend or get a divorce over some thing that happened in the working pen or picture pen.  No, you can’t get one more on the trailer.  Some cows you can trust, some you can’t. Same for people. You just have to figure it out before you get hurt.  Just because you haven’t found her calf doesn’t mean something has hap pened to it. She could hide it in your living room and you wouldn’t find it.  Never walk where you can ride.  Maybe she will do better next year. She won’t and she shouldn’t get a chance to.  It will rain, eventually, and it won’t be too late for whatever the good Lord has in store for you.  There is a reason they are selling her. It may not be a bad reason, just know the reason before she is yours.  If it looks like a spot they might get out, they will.  Inbreeding/linebreeding are not bad things.  Good reputations are hard to earn and easy to lose.  To be profitable, you must eliminate as much metal and moving parts as possible.  It’s not always your fault, but most times it is.  The only free things we get are sunshine and rain. Fortunately, these are the only things we need.  They will die for lots of reasons; most we can’t do anything about.  Have mentors; be a mentor.  Pay attention to feet and udders.  Things go much better when we work with nature and not against it.  There is never a good enough reason to keep one with a bad attitude. Same for people.  Stop focusing on killing (pests, weeds, parasites, etc.). It’s much more rewarding to promote life and resiliency. Continued on page 26

JOHN HALL Hedley, Texas (806) 930-2560 jbarbraunvieh98@gmail.com LARRY MCAFEE Shipman, Ill. (618) 593-2370 lpmcafee1953@gmail.com MOLLY MIRASSOU Weatherford, Texas (408) 690-9961 molly@starranchcattle.com TODD HILL

Childress, Texas (806) 681-9333 ranchdh@gmail.com

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Braunvieh World  Summer 2022