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any other breed out there,” McBee states. “We’ve tried four or five other breeds, and we discovered after just a couple of years of using Braunvieh that they are certainly the beef breed with the fewest faults of any breed out there.” When McBee started using Braun vieh on a diverse set of cows, he knew he could help any producer improve

their calves. They initially leased bulls to anyone wanting to try them and would buy back the weaned calves. It didn’t take long for his customers to see the value of those Braunvieh-influenced calves, and after two years, they had too many calves to buy. McBee created and of fered the Calf Roundup Program; in stead of buying the calves, he would

recalls, “It gave us a lot of confidence that we were on the right track with this breed.” Benefits for Commercial Producers The original Braunvieh imported into the United States were horned fullbloods. Many producers began breeding for polled cattle, which has made them more functional for com mercial producers. “Everybody started with full bloods,” McBee states. “I’d grown up in Polled Hereford, so I knew how hard it was, at least in the Midwest, to sell a horned bull – really tough. We knew right away that we had to take the horns off these cattle to be able to sell them.” “A commercial guy doesn’t want to deal with horns,” Schlake agrees. “The polled, traditional Braunvieh are more functional for the industry.” Schlake has numerous testimonies from cattle feeders that Braunvieh genetics are a complement to a tradi tional continental breed, increasing yield grade on their cattle while not deterring their quality grade. “I think Braunvieh has a place in the commercial industry as good as

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Marilyn and Bob Brink first saw Braunvieh cattle in the 1970s and began purchasing Braunvieh females in the 1980s. Today, they raise Braunvieh cattle near Piedmont, Kan.

www.braunvieh.org

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