Santa Gertrudis Source January 2025

BUILDING BLOCKS Continued from 14

“A lot of progressive breeders have done a lot of hard work to create bulls for the commercial industry,” Taylor says. “These bulls will perform at a high level under harsh conditions and be fertile. The Santa Gertrudis breed is also self-sufficient and will be able to forage where other breeds may not.” Their longevity is another perk of adding a Santa Gertrudis bull to the commercial operation. “When you spend a lot of money on a sire, you don’t want them to only last one breeding season,” Tay lor says. “The hardiness of these bulls ensures they will be servicing your herd for several breeding seasons in the future.” Hybrid Vigor Adding hybrid vigor is one of the most significant advantages of utiliz ing Santa Gertrudis cattle in a com mercial operation. “Producing cattle in a commer cial operation is all about how many pounds you can produce on a given amount of land,” McClure says. “The most challenging part of raising cat

tle is facing limited resources such as water and land. They need to sustain ably produce as much beef as pos sible, and the Santa Gertrudis breed does that extremely well.” The original genetics of the Santa Gertrudis breed lend themselves to creating crossbreeds that stand out in a crowd. “If you breed Santa Gertrudis to Bos taurus breeds like Angus, you’ll get to reap the benefits of both breeds,” Taylor says. “You’ll have the fertil ity, heat tolerance and mothering instincts of the Santa Gertrudis and the best traits from the other breed. It also allows commercial cattlemen to enter their animals in crossbreeding programs like the STAR 5 program.” The STAR 5 program allows Santa Gertrudis breeders to upgrade their non-Santa Gertrudis herd. It begins with a STAR 5 Recordation Certifi cate, which is recognized throughout the cattle industry as representing a percentage of Santa Gertrudis genet ics. Progeny can advance to purebred

“The Santa Gertrudis mother can raise an extremely large calf in the summer heat of South Texas, where the heat index can reach more than 120 degrees,” McClure says. “The heifers on the King Ranch have one chance to bring a live calf and raise it well or else she’s culled. It’s a natural selection to prioritize the most fertile and maternal females.” This breed will produce enough milk to support her offspring, even in severe conditions. “Santa Gertrudis are such excellent milkers that we have to closely moni tor them when they have a calf on their side,” Hefte says. “We have limited re sources, and Santa Gertrudis cows will put immense energy into milking. We have to ensure she has enough energy to keep her body condition up to breed back the next year.” A Santa Gertrudis female can calve long after other breeds, which in creases the overall draw for commer cial breeders who want dependable, calf-producing mothers. “Some of these cows can reach 18 to 20 years and still produce a calf year after year,” McClure says. “It’s common to see active cows in a herd that are 12 to 15 years old. Typically, the Bos taurus breeds produce four calves in their lifetime, but the Santa Gertrudis females can easily produce more than 10 calves.” Impressive Sires Strong maternal traits are important in a commercial herd, but producers cannot underestimate the importance of a Santa Gertrudis bull. Producers can choose from two types of bulls: terminal bulls and maternal bulls. “The maternal bull sounds like an oxymoron, but they pass on the ma ternal traits,” McClure says. “The offspring from a maternal bull will wean at a higher weight than most breeds, making them fantastic moth ers. The terminal bull passes on traits like growth, weaning weight, mar bling ability, ribeye area and others.” Arlin Taylor is the vice president of breed improvement for SGBI, and he says Santa Gertrudis bulls are top performing.

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The hardiness of these bulls ensures they will be servicing your herd for several breeding seasons in the future.

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SANTA GERTRUDIS SOURCE

JANUARY 2025