Santa Gertrudis Source October 2024

SGBI BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE • Adolfo Sanchez, M.D.

OFFICERS PRESIDENT Adolfo Sanchez PRESIDENT ELECT Suzanne Fulton SECRETARY/TREASURER Suzanne Fulton BREED IMPROVEMENT Arlin Taylor LONG RANGE PLANNING Jamie Daniel MARKETING & PROMOTION Daniel Kubecka WESTERN REGION DIRECTORS Suzanne Fulton • Fulton Farms • Texas (940) 382-3611 • fultonfarms39@gmail.com John Justiss • Four J Cattle • Texas (361) 772-0301 • jjustiss@gvec.net Daniel Kubecka • Wendt Partners • Texas (979) 240-5311 • wendtranches@hotmail.com Devlin Reese • Reese Ranch • Texas (956) 286-4239 • reese.ranch@yahoo.com Yancey Strait • Strait Ranches • Texas (972) 841-0989 • yancey_strait@yahoo.com Bill Stroman • Stroman Cattle Co. • Texas (979) 255-2582 • bill@fdrservices.com Kade Thigpen • Hefte Ranch • Texas (830) 426-1366 • kadethigpen@gmail.com (870) 904-3070 • triple7farms@gmail.com Craig Lopossa • Red View Farms • Indiana (812) 829-8053 • craiglopossa@yahoo.com Todd Osborne • Osborne Livestock Co. • Kentucky (859) 991-2438 • peppydoc1@aol.com Trai Stegall • Stegall Farms • Mississippi (662) 296-5120 • trais3@hotmail.com Arlin Taylor • Tinney Farms • Alabama (256) 507-3838 • arlin.taylor@bhamfast.com AT-LARGE DISTRICT DIRECTORS DISTRICT 1 Adolfo Sanchez • Red Doc Farm • New Mexico (505) 507-2898 • adolfo@reddocfarm.com DISTRICT 2 Patti Ermis • Urbanosky Ranch • Texas (936) 870-6410 • pattiurb77@yahoo.com DISTRICT 3 Kim Wiley • Wiley Ranch • Louisiana (318) 481-6927 • kkwiley2555@yahoo.com DISTRICT 4 Barry Powell • Graves Creek Ranch LLC • Mississippi (601) 270-1561 • bpowell@powelltransportation.com DISTRICT 5 Mickey Bowman • Rockin B Farm • North Carolina (336) 669-5771 • rockinbrowdyrooster@yahoo.com DISTRICT 6 Jewett Borden • Cedar Creek Farm • Kentucky (502) 718-5441 • jewett.borden@yahoo.com MEMBERSHIP Mickey Bowman YOUTH ACTIVITIES Trai Stegall EASTERN REGION DIRECTORS Jamie Daniel • 777 Farms • Arkansas

Beef-on-Dairy Option

L ike most Santa Gertrudis operations, my family is always looking for op portunities to move more of our genetics into the commercial marketplace. One of the areas that has recently caught our attention is beef-on-dairy and its potential in the beef industry. The acceptance of beef-on-dairy calves by both cattle feeders and beef packers has grown over the last five years, and with the beef industry facing the possibility of empty pens and shackle space, this crossbreeding strategy is providing a number of positive options for both beef seedstock operations and dairy farms. When the beef-on-dairy segment first began to develop a few years ago, there was minimal attention given to the genetics of the beef semen being used because it was assumed the result would produce a more valuable calf. That proved to be true; compared to purebred dairy calves, beef-on-dairy calves provided a higher qual ity beef product. Beef-on-dairy calves’ feed efficiency is much greater compared to purebred dairy calves. And surprisingly, beef-on-dairy delivered a fairly large number of higher grading beef carcasses, providing more access to value-based marketing opportunities. Beef-on-dairy calves’ feed efficiency is much greater compared to purebred dairy calves. So that leads to the question, is there an opportunity to market Santa Gertrudis semen to the dairy industry? Maybe. It is certainly a market we should not overlook. The idea of crossbreeding dairy cows with beef semen has become a growing prac tice on dairy farms across America, and dairymen are paying greater attention to beef bull traits and focusing on selecting beef sires that enhance the dairies’ opera tional goals. As expected, Angus and other Bos taurus breeds have been the go-to breeds for dairy producers using beef semen. But do we offer traits in our genetic package that that dairymen find attractive? Could we capture a piece of this grow ing semen market? I don’t know, but it is certainly something our breeders should examine.

From the Front Office Continued from 6

SANTA GERTRUDIS SOURCE We have breeders who can help al most any type of operation fit their needs. Have a conversation with sev eral of them. Look at the cattle they produce. Figure out what works best for you. ment females, that needs to be a prime consideration in selecting breeding stock. If you plan on retaining owner ship through the feedyard, you want to focus on the harvest characteristics of the cattle in your program. Fit Your Needs

suitability to the conditions unique to each ranch. When you build a cow herd, you should have a clear idea of your mar keting plan. We must be flexible but within the constraints of environment, finances, location and time we need to plan for how our cattle will be utilized. If your goal is to produce the most pounds per acre on your ranch, you need to select breeding stock with that in mind. If you are building replace

8

OCTOBER 2024