BEN NEVIS GRAZING CO€¦ · Mob 0427 780154 [email protected]. Title Microsoft Word - Ben...
2
BEN NEVIS GRAZING CO Why Should I Buy a Yearling Bull??? At Ben Nevis we have promoted the use of yearling bulls based on our own observation, and satisfaction with them in our own stud and commercial herd. We felt that they would have added benefits for our clients because they are cheaper to buy because they cost us less to grow and run. The research done on yearling bulls also states that as well as being cheaper to buy, bulls sold as yearlings also generate more income than bulls sold as two year olds. This is because they are less prone to injury and breakdown, and have more calves during their working life (because it is longer). The average Angus bull at auction for the past four years has been around $4500. We aim to sell better bulls than the average for considerably less and to create a group of clients that we can work with in the future, because we know that our profitability is closely linked to theirs. Benefits of Yearling Bulls • Lower purchase price • More agile and less prone to injury • Longer average working life • Greater number of total calves Downside of Yearling Bulls • They are not as pretty when they come out of the cows • They can’t be put in group joining situations with older bulls Am I Not Pretty Enough? From our own experience we know that after you have used a yearling bull he may look downright ugly. That’s because he has been working while still growing so he will have lower levels of body-fat despite his higher fitness over older bulls. If not fed up at this stage then he will recover, but probably won’t make his mature weight potential. The up side of this is that less stress is placed on his skeleton for life so he will always be more agile and less injury prone. In the words of Sandy Yeates- reputable cattle producer and educator “if our beef industry is to make progress, we must purge our minds of the belief that a bull has to be fat and well grown to be any good. The value of a bull should be measured by the performance of his offspring- not on what he looks like.
Transcript of BEN NEVIS GRAZING CO€¦ · Mob 0427 780154 [email protected]. Title Microsoft Word - Ben...
BEN NEVIS GRAZING CO
Why Should I Buy a Yearling Bull???
At Ben Nevis we have promoted the use of yearling bulls based on our own observation, and satisfaction with them in our own stud and commercial herd. We felt that they would have added benefits for our clients because they are cheaper to buy because they cost us less to grow and run. The research done on yearling bulls also states that as well as being cheaper to buy, bulls sold as yearlings also generate more income than bulls sold as two year olds. This is because they are less prone to injury and breakdown, and have more calves during their working life (because it is longer). The average Angus bull at auction for the past four years has been around $4500. We aim to sell better bulls than the average for considerably less and to create a group of clients that we can work with in the future, because we know that our profitability is closely linked to theirs. Benefits of Yearling Bulls
• Lower purchase price • More agile and less prone to injury • Longer average working life • Greater number of total calves
Downside of Yearling Bulls
• They are not as pretty when they come out of the cows
• They can’t be put in group joining situations with older bulls
Am I Not Pretty Enough? From our own experience we know that after you have used a yearling bull he may look downright ugly. That’s because he has been working while still growing so he will have lower levels of body-fat despite his higher fitness over older bulls. If not fed up at this stage then he will recover, but probably won’t make his mature weight potential. The up side of this is that less stress is placed on his skeleton for life so he will always be more agile and less injury prone. In the words of Sandy Yeates- reputable cattle producer and educator “if our beef industry is to make progress, we must purge our minds of the belief that a bull has to be fat and well grown to be any good. The value of a bull should be measured by the performance of his offspring- not on what he looks like.
Having said this, I understand that they need to look decent. If you give him a reasonable paddock, a drench, plus injections of A,D, E and B12, and don’t look at him for a while he will eventually grow out to be a bull we are both proud of. Check list for Yearling Bulls � Check him serving- they can be very awkward at first, but have steep learning
curves! � Join him individually, or with peers he has been running with of similar
age/size � Never put him in a multiple join situation with an older bull � Ideally join him to heifers or younger cows, although size rarely seems to be a
issue, and yearling bulls generally can masterfully reach bigger cows. Even so use common sense. � Try to restrict joining to 6-8 weeks , and then spell him for 3 months on good
tucker with a dose and Vitamins ADE, B12 and Selenium. � If yearling bulls drop below condition score 2, pull him out. His fertility and
in some cases survival may be compromised. � Just because he is a yearling doesn’t mean he will have smaller calves. This is
dependent on management and his genetic make up so refer to your Birth Weight EBVs, as well as nutrition and management to avoid dystocia.
An Example of Crunching the Numbers in 2004 Average Price Av Working
Life No of Calves Price Per Calf
Ben Nevis Yearling In the top 20%
$3500
5 years 230 30 in Yr 1
50 thereafter
$15
Average 2 yo at auction
$4500 3 years 150 $30
Yes the salvage value will probably be greater in the 2yo, but not enough to compensate the extra 80 calves. With the money saved, this can be put towards buying an even higher performance bull in the future, and maximising genetic gain. Note Av working life taken from NSW Agriculture Better Bull Buying ed 1996 Contact Information Erica Halliday Ben Nevis Angus est 1947 “Mingary” WALCHA NSW 2354 Ph 02 6777 3884 Mob 0427 780154 [email protected]
