44 Farms partners with Walmart??

[CattleMan1920]

Branded - on the subject of your old cow that was injured. Have you thought about IVF on her?

Yes I have. We don't have access in this area to individuals that can do that, or at least not ready access. I know that there are vets that can do the process, but again, availability is an issue. I would love to do IVF on her and the 16-year-old cow I posted photos of earlier. Both have been top performers, but age or injury has caught up with them.

If anyone is near Fleming county and can do this, please send me a pm and let's talk.

 

[Bright Raven]

Branded - on the subject of your old cow that was injured. Have you thought about IVF on her?

Yes I have. We don't have access in this area to individuals that can do that, or at least not ready access. I know that there are vets that can do the process, but again, availability is an issue. I would love to do IVF on her and the 16-year-old cow I posted photos of earlier. Both have been top performers, but age or injury has caught up with them.

If anyone is near Fleming county and can do this, please send me a pm and let's talk.

Have you checked MultiGen at Stanford, Kentucky?

 

[CattleMan1920]

I have seen their website, but have not called them. I thought that was too far away.

 

[NEFarmwife]

I am not a fan of what you've posted but I am going to chalk that up to bad photography. I know what Harvestors look like and I'd take more of them but you wouldn't sell me on those photos.

I was asked to show "real world realistic pics". This is the first day in I don't know when that we had decent weather. If I cleaned them up, put them in straw and had a pro take the photos, they wouldn't even resemble the cattle in the photos.

I'm not referring to cleaned up photos. I got boys in mud at the moment too. I was referring to angle. I don't think they do the cattle justice. Which is why I stated, I know what Harvestor look like.

 

[NEFarmwife]

Branded - on the subject of your old cow that was injured. Have you thought about IVF on her?

Yes I have. We don't have access in this area to individuals that can do that, or at least not ready access. I know that there are vets that can do the process, but again, availability is an issue. I would love to do IVF on her and the 16-year-old cow I posted photos of earlier. Both have been top performers, but age or injury has caught up with them.

If anyone is near Fleming county and can do this, please send me a pm and let's talk.

Have you checked MultiGen at Stanford, Kentucky?

Our embryologist has two IVF rounds every year where someone (not sure whom) comes in and does IVF at his facility. You might check with your embryologist and see if he/she has that outfit out also. I want to say it was Genex?

 

[sstterry]

Nah, I'll die here. I just turned 40. I have some time!

I was 40 once too, seems like just last week. Time tends to accelerate as you get a little older. Not sure why.

Enjoy life. It's fleeting.

You sure know how to brighten ones day! :wave:

He didn't brighten your day nearly as much as he did mine, I am a sight bit older than you are! :cry2:

 

[CattleMan1920]

Yes I have. We don't have access in this area to individuals that can do that, or at least not ready access. I know that there are vets that can do the process, but again, availability is an issue. I would love to do IVF on her and the 16-year-old cow I posted photos of earlier. Both have been top performers, but age or injury has caught up with them.

If anyone is near Fleming county and can do this, please send me a pm and let's talk.

Have you checked MultiGen at Stanford, Kentucky?

Our embryologist has two IVF rounds every year where someone (not sure whom) comes in and does IVF at his facility. You might check with your embryologist and see if he/she has that outfit out also. I want to say it was Genex?

What is the oldest cow you have ever done the IVF with?

 

[CattleMan1920]

I am not a fan of what you've posted but I am going to chalk that up to bad photography. I know what Harvestors look like and I'd take more of them but you wouldn't sell me on those photos.

I'm working on my photography, but lighting is crucial, so is some nice grass below them. Here is a photo of one of our young cows, a Eurotia, when things looked better and from a more favorable angle. She recently gave birth to an SAV International daughter and her first calf was to Hoover Dam.



This cow, a Miss Burgess, is about a year older, and she was in the photos from this morning, she has a Baldridge Colonel daughter by her side right now.



I do agree with you on the photos, it definitely takes some skill to take expert shots.

 

[NEFarmwife]

Have you checked MultiGen at Stanford, Kentucky?

Our embryologist has two IVF rounds every year where someone (not sure whom) comes in and does IVF at his facility. You might check with your embryologist and see if he/she has that outfit out also. I want to say it was Genex?

What is the oldest cow you have ever done the IVF with?

We have never pursued it ourselves but did talk at length with our embryologist about it. We learned a lot during that visit. Age was not a question we discussed but I would think if you can flush them, you'd be able to do IVF too and may be much easier on the cow. On our farm, we have a 2007 model that gets flushed once a year (clubby/show stuff) but I am honestly not sure how much longer my FIL intends to flush her. I think she has more than paid her dues.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I believe they can IVF a die-ing cow.

 

[CattleMan1920]

Jeanne and Ron, I spoke with Multigen in Stanford, KY today. What I came away with from the conversation was VERY PROMISING! They are doing some mind-blowing work there and said that they can definitely help out with our old girl. Thank you for the recommendation.

Here is a photo from May 2018 of her. She was born on 11/07/2003. Her feet have never been touched, and she does not have any screw claw issues whatsoever, in addition she is easy to settle (we AI'd her to sexed semen in 2017 and she settled 1st try and had a SAV Raindance daughter). On top of that she is very docile and easy to work. At her age now, she is basically an experiment in longevity and she seems to be holding up really well. We also have her 13-year-old daughter, who is nice, and has excellent feet.



I think we will go the IVF route and see if we can cross her with Hoover Dam because of his accuracy, overall merit, and excellent feet. They said we could basically create a whole slew of Hoover Dam daughters out of her.

Like I said, really amazing what can be done with a cow these days. Thanks again for the IVF idea. I had thought about ET, but like what I hear on the IVF better.

 

[Bright Raven]

Jeanne and Ron, I spoke with Multigen in Stanford, KY today. What I came away with from the conversation was VERY PROMISING! They are doing some mind-blowing work there and said that they can definitely help out with our old girl. Thank you for the recommendation.

Here is a photo from May 2018 of her. She was born on 11/07/2003. Her feet have never been touched, and she does not have any screw claw issues whatsoever, in addition she is easy to settle (we AI'd her to sexed semen in 2017 and she settled 1st try and had a SAV Raindance daughter). On top of that she is very docile and easy to work. At her age now, she is basically an experiment in longevity and she seems to be holding up really well. We also have her 13-year-old daughter, who is nice, and has excellent feet.



I think we will go the IVF route and see if we can cross her with Hoover Dam because of his accuracy, overall merit, and excellent feet. They said we could basically create a whole slew of Hoover Dam daughters out of her.

Like I said, really amazing what can be done with a cow these days. Thanks again for the IVF idea. I had thought about ET, but like what I hear on the IVF better.

I been down there. I like their staff. That is a big cow. She looks fantastic.

 

[CattleMan1920]

Jeanne and Ron, I spoke with Multigen in Stanford, KY today. What I came away with from the conversation was VERY PROMISING! They are doing some mind-blowing work there and said that they can definitely help out with our old girl. Thank you for the recommendation.

Here is a photo from May 2018 of her. She was born on 11/07/2003. Her feet have never been touched, and she does not have any screw claw issues whatsoever, in addition she is easy to settle (we AI'd her to sexed semen in 2017 and she settled 1st try and had a SAV Raindance daughter). On top of that she is very docile and easy to work. At her age now, she is basically an experiment in longevity and she seems to be holding up really well. We also have her 13-year-old daughter, who is nice, and has excellent feet.



I think we will go the IVF route and see if we can cross her with Hoover Dam because of his accuracy, overall merit, and excellent feet. They said we could basically create a whole slew of Hoover Dam daughters out of her.

Like I said, really amazing what can be done with a cow these days. Thanks again for the IVF idea. I had thought about ET, but like what I hear on the IVF better.

I been down there. I like their staff. That is a big cow. She looks fantastic.

Thank you! Not too shabby for her age. She is about 1700 pounds, but her daughters have been on the upper mid-size to large frame side. One of her daughters is an 11/2016 heifer bred now to SAV Elation, due in March 2019. She weighs 1355 as of about two weeks ago. Her other daughter, pictured below is a 9/2006 cow, and she weighs about 1900. In this photo she was heavily preggers with an SAV International son, which she has since given birth to. I could safely say that she touched or went a bit over 2000 pounds in this photo.

 

[True Grit Farms]

Jeanne and Ron, I spoke with Multigen in Stanford, KY today. What I came away with from the conversation was VERY PROMISING! They are doing some mind-blowing work there and said that they can definitely help out with our old girl. Thank you for the recommendation.

Here is a photo from May 2018 of her. She was born on 11/07/2003. Her feet have never been touched, and she does not have any screw claw issues whatsoever, in addition she is easy to settle (we AI'd her to sexed semen in 2017 and she settled 1st try and had a SAV Raindance daughter). On top of that she is very docile and easy to work. At her age now, she is basically an experiment in longevity and she seems to be holding up really well. We also have her 13-year-old daughter, who is nice, and has excellent feet.



I think we will go the IVF route and see if we can cross her with Hoover Dam because of his accuracy, overall merit, and excellent feet. They said we could basically create a whole slew of Hoover Dam daughters out of her.

Like I said, really amazing what can be done with a cow these days. Thanks again for the IVF idea. I had thought about ET, but like what I hear on the IVF better.

I been down there. I like their staff. That is a big cow. She looks fantastic.

Thank you! Not too shabby for her age. She is about 1700 pounds, but her daughters have been on the upper mid-size to large frame side. One of her daughters is an 11/2016 heifer bred now to SAV Elation, due in March 2019. She weighs 1355 as of about two weeks ago. Her other daughter, pictured below is a 9/2006 cow, and she weighs about 1900. In this photo she was heavily preggers with an SAV International son, which she has since given birth to. I could safely say that she touched or went a bit over 2000 pounds in this photo.

I'm not aware of any place around here with cows that look like yours. A person needs to look around and should pick and choose cattle that fit their environment and management. In fishing terms it's called matching the hatch.

 

[CattleMan1920]

I been down there. I like their staff. That is a big cow. She looks fantastic.

Thank you! Not too shabby for her age. She is about 1700 pounds, but her daughters have been on the upper mid-size to large frame side. One of her daughters is an 11/2016 heifer bred now to SAV Elation, due in March 2019. She weighs 1355 as of about two weeks ago. Her other daughter, pictured below is a 9/2006 cow, and she weighs about 1900. In this photo she was heavily preggers with an SAV International son, which she has since given birth to. I could safely say that she touched or went a bit over 2000 pounds in this photo.

I'm not aware of any place around here with cows that look like yours. A person needs to look around and should pick and choose cattle that fit their environment and management. In fishing terms it's called matching the hatch.

The photos above were taken in May 2018, we had grass and clover coming on strong. They get a small grain ration, about 3 pounds each per day. If you saw the terrain, it's no walk in the park for them. We have culled over the years in a way which emphasized keeping the biggest most productive cows and we bred to sires which we thought would work best to produce big, maternal oriented cows. This has gone on for over 50 years, a lot can happen in 50 years. There isn't any secret to it all. It's genetics.

We are in a valley, the soil is rich, we seed ladino and red clover in February and when it's thick the cattle eat well. We feed haylage in the winter. People think that our cows are stuffed full of grain, but that is simply not the case. If we pulled them off grain, they would still perform fine, hold condition and keep trucking, it would however make my job much harder in rounding them up for AI, and other things. Our gals have top notch minerals, are broken up into small groups, and aren't stressed out, that has helped with the size you see.

I don't think you are suggesting to starve down the cattle, in which case they might be somewhat smaller, but most of our cows have $EN and DMI EPD's in the top 20% of the Angus breed. They are not "hay burners", they are efficient, which probably is thanks to the Wye influence during the the 60's and 70's. We AI'd to Conan and Lodge of Wye in the early 70's.

Whether you want to believe me or not, these gals would hold up to severe conditions, with adequate nutrition and minerals.

 

[Ebenezer]

"I don't think you are suggesting to starve down the cattle, in which case they might be somewhat smaller"
Not so much smaller but in a more normal body condition score. The cost to pack fat on a cow is not a cost that most beef producers care to afford and does not suggest fertility or femininity. To have obese cattle is as extreme as having cattle too thin. My opinion from your pictures: your cattle would melt in a most commercial operations.

 

[CattleMan1920]

"I don't think you are suggesting to starve down the cattle, in which case they might be somewhat smaller"
Not so much smaller but in a more normal body condition score. The cost to pack fat on a cow is not a cost that most beef producers care to afford and does not suggest fertility or femininity. To have obese cattle is as extreme as having cattle too thin. My opinion from your pictures: your cattle would melt in a most commercial operations.

Go next door to me, an Amish gentleman has over 60 daughters and granddaughters that we culled and sold to a farmer who had the operation before him (he passed away, and it was bought by the Amish gentleman). He ran a total of around 130-145 head at any given time on around 116 acres. Everyone around here knew him. His herd was never given grain, the hay was marginal, and they were crowded. The cows were on average 1500-1700 pounds. Again, he ran them as lean as he could, not how I would have done it. Even so, the cows were big and threw off big, healthy calves. Before he passed he used a Tenx son and a EXAR Denver son, as well as a Boyd bull on them, and he had some very nice fancy black steers, that brought top dollar. If you were nearby, I could show you those cows and daughters to back up what I'm saying. He owned several generations of them, and they performed, in what was definitely a commercial operation.

 

[ddd75]

140 hd on 116 acres in fleming co with no grain and crap hay.. all weighing 1500 - 1700 lbs??


yea.. thats not going to happen.

 

[Hunter]

Sure wish we could run over a cow per acre and not have to worry.

 

[Bright Raven]

This region of Kentucky (perhaps more broadly in Kentucky) supports some heavy, large framed Angus cattle in comparison to what seems to be the preferred Angus cow represented on this Forum. I often get comments on my Simmental cattle that they are over conditioned and "large", however, the
Angus cattle I see in pastures are often larger and as well conditioned as mine.

There was a User on here that went by HughesFamilyFarms, he posted about an Angus producer in the Paris, Kentucky area who had Angus cows that were on average about 2000 pounds. He offered to take TT and I on a visit to the farm.

Branded, your Angus cattle are large - better than moderate frame and certainly well conditioned. My cattle are Simmental. From your pictures, your Angus are bigger than my Simmentals.

Question: Do you find the market here in Kentucky favors a bigger cow? In my opinion it does. At least bigger than the impression I get from reading this forum. My dad and brother raised beef cattle in Pendleton County for over 50 years. I bought the last four of their cows in 2009. When I sold those 4 cows they averaged 1900 pounds each. My dad and brother thought a beef cow should be as big as you could find. I have significantly downsized my cows compared to theirs. If I were to guess, I would say my cows average about 1450 pounds with a range from about 1200 to 1700.