Humbling as it can be, following cattle through the feedlot and the packinghouse is the only way to know how genetics are performing beyond the pasture. Maintaining ownership is also the only way for producers to capture the full value of their calves’ genetic potential.
“I’m a big believer in retained ownership,” said Tom Krauss of Bookcliff Herefords, Russell, KS. “I grew up in an environment that emphasized needing to look at feedlot performance and carcass merit.”
Krauss’ dad instilled this emphasis, which was drilled into him by two uncles from Illinois, who bought calves at stockyards in places like Denver, CO, and St. Joseph, MO, took them home and walked their farms’ corn to town at the Chicago Stockyards. Before Krauss and his wife, Andrea, broke out on their own in 1994, eventually joining the family operation in 2003, he managed the Cedar Creek Ranch, a large commercial operation near Manhattan, KS.
So, Krauss addresses the seedstock business with the mindset of an astute commercial cow-calf producer—the cattle work or they don’t, no excuses.
“From a genetic standpoint, if I know my cattle are making money through the feedyard, it ensures that calves sired by our bulls, in theory, should make money in the feedyard for our customers,” Krauss said.
This mindset helps build and maintain their reputation with buyers. It expands revenue potential for those who retain ownership. From a seedstock standpoint, Krauss explains data documenting how his genetics perform also enables him to see how it matches up with genetic predictions, especially when it comes to hard-to-measure traits.
His philosophy is to trust but verify.
“You have actual data, verified by a third party, to see if the cattle perform in our program the way genetic predictions say they should,” Krauss said.
About 150 purebred cows roam the Bookcliff pastures—half of them Hereford and the other half Angus. The Hereford herd is split between horned and polled cattle. Krauss is third-generation Hereford and a second-generation seedstock producer. Andrea represents the fourth-generation in the Angus breed.
Knowledge and dollars
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more passionate believer in Hereford Feedout Programs, or someone who has participated in them longer.
Krauss has sent his cattle to the program for 30 of the last 33 years across its various iterations and incarnations, from the Genetic Outreach Program to the National Hereford Feedout and now the American Hereford Association Hereford Feedout Program, coupled with the National Junior Hereford Association Fed Steer Shootout.
When they first started sending steers to test, about 75% would grade Choice and higher. These days, 95-100% do. Bookcliff steers routinely gain more than 4 pounds per day with a feed conversion of less than 5:1.
“We’ve always tried to balance carcass merit with gain and feed conversion,” Krauss said. “We want to be ahead of the curve and know that our calves gain and convert better than the Kansas average.”
Even before the various Hereford programs, Krauss was sending steers to test at various feedlots to get the data but also to capture more revenue from his genetics while avoiding the discount associated with marketing cattle that don’t comprise load lots.
“In this day and age, if we can make an extra $100 or $150 on a steer, why not?” Krauss said.
By knowing how his genetics perform in the feedlot, Krauss can also help his customers avoid the red-hided discount that prevails in some markets. He buys their calves for what black baldies are bringing at the local sale barn.
Then, he feeds the cattle and shares the data with the owners.
Usually, within a few years of looking at the data and seeing how much money they’ve been leaving on the table, those customers begin retaining ownership.
Bookcliff markets 25-30 yearling bulls each year, mostly to repeat customers within 12-15 miles of their operation.
Value increases over time
“Because we’ve been doing this so long, we can make breeding decisions about what we need to do in real time,” Krauss said. “It allows us to make adjustments because we’re in it all of the time.”
For instance, as feedlots feed cattle to heavier carcass weights over time, the data helped Krauss see the advantage of selecting for slightly more ribeye size in order to avoid discounts for yield grade 4 and 5 carcasses. Knowledge gained through the years means he can finetune the operation’s balanced selection.
“Instead of looking at the premiums, I concentrate on eliminating the discounts,” Krauss said.
Besides genetic information, Krauss points out the ongoing management education that comes through retained ownership, such as weaning management and vaccination protocols.
When you have a steer gaining 2 lbs. per day at the feedlot instead of 4 lbs. because they’re battling bovine respiratory disease virus, he said it makes you take a hard look at what could be the problem or at least part of the problem.
“It allows us to start putting the pieces together,” Krauss said. “Because we’re in contact with the feedyards, we hear about things coming down the pike and can be prepared for them.” — Wes Ishmael, Hereford World executive editor
