Using Santa Gertrudis in a Crossbreeding Program Santa Gertrudis breeders can provide predictable and profitable seed stock that can work in commercial herds. The genomic enhanced EPD’s the breed offers can help commercial producers make breeding decisions and take a lot of the guess work out.

Today’s Santa Gertrudis is not your Grandfather’s Santa Gertrudis Modern 1970’s The bull on the left is a modern Santa Gertrudis bull. The bull on the right was a herd sire from the early 1970’s. Just look at the difference. Breeders have listened to bull customers and cleaned up underlines and increased muscle mass. Today’s Santa Gertrudis is not the cattle that your father or grandfather told you about.

What is the ideal feeder calf? At least 50% British breeding Not over 50% Continental breeding Not over 25% Brahman influenced From the feed yard’s standpoint, the ideal feeder calf is at least 50% British breeding, not over 50% Continental breeding and not over 25% Brahman influenced.

Beef Breed Type Categories British Bos Indicus American Continental (high milk) (low milk) Angus Brahman Beefmaster Gelbvieh Charolais Red Angus Braford Maine Chianina Hereford Brangus Salers Limousin Polled Red Brangus Simmental Shorthorn Santa Gertrudis Simbrah Go through the breeds that make up the various breed type categories.

Possible Breed Type Combinations Which Yield Preferred Stocker/Feeder Calves British x British British x Continental British x American British x 50% Bos Indicus Continental x American Continental X (British x Bos Indicus) Examples of: British x British = Angus x Hereford (Black Baldy), Red Angus x Hereford (Red Baldy), Angus x Shorthorn (Durham Reds or blue roans depending on whether you use red or black genetics) British x Continental = Charolais x Hereford (Yellow baldy), Sim-Angus, Lim-Flex, Balancers, Maintainers, Simmental x Hereford (Red or Black Baldy) British x American = Star 5 (Santa Gertrudis x Hereford or Angus or Shorthorn), Brangus x Hereford (Super Baldy), Brangus x Angus (Ultrablack), British x 50% Bos Indicus = Hereford or Angus or Shorthorn x 50% Bos Indiscus (F1) Continental x American = Charolais, Gelbvieh, Limousin, Simmental, or Maine-Anjou x Santa Gertrudis or Brangus (Red or Black) or Beefmaster or Simbrah Continental x (British x Bos Indicus) = Charolais, Gelbvieh, Limousin, Simmental or Maine Anjou x F1 (Brahman x British)

How Does Santa Gertrudis Fit This Scheme British X Santa Gertrudis Examples – Gert x Hereford, Gert x Angus Gert x Shorthorn, Gert x R. Angus The resulting calf is 13/16 British and 3/16 Bos Indicus (3/16 is less than a 1/4) Just explain the percentages

Santa Gertrudis x Hereford The most recognized cross A red motley face easily the most recognized Santa Gertrudis cross. Notice you do not see a hump, just a small crest, no pointed ears and most important – the ability to grow a hair coat so they can go north to Kansas or maybe Nebraska over the winter.

Santa Gertrudis x Red Angus You see very little Bos Indicus influence in this Santa Gertrudis x Red Angus. No crest with a tick of navel This heifer would make an excellent replacement or a feeder that will do well in a feed yard.

Santa Gertrudis x Angus (for those that think they have to have black calves) The heifer on the left is dual purpose – she will make a great replacement female or feeder heifer. Kind of like having your cake and eating it too. The steer on the right can be put on a number of different orders. He is very versatile.

Santa Gertrudis x Angus Angus cow with a Santa Gertrudis sired calf. This cross works.

Santa Gertrudis x Shorthorn cow with Angus calf at side A Star 5 cow (Santa Gertrudis x Shorthorn) with an Angus calf at side. She is environmentally adapted to much of the area where you need just a tick of Bos Indicus.

Santa Gertrudis x Shorthorn Cow with a Charolais cross calf Rounded off for cowboy math, the calf at side is 50% Continental, 40% British and 10% Bos Indicus. This calf fits most any order that calls for an 1/8 or less Brahman influence.

Santa Gertrudis Cross Heifers These Star 5 heifers can be bred a number of different ways to produce an acceptable feeder calf. Important to remember that no one breed does all 3 M’s (Maternal, muscling or marbling) well Use a British breed for marbling, a Continental breed for muscling or an American breed for maternal.

How Does Santa Gertrudis Fit This Scheme Continental X Santa Gertrudis Examples – Gert x Charolais, Gert x Gelbvieh Gert x Simmental, Gert x Limousin The resulting calf is 50% Continental, 31.25 % British and 18.75 % Bos Indicus (3/16 is less than a 1/4) If you are looking to maximize weaning weight, this cross will produce calves that mash the scales at sale time.

Santa Gertrudis x Charolais Santa Gertrudis sired heifer calf on a Charolais cow. 50% continental, 31.25% British and 18.75% Bos Indicus.

Santa Gertrudis x Gelbvieh Less than 20% Brahman influence 75% Santa Gertrudis A tick over 25% Brahman influence Calf on the left is ½ Santa Gertrudis which makes her 3/16 Brahman influence (less than a ¼ blood). Has possibilities for a replacement female where you need just a little Brahman influence for heterosis or makes an ideal feeder heifer. The female on the right is a ¾ Santa Gertrudis [ 57% British (Shorthorn), 25% continental (Gelbvieh) and 28% Brahman influence – just a tick more than ¼] This female would be a decent feeder heifer, but is really suited for a replacement female where you need some Brahman influence to be environmentally adapted.

Sim-Angus cow with Santa Gertrudis sired calf Sometimes you get a red or red motley and sometimes you get a black. Both calves from the same cow just different years. They will show just a tick of Bos Indicus influence but not enough to keep them off an order unless it calls for no Brahman influence.

Don’t Forget About Heterosis! The Gert cross female passes on 50% of her hybrid vigor to her calf. The breeding possibilities are limitless. The Santa Gertrudis crossbred cow fits a wide variety of environmental conditions. The F1 Santa Gertrudis cow is able to pass on 50% of her hybrid vigor to her calf. Heterosis and complementarity are powerful forces that combine to produce the total advantage of beef cattle crossbreeding. Heterosis, or hybrid vigor, is the performance advantage crossbreds wield over the average of their straightbred parents The F1 Santa Gertrudis female gives lots of options on how to breed her depending on your goals. You can breed for black hides, yellow hides or keep them red. Whether you are in deep South Texas or the fescue pastures of the mid-South or the high country of Colorado, a Santa Gertrudis cross cow will work in your environment.

What Determines Value of Feeder Calves Or Ways to Avoid Discounts and Add Value to Your Calves

What goes through a buyer’s mind? Does the calf fit an order I have? What is the sex? Bull or steer or heifer What is the estimated quality? What does the calf weigh? Is it the right color? An order buyer’s job is to put together uniform groups of calves as quickly and as cost effectively as possible. They buy what they have an order for. Somewhere across this great country, someone has put out an order for some 250 lb Jersey heifers to feed. You can put a blue eye or a bobtail on them, just buy them cheap. Look at the list of things that a buyer has to process quickly. Some orders call for steers only, others will let you put either bulls or steers together as long as they are similar in weight and quality.

What goes through a buyer’s mind - continued Does it fit my money? It is all about perception. All that has to be done in 8 to 12 seconds (count the calves that sell in 1 minute in the following video)

Your calf has to make a quick impression 8 calves sold in that one minute clip.

How to Make Your Calves More Valuable Genetics Processing/Management Health Nutrition These are the 4 areas that you as a producer have control over that can make your calves more valuable.

Genetic Management Inferior genetics are tough to overcome Nutrition Preconditioning Therefore, genetics decisions are the 1st step in quality control The best nutrition and preconditioning program will not overcome poor genetics.

Genetic Factors Affecting Quality Muscling Yield Frame Growth USDA grades use Frame (L,M,S) and Muscling (1,2,3). Large frame are frame scores 7 and up. Medium frame scores are 4,5, and 6. Small frame scores are frame 1,2 or 3. Muscle scores are 1 –heavy muscle, 2 – moderate muscle and 3 – thin muscle ofter indicating dairy breeding.

Does Color Make A Difference? You bet it does Desirable Colors Black Red Smoky Cream Undesirable Colors Paints Spots or Speckled Brindles White Duns Brown Some grays Why is black color so popular? 1) Easy to make cattle look uniform – they are all the same color, 2) You immediately assume Angus breeding and the possibility of qualifying for CAB premium. Downfall – only 60 to 65% of Angus qualify for CAB and the black color is not environmentally adapted to some parts of the south. Why are paints, spots or speckled cattle, brindles, white and other off colors- discounted? – Most important thing is lack of visual uniformity – stocker operator or feedlot manager can easily start to pick apart animals and look for problems. the spots or speckled cattle may be longhorn or longhorn cross or possibly Holstien (perception is slow growth and lack of muscling) , paints could be high percentage old style Simmental or Maine-Anjou (too slow to finish at acceptable weights, too high a percentage of a purebred = lack of hybrid vigor Brindles may indicate Jersey or some Brahman influence White especially with a pink nose indicates purebred Charolais (perception is too big and lack of grading, also a lack of hybrid vigor from being a purebred) - Gray – some of the gray calves carry the “rat tail” gene. These calves are often slick haired and cannot go to cold climates and they grow slower (may use more feed for maintenance)

Management Factors Affecting Price Castration Fill Condition Horns Sickness Lameness Size and Uniformity Processing Castration is the one management factor that every producer has control over. Too many intact bull calves are sold in the south. These calves have to be castrated before they are placed in the feedyard. Research has shown that the earlier a bull calf is steered, there is a better chance to grade choice. The other thing about late castration is that it contributes to health problems that affect the overall profitability of feeding cattle. Fill - overly full calves are discounted. Most cattle sold straight off the ranch will be sold with a pencil shrink of 2 to 3%. Calves sold at sale barns typically have that figured into the bids because of the hauling to the sale and stress of the marketing process. Condition – a fat, bloomy calf looks wonderful to a cow calf operator. An order buyer sees that calf as a wreck waiting to happen. That fat, bloomy calf more than likely had nursed that morning, does not know what feed is or how to drink from a trough. It will stress and more than likely get sick. Horns – horns cause bruising of carcasses. Calves should be dehorned prior to selling. With the animal rights folks wanting producers to anesthetize animals prior to surgery, we may all be better off using polled bulls to eliminate this problem. Sickness – sick cattle do not perform well or grade. Lameness – a lame animal is stressed and will not gain efficiently Size and Uniformity – groups of uniform cattle like the pictures shown are easy to sell. Calves need to be within 75 lbs of one another, same sex and quality. Processing – giving the right vaccinations and then giving booster shots adds value to your calves. The preconditioning vaccination programs are not bullet proof, but they do cut down on sickness.

Steers vs Bulls Steers over 500 lbs. are bringing $8 to $15 per cwt. more than bulls Over 600 lbs. the discounts get larger Many areas of the southern U.S. have gotten a reputation for not working their calves

Just look at the perceived differences between preconditioned calves as compared to non-preconditioned calves.

Profits and Carcass Quality This data came from the Texas A&M Ranch to Rail program

Profits and Carcass Quality

When you sell at local auction markets, your calves have got to match up