My eyes have been opened!

[DLD]

Lautner, Trausch and I'm sure many others regularly lease out those bulls they're selling semen on, and I've had the opportunity to see many of them in the pasture.  Yes, there are some dinks among them, but the majority of them are good solid 5 framed bulls - a few are bigger. 

I also work at a sale barn.  I'm not for a second denying that what buyers see as "clubbies" (smaller framed, extra thick, big bodied cattle - especially if they have structural issues) get beat up, sometimes pretty badly.  Most of the ones that do get hit hard, need to - they're not profitable cattle.  But on the other hand, I've seen plenty of good clubbie bred cattle sell at the top of the market too.  The thing is, they're "good" (sound, have enough grow) so they don't consider them clubbies.  Sale barn buyers would like you to think they care about genetics, 'cause they think they know, but all they know is what they see in front of 'em.  Most sale barn owners and order buyers don't know a frame score from a calving ease epd - what they know is if that one looks "big enough"... You can't hide a total dink, but moderate sized calves with the right flesh and the right fill will sell well enough.

So many "club calf breeders" just have a handful of cows, and they don't count on those cows to make them a living.  They're happy to raise a few good ones, they know the others are gonna get beat up at the sale barn.  They don't like it, but they don't care enough to do anything about it.  The ones with more cows usually care more, 'cause they have to.

 

[Telos]

I remember the days when a person could go into a commercial operation and often times find a good competitive show steer. There would only be one or two at best that would be worthy of being fed out and shown. The irony is, I think the percentage is still about the same with the breeders that are trying to breed a good one using strictly clubby genetics. The difference is that the commercial breeder does not have all the cripples or calves that would be severely docked.

DLD, I know you remember the days at the Oklahoma Spring Show were hundreds of show steers were all sound as a cat with very few that were tight and restricted in their movement. And almost everyone had a sound, good sized foot.

I hope clubby cattle genetics will someday be more practical and not full of the defects that come with it. It might take another life time to sift through all the bad things that come with trying to breed that next great one.

 

[ROMAX]

Picture of Walks On Water, the cow behind his is on the tall side, she is close to 56 at the hip.
He is not huge but he is not a pud either.

Did this bull ever have any major show wins? I remember a lot of hype around him in Denver, then nothing.

 

[Tallcool1]

I remember the days when a person could go into a commercial operation and often times find a good competitive show steer.

When I was a kid showing steers, The Sioux Empire Farm Show in Sioux Falls had an open fat steer show.  I don't exactly remember what was "different" about the show...there may have been no exhibitor age restrictions?

Anyway, the Champion steer was shown by some people from Oklahoma.  These people always did well showing steers, but this particular steer is one that they pulled out of their feed lot.  And he was "That Good"!

Those days are long gone as far as I can tell.

 

[DLD]

Yes, I do remember that Telos.  Pretty sure that was the case most places, not just in OK.  And I remember buying those steers out in the country - sometimes you could find them just driving down the road.  You'd look up and there'd be a nice a set of cows with a good Limi, Simmi or Maine bull.  Without a doubt, the thing I miss the most in the show calf deal was those bulls.  Black 3/4 Maine bulls that were big footed, sound and stout, but not freaky like so many today, on a nice set of black and baldy cows.  Or a good goggle eyed red baldy Simmi on a set of Herefords...

Tallcool1, I'm thinking that was prob'ly Jensens, though there are several that would've fit.

I actually remember the first way too straight one I saw.  I won't name any names 'cause many of you would know.  This family was always very tough, this particular year they had this really pretty little smaller steer that was super thick, but harder made and real restricted off both ends.  They also had a bigger steer that was solid as a rock and moved well - it went back and forth between those steers all summer long.  I never liked the little one myself - most everyone either loved him or hated him.  I sure wish everybody would've hated him...

 

[chambero]

I remember Jensen's winning a $10k prize at a show called the Chiangus Classic in Tulsa in about 1987 with a steer supposedly pulled out of their feedlot.  He beat a very famous steer showed by Vicki Priesmeyer called Woody.  That was the first time Woody got beat all year.

 

[ROMAX]

But all these diamonds in the rough you guys are talking about were frame scores 8- 9,back in those days.

 

[Tallcool1]

Yes, it was Jensen's. 

Shortly after that show I spent a week at Jensen's clipping for the OYE. They stuck with their story...feedlot steer.  They drove me out through the "feed lot".  That steer was picked from thousands and thousands of head!

Personally, I believed them.

 

[DLD]

No doubt they were bigger framed cattle than todays, but by the early eighties they were on their way back down.  Don't think many of those steers would've been 9's.  7's and a few 8's probably.  I had champion Polled Hereford steer in Denver in '83 - he was 56 3/4", and he was one of the bigger steers in the grand drive.  At 19 months old, that put him right at a 7.

Tallcool1, I believe it too.  There were lots of good show steers that came out of those pens.

 

[cowpoke]

The show ring and feedlot are two different things Quality never goes out of style and high performance cattle sold by the pound are what make money for feedlots.We have very little club calf genetics in our cowherd but sell many top end calves by using top sound club calf bulls.The social aspect and seeing projects succeed are part of the reason I enjoy good cattle.The unsound,too hairy to survive in Iowa,summer heat,and to  masculine to reproduce can be avoided by selection.The main reason some of these bulls are too small is there are many cows that are way too big.My neighbor fed Jennings steers from  S.D.and there were many steers that when finished could win most any show.Actually before  retinal imaging and noseprinting some of them did.The end that we don't sell for projects are the ones that have the most performance and work great in a feedlot enviorment as they can reach 1300#s in 13months where as most showsteers  are shown at 15 months or more.Two different worlds both have their place.When you see what some operations generate for income on their top end its easy to see why it works for some.