Cattle

Goldammer Ranch Cattle

Here are some pictures of some of the cattle that are a part of Goldammer Ranch’s retained ownership beef cow/calf program.

All of the base cow herd is in the American Simmental Association’s data management system. Individual pedigree and EPD data are available for the cattle at Goldammer Ranch. I also test to ensure the cattle and ranch maintain a BVD-free and Johnnes-free status. All cattle are documented for source, age and process verification purposes.

I aim at producing feeder cattle that meet the criteria of “Product Line” beef. Individual data is collected at harvest time. For the feeder cattle, there are certain requirements that I shoot for:

• Produce fed cattle that market in the top 25 percent in the nation
• Hot carcass weight averages of 885 pounds
• Quality grades of 70% choice or better
• 70% yield grades 1-2
• No out/discount/no-roll carcasses
• Feed conversions of 6.2 or better
• Average daily gains of 3.00 lbs./day or better
• Dressing percentages of 64% or better
• Ribeye areas of 12-15 square inches
• Low incidence of feedyard morbidity
• No mortality
• Cattle harvested at an age of 13-15 months

For the breeding stock, the requirements are: early maturing females and males; excellent fertility at an early age; moderate in frame size; thick made with flat backs; deep rib areas; dense bone structure; good solid feet and legs; and produce pounds of beef with grass and minimal supplementation.

The beef industry is still a commodity-based business so the fewer inputs you need can help to keep your cost of production in check. At the ranch level, the best-case scenario is to be productive on grass, air and water! At the feedyard stage, it‘s a good thing to have cattle that can convert on the same “conservative” philosophy. The goal is to earn harvestable premiums through low dry matter intake and good consistent gains.