Feed Efficiency
Growsafe System
With the price of corn/feed sky rocketing, feed efficiency will be the single most profitable genetic trait the cattle industry has ever seen. This trait is in its infancy as far as locating the genetic pool needed for its advancement. The seedstock industry has let cattlemen down in this area. They are well known for their smorgasbord/glass bubble way of raising cattle. Thus, if you feed your cattle every bite of feed they can eat, which is typical in the purebred business, it is impossible to cull the inefficient ones out. Or find the durable cattle. On the other hand, look at how the corn/seed industry develops their new genetics. They plant the greatest producing varieties in the toughest of conditions (drought, disease, insects etc.) and what thrives they propagate. This has allowed them to nearly double their production per acre in the past 30 years. Where the cattle industry has been stagnant, or went backwards on pounds of beef produced per acre for the past 30 years.
Lucky 7 Angus believes that at least 70% of the cattle seedstock producers run are inefficient and only 5% or less are very efficient. Follow me and I will show you how we have came to this conclusion: We have made it mandatory for our cows to be in as tough or tougher conditions than most commercial cattlemen's. This was to fulfill our goal of making a more durable product. In so doing, the cows have been limited in how much nutrition/feed they are able to eat for 10 months of the year. When we have placed new genetics/cows into our herd (more than 350 head in the last 15 years), 70% fall out of the herd almost immediately. They don't rebreed, can't produce a calf, or in extreme cases even die. Only 5% or less do well for us. We thought it was mostly due to our high altitudes. But the high altitude theory was shattered with the purchase of cows from the Shamrock Angus dispersion. Shamrock Angus was no doubt a high elevation herd. Not only that, but the herd had been culled hard 3 times leading up to the sale. We purchased the very best cows from that complete dispersion. In less than 2 years 70% have culled themselves out. You see, even though the cattle were raised above 7200' and in one of the coldest environments, they were still fed all they could eat. Thus, feed efficiency culled them out of our program.
The Lucky 7 Angus cow herd is 30-40% more feed efficient today than they were 10 years ago. We know that because of the number of cattle per acre we are running now versus then. Also our cows are maintaining on 43% less nutrition requirements than industry standards (15 pounds of dry matter in the third trimester of pregnancy at sub zero temperatures, versus 28 normally required). We are also able to get bulls ready for sale on 8% less energy today than we did 5 years ago. The increase in feed efficiency is saving us over $700 per day in feed costs over the 4 months of winter we feed, compared to 5 years ago.
These results have been attained, simply by allowing Mother Nature to cull out the inefficient ones. Now we have made it our goal to locate and propagate the top 5% of the feed efficient genetics. We have placed a huge investment into a "GrowSafe" feed efficiency testing system. This is a high tech system, which will measure the amount of feed an animal consumes. We are confident this will allow us to locate feed efficient genetics on growing animals in a feedlot situation, and are in hopes it will translate to momma cows on grass. Once we locate these genetics, we intend to propagate them by placing 300 embryos per year. It is our belief that these more efficient cows will breed better and be more durable. There will also be a huge demand for their calves by feeders. I believe they will bring a 25-50cent/lb premium within 7 years.
Be careful of companies claiming to have located DNA markers for feed efficiency. Even though I believe they will, I doubt very highly they have yet. When I ask the experts that have been testing for feed efficiency for years a simple question: What genetics have you found to be feed efficient? Unanimously they respond: The technology is still too new to really know. If the scientists testing for feed efficiency have not have not found the genetics, how can they find the DNA markers? Kind of like which came first the chicken or the egg? I don't know, but I do know today I can't make a chicken without an egg, or an egg without a chicken.
The cattle industry is going to make a paradigm shift into more durable and feed efficient cattle. In order for seed stock producers to remain viable they must place their cattle in tougher conditions with less feed. Today, commercial cattlemen cull the inefficient cows from their herd, and each year they get them back with their next bull purchase. It's a zero sum game that must stop. You will need to purchase bulls from programs that raise them as Lucky 7 Angus does, or you will get left behind.