Howard Ranch bulls

I should have sent this sooner but we are having a sale on Tuesday the 15 of April on about 70 hd of our line of Angus bulls that go back exclusively to Shoshone Angus ranch for the last 14 years. The bulls were selected from about 500 cows. The criteria we used is that they had to be out of a cow that is at least 3/4 Shoshone. Those cows have never not bred, They have never been fed any supplement other than a protein supplement in the winter in their lives. All bulls were selected on their mothers disposition, udder quality, hip structure and what we have found to be the form they taken to work on a cow outfit. Form follows function. We have also finished allot of their siblings with very few problems, either as true lines or f 1 crosses. The bulls are from a multiple bull sire group of 22 Shoshone Bulls

The bulls were raised in a drought on their mothers until October 15 when they were weaned and vaccinated locked up for 3 days then turned on rye and Alfalfa pasture until Dec 5 when we put them on Cornstalks and Alfalfa hay with a mineral  lick. On March 1st we put them back on annual rye grass with the lick . They have remained on this until Sale day.

We feel that they are genetically and epigenetically raised for maternal seed stock

We will weigh the whole group on sale day as a group. The bulls are priced at  $1800 on a lottery system. You pick a number out of a hat and go in and select a bull if you buy 4 or more bulls you can select 2 at a time. We then semen test them and load them on your trailer out of the Chute. They are virgin bulls and if you need them trick tested we will also do that.  

We feel that they are good enough to keep commercial cattle people in business at a price which is $300 dollars more than we can get out of a yearling. Bob H

Any pics??

Good luck on your sale Bob. If a sale like this can continue to catch on, the AAA can look forward to some permanent lay offs.

Angus 62 wrote:

Good luck on your sale Bob. If a sale like this can continue to catch on, the AAA can look forward to some permanent lay offs.

my regional manager attended my first sale years ago; and if there was ever a duck out of puddle ; it was Chuck...the con game needs those guys; I don`t...

and Bob; thank you for selling bulls cheaper than I do   
when the selection for certain characteristics has been the same for generations; the pedigree can be in the name; enhanced if the selection for those characteristics is from within instead of coast to coast and everywhere in between ...the verification is in the resulting product standing in your pastures...
what more does a buyer need ? oh prestige ? I guess you will be limited to those buyers who prefer the jingle of money saved in their pocket   

Mike our real limit is that we want commercial cattle people who make a living in the cattle business, we would also like to purchase back their heifer calves out of Shoshone or our program at a premium. Other than that there are no limits. Bob H

Any trailers headed east?

I could use a bull

Farmerkuk we can put some bulls on a yearling truck headed east. Maybe Cheyenne Wyo. My phone number is 208 590 2651 call if anyone would like.

BH bulls...how can the mainstream keep commercial producers buying "registered" once they have experienced "prepotency"?

I suppose the registered governing body could raise taxes, hire more employees, create more bureaucracy, and lobby to pass laws on the commercial producer that require "registered bulls" be used...



I forgot create numbers that make outcrosses look "better" than prepotent parent stock...maybe someday we`ll learn bigger numbers does not make better numbers for all purposes...

the power of Shoshone prepotency...created by breeding instead of promotion...the only thing registered breeders can do with it is dilute it...







oh, in my exuberance , I did forget the power of selection  

thanks for the pics Bob...what a testament  

The bulls look like déjà vu all over again. Good looking set with uniformity.

wonder who is low input producer now...

http://www.superiorlivestock.com/onlineVideoCatalog/?contractId=1178&lot=1#lot

I believe ole kit has learned feed makes for uniformity...

well Bob,
we know the bulls averaged $1800  ...how did customers accept this type of bull sale?

We had a good turnout it was a dirty windy day but the folks had gritty smiles on and purchased most of the offering. We had not sorted them since November so some were left. What was most interesting was the real ranchers  that bought 4, 6 or 8 bulls to turn out on desert deals.

We have already made a deal to band and  feed the balance of the bulls for an NHTC program so that is over.

As we move forward with this program it will be interesting to see how much return business we get. Their were some young people their that will be in the business for a long time. Two young fellows came with their father and he is a life long friend from a 4th generation desert ranch. His statement about their ranch is that the sign on the gate says UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT meaning these two young men were making the decisions now. Bob H

One more thing that I would like to share is that fertility must be heritable as out of the 100 or so yearling bulls that we have tested over the last three years their have only been 4 that were not breeders 2 shot blanks and 2 had odd testicles. These bulls can be no more than 13.5 months and the whole set weighed right at 880lbs which we thought was great for the way they were fed and age. Bob

Bob H wrote:

One more thing that I would like to share is that fertility must be heritable as out of the 100 or so yearling bulls that we have tested over the last three years their have only been 4 that were not breeders 2 shot blanks and 2 had odd testicles.  These bulls can be no more than 13.5 months and the whole set weighed right at 880lbs which we thought was great for the way they were fed and age. Bob

fertility is definitely heritable Bob...about 15%   so leaving 85% to other factors; and feeding the bulls the way you did would surely be a major factor in that 85%...congratulations; I love the format...  I have oversold my little keeping numbers {50} this year since a long time customer said sell his two picks if I needed to, and he would get fall calves from me to breed his fall calving herd...relationships  
the Tru-line Express  Transportation is headed this way next week to deliver and pick up bulls;  I`m hoping a couple of locals will buy  Briann`s remaining Encore project in addition to the one he is bringing me...relationships   some are mutually beneficial; some are not...nothing new under the sun    

Good deal all the way around. And it takes less posting, posters, statements, philosophies, bull searches, defect questions or general worries to sell them and to discuss them too. I hope the success continues.

EddieM wrote:

Good deal all the way around.  And it takes less posting, posters, statements, philosophies, bull searches, defect questions or general worries to sell them and to discuss them too.  I hope the success continues.

also less impostors.  am reminded of an old saying which goes, "nobody wants to buy a fat bull, but try and sell somebody a thin one."   around here most just DO NOT get it.  they keep telling me it's dumb luck that I can get so many bred in 45 days while they are selling opens.

along the same line, I feel most get the heifers to fat before breeding also.

WTG Bob H

Fat is an interesting conversation when referring to cattle. On the kill floor they trim it to a quarter inch thick yet it is the most costly thing to put on whether on a stock cow, bull or fat steer and though it is important to have some we waste most of it and the money it takes to put it on. Bob H

Nice phone visit with Bob Howard, Howard Ranches, ID yesterday...utilizing the same genetic base, same closed herd, multi-sire breeding without all the measures of rarity, for rare is not the goal, maternal utility is...9 mon old bull calves pictured, SELLING 70 look-alike, do-alike bulls in his spring sale...no sale managers, no ringmen shouting, no fakey clipping, just your money and his cattle program and reputation with no cost in between...

"Instead of marketing bulls one by one, we will learn how to market characteristics to improve beef production systems...but commercial acceptance will not happen until the parent stock is properly developed and they learn how to utilize the different kinds properly. In our farming operation, we are producers, we don’t breed the seeds we plant, and the best varieties for Wyoming are not the best in Iowa....Why should it be the commercial man’s job to have to buy our bulls of many colors and kinds, sifting through about 30 measures based on averages, to take home and breed his cattle all over again. Surely we can do better, and do it cheaper." Larry Leonhardt

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1160619033985460&set=pcb.1160664653980898&type=3&theater

MKeeney wrote:

http://m.hpj.com/opinion/i-don-t-buy-it/article_598f4fd6-c313-11e6-92e6-d7a91bf0831c.html

Yep, thats what it looks like to me. As in the US the Canadian "cattlemen's organisations" are asleep at the wheel or in bed with those pushing the forced vertical integration agenda.

when we become serfs on our own land, we`ll still have a use for cattle just as with pigs now...

http://m.hpj.com/ag_cares/swine-project-helps-nudge-youth-in-the-right-direction/article_55a508c5-7e4a-5a16-a7c9-1908b8e9283b.html