Executive Summary
the scale when the assistance of implants are no
longer there to increase average daily gains and
assist with yield grade. Millennials are buying more
product and they are willing to pay more for that
product. That is why some natural premiums are
up to nearly $400 per head today. We have been
talking about this the past seven years, but you are
going to see more and more of it in the future. It’s
also a much better alternative than the potential
inclusion of “fake meat” in the marketplace.
This above paragraph is also a wonderful
opportunity to utilize Limousin and Lim-Flex in a
terminal crossbreeding program. The Tyson trip
was a good reminder of how our business has
changed in even just the last 5 years. It wasn’t
that long ago when feedyards where selling
finished steers to an average live pay weight
of 1350 pounds. Today, it is not uncommon for
their counterparts to be marketed at 1650-1750
pounds. Plants have adjusted their kill facilities
to fit todays larger cattle and become more
efficient. This means that Limousin and Lim-Flex
cattle work extremely well in a terminal cross
program to extend those out weights while
retaining feed efficiency and still supplying
superior yield grades to the larger out weights.
The tour of the GeneSeek lab was extremely
beneficial for our board and a real eye opener to
not only see the advancements in technology,
but a sign that we need to catch up to our
competitors a little bit in other breeds. Many of
you are moving past genomically enhancing
your A.I. sires and donor dams to testing your
bull sale offerings to stay competitive with
other breeds. This is tough to do given the
cost but others are beginning to go deeper.
Testing sale bulls is a great service to your bull
buyers as they get their accuracies increased
on their purchases, but aggressive breeders are
taking the next step. We are starting to see folks
recognize the fact that most of those bulls leave
your ranch every year. They are now gradually
testing their cow factory that stays on their ranch
to assist the accuracy of the matings. If you think
about it over the past, those great cow families
are many times the ones that have produced
trait leaders and curve benders over the years in
the seedstock business. Investing in genomically
testing your cow factory over time will put you
ahead of the game, if you are serious about your
matings in trying to achieve cattle that have a
superior balanced set of EPDs. Are you using the
mating progeny calculator in Digital Beef? If not,
you need to take a look prior to breeding season.
After doing all of this we still have to market
ourselves to get paid for all the investment and
cost. Your sale managers can’t do it all, don’t
forget to take the time to go out once in awhile
and contact commercial cattle producers.
We still have to sell ourselves and the cattle
business is still a people business. Join your
state cattle associations, attend their meetings
and participate when you can. Your commercial
market is at those meetings. As you get to know
folks, they will not only become your friends, they
will eventually want to do business with you.
The old baseball movie, Field of Dreams, said,
“build it and they will come.” That doesn’t work
in the cattle business, we not only have to build
it, we must take the time to market ourselves
and our cattle after all the expense and work.
The board at NALF, which consists of your
fellow breeders, and staff are here to help
you as we are all in it together. Don’t hesitate
to call us as we want to see you succeed!
We look forward to seeing many of you in
Springfield, Missouri. We would also like to thank
the whole crew in Missouri for the work and
effort they have put forth in creating “A League
of Their Own!” It should be a great week for our
youth, and we are also looking forward to Gene
Raymond’s induction in the NALF Hall of Fame.
See you there!
LT
LIMOUSIN Today | 15