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“ Muscle growth and efficiency is what we bring to the table ,” Warren explains . “ That ’ s not to say we aren ’ t putting effort into fertility and quality carcasses in the end , but the main thing that Limousin breed brings is muscle growth and efficiency .”
The entire Symens family takes great pride in producing animals that can benefit more than just their farm . John said they look to produce cattle that perform for their customers and have the ability to benefit the cattle industry as a whole .
Market demand dictates a lot of the breeding decisions , Warren adds . To make sure their stock are performing up to expectations , carcass data is collected on the pedigreed animals finished in the feedlot .
“ There ’ s a real advantage to knowing how they feed , how they grow , how they carcass when they ’ re done ,” Warren said .
Once data is recorded and utilized to identify top individuals at the operation , it ’ s turned in to the North American Limousin Foundation ( NALF ), where it can be used to create better genomics for all Limousin breeders .
The theme of aiming to create the best genetic database possible , for themselves and their peers , is one that has been seen with the family since the inception of the Symens ’ herd .
Since their arrival to the operation , Limousin have proven to fit the South Dakota environment with ease . The family selects for females with average milk production , docility , calving-ease and performance . Females that stay on the farm are deep bodied and have the capacity to convert roughage .
“ Being commercial producers first and working with genetics that way , we always believed that whichever breed we had , we could select for the traits we wanted ,” John said .
But it ’ s been the Limousin breed that John said has prevailed . Since their arrival to the operation , the animals fit to the South Dakota environment with ease . The family selects for females with average milk production , docility , calving-ease and performance . Females that stay on the farm are deep bodied and have the capacity to convert roughage .
“ We want performance . We want fertility ,” John said . “ We ’ re strict on our culling procedures . We don ’ t give a cow too many strikes .”
Animals that can ’ t keep up with the high standards are sent to the feedlot . For the quality calves , John said 80-90 % of females will be kept and bred on .
Breeding decisions are made in hopes of producing calves that can be sold in the operation ’ s annual production sale . The first seven to eight years , the farm sold cattle private treaty . John proudly said 2023 will mark the 43rd year the operation has hosted an annual production sale .
Close to 100 yearling bulls go through the sale ring each year , and typically head to commercial operations that focus on crossbreeding their females . With a focus
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Hamilton represents the unique combination of calving-ease with power . He comes to you in a moderate framed , deep bodied package with plenty of thickness . What ’ s more , his pedigree is different enough to be used on a variety of cows , both Purebred and Lim-Flex . From a numerical standpoint , he ranks in the top 35 % or better for 11 traits including : CE , MK , CM , DC , RE , MB and $ MI . Study his many positive attributes and decide where he fits best into your fall breeding plans .
JYF HAMILTON 185H Homo Polled • Black • Purebred JYF Enigma 706E x JYF Dixie 237D CE : 14 BW : 1.8 WW : 68 YW : 95 MK : 26 CM : 9 DC : 18 RE : 1.19 MB : -0.11 $ MI : 51
Contact Owners for Semen ____________________________________
Joel Franseen 715.316.3287 203977 Galvin Ave . • Marshfield , WI 54449 fran22 @ live . com Follow Us On Facebook
30 • OCTOBER 2022