Fry Herd Improvement Program
(Breeding for Profit on Grass)
Knowledge comes fairly soon; but wisdom lingers. It comes only with experience and time. In our search for the truth, the absolute truth, we are aiming at the impossible; we have to be satisfied with each finding, a fraction of the whole truth. Each of us must endeavor to fit together a few sections of the big “jig-saw puzzle”(sir William Osler).
Introduction
It was 1948 when the idea of putting cattle in a feedlot kicked into gear and it wasn’t much more than 15 later that the type of cattle that would fatten on grass seem to disappear from America’s pastures. The feedlot owners didn’t want the moderate framed, early maturing, and easy fleshing cattle. They would reach an undesirable yield grade much too quickly. Instead it was most profitable for them to purchase animals that could handle a corn diet for 120 – 180 days.
Buyers were instructed on what kind of animals were preferred and would pay a premium for them. Producers responded and started using bulls that put height and frame on their calves. Frame size is relative to maturity so the taller, later maturing animals fetched an extra nickel a pound.
The feedlot industry dominated the cattle market, which created a plethora of spin-off industries including ones that would fund research. Land Grant Colleges and other universities took those research dollars, which funded studies for the advancement of commodity agriculture.
One outcome was the promotion of animal science that no longer valued or trusted peasant wisdom. Education was focused on growth; on converting corn to red meat. Bulls that would prove valuable for the feedlot/commodity market ended up loosing true masculinity, natural ruggedness and the ability to thrive on homegrown forages.
Genetically strong prepotent bulls that had the ability to rubber stamp themselves in their calves (bull calves in particular) faded away from seed stock suppliers. Building herds and animal numbers became more important than a quality product and parity paycheck to the producer. Seed stock breeders kept every registered female, regardless of her merits or deficiencies, and every one of her bull calves was a potential sale bull. Those bulls were no better genetically than bulls from a commercial cow in your pasture.
The Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) that were introduced back in 1957 had good intentions. But they have no significance for evaluating grass-type cattle. Just the opposite they support and promote tall, framey, late maturing cattle that fall apart without grain supplements. But they fall right in place for a fossil fuel production system. Very little of the EPD method relates to food quality. All research has been done using feedlot type and mongrelized cattle. Even today the research done on pasture based production systems and grass-fed beef is flawed because they use animals that come from feedlot type genetics.
By 1956 freezing semen was about perfected and artificial insemination was making a debut. This catapulted beef and dairy farmers into industrial agriculture. Now they had access to high production, high growth performance bulls. Who wouldn’t be impressed with those glossy pictures and all important EPD or DHIA (Dairy Herd Improvement Association) credentials? What did they really mean though? Unfortunately I’ve seen many who got caught up in the “production is everything” scheme go broke within 10 years.
By the late 1960s hauling livestock became much easier with the availability of one-ton pickups and gooseneck trailers. Seed stock breeders cashed in by advertising their sales across the country and gathering large crowds of bidding buyers from far away places. I admit it was fun and exciting to jump in the truck hitched to the trailer and drive from Arkansas to Montana, Wyoming, or Idaho; you name it and buy one of those flashy bulls. Back home news spread fast when someone got a new bull. One became the focus of the community for a short time.
Talk about disappointment, to watch those pampered bulls melt in the southern heat. I wouldn’t be the only one who made the mistake of thinking a grain-fed, non-adapted bull could work in the south. Environmental change is the biggest obstacle to overcome. Many of those bulls imported to the south never bred a cow. Their genetics were different and really not compatible with the cows I owned.
Those were expensive lessons and those high priced bulls could not put any more pounds on the calves than bulls from my own cowherd. There was absolutely no economic increase, just expenses and some fun until the money was all gone.
The point I want to make is that production agriculture gave the American cattleman tunnel vision. The feedlot craze blurred away the wisdom that our fathers, grandfathers, and great grandfathers had about animal husbandry and breeding and producing beef from our pastures.
After I sold my cattle reproduction business I decided to purchase an ultrasound machine so I could continue to work with cattlemen and evaluate beef and dairy cattle in a new way, a different way. I still had many unanswered questions that were most likely unique to my curiosity.
I remember my pastor’s wife asking me why I wanted to get so involved in a business that would pull me away from home. I told her the cattle industry is about to change and I want to be a part of it; I want to be an influence for positive change. I’ve always known that I wanted to work with the “grassroots” cattle people: the ma & pa family operations. These folks continued to have the same herd issues I used to have and needed to learn the things I’d come to know.
My undeniable awareness that the meat and milk sold in grocery stores was basically unfit for human consumption (not healthy), continued to grow heavy on my heart. Cattle are to eat grass; they cannot make food that is healthy for the consumer any other way.
In my searching for answers I was very blessed to have met some incredible cattlemen that shared their wisdom with me. With their help and my intense study I learned how to identify those cattle that would produce rich (high butter-fat) milk and beef that would be fine textured and tender. It didn’t require any specialized equipment or scientific explanation. These were revelations I needed to share with others, but I was still under the impression that my new toy could help.
So I hit the road and the airways hauling the ultrasound machine from place to place. And while that piece of equipment was very useful and enabled me to show folks the inside of an animal, it was also confirming what I was able to see on the outside. It soon dawned on me that I was doing just what “industry” boys were doing. I was using technology that only a specialist would use, so the producer was still dependent on someone else’s interpretation of the data and its usefulness. He or she would continue to pay for a fish instead of being taught how to fish.
The ultrasound machine is necessary for collecting marbling, ribeye area, and fat thickness information on the live animal. This information is used for the carcass trait EPDs (Expected Progeny Differences), which is an animal appraisal method widely used in the cattle seed stock business to promote the feedlot performance of their genetics.
So there I was promoting a technology used by technicians that are trained by those who work for the advancement of the commodity and feedlot industry. Ultrasound data is merely a snapshot of what the carcass could be at the time of evaluation. While that information does reveal the tendency of the animal’s ability for that particular trait, things can change in a hurry when management, diet, or environment significantly changes, or even with castration
It become even more apparent to me that something was amiss when the ultrasound showed very little marbling yet the meat when eaten was quite flavorful and juicy. The comment made to me by a veteran meat processor was that true grass-fed genetic animals are in a class by themselves. They can’t be graded under USDA protocol. Turns out the flakes of fat are very fine like tiny snowflakes and so interspersed among the muscle that the ultrasound machine doesn’t detect the true marbling accurately.
I contend that 99.99% of all bovine research funded in the United States during the past 60 years has been done using cattle fed a diet that included grain. All studies relating to feed conversion, genetics, health, management, diet manipulation, etc. have been done using grain-fed animals. It is only recently that some universities and independent groups are doing research that involves cattle on a 100% forage based diet.
The consequences of many decades of cheap fuel, cheap grain and the entitlement mindset of the population for cheap food - became manifest in the grain-dependent, mongrelized cattle. Pasture was the land that couldn’t be farmed; therefore it was never expected to provide much more than a few months of green supplement or a place for the cattle to have some fresh air and exercise.
The American cattlemen had been programmed to discriminate against and get rid of the very type of genetics that could utilize his grass and produce meat and milk without grain. Praise the Lord that is changing. The coming change was evident to me 15 years ago. The need for knowledge and instruction to produce 100% grass-fed meat and milk profitably is greater then ever.
So how do we get that wisdom back and incorporate it into our management decisions? How do we correct the errors made and recreate those cattle that thrived on grass?
Mother Nature is remarkable and within her chaos seeks healing and balance despite man’s continuous interruption. There are various places in the Bible where God promises to heal the land; one that comes to mind is 2 Chronicles 7:14.
The land can be healed, but to reverse the consequences of the breeding and management practices of the past 60 years that created the ruminant hogs of today, will require specific guidelines. These are guidelines of the Fry Herd Improvement Program (FHIP) that include - starting a new gene pool using a paternally dominate bull on your best cows, allowing the offspring to remain with their mothers for ten months, and not breeding until two years of age. Following these principles along with others pertaining to animal health (minerals) and plant/soil health can create functionally efficient grass harvesters in as little as 2-3 generations.
I grew up with cattle; I had my own dairy herd, then a 500-cow/calf beef operation. I gained a lot of wisdom and insight when I had my reproductive center where I collected bulls, inseminated cows, preg-checked cows, did embryo transfer work, and brought many problem animals back into reproduction.
I have worked as a consultant now for several years and continue to travel these United States and to several foreign countries, wherever my expertise is requested.
The Fry Herd Improvement Program (FHIP) has evolved from my experience in many phases of the cattle industry, the knowledge and guidance of wise stockman, personal experience with health and food, and the desire to bring profitability and sustainability to the family farm. I currently work with several producers on a regular basis who can give testimony to what this program has done for their animals and operation. You can now have the tools to produce gourmet beef from your grass. I wish these standards could be taught in our schools of higher learning. I do realize there has to be adjustments for each farm and environment; however this is a place to begin.
The FHIP can work with the cows you already own. I begin by selecting out the very top (best) cows in your herd. You, working beside me, will learn why they are considered the top females.
Genetics and the knowledge of selection is where herd improvement starts. If a herd is to be sustainable and profitable on grass the animals must have following five traits:
- Genetic Purity
- The Ability to Efficiently (Digest) Utilize Grass
- Quality Carcass Traits
- High Muscle Volume
- High Reproductive Performance
Experience and the knowledge of other wise stockmen have taught me that if a breeder is to create quality daughters and sons (sons is where most others fail) consistently, it requires a genetically strong paternal bred bull. A paternal bull has a concentration of genetic material from the sires in his ancestry. This comes from line breeding. A paternal line bred bull has repeatability or prepotency, meaning he will replicate his qualities in his sons and daughters. His daughters from your best cows will be better then their mothers.
The process begins by pairing your top females with the chosen prepotent bull. The Rotokawa® Devon bulls from New Zealand are examples of top-notch prepotent bulls that will improve herds with the first generation. The half blood steers from these bulls and commercial cows have produced restaurant quality, 100% grass-fed beef.
Acquiring semen and artificially inseminating the cows is how most have to start when using the FHIP. Unfortunately true grass-harvester genetic bulls can be hard to find and while my program leads you towards creating and using your own bulls, semen and AI will get you started in the right direction.
Along with the knowledge of genetics, breeding, and selection, the FHIP advocates specific management protocols. These protocols are discussed in more detail as each trait listed above is covered in the proceeding pages and additional articles.
My consulting work has led me to helping people recreate grass-based bovine genetics. Many of these folks have their third generation of grass cattle on the ground and are my true testimony because of what is happening on their farms. A complete change will take about 8-10 years, but the great thing about the forgiveness of nature and making corrections is that it doesn’t have to cost you a penny above the way you are breeding your cows now. It’s a matter of changing how you manage your herd and genetics.
The cows in your pasture that have been creating feed-lot type calves, from what I refer to as sissy bulls, are the very cows that can produce calves for your pasture-based herd; calves that turn your grass into fine textured, tender, nutritious beef or for diaries it would be quality, nutritious milk. Look at it as selling your grass. Your cattle are your harvesting and processing equipment.
Genetic (Herd) Purity
The first concept to embrace when implementing the FHIP is to breed for purity. Purity is defined as the quality or condition of being pure; freedom from anything that contaminates pollutes, etc. Freedom from any admixture or modifying addition; unmixed decent or ancestry, simple or homogeneous; maintaining the same quality throughout its duration. To establish animal traits that are consistent and predictable one must breed to eliminate heterosis or what is known as hybrid vigor. Understand hybrid vigor has value for the commodity production operation, but becomes very detrimental if incorporated into the seed stock herd.
So how does one breed for purity when you have commercial cows?
Our Creator is so good, remember He created our females as helpmates; ladies please don’t be offended by this. It is God’s design not mine. I just happened to rediscover it and its value in making genetics work the way He intended. Commercial cows can be an appropriate place to start. It’s the bull that must be genetically pure and strong right from the beginning.
When I come to your farm/ranch to assist you in turning your herd of beef or dairy cows back into a productive grass utilizing herd that produces HIL quality food; the first step we do is put all your cows in working pens. It’s best to put 3-4 cows at a time in a small pen that is 15-30 feet wide and long. As those cows are milling around I closely observe their visible traits and confirmation; plus I am teaching you to do this and see what I see.
From each group we will select the cows with the deepest chests, widest shoulders; those that are well muscled, thick and balanced and put them in a pen by themselves. After going through the entire herd, the selected cows are put in a working shoot for a more complete evaluation of every trait. Dairy animals may be handled a bit differently.
This more comprehensive evaluation includes: linear measuring, assessing the hide and hair, size and shape of bones, milk quality and quality carcass indicators. To evaluate for quality carcass traits (meat texture & tenderness), I check the thickness of the hock area under the achelles tendon. I look for yellow flakes at the end of the tailbone, yellow earwax, and the size and shape of the escutcheon or “milk mirror” for milk quality, which applies to both beef and dairy.
All these physical traits I look for come from old wisdom. The book titled “Milch Cow” covers the escutcheon in detail. My book “Animal Reproduction and Health” gives explanation and illustrations on linear measuring.
Our forefathers knew exactly how to select for cattle that would thrive on grass and produce the highest quality meat, milk and fats and they did so without science or technology. They depended solely on their knowledge and understanding of each animal that was in their care. They knew the relationship between nutrition and health. If a cow didn’t produce rich milk (4% butterfat) she became food herself. Her worthiness was evident in the milk bucket or glass jug.
Meat and milk quality starts with high butterfat. It’s that simple, yet the industry completely ignores it. Another important management practice that is unheard of is letting a calf stay with its mother for a minimum 8 months, 10 months is always preferred. These additional months of mother’s nutrition, even if the amount of her milk has significantly decreased, is crucial for her calf to reach full genetic expression and be equal to or better than her mother.
Those cows that pass the individual evaluation, possessing the desired production traits become the group of very special females that you need for rebuilding your herd. Typically only 5-8% of the females in an average herd make the grade, but I find these elite females in nearly every herd.
The rebuilding must come from within your cowherd, but with a different bull, a physically correct paternal bull that you most likely won’t find in your community. If you are just starting a herd that is one thing, but don’t go buy cows from another operation. Those cows won’t be any better than yours. Even if they have registration papers, those animals will be just as mongrelized as yours or the next person’s. Most folks have used the “bull of the month” for so long they have no idea how many times they have out crossed and mixed their genetics.
The second step I do with my clients is discuss at length what breed they have been working with or wish to work with. We talk about animal color, production traits, and adaptability. Does the breed you choose work in your environment? Does that breed have the ability to finish on grass by 20-24 months of age? Can we find a suitable bull with enough genetic density in all traits to produce sons (half blood sons if the cows are commercial animals) that are gourmet quality? Will that bull be genetically strong enough to make a favorable improvement on his daughters?
Once all these questions are answered I can make suggestions for a suitable bull or, if need be, help locate one. Choosing the right bull must take into consideration his genetic prepotency, his and his ancestors’ production performance history, plus his ability for consistency. Refer to Linear Measurement: Bull for quality standards.
Step 3 can be accomplished using two breeding scenarios and I recommend doing both. The first one is breeding the #1 cows, those that passed the evaluation and met the criteria for all quality and production traits, to the chosen bull. In most cases this will need to be done using frozen semen and artificial insemination, as those superior, paternal sires are not for sale. You may consider purchasing a bull of the highest quality available, of the chosen breed to use for cleanup purposes only.
The second part is breeding the #2 cows, those that weren’t quite good enough but not considered rejects, to the same superior sire. The reason being is that chances are favorable for getting daughters that turn out better than their mothers. Females will respond to a genetically prepotant bull and this is evident in the quality of their calves. This will also enable you to build numbers quicker and rebuild the herd faster.
A lot of change can happen with just the first generation when the right bull is used. The steers produced from the superior sire should, in most cases, be good enough for the gourmet beef market. The majority of them will finish on grass in a reasonable amount of time.
Step 4 is to evaluate the replacement heifers the same way that cows were done and select those that stay in the program. The mother cows will get bred back to the same bull used last year. If for some reason that bull is no longer available it is strongly recommended to use one that is a close relative. If you must go outside that family, make sure the bull is of the same caliber (passed an evaluation for quality/reproductive standards) and certainly the same breed.
Take for example Rotokawa Estates in New Zealand; any of Ken McDowall’s bulls deemed worthy for sire material were all good and folks sometimes used more than one paternal family line in a breeding program.
Step 5; breed the heifers on or near their second birthday or when they are close to reaching maturity. Breeding using conventual’s timelines can cause permanent detrimental effects and compromised genetic expression. Grazing animals need fully functioning rumens, full fat cells, and a mouth full of teeth to be efficient grazers. Waiting until your females are 2 years old to breed them is a hard pill to swallow for many when they first hear that program guideline, but the long-term payoff is impressive.
Breed these 24-28 month old heifers back to their father, half brother from the same sire, uncle or grandfather. Remember the goal is to get closer to a pure herd (consistent in traits) with each new generation. This is the quickest possible way when starting with commercial cattle.
Even so-called full blood or registered breeds have had so much out crossing and cross breeding that they don’t breed true anymore. When you are paying me as a consultant I am obligated to help you the best way possible using my knowledge, experience and wisdom. I am here to help you recover what was lost when the cattle business became governed by agri-business and academia.
I must mention how important it is to tattoo, brand or have some kind of permanent identification on each animal. You should not ever loose track of or have to guess who is who.
The daughters from those top cows should be bred back to their father and when you get a full brother and sister from one of those top cows they are to be mated. The resulting progeny will be 75% of that best cow’s genetics plus a double shot of the superior bull.
It does not concern me to breed cattle close like this. I have seen some marvelous results. Dogs, cats, and racehorses are bred this way all the time to create champions. Why it is still taboo in the cattle industry is an injustice.
There is no faster way that I know of to make genetic progress and fix traits in a herd. What happens is a son from that particular mating will have the genetic quality traits (tenderness, muscle mass, grass utilization, reproductive performance) from the mother and the quality and prepotency from the father. This gives him the ability to rubber-stamp those traits through the entire herd. When you breed him to the other top females and their daughters, including half blood and ¾ blood sisters, you will see consistency like you have never seen before.
Continue using artificial insemination until you have increased the genetic concentration of that first superior sire throughout the breeding herd and have created a suitable replacement.
I will teach you how to observe your cattle, look for those desirable traits and select those animals that are good enough for a gourmet beef program. With time and experience you will gain the knowledge, wisdom and confidence to identify the best cows and best bulls in your herd.
You will learn the importance of proper development for grass utilization through nutrition and manage your stock accordingly. You will understand the concept of paternal genetics verses maternal. Always use the selection criteria when choosing a replacement bull and he must come from a top cow. Your herd genetics get better and more predictable with each generation when you implement the Fry Herd Management Program.
I have presented to you step-by-step instruction on how I help producers take their commercial (mongrelized) cows, begin an evaluation process (develop selection skills), bring in superior paternal genetics as a breeding bull or AI, and create their own adapted, productive, predictable gene pool.
The title of this piece is centered on purity and that is a goal we should all be working towards. As you already know the bible teaches purity in all aspects of life including the genetics of our livestock. Those that have practiced line breeding and have a functionally closed herd are the closest to that goal. Realize that the cattle you are creating will not be the same breed as the bull you started with. When any admixture occurs within a gene pool, it requires 14 generations of single breed matings to restore true purity. You could develop a name for your new designer cattle.
In conclusion: Purity is defined as unmixed decent or ancestry, simple or homogeneous; maintaining the same quality throughout its duration. We must get our cattle genetics back to a pure state if we are to lock in quality and produce consistent products that ensure customer satisfaction and profitability. Any operation willing to follow the guidelines above can begin the program using the females they currently own and build purity back into their herd. It is a place to start for the commercial operation seeking renewal.
Dr. Jan Bonsma said we are creators under our Master Creator. You have just become a creator and it is important for you to think this way. You are managing what has been entrusted to you as a faithful servant and as you were instructed from the beginning. Be that faithful servant; enter into the joy of it. You are producing HIL quality food and are responsible for your neighbors’/customers’ well being when they consume your products.
Be wise with your animal selection and management and you can develop a pure herd of cattle that is the envy of your neighbor’s eyes.
If you take these first steps in managing your genetics the next four animal traits listed on page 4 will be the natural consequence.
Grass utilization; Digestion
A bovine by design is a ruminant. A ruminate is a four footed, even toed, cud chewing animal having a four chambered stomach. The four chambered stomach enables the animal to consume and utilize high fiber, highly lignified materials and convert them into meat, milk and fat for human consumption. The ruminant, and more specifically the bovine, is the only animal with the ability to thrive on a diet of 100% grass and convert it into a complete protein that humans can digest and utilize.
The degree of efficiency of this conversion by the cow correlates to the economic value of that animal. Some will argue that the cow is very inefficient. In other words much of what goes in is excreted back out. The degree of this efficiency is very much so determined by body structure or the animal’s phenotype. So the conclusion is that livestock producers who have the right type of cattle that are very efficient will have an economic advantage over those that don’t.
Converting grass into muscle mass (meat) can be viewed as the complicated process of ingesting (eating), digesting (absorbing) and assimilating into body tissue. To make things a little easier, when I use the term utilize, digest or digestive ability, I am referring to that whole process.
I make the assumption that every person who owns cattle is also growing grass. We as grassfed beef producers are in effect selling our grass through our cows. It is the animal with a wide set of shoulders and deep chest that has the highest digestive ability for grass utilization. The wider the shoulders and deeper the chest in the bull and cow, the more economically sustainable we become as grassfed beef producers.
Unfortunately, the influence of the feedlot industry has driven the livestock producer away from these efficient grass utilizers and replaced them with cattle that have very low, very inefficient digestive abilities. The consequence is that good grass genetic females make up a very small percentage of today’s herds and bulls are almost nonexistent.
What does an animal with high digestive abilities look like?
I repeat: wide shoulders and a deep chest. When you view an animal (male or female) from the side, you want to see 70% body and 30% leg. A 75/25 body to leg ratio is the most efficient body structure, but do not go beyond that.
Shoulder width is a major aspect of the correct phenotype for grass digestive ability and knowing this measurement provides a very easy and affective way to evaluate an animal when comparing it to the animal’s rump length.
The width of a bull’s shoulders should be obvious to the observer. You can assess a male calf’s genetic ability for grass utilization at a young age. By 12-14 months old, he needs to have shoulders that are a minimum 2 inches wider then the length of his rump. Females are evaluated a bit differently. They are to have shoulders that equal the length of their rump at 10-12 months of age, but not wider. When the shoulder width exceeds the rump length on a cow, she would be considered coarse and have reduced milk production.
Animals that have a deficit in shoulder width will loose a significant amount of body condition during their job of breeding, or for females, getting pregnant and weaning a robust calf. Without this phenotype for high digestive abilities that starts with the germ plasm (genes) it is impossible to create a herd that will be sustainable on your grass and predictable in performance.
So how does one go about getting high digestive abilities established back into a herd? The steps are really no different than what is outlined in the purity section of my program.
A person can spend a lot of money and time looking for a perfect female or two, believing that is the way to start, when in fact, you will make better progress, faster if you look to bringing in the right sire.
I continue to recommend selecting the top 5-10% of your cows for your herd improvement program, but you may want to include a larger percentage. Reason being that some of your cows may be genetically suitable, but because they were managed improperly during a critical stage in their development, their genetic expression was compromised and therefore now lack the desirable phenotype that your tops cows exhibit.
Take your chosen females and bred them to a superior bull (natural or AI) that has the proven genetic strength of passing his grass digestive abilities onto his offspring. Allow those calves to nurse their mothers for 10 months. When they reach maturity at about 24 months, breed the heifers back to the superior male that sired them.
This is the start of your herd improvement program. You have just spread the desired traits of that bull across several females and at the same time are fixing the correct body type needed to turn your grass into a nutritious food product.
The bull is responsible for the digestibility trait. Let me explain. When a bull has the wide shoulders (4+ inches wider than rump length at maturity) and deep chest I refer to, he has the physical capacity for lung, heart, and rumen, etc. development and function. As a result, his glandular system (pituitary, thymus, thyroid, adrenal, pancreas, testes) can continue to work effectively. Early on, the glands set the stage for physical development but then it becomes the physical body and nutrition that keeps the glands working properly throughout that animal’s life.
The bull with the physical features just described can maintain body condition. He is quite masculine, producing high levels of testosterone needed to breed many females in a relatively short amount of time.
A cow passes on her genetic traits to a single (twins on a rare occasion) calf each year, while a bull transfers his genetic material to tens, hundreds, perhaps thousands (AI) of progeny each year. The point I make here is that to build this capacity and ability to digest grass into your herd, it comes through the sire. If you use a bull that does not have the physical capacity for grass utilization or is a product of a grain diet, you will only be setting yourself back.
A word of caution: there are many breeders out there promoting their animals as grassfed genetics. Some breeds are better than others. Some breeds will simply fall apart without grain. Most cows have so many different breeds in their heritage, were weaned too early, and most likely became pregnant before reaching a desired maturity level. Bulls, on the other hand, are more likely to be straight bred but are products of total out-crossing. Both methods of management create animals that have no genetic consistency.
Take advantage of the hard work and careful planning that others have done to create stable grass utilization genetics. That is what we are doing with the American Herbataurus cattle by using the Rotokawa® Devon bulls raised by Ken McDowall in New Zealand. His bulls are the foundation and now we getting some very promising Rotokawa® bulls born in America to carry on that legacy.
Quality Meat and Milk
Cattle occupy a unique role in human history. They were domesticated in Mesopotamia after settled agriculture was established around 5000 BC. They were raised for meat, beef cattle, dairy products and hides. They were also used as draft animals and in certain sports.
Several breeds were established by 2500 BC. Modern domesticated cattle fall into the groups Bos taurus (European cattle) and Bos indicus (zebu), both descended from the now-extinct Aurochs. The breeding of beef cattle for meat production as opposed to animals best suited for draught or dairy purposes began in the middle of the 18th century. Some consider cattle the oldest form of wealth, and cattle raiding consequently one of the earliest forms of theft.
The cow of yesteryear served triple duty. She produced milk that could be made into butter and cheese. Her calves could be raised for beef and she was yoked to the plow for field work or hitched to the cart for transportation. She had to be hardy and rugged to sustain the hardships of weather and often low grade, scarce forages.
The family cow played a critical role in providing nourishment to the early settlers of America. Lucky for the pilgrims, they brought with them their Devon cattle. Devon cattle were widely known in England and perhaps Scotland during the 12th century and some historical literature ties the Celtic people to the development of these red beauties. Those triple-duty animals had stamina, endurance and docility and turned America’s native vegetation into life-giving food.
Agriculture has really evolved over the past few centuries, with the most dramatic changes occurring in the past 60 years. Modern cows have become so commercialized and specialized through single trait selection that they are less versatile then a number of the older breeds. The wisdom that went into developing the Devon for her quality of milk and durability has enabled her to stand the test of time.
The year 1920 marks the beginning of production agriculture. The goals of those with influence were more pounds, more bushels, and more tons. All facets of growing food eventually shifted to mass production. Unfortunately, when quantity becomes the main focus for compensation, quality diminishes. It happened with the milk cow and it happened with the beef animal.
Case in point; pasteurization became necessary so that all milk, high quality & inferior, could be mixed together and made safe to drink. Mass use of antibiotics, vaccines, and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) become necessary to keep feedlot steers on their feet and eating in order to reach their finished weights. Quality became a non-issue for the sake of quantity. We know what pasteurization does to the nutrient value of milk and consider how many feedlot beef livers are rejected for human consumption due to lesions. Should a person eat food from an animal that can no longer filter out wastes and toxins from its own body?
What are the implications? We have become a nation and world that is told to limit red meat consumption. According to the medical world and the FDA, the fat in milk is a horrible villain and therefore must be reduced or eliminated. The population is so brain washed to drink reduced fat or fat-free milk; because they are convinced it is better for them. So what has made the fat so unhealthy? Consider all the food and in particular the beef that is recalled these days. A person can look at the USDA website and view the newest additions to the list.
Why is the food coming from our cattle now considered a potential health risk yet it was the nourishment that gave our ancestors and forefathers the health, intelligence and longevity to take dominion over a new world and set up an extremely well thought out democracy?
Could it be that the practices of single trait selection and cross breeding for the purposes of increased production have resulted in unintended consequences that have made our cattle genetically inferior? Has the use of chemical herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and other pesticides negatively altered our soils and the resulting vegetation? Could it be that we have unleashed the bad genie with genetically modified crops (GMOs)? My answer is yes to all and I contend that these factors are responsible for reducing food quality to the point where instead of sustaining health, intelligence and longevity –the mass produced food imparts obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
Enough about the nutritional dilemmas let me shift the focus to the eating qualities of today’s beef. The industry looses a significant amount of sales each year due to inferior quality. A common complaint among consumers is a lack of taste. Another big issue is toughness. Any steak that you get at a typical fast food or chain restaurant is physically manipulated to break up the connective tissue and make the final product more palatable. Add to that the continuing beef recalls for e-coli contamination and its no wonder folks are becoming concerned about where their food comes from and how its raised – and they should be.
So how does one establish quality into their beef program?
1. Know what quality is.
2. Learn how to identify those animals that are genetically predisposed to produce quality.
3. Begin a breeding program to fix those traits.
4. Manage your livestock for their optimum health and full genetic expression.
5. Know your butcher and establish a processing protocol that focuses on quality control.
We already know about the nutritional benefits of grassfed beef. Go to eatwild.com for that information. People buy and eat it for that aspect alone. To me a (gourmet) quality piece of beef is tender, juicy, and flavorful. You can cut it with a fork if you wanted. It doesn’t require a lot of chewing, there are no hunks of gristle to discard, it practically melts in your mouth and there is no lingering unpleasant aftertaste. You willingly eat the fat portion, which by the way, is where many beneficial nutrients are – so forget about lean.
Cattle (cows and bulls) do exhibit specific physical traits that correlate with fine-textured tender meat. Your cows need to be producing milk rich in butterfat. Create a herd of those and you’re on your way. I shall discuss those traits a little later on.
Refer back to the purity section of the Fry Herd Improvement Program (FHIP) for guidance on a breeding program. To briefly recap, it starts with a superior bull on your best cows and then some very close breeding to fix traits. The goal is to eventually create your own herd sires from your top cows and close the herd, never to bring in any more genetics on the sire side.
Managing your herd for optimum health and genetic expression takes a multi-faceted approach. It does start with highly mineralized, biologically active soils in order to get the highest nutrition in your grass and hay. There is no question about it – it requires top nutrition for animals to reach their genetic potential and best performance.
Building or restoring soil fertility and creating pastures full of variety can take several years, but in the meantime there are other management practices to begin right away such as weaning calves at 10 months instead of the typical 6 or 7 months. Heifers should reach a level of maturity before becoming pregnant. The FHIP has heifers calving for the first time at or near 3 years old.
The third point I wish to make here is that your calves (male & female) from weaning to maturity should have access to the highest nutrition possible. They should never be allowed to go hungry. And last but not least, a young bull can be used sparingly his first breeding season (16 months or older), but should not be given the responsibility of breeding to his capacity before he reaches two years old. You will read more about these animal management practices in the High Reproductive Performance section of the FHIP.
Finding a reputable processor that can meet your needs and is within a reasonable distance can be quite a challenge these days. I know of two brothers that are extremely good at their craft and because of this folks bring cattle hundreds of miles to them to be processed. These guys are booked a year in advance.
A lot can go wrong just prior to and during the processing phase that can alter meat quality or even the amount of retail product you get back. Do your best to find a slaughtering facility that you’re comfortable with and don’t hesitate to ask questions or even get references. If you’re looking for a new career you may even want to start a custom processing business. You’ll be busy.
The following is included to give the reader a technical understanding of how muscle tissue transforms into a consumable meat product.
Upon reaching a certain weight or age, livestock are transported to the slaughterhouse. Depending on the length and circumstances, the journey can cause severe stress and injury to those animals and some may die on route. Unnecessary stress in transport can adversely affect the quality of meat. The muscles of stressed animals become low in water and glycogen and their pH fails to reach acidic levels, all of which results in poor meat quality.
Under clean sanitary conditions and without other treatment, meat can be stored at above its freezing point (-1.5º C or 29.3º F) for about six weeks without spoilage, during which time it undergoes an aging process that increases tenderness and flavor.
During the first day after death, glycolysis (the oxidation of carbohydrate reserves) continues until the accumulation of lactic acidcauses the pH to reach about 5.5. The remaining glycogen, is believed to increase the water-holding capacity and tenderness of the flesh when cooked.
Rigor mortis ( a chemical change in the muscles causing contraction or stiffness) sets in a few hours after death as ATP is used up, causing actin and myosin to combine into rigid actomyosin (a shortening of the muscle fibers) and lowering the meat's water-holding capacity, causing it to lose water or weep. In muscles that enter rigor in a contracted position, actin and myosin filaments overlap and cross-bond, resulting in meat that is tough on cooking – hence again the need to prevent pre-slaughter stress in the animal.
Over time, the muscle proteins denature in varying degrees, with the exception of the collagen and elastin of connective tissue, and rigor mortis resolves. Because of these changes, the meat is tender and pliable when cooked just after death or after the resolution of rigor, but tough when cooked during rigor.
As the muscle pigment myoglobin denatures, its iron oxidates, which may cause a brown discoloration near the surface of the meat. Ongoing proteolysis also contributes to conditioning. Hypoxanthine, a breakdown product of ATP, contributes to the meat's flavor and odor, as do other products of the decomposition of muscle fat and protein.
If a carcass is chilled too quickly after slaughter the result is what is known as “cold shortening” and toughness is the result. Cold shortening occurs when the muscle is chilled to less than 60°F before the completion of rigor mortis. If the carcass is frozen before completion of rigor mortis, the result is "thaw rigor" and subsequently extremely tough meat. Under normal chilling conditions, it appears that unprotected carcasses with less than 0.50 inch of fat over the rib eye probably will have some reduced tenderness because of cold shortening. Aging a carcass affected by cold shortening or thaw rigor will not alleviate the detrimental effects on tenderness caused by these two conditions. To ensure more tender meat, animals should be protected from very rapid cooling during the first 6-12 hours after death.
There are many factors that can reduce the quality of your beef after it leaves your farm. But it’s up to you to do your part at the farm gate. It you want your customers to have quality; it starts with your genetics.
Keep in mind that carcass traits are inherited from the maternal side. It is critical that your herd bulls come from cows that exhibit these quality traits so they can then spread them throughout the herd.
The following describes the physical features you need to be looking for and paying attention to as you begin your herd improvement program.
Quality Characteristics to select and breed for – for gourmet beef.
- Small to moderate frame – Along with a smaller frame is smaller bone structure and the smaller bone is a dense bone. The small dense bone will have a finer texture of meat attached to it which is pleasing to the mouth and palate. Large framed cows withlarger than average bone structure produce meat that is coarse and stringy.
- Small cannon bones on the front legs – the cannon bone should blend smoothly into the ankle joint below and the knee joint above. Together they should have the appearance of a symmetrical hour glass. Avoid big knobby knees.
- Flat rib bones – they feel flat as you run your hand over them as opposed to rounded.
- Check for a round knoblike feature on the front and top of the poll on the head.
- Check for a small tail bone and see if you can feel each of the boney joints from the switch on up for 8-10 inches.
- It is paramount to have a soft, supple hide that when you pinch it between your finger and thumb (over the rib cage) and pull outward, it stretches easily away from the body. It feels like a deer skin glove and when you move it vigorously it moves the rest of the hide in that area.
- Look for yellow oily flakes at the end of the tail bone underneath the switch hair. The inside of the ears should have a yellow hue to them.
- You want to see many close vertical folds (wrinkles) in the skin especially along the neck but when they go onto the shoulders and rib cage that is desirable too.
- The hide and hair coat say so much about the health of an animal. A soft hide with short fine dense hair requires and is indicative high vascularity (good blood flow) and a strong immune system.
- Those cows that have a soft hide and their hair is slick and shiny will have noticeable hair whirls at different points on the body representing an associated gland. I call them active swirls meaning the animal has a healthy functioning gland system. Let’s face it, glands rule everything. It takes a healthy animal to become (beef) or make (milk products) healthy food.
- Pay attention to the hock area just under the achelies tendon, it should be skin against skin in order to have the least amount of connective tissue. If the area under the achelies is thick and full of connective tissue - the meat, even though it may be tender, will not be a pleasing eating experience.
- Bald udders are what you want to find on your cows. Fine peach fuzz type hair is okay. These females have a greater genetic potential for producing higher levels of milk fats, which goes hand in hand with a fine textured meat – not to mention healthy vibrant calves. These cows will have the yellow at the end of the tail and in the ears like mentioned earlier.
- A2 milk is what you want your cows to give. Unfortunately most give A1 milk. Learn about it and you will understand we need this genetic trait in our cattle if you hope to have the highest quality of milk, meat and fats possible.
Quality is so important for a profitable sustainable grassfed beef or milk operation. It is sad that the conventional industry isn’t willing to pay for quality. They are all about mass production. Nutritional quality is not at the top of their priority list or part of their pay scale.
I whole-heartedly believe that food is our medicine and medicine is our food. We can’t feed our families, friends, and customers bad medicine anymore. American Herbataurus Beef is good food that is good for you.
May God give you the blessings of eating your own fine textured beef and drinking A2 milk from your cows. Here’s to your health, intelligence and longevity.
Muscle Mass
High Carcass Yield
It may be obvious that higher muscle mass equates with higher weights which means more return to the livestock producer. But when the subject is 100% grass-fed, no grain beef production, it’s a whole different kind of animal than what the feedlot buyer seeks. I’m talking about an animal that not only has higher meat to bone ratio but also natural fat deposits. This type of animal reaches a yield grade of 4-5 or greater within 150 days of being on a feedlot diet. That is a big no-no for the commodity industry and there is no market for them there. But this is precisely the type of animal you want if you want to be successful at 100% grass-fed meat or genetics production. Very few breeders select for this body type and fat deposition trait.
Creating high muscle mass in your herd is a matter of selecting and breeding for that body type. It starts with knowing how and selecting animals for high (endocrine) glandular function. It’s not hard to recognize that the pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, pancreas, kidneys, testis in the bull & ovaries in the cow are functioning well when you know what to look for.
The next step is providing proper nutrition for optimum genetic expression. Nutrition starts in the womb and then from mother’s milk for 10 months. Mother’s milk must be a minimum of 4% milk fat for that critical early development. These are the cows that provide that high level of uterine nutrition that sets the foundation for healthy vibrant calves that develop muscle mass. When nutrition is compromised or absent at these stages full genetic expression is never reached.
Volume of muscle mass on individual animals of the entire herd makes the difference between making a profit or loosing money for the grass producer. We are first producers of grass and our animals are the harvesters. How efficient are your grass harvesters?
The industry standard for carcass yield is 60%. The profit margin at this level is very negligible for the grass producer/finisher. Bump that muscle mass volume to 70% and the return can be as much as an additional $400 - $500 per head depending on the selling price.
Example: 1100# steer X 60% X $4/lb. = $2,640
1100# steer X 70% X $4/lb. = $3,080 An increase of $440.
In reality this 70% yield is cheaper to produce because the steer’s digestive system is so much more efficient than the narrow shouldered animal that yields 60%.
By implementing the Linear Measuring standards into the selection process one can consistently select for and produce animals with a high volume of muscle mass. Research shows that a cow’s rump width should be 40% of her hip height to be functional and profitable. A bull should be 44% as wide in his rump as he is tall at the hip to be profitable.
The cows I use are in the 44-48% range of rump width to rump height ratio. My bulls are in the 46-50% rump width to rump height ratio. Each of these animals is in the 68-70% carcass yield range and some go even higher.
An animal with the correct body type carries a quarter inch of natural back fat at a year of age. This stored energy is essential for proper utilization of grass, for growth and production and good health. The genetic predisposition to store fat is in relationship to having a highly functional gland system.
I am able to keep a consistent 70% carcass yield through a controlled breeding program that also builds in meat and milk quality. Taboo yes – but my favorite breeding method that gets me the results I’m looking for is a full sister to brother (from the best cows on the farm) mating. The next best approach is to have half brother to sister matings. The foundation cows are the determining factors. The father daughter mating gives me consistent results. I do avoid breeding a virgin female outside of the paternal line she came from.
Another very easy way to put muscle mass on a carcass is to do what I call scrotal banding. If I have a bull calf born and I know he will be used as freezer meat I scrotal band him as a baby. What I mean is that instead of placing the castrating band above the testicles, I push the testicles up into the abdominal cavity and put the band just below them at belly line leaving an empty scrotal sac below the band to eventually fall off.
hat happens next is that I get accelerated muscle gain and extra carcass volume above what a steer would have. This is the natural consequence of that animal still producing testosterone.
Yes these males do develop a bull looking head and neck (extra meat) and will act somewhat like a bull but they can’t get your females pregnant. They will build back fat and the meat is wonderful.
Were you aware that castrating, removing an integral part of the endocrine system, greatly disrupts the digestive system of the neutered male or female and should be avoided when possible. Castrating reduces muscle mass volume.
If you have read very much of my work I probably by now sound like a broken record. The selection and management guidelines I continually discuss have enabled me to produce from my grass quality milk and meat full of the healthy fats. This is good food. This is our medicine. This is our responsibility.