You Can Bank on Judd Ranch Genetics

Calf checks. In fact, calf checks belonging to other cow/calf producers. That is what caused Brent Bettels of Amoret, Mo., to add Gelbvieh-particularly Judd Ranch Gelbvieh- to his sire battery that was comprised strictly of Angus. Then it was his own calf checks that convinced him to go replace every Angus bull with a Judd Ranch Gelbvieh bull.

"Before my current position at Allen Bank, I was the bank's agricultural lending officer and had numerous calf checks come across my desk in payment of loans," Bettels says. "A couple of our customers handed over big checks that were quite impressive. The 'big' wasn't due to number of calves sold; it was due to the pounds of calf weaned and the price the calves received at the sale barn.

"When I started comparing my calf checks with those of a couple of our bank customers, I realized that they knew something that I didn't and that I needed to find out what they were doing different."

Two of Bettels' first steps were to pay close attention to the calves of bank customers when he was making on-farm inspections for loans and to ask about the bulls being used. The next step was to find out where these producers were buying their bulls.

The bulls siring the most impressive calves, Bettels states, came from Judd Ranch. Thus, in 2002, Bettels purchased 2 Judd Ranch bulls. The next year, he purchased three more head.

"Through the years, we have slowly switched all bulls from Angus to Gelbvieh-Judd Ranch Gelbvieh," Bettels says.

JR- Influenced Calves

Today, every calf born at Bettels' farm is Judd Ranch-sired. That's calves out of 750 cows: 500 spring calving cows and 250 fall calving cows. About two-thirds of the dams are Angus base while the remaining one-third of females are Simmental-cross, Charolais-cross and other crossbreds.

Birth weights out of Judd Ranch bulls hover around 85 pounds.

"That is very mangeable." Bettels states. "In fact, I pull just two to four calves a year and the reason is a leg back or something along those lines."

"I can flat state that we have no problems with birth weight of calves out of Judd Ranch bulls."

While he's a happy camper about birth weights, this Missouri cow/calf producer is even happier about the weaning weights of his calves. His Judd Ranch-sired calves are averaging 625 pounds at weaning. That's a hefty increase of 100 pounds over his calves sired by Angus bulls.

"To put this in perspective, last year we weaned off all of our calves and then preconditioned them," Bettels tells. "After preconditioning, the Judd Ranch-sired calves his the scales averaging 625 pounds on sale day. The calves by the last few Angus bulls left on the place needed an additional 75 days to hit the 600-pound range, and even having 75 more days to put on more weight, they still did not hit what the Gelbvieh calves did 75 days earlier.

"That's 75 days more of feed and labor. Easy decision why we now have strictly Judd Ranch bulls."

But the advantages don't end there. Bettels has found a following of buyers for his Judd Ranch-sired calves. He says the guys at the sale barn where he markets his calves share the positive feedback they receive from buyers.

"One guy who buys a group of our calves backgrounded them, then returns to sell them at the sale barn where he bought them," Bettels relates. "From what I understand, he was pleased with how the calves had performerd. He was pleased enough to make a special trip back to bid on my fall calves but was outbid."

Calves Top the Market

In addition to impressive weaning weights and ready buyers, Bettels' Judd Ranch-sired calves are topping the market.

"Financial advancement is the one reason why I use only Judd Ranch bulls," Bettels states. "Calves by our Judd Ranch bulls have enabled us to pay off our cow debt faster."

I am 33 years old, and we have 750 cows that are very close to being totally paid off," he shares. "Those payments have been made with calf checks, and it's the Judd Ranch-sired calves that have contributed the most. After all, our Judd Ranch calves have been returning an additional $100 or so per head over the calves sired by other bulls."

Jim Miller, Kansas

Total Package Bulls Match His Needs

Jim Miller of Satanta, Kan., is in the beef business. As a savvy cow/calf producer and feedyard owner, he constantly searches for ways to improve various aspects of his business.

For at least 25 years, Jim’s search for the best available genetics puts him on the bleachers at a Judd Ranch bull sale where he and his wife Connie purchase anywhere from three to more than 15 bulls.

So why do Jim and his wife Connie keep returning?

"The Judds are honest. You can count on everything in their sale catalog and everything they tell you," Jim states. "You can’t put a price on that kind of honesty."

Before interjecting Judd Ranch genetics in his herd, the average weaning weight of Miller calves was 400 lbs. on steers and 375 lbs. on heifers. He boosted the maternal power of his herd by adding Judd Ranch-sired females to it. This move, plus Judd Ranch herd sires, enabled weights to steadily increase to a mighty impressive 654 lb. average on steer calves and 616 lb. average on heifer calves.

"They’ve leveled off through the years at only 625 to 650 pounds," he says with his wry twist of humor.
This past fall his Judd Ranch-sired calves averaged 654 pounds at weaning. They also topped the market for their weight at $121.50 per hundredweight.

The crossbreeding program at the Millers has shifted in the past five years. Today, their program centers on Gelbvieh—Judd Ranch Gelbvieh—and Red Angus. Their goal is the industry’s "ideal" of 50% Continental (Gelbvieh) and 50% British (Red Angus).

"Anyone with Angus or Red Angus would improve their bottom line and have calves that hang excellent carcasses by using Gelbvieh bulls, as they get the best of both worlds," Jim states. "My choice of Gelbvieh bulls is Judd Ranch bulls."

Jim isn’t shy at a Judd Ranch bull sale. He and his wife Connie normally sit high on the bleachers and are active bidders. At some sales, the pair will purchase 10 head or more. At other sales, when drought has hit and herd numbers are down, the couple will take home as few as two or three bulls.

Jim appreciates the soundness and hardiness of Judd Ranch bulls. Years of using these bulls have proven that they will work in the rolling hills of Kansas and in the rough, rocky canyons found in his New Mexico ranches. As Jim says, "The bulls hold up, and that’s important to me."

Lane Hackney, Kansas

1999 a Year of Change for the Better

After putting black on black for years and ending up with straight-bred calves, Lane Hackney of Wilmore, Kan., wanted more, and he decided the best way to get more was through crossbreeding. His breed of choice on his Angus cows: Gelbvieh. His breeder of choice: Judd Ranch.

"I was helping Jim Miller load his calves in New Mexico in the fall of 1998 and was impressed with those calves and their Gelbvieh-influenced mothers," Lane elaborates. "I knew that I wanted what Jim had, and he said his better calves were from Judd Ranch bulls."

The very next spring, 1999, Lane went to Pomona, Kan., and purchased his first Judd Ranch bull. Now he and his wife Cindy make the bull sale an annual trek.

Thanks to Judd Ranch genetics, the weaning weights on his and his dad’s calves have increased by 75 pounds.

"When you take that across 200 cows, we’re getting an extra 15,000 pounds a year that we didn’t have before," Lane states. "For simplicity, let’s say we keep 40 or so replacement females and sell the remaining 160 calves. At $1 a pound, that’s an extra $4,500 for us."

"Although calf prices go up and down, the quality of our calves and those extra pounds are consistent."

This year his and his dad’s SmartCross calves—Gelbvieh X Angus—were sold to Gelbvieh Profit Partners LLC, a cattle management and marketing company that buys feeder cattle and calves in all areas of the United States and places them on feed in all major cattle feeding regions. Lane adds that he believes in his product and selling to Profit Partners was reinforcement that he and his dad are producing the right kind of calves.

"We know our Judd Ranch-sired calves are in demand. Now we’ll know that they are making money for those in the feeding business, hanging profitable carcasses and delivering a satisfying eating experience to consumers," he interjects.

When it comes to selecting replacement females, Lane says it’s easy to pick out the Judd Ranch-sired heifers. And these Angus X Judd Ranch females are making darn good mama cows. Lane particularly likes their mothering and milking ability.

He is also impressed with the fertility and calving ability of his cowherd and his Judd Ranch bulls. His calving season is a nice tight 60 days. Calving problems are virtually nil, only the occasional backward calf or such.

"When we’re selecting a bull, we also key in on disposition," Lane states. "Dad is older, and we need quiet tempered bulls. As such, the disposition of our Judd Ranch bulls has been exceptional."