Breed Selection. Not every breed has the type of cattle that can effectively meet the requirements established by our philosophies. We have investigated many different breeds in an attempt to find cattle with the right biological type to fit our environment and production goals. This is an ongoing process. Our seedstock program currently includes: Red Angus, Black Angus, Hereford, Tarentaise and Composites of these breeds. These are all moderate-sized, low-maintenance breeds of cattle with extremely strong maternal traits.

      Red and Black Angus have always been very popular British breeds. They are noted for their calving ease, maternal traits, and their ability to marble. With so much to offer, we believe they should have an integral part in most crossbreeding systems.

     Our biggest challenge, though, is finding cattle within these two breeds that still do what they were designed to do. Rick Bourdon, from Colorado State University, got it right when he said, “Many seedstock producers take cattle that are close to optimal for a particular niche, breed them in a different direction, and end up with cattle that are not really optimal for anything.” Red and Black Angus lose their advantages when bred to compete with the larger exotic breeds. If you want something that grows and milks like a Holstein, buy a Holstein.

     Hereford is another breed that originated on the British Isles. I grew up with a herd of commercial Hereford cows. They never weaned the biggest calves but they had the unique ability to wean one every year. It didn’t seem to matter how bad the year was. I attribute this to their superb adaptability. They were true range cows that could survive on whatever nature provided for them.

     In addition to their adaptability, we like Herefords for their unequaled disposition, their hair coat, and their conformation. They remain the obvious choice for crossing with Angus and Red Angus. Most people will agree that the black baldy or red baldy cow is extremely hard to improve upon, and those baldy calves have never gone out of style.

      Tarentaise is a Continental breed that originated in the French Alps. They are noted for their fertility, milk production, meat-to-bone ratio, and excellent udder conformation. Compared to the British breeds, Tarentaise have a higher growth rate, higher milk production, and produce a leaner carcass. Compared to most of the other Continental (exotic) breeds, they excel in calving-ease and fertility, while having a smaller mature size. Tarentaise is the most moderate-sized exotic breed that we know of. We no longer produce many purebred Tarentaise. However, they continue to provide the foundation for our composite cattle.

     Our Composite cattle were specifically designed to provide the right genetic combination to fit our environment, as well as our production goals. They are approximately 25 to 50 percent Tarentaise, 25 to 75 percent Red or Black Angus, and 0 to 25 percent Hereford. They can be red or black in color. This combination is excelling at all levels of production. Our Composite cows have the ability to wean our heaviest calves while holding their condition and rebreeding.

      Why the Composites? Crossbred cattle have always been much more efficient than straightbred cattle, but most crossbreeding systems are complicated and frustrating. They require too many breeding pastures, too many different breeds of bulls, and too much time and management. Traditional crossbreeding also produces a lack of uniformity in calf size, cow size, muscling, and milk production since several different breeds of bulls are used.

     Composite bulls can provide you with all the advantages of breed complementarity and hybrid vigor, without all the problems associated with the typical crossbreeding system. Instead of using several different breeds of bulls, you can use composite bulls to achieve the same results. You would not have to individually identify and sort cows into different breeding pastures to be bred by different breeds of bulls. In fact, you could run all of your cows in one herd with one set of composite bulls. This makes a rotational grazing system possible.