I would like to make a few comments on what we’ve learned. It seems that the year, feeding conditions, weather, and the size and degree of condition of the steers have a big influence on the carcass figures on a pen of cattle. For example, our steers have about .4 of back-fat at approximately 1300# live weight. Our cattle seem to make the most money if we feed them to that weight. It is very apparent that EPD’s are a more useful selection tool than trying to compare raw numbers on carcasses. With our data and what the American Simmental Association has assembled, we as Simmental producers are getting a grasp on what we are raising and how they can positively influence the beef industry. All breeds have cattle that excel in one or many of the measured traits. Raw growth is no longer as important as it used to be in this part of the country. Many producers now are commenting on how big their cows are getting.

We are at a crossroads in the breeding cattle business with COMPOSITION of growth being the driver in the future. We all want our calves to wean heavy, but at some point we must ask, what will the value of those pounds be at final harvest? Am I going to make more money by selecting more growth or am I at an optimum level already? What was the feedlot performance of my calves? At what weight did my cattle get harvested, what did they dress, quality and yield grade? How many outliers did I have? Standards, Yield Grade 4s or dark cutters. Is maturity at harvest an issue? Where do I need improvement? To improve yourself, you may need to look at the efficiency of getting to that weight, by reducing cow size or improving maternal heterosis. You may be able to adjust your calving season. There are a number of things you can do, but, at some point the added frame associated from adding more growth may be counterproductive. 

In order to improve our programs and become more efficient, we need to know what our genetics do. Are we positioning ourselves to satisfy future industry demands?

The following charts are a summary of the data
we’ve collected on our cattle:

There are programs like the Montana Beef Network available to producers that enable you to find out what you are producing without retaining ownership. Buyers like Dan Deichmann and Steve Christensen also are willing to help you retrieve data and help you analyze it.