Thoughtful Tuesday – Heifers are a Pain!

There’s something to be said for experience. This is truly applicable to cows. The frustration of heifers is something I seem to go through every year. Even if there are no issues, I fret about what issues could come up. Heifers don’t know what the heck they are doing. They jump all over each other, even if none are in… Read more »

Is This An Ethical Way To Make $ In the Cattle Industry?

Sustainability and profitability, that are what I’m “big” on. So when I learn of something that is hurting fellow ranchers, just so someone can make a buck, I get a little upset. I wanted to share one of those things that just irk me. Irk is putting it mildly. Frankly, I was so angry when I learned of it that… Read more »

Is A Completely Grass Fed Beef Model Possible in the US?

CLICK HERE to receive an email when a new post is available on Cow Cow Ranch. Could all cattle in the US be completely grass fed? This has been a case for great debate. The pro-feedlot bunch says no; the grass fed bunch says yes. The American beef industry is complicated. There are so many different models, so many different… Read more »

The Truth Is: Below Market Is Okay With Me!

So we got dinged. One calf–a fullblood–was super-small, expected out of a first calf heifer that was bred for extra-extra calving ease for her first calf, the bull she was bred to shrinks everything. Because the super-small calf came in with the other calves–which in past years have topped the sale–the buyers made the connection and we wound up getting $1.50/lb ($150… Read more »

The Fallacy of Frame Score

There has been much ado over frame scores over the last few years. Lots of opinions over what a proper frame score is for a cow. However, it needs to be noted that giving the frame score is not complete information. It’s not the whole story. And comparing cows based on frame score alone is not comparing apples to apples…. Read more »

Ideal Cow Size

randi   July 13, 2016   5 Comments on Ideal Cow Size

Still on cow size. It’s a big deal when speaking of profitability and sustainability. It is also a highly debated topic. I always find it interesting that sometimes when I’m thinking of a certain topic that I want to do a post on and share information about, information starts just landing in my lap that reinforces information or brings up… Read more »

What the Heck Is A Moderate Frame Cow

And what does that mean anyway?! What the heck is a moderate Frame cow? Reiterating: “Moderate” is a relative and subjective term. In Extreme Cattle Ranching, I clarified how there are things to be extreme in and things that should be “moderate.” Moderate, in talking about cattle genetic traits, could be taken to mean median, but there again it is… Read more »

Extreme Cattle Ranching

I caught some flack for my extremism in Balance Is Bull. It was known it would; the post was to start a conversation and it served it’s purpose. A little clarification may be in order. Everything with cattle is intertwined. There are so many factors and variables that it is difficult to say that one thing is always going to… Read more »

Muscling In the Back End of Females

Recently I heard there is a trend–maybe not intentional, but a trend nonetheless–to breed the muscle out of the back end of females? What?! The muscling is something that I really pay attention to–muscle is meat, marketable product. I know that everyone is big on the bulls, but the cow contributes half! Muscling in the back is necessary! Here are… Read more »

Measuring Ranch Profitability For Efficiency and Sustainability

  With all the posts I’ve done on cow size, I wanted to address the individual performance vs. per acre calculations. For the past few decades–maybe longer, since the 50s?–individual animal performance has been the basis for how to calculate and determine profit, loss, success, or failure. This resulted in dismal failures! This is not the correct way to measure… Read more »