Selecting A Bull For The Most Valuable Cows In The Industry is the single most important decision of the season.
I get several calls a week seeking advice on matings. Rhonda Poe called with this very boondoggle. She has an over 100" cow and knows this mating decision is big. The mating of this valuable cow could produce a $700 roping steer or a sale-topping $100,000 humongous specimen. Most people would agree, that is a big deal. It is for sure a really-big deal.
To make mating decisions hard, every advertised bull is called, "The Gentle Giant," "the best," "the most horn," "knocking it out of the park," "the best pedigree," "World's Greatest," etc. Some are--some aren't. Lets break down this big decision in tiny pieces and hammer it out like Rhonda and I did over the phone for over an hour. If this can't be solved, lets try to sneak up on a nearby calculation. Here we go.
To start, www.arrowheadcattlecompany.com Gallery of Horns lists the over 100" bulls--there are 16. If really big horn is desired it would be normal to look hard at these specimens. Granted, there are young bulls coming up with good current data, yet these 16 bulls over 100" are already there. Most of them have progeny to evaluate, which younger bulls do not. No bull can be predicted accurately with less than 100 calves to evaluate.
SIZE: If there is a desire to raise cattle with fast gain, the use of sires that weigh over a ton will make it happen. There are about 20 bulls with semen available who weigh over a ton--three or more of the over 100" bulls are published with great weights. If a bull's weight is not published in promotion that is an indication that he may be smaller than desired.
WHITE COLOR: If your great cow is predominantly white a wise selection would be to not breed to a bull with 50% or more white. The calf could bounce all white and have lower value.
SOLID DARK COLOR: If your cow is solid red or pale colored and the market appears to like darker cattle, don't breed a pale colored cow to a pail colored or solid colored bull. To get pretty colored calves from a pale colored cow, a dark-base colored bull with at least 50% white specks or spots is the best choice. Control the color. Color sells.
PRICE OF SEMEN: The over 100" bull semen is priced from NOT AVAILABLE, to $150, to $1000 per straw. It may take 2 straws for conception so always consider double the price for semen. The $1000 bull may cost $2000 per calf.
HOW SEMEN IS PRICED: Some bulls are young and easy to collect so semen is offered at a reasonable price. It doesn't mean these bulls are not at good as the $1000 semen bulls. Maybe the $1000 bulls are old and very little semen remains. Maybe the $1000 bulls are not easy to collect--maybe difficult to freeze. Maybe the owner wants to control the number of calves by his bull, or they may not want the hoopla of low dollar semen sales. The price of semen doesn't always have any correlational to the quality of the bull--maybe none at all.
MARKETING: Regardless of semen price some bull owners faithfully market their semen sires making their progeny more valuable. If a sire owner does not promote their bull, be sure the calves will be harder to sell, also with less value. Factor that into semen purchases.
BLACK: To get black colors from the over 100" bulls will take a black cow. Everyone knows black horn grows slower. The great black-base color-sires are all in the 80" and 90" divisions. Sometimes the black color is worth more than the length of horn. That value factor is a personal call. Black bulls will sire about 50% black, but homozygous black will sire 100% black calves. Check on the homozygous bulls if you want black every time.
SEXED SEMEN: The cost of producing female sexed semen is about 8 times more expensive than conventional. It is going to retail for a lot more. If a cow and bull mating is not something that could produce a great herd sire, then sexed semen is a good way to go. If the mating is good enough many producers would like to quickly purchase a bull calf, then use conventional semen. Conventional semen will give half heifers without the cost of the sexing process.
The mating of the world's greatest cow is similar to the lady who loved to kiss her bull---"Just a matter of taste."
