BEEFMASTER SECTION
Ad fi rst ran in May1969
“Supreme excellence is simplicity”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said it. He wasn’t a cattle
breeder, but he had the right idea to be one. If you want good cattle, keep it simple. Ask as much of your cattle as you need to make a good profi t. But don’t handicap your breeding program by asking more than you need.
At the Lasater Ranch we operate under nature’s oldest law:
“the survival of the fi ttest.” We set up certain standards for our cattle, and those that meet them are the “fi ttest.” The others don’t survive. Six characteristics are the essential in good beef cattle. No
more. No less. Lasater Beefmasters are selected for (1) disposition, (2) fertility, (3) weight, (4) conformation, (5) hardiness and (6) milk production. That’s all we need, buy we need them all. Any animal that lacks even one of these characteristics is ruthlessly culled. Nothing counts until a calf is weaned. We breed only in multi-
sire herds, the larger the better. All Lasater Beefmasters, male and female, over one year old begin their breeding season at the same time, August 1, and the season ends 45 days later. Every year, every female, regardless of age, who fails to wean a good calf is culled. No excuses. No second chances. As far as we know the Lasater Ranch was th fi rst ranch in the world to begin regular performance testing. Ever since 1936 our bulls have been performance tested as calves and yearlings in the only way performance testing means anything. Lasater Beefmasters are conceived, born, raised, performance tested and sold in the same environment in which they are to be used. Comparing performance tests of two animals born and raised under entirely different conditions is like comparing apples and beans.
“Supreme excellence is simplicity.” We keep it simple. LASATER
Dale@LasaterRanch.com Alex@LasaterRanch.com
72 The Cattleman March 2014 “The Pedigree BEEFMASTER
is in the Name” ®
FOUNDATION HERD OF THE BEEFMASTER BREED
The Lasater Ranch • Matheson, CO 80830 719-541-BULL
quality standards to be part of the Swinging B donor female program. Mackie has the cattle measured by ultrasound for intramuscular fat (IMF) and ribeye area. “I’m a believer in carcass data, and those are the 2 most important fi gures. Then, the female must have the right phenotype.” Mackie describes the Swinging B
“look” as good length of body, good depth of body, a strong top, level from hooks to pins, good udders, “and I like a clean-throated animal. Not totally clean, because they are Beefmasters, but I don’t want the weight hanging under their neck. Then I look at the marketability of the genetics of that female in deciding if she’s part of the donor program.” If the female passes these crite-
ria, she is bred to produce a natural calf. “I want to see what that calf is going to look like before I invest into that animal as a donor. If it passed that test then we move on. If it fails any of those tests, she does not become a donor.”
Remember the young buyers Calves and bulls are sold off the
The 6 Essentials
• DISPOSITION • FERTILITY • WEIGHT • CONFORMATION • HARDINESS • MILK
PRODUCTION
ranch private treaty, through con- signment sales, their production sale or in satellite auctions. Mackie and Norma Jean remember they started with a show calf and keep a group of calves available for young- sters who want to show. “I got into this business through that avenue, and it rubs me wrong when people have to pay $5,000 to $7,000 for a show calf. I try to keep some calves that don’t have the genetics but have the quality, and sell to kids for a lot less money.” Every purebred calf is DNA test-
ed, Mackie says. He and Norma Jean do this for 2 reasons. First, there
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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