50 Shades of Beefmasters

From the Fall 2015 issue of the Isa Informer

50 Shades of Beefmasters

By Lorenzo Lasater, President

People unfamiliar with Beefmasters often wonder about the lack of a defined breed color. Beefmasters are commonly thought of as red cattle, but there are folks breeding blacks, duns, paints and everything along the spectrum. While I don’t necessarily agree with this because it hurts our credibility in the commercial bull market, I believe breeders should be free to select the cattle

Many breeds are identified initially by their coat color. Angus are distinctively black, Charolais white and Santa Gertrudis cherry red. Longhorns are wildly painted, and Belted Galloways prove there is no limit to what we can achieve through color selection. Breeders obviously attained this incredible variation through the expenditure of genetic progress, but at what cost? Each characteristic we select for takes generational time, and often moving the needle for one trait comes at the expense of another.

To understand the color conversation in Beefmasters, we need to go back to the beginning. Actually even before that. The Hereford component in the breed came from a herd of 20,000 Hereford cattle developed by my great-grandfather, Ed Lasater. The cattle were selected specifically for having red coloration around the eyes, which protected them from sunburns around their eyes. Those burns can lead to eye cancer, to which Herefords are particularly susceptible. Even today, if a Beefmaster cow has a white, blaze or mottle face, there will almost always be red around the eyes, a throwback of more than 100 years to Ed’s selections. That is the power of genetics!

As my grandfather Tom Lasater was developing Beefmasters, he simultaneously developed the breeding philosophy we know today as the Six Essentials. These unique guiding principles separate Beefmasters from others, and BBU’s mission statement shows the importance they hold to Beefmaster breeders:

BBU’s Mission is to enhance the breeder’s ability to raise and promote cattle based upon the founding Six Essentials. Disposition, Fertility, Weight, Conformation, Hardiness and Milk Production.

The core concept underlying the Six Essentials is that breeders select cattle only for traits of economic value. This excludes the selection for aesthetics, including color. This revolutionary concept occurred at a time when most breeds were developed with an aesthetic or purpose in mind, such as size, double muscling, heavy milking, draft work, etc. This focus was usually coupled with selection for color.

The innovative step Lasater took was selecting just the good cattle, even if their hair coat was undesirable. My grandmother Mary Lasater’s famous quote on this subject is “hide color doesn’t matter when the T-bone is on the platter.” Now I can assure you Lasater would have much rather just selected the pretty red ones, but he instinctively knew that some of the genetics his developing breed needed would be found in the paints, brindles or blacks.

Throughout his career, Lasater never used color for selection, and generations of breeders adhered to this concept. As a result, Beefmaster breeders collectively soaked and imprinted all the important genetic traits for efficient Beef production into the breed. There are other breeds that were developed around the same time that made color a priority, and they paid dearly for it in one or more of the Six Essentials (think Fertility and Disposition).

Fast-forward to the modern U.S. beef industry: The commercial sector rewards uniformity of both color and type, and the marketplace heavily discriminates against any color variation, especially paints. One of the most heartbreaking scenes I see in commercial calf sales is when some multicolored piece of junk walks in the ring, they identify it as a Beefmaster and then discount it. This is not because it is a Beefmaster, but because that is a quick and easy way to label it.

People often ask me about my position on color. The L Bar herd is mostly red. I have been selecting for red for more than 15 years. The color runs from very light red to deep cherry red. We still have some cattle with white on their faces or bellies, but we have actively culled any paints, blacks, brindles or other off-colors.

In my opinion, my grandfather, father and their generations endured the difficult task of tolerating off-colors. Now, after almost 80 years of selection, I feel we have the luxury of refining and making more consistent some aesthetic traits, such as color and type. While I value slight variation in color, I want my herd as a whole to look red.

As I said in the opening, cattle breeding is a very personal endeavor, and I think people should be free to choose what feels right for them. It is, however, detrimental to the breed as a whole to propagate color patterns that the Beef industry dislikes. All Beefmaster breeders would be better off if we didn’t have to address constantly the distraction that off-colored cattle create.

From the Archives: Rancher Develops own Breed

From the Fall 2015 issue of the Isa Informer

From the archives: Rancher develops own breed

Editor’s note: Ron Wentz in Florida shared this article from 1982 that relates some history even we didn’t know! It ran in the September 10, 1982, edition of The Anniston Star, in Anniston, Alabama.

By Tad Bartimus
Associated Press Writer

MATHESON, Colo. (AP) — One of America’s shrewdest judges of beef steak on the hoof claims cowboys are the dumbest people in the world.

He ought to know. He’s been one for 51 years.

Tom Lasater is a member of this country’s landed gentry, the big cattle ranchers whose great herds and bull-headed grit tamed the West.

He sprang from the sweltering scrub land of south Texas, where his father amassed holdings of nearly 400,000 acres before he lost most of it in the 1920s. When Tom was born, his father, Edward C. Lasater, a onetime gubernatorial candidate in the Lone Star state, ran 20,000 head of Hereford and Shorthorn range cattle and held title to the world’s largest Jersey herd.

But when Edward died in 1930, Tom dropped out of Princeton to become a traveling salesman for the family creamery. He spent weekdays driving dusty backroads on a butter route, then jumped on a horse on weekends to help his older brother tend what remained of the ranch. He earned $75 a month.

In 1933, Tom Lasater gambled on his good name and struck out on his own in the cattle business.

Today the bandy-legged grandfather is boss of 28,000 acres of prime eastern Colorado grazing land. With only three hired hands, two pickup trucks, and a 1949 tractor to help him, Tom Lasater rides herd on 125 miles of fence, a river, 48 windmills, and more than 1,200 head of cattle.

His bulls, cows and calves comprise a unique breed of bovines. They are Beefmasters, a name Lasater patented in 1949 for his own three-way cross of Shorthorn, Hereford and Brahman cattle. In 1954, the U.S. Department of Agriculture officially recognized the Beefmaster as an American Breed.

After the first Beefmasters were developed between 1931 and 1937, the herd was “closed.” There has been no new blood introduced into Lasater’s foundation stock in 55 years.

At 71, Lasater is not a conglomerate or an appendage of some multinational company. He’s a widower who’s raised five sons and a daughter. He’s made money, and apparently enjoys spending it. He’s a gentleman of the old school, a connoisseur of fine art and aged liquor, a man who’s spend his life wedded to the land, appreciative of the growth and renewal that springs from it. He’s ridden many a horse hard, but he’s never put one away wet.

Lasater calls himself “just a cowboy” who roams his vast range in a scuffed Stetson, dusty boots and faded jeans. But under that favorite old hat there’s a brain that combines the acumen of a businessman, geneticist, nutritionist, naturalist and inventor.

He’s created a suspension fence that needs little maintenance and fewer posts than the average range fence; he’s come up with special high-protein food pellets designed specifically for his herd; he’s initiated systematic performance testing of bulls, and he’s banned all hunting and poisons from his land because “ever since the white man threw the Indian off, it’s been horribly mistreated.”

Lasater only half-jokingly maintains that his peers are “the stupidest people in the world” because they consistently refuse to recognize Mother Nature and their own collective clout.

“Ranchers carry the biggest stick in this country because they’re food producers, and everybody’s got to eat,” says Lasater.

“And everybody else has a union except us. We could sit down and work out a live-and-let-live deal with Mr. Safeway and Mr. A&P and come out ahead, but we don’t. The packer, the feedlot, and the wholesaler all get their cut, but the rancher winds up on the losing end every time.”

Lasater’s breeding and management program is based on the survival of the fittest. When he was first starting out in south Texas, he wrote to stock shows for the scorecards on prize-winning cattle.

“I discovered that 90 percent of the characteristics for which our leading shows were judging cattle had nothing to do with the efficient production of beef,” he recalled. “I sat down and listed what I thought was essential in a good beef animal. I boiled 25 traits down to six. There’s no way to get along without any one of them.”

Those characteristics, which have been emphasized in the Beefmaster herd, are: disposition, fertility, weight, conformation, hardiness and milk production. If any one of Lasater’s animals fails to become gentle enough to eat out of his hand, or doesn’t drop a calf according to schedule, or grows up with misshapen hooves, they are culled from the foundation herd.

“It’s a long pull to let the natural breeding selection take over, and it takes many generations to accomplish, but somebody had to start,” says the blue-eyed, chain-smoking stockman. “Perfection is always the horizon, and anybody who sets their goal so low they can reach it is a fool.”

Lasater says he’s always been a man in a hurry, “and everything I’ve done has worked out well if I do it quick. I got engaged on a first date, was married two weeks later, and it lasted 39 years. It took me three days to buy this ranch.

“Life won’t wait for you to make up your mind.”

A Golden Legacy: Laurie and Annette Retire after Career Spanning Five Decades

From the Fall 2014 issue of the Isa Informer


A Golden Legacy:

Laurie and Annette retire after career spanning five decades

What started in 1964 as a dream of ranching and marketing cattle grew into an illustrious career spanning 50 years with three generations of ranchers: Laurie and Annette; their children, Lorenzo and Isabel; and now five grandchildren.

With a goal of establishing the Beefmaster breed in Mexico, Laurie and Annette moved there with their wedding gift of 35 Beefmaster cows and two herd bulls to a one-pasture lease. In 1966, they organized their first bull sale in Múzquiz, which was “the bull sale nobody came to,” so they quickly adapted to selling cattle via private treaty. During their 10 years in Mexico, they established a Beefmaster herd on Rancho Santa Cruz, located in the Sierra Madre mountain range near Múzquiz, Coahuila, and today Beefmasters are Mexico’s largest breed registry.

In the early 1970s, Laurie and Annette relocated to San Angelo, Texas, to pursue the feeding and marketing of cattle. Their concept of marketing Beefmaster bulls evolved into annual—and, for a few years, even semiannual—auctions. They have sold more than 17,000 females and 20,000 bulls, and this year marks their 53rd bull sale! In addition to selling hundreds of bulls and females private treaty each year, they also focused on the introduction of Beefmasters into new international markets. Today, they have customers on four continents.

During his 50 years of ranching, Laurie served as president of FBA, as well as director of BBU, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers and National Cattleman’s Association. He is also a stockholder and former director of Nolan Ryan Tender Aged Beef. In 2000, BBU honored Laurie with the Beefmaster Breeder of the Year award.

Throughout the years, Annette ran the office side of the business—doing the books, managing the advertising and keeping the herd registry. She was always the practical and steady voice of the team, keeping Laurie out of more than one wreck.

Laurie and Annette are both elders of the First Presbyterian Church and have volunteered as tutors in local schools and with the Adult Literacy Council. Annette also served as president of the local and district library boards.

Both are published authors: Laurie wrote The Lasater Philosophy Cattle Raising and Tailwind Both Ways. Annette wrote of their 10 years in Mexico in Two to Mexico and penned three children’s books, Lorenzo and Don Clemente, Granddad’s Farm House, and School Days and Book Learnin’.

Today, Laurie and Annette are the proud grandparents of Lorenzo and Leslie’s sons, Watt (19) and Beau (16) and Isabel and JC’s children, Luke (11), Ben (7) and Sabella (7).

Isabel and I would like to honor Mom and Dad for their remarkable run—both in life and in business. They have been incredible parents—loving us, teaching us how to lead an exemplary life and giving us an incredible legacy of ranching knowledge.

Still Mothering to the End

From the Fall 2013 issue of the Isa Informer

Still Mothering to the End

Editor’s note: This story was recently shared with me by a friend. It perfectly exemplifies how ranchers feel about their cattle and the remarkable job those cattle do

When we returned home from Kerrville this afternoon, we found Cookie had died. She passed last night or early this morning.

We had had her penned for the last six to eight weeks or so, as it had become too much effort for her to come to feed every night. So, she had her own water, daily bucket of sweet feed, and small barn, without having to work too hard. Not a bad retirement for an old cow.

We purchased Cookie in 1991, one of eight yearling purebred Beefmasters heifers we bought to get us started. She and the others were “culls” from a large registered breeder north of us.

She was bred in 1992 and subsequently produced a healthy calf every year for the next 17 consecutive years. She was a heavy milker and a first-rate mother cow in every regard.

In July, if you will remember, she was in a small trap. We had an abandoned calf last summer and put this (blind at the time) calf in with Cookie for company. Cookie’s mothering instincts kicked in immediately. She assumed the nurturing role in every way possible, except milk, of course, which we provided. She cooed that low guttural motherly coo to the calf, which the calf would come to, and they bonded immediately. She was a mother cow to the end. I pulled her out of the barn area tonight, and to a place about a quarter mile away and in the brush. As I pulled her away and past the other cows, which had been watching the activity with unusual interest, they all fell in behind and followed along. Once I left Cookie behind, the cows remained there with her. Never heard of or seen such a thing.

I’ll sure miss taking Cookie her bucket of feed every night. She was more than a good cow.

Decades of Discipline Show in EPD Results

From the Fall 2011 issue of the Isa Informer

Decades of discipline show in EPD results

The best tool we have for comparing performance in economically important traits across the breed is EPDs. Using this as our measuring stick, the L Bar herd has far and away the most potential for positive
influence on the Beefmaster gene pool.

The BBU Sire Summary lists the 15 trait leaders in the breed for each of seven categories. In this lofty group, there are:

  • 18 L Bar sires.
  • 24 L Bar sons and grandsons.
  • An L Bar bull or son is #1 in three traits.
L Bar 5502 is the all-time performance leader and the best bull we’ve even raised.

  • He is a three-time trait leader.
  • He has 21 sons as trait leaders.
  • He is #7 for weaning weight.
  • Seven sons or grandsons are also trait leaders for weaning weight!

These results are no accident. It comes from decades of a disciplined, balanced approach to performance breeding. The L Bar line-breeding program amplifies the various best traits. The intensive performance testing these bulls go through during their development phase, culminating in the Isa Performance Test, identifies the very best genetics to push towards the future.

The good news is you can tap in to all of this goodness by using L Bar bulls, semen and embryos. There are several lifetimes of performance genetic work wrapped up in these cattle!

Please call us at (325) 656 9126 or email us to learn more about improving your herd with L Bar Beefmaster genetics.

Harnessing the Power of Heterosis

From the Fall 2010 issue of the Isa Informer

Lorenzo currently serves as President of Beefmaster Breeders United. In this capacity, he has written many articles for the Beefmaster Cowman magazine.

Harnessing the Power of Heterosis

Note: I have borrowed a lot of the following information from a great presentation by Dr. Bob Weaber of The University of Missouri at our recent Beefmaster Symposium in Springfield, Missouri. Thanks to Bob for loaning me his slides and letting me share his excellent info with you. (Extra note: the anti-Angus flavor is purely mine.)

Once upon a time the U.S. Beef industry understood and practiced the value of heterosis. Ranchers crossed different breeds of cattle in order to harness the unbelievable (and inexpensive!) power of heterosis in their production systems.

Heterosis, also known as hybrid vigor or outbreeding enhancement, is the increased function of any biological quality in a hybrid offspring. It is the occurrence of a genetically superior offspring from mixing the genes of its parents. Heterosis is obviously introduced through cross-breeding, and it comes at a very low cost since you have to buy or raise two parents anyway.

Today, much of the U.S. beef herd has become a homogenized, largely Angus herd. This was done in hopes of capturing a price advantage. But many ranchers we talk to are now realizing that, while they may have gained a few more cents per pound, what they gave up in reduced weights, decreased efficiency, decreased adaptability and increased costs ate that “premium” up and then some! The real shock came, though, after keeping several generations of replacement heifers, their cow herd began experiencing big changes in production efficiency and profitability.

The chart below shows us what happens when a single breed is bred back repeatedly; heterosis goes from a high of 100% in the F1, to a mere 6.25%—in just five generations!

Impact of Straight-Breeding on Heterosis

Generation Breed A Fraction Breed B Fraction Individual Heterosis
1 1/2 1/2 100%
2 3/4 1/4 50%
3 7/8 1/8 25%
4 15/16 1/16 12.5%
5 31/32 1/32 6.25%

Why does this matter? The power of heterosis has the greatest impact on the traits with the lowest heritability, like fertility. Things like carcass traits are highly heritable and can be fixed in one generation using a breed with the desired characteristics. But to move the needle for things like fertility and production efficiency is much more difficult.

What does it mean in terms of production? You can see from the list below that heterosis improves production efficiency at the herd level.

Heterosis:

  • Improves calving rate—6% a
  • Improves calf survival to weaning—4% a
  • Improves WW—8% a
  • Improves YW—4% a
  • Improves carcass traits—0–2% a
  • Significantly improves traits with low heritability
  • Improves weaning weight per cow exposed—23% b
  • Improves animal disease resistance to BRD and Pinkeye c
  • PLUS: Breed Complementarity

It is obvious that heterosis is an important tool in the rancher’s toolbox, but one many in the industry have gotten away from. The second chart shows the various effects of different types of crossbreeding systems on weaning weights. You can see quickly that breeding the same breed year after year eliminates any advantage from heterosis.

Impact of Cross-breeding on Weaning Weights

System % Max Heterosis % Increase in Calf Wt per Exposed Cow
Pure Breeds 0 0
2 breed rotation 67 16
3 breed rotation 86 20
2 breed composite 50 12
3 breed composite 63 15
Term Sire x F1 100 23-28

If you don’t need replacement heifers, you maximize heterosis in a terminal system, like breeding Isa Charolais bulls. There is no more sought-after feeder calf than the Charolais-cross, and this simple system yields the maximum pounds of calf with the fewest inputs.

If you do need to keep replacement heifers, consider using Isa Beefmaster bulls. A three-breed composite offers 63% retained heterosis, while delivering excellent feeder steers (see results in “It’s No Accident …” on the following page) and the best quality replacement females available.

One important thing to keep in mind about Beefmaster is that the three-breed composites, like Beefmasters, retain that heterosis even when rebred, generation after generation. This means you can come back generation after generation with Beefmasters, and the jump from hybrid vigor remains in the cattle at 63%—generation after generation. This is a huge advantage over a straight-bred system.

We understand there is market pressure to raise a single type of calf. But beware where those pressures come from and what their motivation may be. Sure the order buyer and feedyard owner want them all the same, because it makes their lives easier. But does raising them all the same actually make a difference where it matters—in your ranch’s bottom line?

a Kress and Nelsen (1998), b Gregory and Cundiff (1980) , c Snowder et al. (2005a, 2005b)

Raising the Bar and Raising Genetics

From the Fall 2009 issue of the Isa Informer

Raising the bar and raising genetics

Lorenzo currently serves as President of Beefmaster Breeders United. In this capacity, he has written a monthly column for the Beefmaster Cowman. We thought we’d share a few excerpts.

I am proud and honored to serve as President of BBU. Beefmaster cattle are a very personal thing for me. As you probably know, the breed was founded by my grandfather, but the beginnings actually go back to herds of cattle developed by my great-grandfather, Ed Lasater. My family has been working on this project for about 120 years, and I am looking forward to my sons (and their kids) seeing it through the next 125 years!

April 2009

Beefmasters are completely unique in that they are the only beef breed with a guiding production philosophy. These principles are called the Six Essentials, and they give us road map by which to maximize production efficiency and improve our cattle. We talk about the Six Essentials a lot, but what do they really mean?

Disposition—Gentle cattle are cheaper to manage, sell better, breed better, feed better and calve easier.

Cull any animal displaying problematic behavior and their offspring because this trait is highly heritable. As a result the herd will be gentle, intelligent and responsive.

Fertility—This is the first among equals and the cornerstone of the philosophy. Cows that do not have a calf every single year are not economically viable. The simple way to select for fertility is to have a defined breeding season, and then cull any female that does not breed in that time—every year. A breeding season longer than 90 days makes it impossible for a cow to have a calf and breed back in 365 days.

Weight—Of obvious importance—ranchers sell pounds. Weight is another highly heritable trait. We select for cattle that produce optimum (not necessarily maximum) weight with minimum input.

Conformation—This refers to the visual appraisal of a live animal with regard to carcass merit. We select for long, trim, well-muscled bulls, and smooth, feminine cows that meet industry demands. Cattle must be physiologically equipped to do their job, with proper feet and legs, udders, and the correct size for their environment.

Hardiness—It is critical for cattle to be able to thrive under tough conditions. Beefmasters excel in calf livability, low death loss, low maintenance costs and resistance to disease and parasites. These things give us an important competitive edge over our competition.

Milk Production—Next to genetics, milk production is the single most important factor in weight. When asked to describe the perfect cow, my grandfather said, “She’ll look like a cow that gives a hell of a lot of milk.”

I mentioned that fertility is the cornerstone, and I have a challenge for you. How long are you leaving your bulls out? I mentioned that if it is longer than 90 days, all the cows can’t physically calve and rebreed in 365 days. The single most important thing you can do to improve your herd is shave a few days off the breeding season. If you are breeding 120 days, shave a couple weeks off this year and a couple next year. It doesn’t have to be too drastic, but the results will be fabulous. The ones that miss when you raise the bar are the ones that are costing you money anyway. We need to focus our selection and resources on those that calve early and raise a good calf every year.

May 2009

A piece of terrific news came from JBBA: Beefmasters had the largest breed representation at the three largest stock shows in Texas in Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. Congratulations to the JBBA folks on a terrific accomplishment!

July 2009

I maintain the Beefmasters are a homozygous beef breed. We have some wonderful traits in common with “eared” breeds, such as heat tolerance, insect resistance and hardiness. But we also share common traits with English breeds (fertility and meat quality) and Continental breeds (muscling and feedlot performance). We need to vigorously object to being labeled as anything other than a Beefmaster, and we need to start proving scientifically Beefmasters’ superiority in the pasture, the feedyard and the packing house.

August 2009

In the final analysis, we are either raising genetics for the beef industry or we are raising pets. While there is plenty of room for all of that within BBU, our problem lies in the fact that we have allowed the industry not to take us seriously. We are often grouped in with Longhorns, which are raised strictly as backyard cattle. That may be fine for them, but I don’t think it works for Beefmasters.

L Bar Genetics Offer Performance Boost

From the Spring 2009 issue of the Isa Informer

L Bar genetics offer performance boost

I thought I might take a minute and explain the history behind L Bar Genetics and why they might be of value to your breeding program.

Folks often ask about our linebreeding program. The definition of linebreeding is “selective inbreeding to perpetuate certain desired qualities or characteristics in a strain of livestock.” Geneticists explain that linebred cattle breed truer because they possess more homozygous or identical gene pairs. Therefore linebreeding is an extremely valuable tool in increasing the consistency, uniformity and prepotency of the herd and their offspring in other herds.

Though closely bred, the L Bar Herd is not a “closed” herd because we typically bring in outside genetics through large groups of females from a single, tightly managed and complimentary program. Over the years, we have added infusions of genetics from the Lasater and Casey herds, as well as Sanders, Musser, Cargile, Vista and, most recently, Cain Cattle Co.

About 15 years ago, we began an effort to transform our cattle, with one of the primary goals being improved consistency of conformation, color, underline, size and type. We strive to select for the optimum performers, while still keeping the size and weight of the herd in moderation. We select for trim, moderate-sized cattle packed with thickness and muscling that meet the demands of today’s bull buyer.

The most important factor in the cow business is, of course, fertility. We breed all females for 60 days, and cull not only those that miss, but also those that fail to wean a marketable calf. We breed our heifers at 14 months to calve at two years, in the exact same season as their mothers. In our bull selection, we place a great deal of emphasis on the sons of first-calf heifers, in an effort to lock in those early maturing, easy-calving qualities.

Performance is of obvious importance in our breeding program. We are very proud to have had 36 L Bar cows receive the coveted BBU Pacesetter award in 2008. This means that she calved at least by 30 months of age, she had at least three consecutive calves with a weaning ratio of 105 or better AND maintained a calving interval of 375 days or less. On the bull side, BBU publishes the trait leaders for each of the 5 EPDs, and there are 17 L bar bulls or sons of L Bar bulls that are trait leaders in the Beefmaster breed. That is 23% of all trait leaders—more than any other breeding establishment!

As you make your spring breeding plans, I hope you’ll consider the boost that high-performing L Bar genetics can give your program.

Performance Data Critical to Herd Success

From the Fall 2008 issue of the Isa Informer

Performance data critical to herd success

Lorenzo Lasater is BBU Vice President and sits on the Long Range Planning and Commercial Marketing Committees. The following article, written by Lorenzo, appeared in the August 2008 edition of the Beefmaster Cowman.

I was asked to write an article about performance, specifically on our impending Total Herd Reporting program. But I thought it might serve us well to go back to the basics a little bit first.

The Competition

We spend a lot of time complaining about the competition, so let’s take a look at them.

The Red Angus Association was built on a performance-only foundation. If you wish to raise Red Angus, you are required to enroll in THR and turn in data on every calf. They have enjoyed steady growth; registering 42,000 calves last year. Following is item number one from their “Core Principles”:

  • The policy of the (Red Angus) Association is to discourage the more artificial practices in purebred cattle production … and to place its faith instead in objective tests, consisting for the most part of comparisons within herds of factors of known economic importance and known heritability…. By making this an integral part of the registration system, Red Angus breeders feel that even faster progress can be made toward the ultimate goal of more efficient beef production.
  • While I am not sure this fits with “The Beefmaster Way,” you cannot deny that they have staked a credible claim in the Beef Industry. If we think that the Beef Industry is not watching how BBU approaches performance, we are kidding ourselves.
  • Why Does Performance Matter?
  • To compete with other breeds, we must demonstrate Beefmasters’ excellence through performance data.
  • As seedstock producers, we each have a responsibility to examine the relative genetic merit of the cattle we raise.
  • This is a business, and we will receive more income, both in the near and far terms, for cattle with performance behind them.
  • We can only make good breeding decisions if we know where we’ve been and where we hope to go.

Performance in cattle can mean many things; it could be an animal’s ability to gain weight, a cow’s skill at raising a good calf and rebreeding in a 365-day period, or the type of growth traits a semen bull will bring to your herd. Basically, we are looking for ways to measure the genetic potential of cattle to excel in many different traits, and collecting performance data on our cattle allows us to measure where we’ve been and plan for where we’d like to go.

The old saying goes, “We cannot change what we cannot measure.” This is absolutely true in cattle breeding. BBU’s Weights and Measures program provides a critical tool in measuring the performance of our own cattle and the breed as a whole. If you don’t already have one, call BBU today and ask for a Weights and Measures handbook. It has all the background information to help you be successful with your in-herd performance program. If you have a handbook, but haven’t read it in a while, please do so. It really is helpful.

There are some important changes coming in the way BBU handles its performance data, which will improve the ease-of-use of our performance tools and also enhance the quality of our breed-wide database. An important thing to keep in mind is that all of these programs are voluntary. They are there to help you improve your cattle and the breed as a whole. It is up to you to participate, and the breed needs your help!

Total Herd Reporting

THR is an optional program whereby a breeder pays a reduced, flat fee for every breeding cow in the herd. Included in that price is one registration, for her calf, and one transfer, so you can sell either her or the calf.

I hear about some uncertainty surrounding THR. It is important for everyone to understand that the old system will remain in place, so if that fits your business better, please continue doing what you always have.

Currently, a lot of folks are trying to “game” the system by registering fewer calves, for example, only those they sell. This is an understandable reaction to increased registration fees, but it has very detrimental effects for BBU. It hurts revenue, and it also harms the registry purity and does a great deal of damage to the quality of our performance data.

Virtually all of our competition has moved to some form of THR. There are a lot of reasons why it makes sense, but following are a few important advantages to consider:

  • Get an accurate handle on our breed-wide cow inventory.
  • Collect performance data on a greater number of calves.
  • Collect reproduction info on a greater number of cows.
  • Promotes the registration and transfer of more cattle.
  • Our performance-minded breeders will pay more up front, but less overall.
  • BBU will have a predictable income stream.
  • It will be simpler and easier for breeders to submit paperwork.
  • It will be simpler and easier for BBU to process the paperwork.

How Does it Work?

It’s pretty simple really; if you are already doing weights and measures, you are basically doing the same thing.

BBU will mail a current cow inventory to each producer. The breeder will update the report and be charged a low, flat rate for each breeding female.

Breeder will submit a birth and weaning information either together or in two stages. The only required piece of data is a weaning weight or a disposal code. At weaning, the breeder can note which calves were culled, steered or turned commercial. These animals come out of the registry.

The Breeder submits a Yearling Worksheet, which can include yearling weight, scrotal circumference and sonogram data.

What will it cost?

The Charolais Association is fairly similar to BBU in terms of size and structure. Below is a comparison of our rates and theirs. You can see it is fairly similar.

The important difference comes in their THR program, where a cow’s enrollment costs $13. Remember, that includes one registration and one transfer and allows you to enroll the calf up to yearling. Let’s say for example a BBU breeder waits until weaning to register the calf and then sells it. The cost for the certificate is $20 and the transfer is $16 for a total of $36. The same transaction under THR is just $13.

Your committees and board are currently finalizing the fee structure for THR, but the industry basically charges between $13 and $15.

A Few Common Misconceptions

“I only want to turn in performance data on the good ones.” This actually hurts the good ones. Performance data is about averages and the individual’s ratio or position against that average. You want them to be compared to the entire peer group, which actually makes them look better.

“I don’t want to register every offspring.” Though THR allows for the registration of every offspring, this is obviously not the goal. You would cull the bad ones and select the good ones as you always have, safe in the knowledge that all the “keepers” will be registered with BBU.

“What if I don’t have scales?” If you can afford to be in the registered business, you can afford to buy a set of scales. Partner with a neighbor, find a used set–do whatever you have to. One of the greatest thrills in cattle husbandry is when those calves come in at weaning and you have the opportunity to weigh the calves and see how you did for the year.

“I don’t use performance data in my marketing or selection, why should I participate?” If you are not using performance data in your own operation, you are missing a critically important selection component. Furthermore, your customers may need to sell cattle with performance behind them. Most importantly, if our breed is to be relevant, we must display performance to the industry.

“Can I enroll some in THR and some the old way?” You have to choose one way or the other for your business. If you use THR, you enroll 100% of their calves and all their production in the program. You will most likely have the chance to switch to or from THR once each year.

Life is Good

The Six Essentials provides Beefmaster breeders the perfect roadmap by which to raise productive, beautiful, profitable and high-performing cattle. Selection for different traits allows us to push our herd in the direction we wish, but we must always strive for balance. It is critically important that we never get caught up in the trap of single-trait selection.

We are blessed to be a part of the greatest breed of cattle there is. Let’s work together to ensure that Beefmasters remain a relevant beef breed and BBU a strong organization for generations to come.

Data Maps Road to Success

From the Fall 2007 issue of the Isa Informer

Data maps road to success

Lorenzo Lasater serves on the BBU Board of Directors and sits on the Breed Improvement and Commercial Marketing Committees. The following article, written by Lorenzo, appeared in the July 2007 edition of the Beefmaster Cowman.

The BBU Performance Committee is pleased to introduce a new series called “Performance Matters.” We plan to bring to you a variety of topics relating to the many facets of using performance to improve your cattle, strengthen our breed and add to your bottom line. These articles will be written by industry experts as well as your fellow breeders in various parts of the country who are engaged in the Beefmaster business in many different ways.

So why does Performance Matter?

  • To compete with other breeds, we must demonstrate Beefmasters’ excellence through performance data.
  • As seedstock producers, we each have a responsibility to examine the relative genetic merit of the cattle we raise.
  • This is a business, and we will receive more income, both in the near and far terms, for cattle with performance behind them.
  • We can only make good breeding decisions if we know where we’ve been and where we hope to go.

Performance in cattle can mean many things: It could be an animal’s ability to gain weight, a cow’s skill at raising a good calf and rebreeding in a 365-day period, or the type of growth traits a semen bull will bring to your herd. Basically, we are looking for ways to measure the genetic potential of cattle to excel in many different traits, and collecting performance data on our cattle allows us to measure where we’ve been and plan for where we’d like to go.

The old saying goes “We cannot change what we cannot measure.” This is absolutely true in cattle breeding. BBU’s Weights and Measures program provides a critical tool in measuring the performance of our own cattle and the breed as a whole. One of the important goals of your Breed Improvement Committee is to increase our members’ use of W&M. As of today, only 12% of our members participate in W&M. There is good news though—57% of all cattle registered have a weaning weight turned in. This means we need to do a better job of educating and including our members with fewer cattle.

If you don’t already have one, call BBU today and ask for a Weights and Measures handbook. It has all the background information to help you be successful with your in-herd performance program. If you have a handbook, but haven’t read it in a while, please do so. It really is helpful.

There are some important changes coming in the way BBU handles its performance data, which will improve the ease-of-use of our performance tools and also enhance the quality of our breed-wide database. We plan to use this space to provide detailed explanations of how to use these new innovations to improve your cattle and your business. An important thing to keep in mind is that all of these programs are voluntary. They are there to help you improve your cattle and the breed as a whole. It is up to you to participate and the breed needs your help!

The Six Essentials provides Beefmaster breeders the perfect roadmap by which to raise productive, beautiful, profitable and high-performing cattle. Selection for different traits allows us to push our herd in the direction we wish, but we must always strive for balance. It is critically important that we never get caught up in the trap of single-trait selection.

The Breed Improvement Committee appreciates your taking the time to read this column, and we look forward to bringing you articles about performance that will be interesting and useful to your business. If we work together we can continually improve the quality of Beefmaster cattle and the breed’s stature in the cattle industry. Now, get out there and weigh some calves!

Lorenzo Lasater Named Civic Leader of the Year

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Lorenzo Lasater named civic leader of the year

By Jayna Boyle
San Angelo Standard-Times
Thursday, July 26, 2007

Lorenzo Lasater wants to make local education as efficient as he is.

He manages four businesses and leads volunteer groups at the First Presbyterian Church, Lasater also is involved with business and ranching associations, makes time for his family and puts extra effort into improving the way education prepares local youths for the work force.

As the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce chairman in 2006, Lasater developed an education task force to create a round-table discussion among Angelo State University, Howard College, the San Angelo Independent School District and the business community.

Partly because of his work spearheading the education initiative, Lasater recently was named Civic Leader of the Year by the Leadership San Angelo Alumni Association.

He said his parents instilled in him the importance of giving back, and improving education is something that he says can benefit the whole community.

“My goal is to bring every kid up a notch,” Lasater said. “It makes a better work force, more taxpayers and better-trained employees who can provide better for their families.”

Lasater, 39, who has two sons, said working to improve education can be frustrating because making progress is slow and it is difficult to see results. Those qualities are part of what draws him to the challenge.

By bringing all the city’s major education entities together for discussion, Lasater said, he hopes to be able to create a type of career academy. Such a program would allow students as young as high school freshmen to choose a career path and, through dual credit, earn an associate’s degree by the time they graduate high school.

When students graduate, they would have the option of continuing with schooling or entering the work force as a skilled professional.

“We want to inspire kids to stay in high school,” Lasater said. “I think a lot of students drop out of school because it doesn’t speak to them. But you can’t quit high school and get a job that will support a family.”

While the career academy goal is in its beginning stages, Lasater said the dual-credit focus is mainly on the fields of health care and auto technology.

LeAnne Byrd, chief academic officer for Howard College-San Angelo, said that although the technical and vocational school already was working with the local school district, Lasater has made the work easier and has brought all local education organizations to the table.

“He has done an outstanding job of bringing business to education,” Byrd said. “At a time when everyone else is busy, he keeps us engaged and on track.”

For the career academy to succeed, Lasater said, all involved groups need to be actively involved in discussions. He said the business community will be responsible for identifying which areas of the local economy need more employees so that the academy can focus its training in the needed areas.

Byrd said Lasater is good about listening to each group’s concerns and seeing how those issues interplay with the rest of the group.

“As an educator, it’s exciting to see someone in business want to make this work,” Byrd said. “He cares, and that shows whenever he’s around you.”

Leslie Lasater, Lorenzo Lasater’s wife, said her husband’s strengths include his ability to multitask and his dependability. She said he loves to take on new challenges.

“The more work you give him, the better he does,” Leslie Lasater said.
She said he is a natural leader because he is good at communicating with people and getting along with different personalities.

Lorenzo Lasater credits his subtle, non-threatening approach to civic work as the quality that allows him to be a natural leader.

“I’m effective at working with and organizing people,” he said.

Lasater got involved in the local business scene in the 1990s, when his ranch work was suffering because of a drought. He started the print shop Company Printing some 12 years ago as a measure to diversify his business interests.

He still does ranch work and has a business that involves raising deer to stock deer-huntingranches. He also has expanded his endeavors to include the local photography business Image Arts, as well as a packaging business in Mexico.

“It suits my personality to do a lot of different things,” Lasater said. Phil Neighbors, the Chamber of Commerce president, said Lasater is easygoing and fun to work with.

“He keeps meetings short and to the point, but makes sure they’re all-inclusive,” Neighbors said. “He involves everyone in the discussion and always has action and follow-up on his agenda.”

For now, Lasater said much of the work to improve local education is still conceptual. He knows it is going to be a long-term effort that — with any luck — never will be finished.

“You can always make education better,” Lasater said, “if you’re honest with yourself.”

The Truth about Ethanol

From the Spring 2007 issue of the Isa Informer

The truth about ethanol

The TCFA newsletter of January 5, 2007, says environmentalists now claim ethanol subsidies cost the equivalent of $500 per metric ton of CO2 removed. Cattle Fax writes that on a $90 fed market, $4 corn will make 550 lb. calves worth 20 cents less per pound than $3 corn.

Following is what the Wall Street Journal of May 10, 2006, reports (courtesy Dale Lasater):

“Unfortunately, congressional subsidies for biomass are driven by farm-state politics rather than by a technology-development effort that might offer a practical liquid fuel alternative to oil. Meanwhile, major oil and chemical companies are evaluating biomass and investors are chasing biomass investment opportunities. But how much of this is predictable?

Biomass can be divided into two classes: food-crop and cellulosic. Natural enzymes can easily break down food-crop biomass such as corn to simple sugars, and ferment these sugars to ethanol. Cellulosic biomass—which includes agricultural residues from food crops, wood and crops such as switch grass—cannot easily be “digested” by natural enzymes.

… In the U.S., cultivation of corn is highly energy-intensive and a significant amount of oil and natural gas is used in growing, fertilizing and harvesting it. Moreover, there is a substantial energy requirement—much of it supplied by diesel or natural gas—for the fermentation and distillation process that converts corn to ethanol. These petroleum inputs must be subtracted when calculating the net amount of oil that is displaced by the use of ethanol in gasohol. While there is some quarreling among experts, it is clear that it takes two-thirds of a gallon of oil to make a gallon equivalent of ethanol from corn. Thus one gallon of ethanol used in gasohol displaces perhaps one-third of a gallon of oil or less.

… A federal tax credit of 10 cents per gallon on gasohol, therefore, costs the taxpayer a hefty $120 per barrel of oil displaced cost. Surely it is worthwhile to look for cheaper ways to eliminate oil.

… Rising real prices of oil and natural gas reflect in part the progressive decline in low-cost reserves, and signal the wisdom of preparing now for a long transition from our petroleum-based economy. Almost certainly, future economies will exploit all possible technology options for replacing petroleum-based liquid fuels, especially technologies that do not produce net carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas. Biomass should, properly, be considered along with nuclear power and coal conversion with carbon capture and sequestration as important options, for future energy supply.”

Maybe the cattle industry should have been fighting ethanol rather than wasting our resources on a mandatory national ID program.

“I Won’t Bother You about Black Bulls Again!”

From the Fall 2005 issue of the Isa Informer

“I won’t bother you about black bulls again”

I’d like to share with you a funny story involving our longtime friends and customers, the Wedgeworths of Carthage, Texas. They raise straight Beefmaster commercial cows and have bought excellent-quality Isa Cattle Company bulls for years. They keep all their heifers and feed all their calves in the Panhandle.

Last year, their feedyard had a new manager, fresh from Kansas. When he saw the calves, he started in about how they needed to use black bulls, how the cattle would have a high cost of gain, etc., etc. Jody said, “Thanks. Now feed them.”

About halfway through the feed period, the manager called and was surprised to report that the Wedgeworth calves were boasting a cost of gain of around .48 cents, placing them in the top 10% of all calves in the Panhandle!

You Beefmaster folks know the rest of the story—the Wedgeworth Beefmaster steers hit a home run! Of the 164 head, only one died, they gained 3.8 pounds per day at a cost of .47 cents. They sold for $84 and netted the ranch $652 after interest. The first pen was bought by National Farms, and, unfortunately, Jody wasn’t able to get the carcass data. He knows it was good, though, because National Farms returned to buy the other pen a week later.

After it was all over, the feedyard manager from Kansas told Jody, “I’m not going to bother you about black bulls anymore.”

Congratulations to the Wedgeworths on not chasing fads, not taking discounts and maximizing their profitability in all phases of their business!

What is Going on in the Industry?

From the Fall 2004 issue of the Isa Informer

What is going on in the industry?
(Besides good markets and good rains in a lot of places)

Seedstock Digest, in a recent newsletter, said, “The consensus seems to be that the next trend will be on identifying and propagating maternal excellence, while others are pointing towards feed efficiency as one of the next trends that will drive breeding decisions.”

Well, Hello! Tom Lasater realized in 1931 that practical fertility in low-cost, large-scale operations was the key to profitability. Subsequent experience has shown that selecting for maternal excellence results also in outstanding feedlot performance (gainability and livability), as well as results in the packing house (hot carcass, yield, tenderness, and cutability).

The calves sired by the bulls you buy here will outperform anything you can buy anywhere—on the ranch, in the feedlot and in the meat.

Our family’s 140-plus years of ranching experience can back up this statement.

The American Gelbvieh Association says the following about Single Trait Selection:

  • In the 1980s, selection for frame score resulted in hard-doing females, increased calving problems and fertility problems.
  • The new fad is marbling, whose relation to tenderness is questionable.
  • High-marbling cattle have lost big money due to higher feed cost and more external fat.
  • Balanced multi-trait selection is the proven way to breed profitable cattle.

Tom Lasater and his followers have never deviated from selection for the Six Essentials, which is the only viable Standard of Excellence.

Questions Provide Key to Success

From the Fall 2003 issue of the Isa Informer

Questions provide keys to success

How do Beefmasters perform in the feedlot and packinghouse?

Very well. Our cattle will equal or surpass what any other breed can do. We are unique among seedstock producers in having fed and slaughtered a large number of our breed’s steer calves.Between l989 and l994, NewBeef fed 10,886 Beefmaster steer calves in two feedlots in the Texas Panhandle. The cattle were purchased as calf-crops from all over the U.S. and Mexico, and most were sold on formulas to Excel and IBP. The steers were fed a high-quality, corn-based ration in two well-managed yards. Beefmasters are consistent and predictable and equaled or exceeded industry standards in every important category. (See the results at right.)

In my 40 years of selling Beefmaster bulls, I have been asked many times about optimizing profits, how the market is made and retained ownership. I thought I’d answer a few of these questions and include the data on Beefmasters’ performance.

What should my bull-buying strategy be?

The bull business is very competitive, and good bulls, like computer software, are readily available at reasonable prices. Don’t even think of buying bulls from a breeder who does not have a short breeding season. His cattle are not productive. Purchase seedstock from people who have better cattle than you.Buy bulls that have been through a large, valid peer-group performance test. Use whatever numbers are important to you. Performance-testing is nothing more than an accounting system for genetic potential.

What is the price of admission/to the cattle business?

One load (50,000 lbs.) of properly immunized calves or yearlings to sell or feed. They can be steers and heifers mixed, and you can even team up with a neighbor, if you both buy performance-tested bulls and use the same 90-day breeding season.

How do you make a profit in the cattle business?

By retaining ownership of all your steers and heifers at least through the yearling stage when they weigh 750 to 850 lbs. Breed at least 80% of your heifers for replacements or sell them as replacements. Don’t ever sell over 20% of your heifers as feeders.

What is the most important management tool in the ranching industry?

The use of a 90-day breeding season which, over time, eliminates low-performers of both sexes and gives a uniform product to sell. Cows exposed over 90 days don’t calve every year. Calve every year! If you breed at l3 months and breed for a short season, you will eliminate genetic non-producers and low-producers. Nature will size your cows to fit your environment. You can still select for muscle, and natural selection will eliminate those families too heavily-muscled for calving ease.

What effect will using mediocre bulls have on my profits?

Mediocre bulls mean no profits. You will have a low-producing cow herd, which will command no premium if you decide to sell. Your steer calves will not command a premium because they will not be known as good performers.

Why is quality grade of so little importance?

Young, quality cattle fed to finish on a corn ration produce uniformly desirable lean, tender carcass. Calf-feds, the most desirable, grade lower than yearling-feds. This is taken into account in the market. The market has abandoned the grading system.Calves put on feed at weaning convert efficiently and develop tender carcasses with more muscle and less fat due to being earlier in their growth curve than cattle fed as yearling.

How do you increase net income off a given operation?

By increasing gross. Eliminate sale of low-dollar categories, such as feeder heifer calves, and thin cull cows in the fall.

What is a commercial feedlot?

A feedlot is a service/financial institution that sells feed and lends money. They are a valuable marketing and financial alternative as they’ll feed and finance anything you want, 365 days a year.

What are the components of price and profitability in order of importance under a value-based marketing system?

Here they are according to several publications:

  • Feed Conversion—Cost of Gain
  • Dressing Percentage
  • Days on Feed
  • Cutability – Yield Grade – % salable meat
  • Quality Grade

What shots should I give my calves?

It is important that they receive the following shots at about three months:
7-Way Blackleg
4-Way Viral (IBR, BVD, P13, BRSV)
Pasturella/Somnus (we recommend Poly-Bac B-Somnus)

Regardless of your plans at weaning, if you don’t give these shots, your calves will be vulnerable if stressed (and they will be).

From the producers’ perspective, what are the two biggest advances in the last 20 years?

Video sales and formula-pricing. Video sales put the competent small producer on the same marketing footing as the large producer. Formula-selling opened the way for value-based marketing by establishing the magnitude of the difference in value between the good ones and the bad ones.

Laurence M. Lasater,
Chairman