On the Edge Today

CHAROLAIS

For these serious, profit mindedproducers, thick, meaty, heavy,healthy and Charolais are one inthe same.

Story by Kim Holt

They’re described as moderate framed,thick, deep, easy fleshing cattle with capac-ity—meat wagons, in fact. And it’sCharolais seedstock, like that from CobbCharolais Ranch, Inc., in Augusta, Mont.,that help turn out the industry’s “workingcalf,” so to speak, for serious minded com-mercial cattle producers.Cheryl Cobb assures that her family is all

about raising white bulls for the commer-cial segment. Some 95 percent of theirrepeat customers are commercial breeders,some even second generation buyers, whohave purchased from nearly every Cobbsale since the first in 1969. The Cobb fami-ly describes their typical customers assmart, progressive, thinkers and planners.“They are people who want to make the

most money, not just ‘get by’ or ‘getthrough’ another year,” Mike Cobbremarks, adding they are straight shooters,profit oriented cattlemen.

In retained ownership:performance paysOne of these long time customers is

Orville Skogen, a cow-calf producer andcattle buyer from Ft. Shaw, Mont. He hasused Charolais bulls for greater than 20years, all purchased from the Cobb family.Skogen and his wife, Arlene, have large

commercial and registeredAngus herds.They breed some 600 commercials toCharolais bulls and use this breed exclusive-ly to clean up both herds. They feed in theMidwest and retain ownership on all calves.He says, “These good, heavy muscled

Charolais bulls on these black cows producebig buckskin and smoky colored calves.

They just blow the lid off the packinghousefor us. These cattle do extremely well.”This Montana cattleman says he goes out

of his way to buy calves like these. “Wenot only buy a lot of Cobb bred calves, butan awful lot of Charolais calves through theindustry.” He says they’re not hard for himto find.“We have some tremendously good

Charolais breeders here in the state ofMontana,” he says, adding that the Cobbsare a “household name” within the industryhe works. “The Charolais-cross calveswork really well for us.” And he wouldknow, given he has at least 20 years ofcarcass data records.“Great feedlot efficiency, early maturity,

coupled with a pile of high quality redmeat—all of this is truly what the industrydemands and needs,” Skogen assures. Andfrom seedstock breeders like the Cobbs,who are “great people to do business with.”

Desired: thick and meaty carcassesOver in southeastern South Dakota, near

Woonsocket, about 30 miles from Mitchell,Olson Farms is another long time buyer ofCharolais bulls from the Cobbs.Interestingly, neither Gary nor Dale Olsonhave set foot on the Cobb Ranch, 900 milesaway, but have exclusively used their bullsfor some 20 years.“I want something that’s thick and has

meat in it,” Gary relays, and this is the typeof bull his sale representative has pur-chased and sent him over the years. TheOlsons found the Cobb family through acattle feeder friend some years ago whowas impressed when in Montana and look-ing over a set of feeder calves sired by theirCharolais bulls.Years earlier, it was a consensus between

Olson partners, including the brothers and(continued on page 3)

Profit Oriented CattlemenDemand Profit Oriented Calves

“These good, heavy muscledCharolais bulls on these black cowsproduce big buckskin and smokycolored calves. They just blow thelid off the packinghouse for us.These cattle do extremely well.”

� page 1 �

“The biggest mistake people makewhen vaccinating … is not takingtime to do a good job. This mayresult in some animals not beingadequately vaccinated, some ofthe product leaks out, and

increases risk of tissue damage,abscesses and reactions.”

� page 6 �

“The first NBQA, released in 1991,set forth an assessment of theproblems, but more importantly,a process for remedying the

problems—solutions. As with everyaudit released since 1991, the

solutions proposed are comprehen-sive and are specific to everysegment of beef production.”

� page 2 �

“When looking at possibilities, weneed to think outside the box. Abeef cow has the advantage of alarge rumen. As long as there are notoxins in feeds, rumen microbes canferment and use nearly anything asa source of energy or protein.”

� page 4 �

Volume 10, Issue 3 September 2012

Published by the American-InternationalCharolais Association and Charolais Journal

PRSRTSTANDARDU.S.POSTAGEPAID

JeffersonCity,MO65101

Permit#303

Who knew how importantit would be?As you probably know by now, the 2011

version of the National Beef Quality Audit(NBQA) has been released. The audit, con-ducted every five years, began as an indus-try assessment targeting a particular set ofproblems. From the beginning, the initia-tive was championed by a few individualsrepresenting specific industry segmentsexperiencing the problems.Injection sites and drug residues had

become a real problem. The problems werenot the result of negligence, but simply fol-lowing accepted practices. What happenedafter an initial contact from the Food andDrug Administration (FDA) to a few feed-lots in the Texas Panhandle seems ratherbenign today. However, those letters servedas a wake-up call. Those feedlots and theirveterinarians began a remarkable process ofdiscovery leading to the realization thatsomething more foundational, sciencebased and backed by a force that couldinfluence broad change was necessary.The first NBQA, released in 1991, set

forth an assessment of the problems, butmore importantly, a process for remedyingthe problems—solutions. As with everyaudit released since 1991, the solutions pro-posed are comprehensive and are specificto every segment of beef production.The audits have led to the development

of Beef Quality Assurance (BQA), anational program that provides guidelinesfor beef cattle production. BQA, under theNational Cattlemen’s Beef Association aus-pices, provides best practice guidelinesleading to better management, increasedprofitability and heightened consumer con-fidence.At their simplest, the National Beef

Quality Audits have served as a road mapfor product improvement. However, stand-ing back and truly realizing the value of the

road map is almost incalculable. Forinstance, before NBQA and BQA, the beefindustry, as a best practice model, did notfollow a structured preweaning or post-weaning health protocol. Sure, many pro-gressive producers had some type ofpreweaning or postweaning health proce-dure. But, since all cattle were sold on acash basis, and since there was no papertrail to accompany calves selling, there wasno differentiation or added value for health-ier calves. Many producers simply deter-mined the increased input costs providedinsufficient return.Through the years, under the research

and guidance of beef quality audits, thepolicies and procedures have, in part, con-tributed to a value based marketing systemthat truly rewards better management andhealthier cattle. As an industry, we’veimproved genetics and now have thepotential to produce a consistently highervalued end product. BQA has provided aprocess to address injection site blemishes,too much fat, hide problems related tobranding, safe handling, animal welfareand a host of other costly industry issues.The most recent audit takes yet another

giant leap forward by even more closelyconnecting beef production to the con-

sumer. Incorporating the information setforth in the beef quality audits is andalways has been voluntary. NCBA’s BeefQuality Assurance program is voluntary.Tom Field, director of the Engler

Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program atthe University of Nebraska recently said,“Our industry will take this informationand make significant changes in the way itviews delivery of product, integrity, eatingsatisfaction and telling the story in a moreproactive way.” Field went on to say, “Weeither get it right or watch cow numbersslide. As cow numbers slide, there areundesirable consequences that rippleacross our industry, related industries andthrough our society.”Dr. Dan Thomson, MS, PhD, DVM,

Kansas State University, like most all ofthe beef industry opinion leaders, also seesthe broader, far reaching rewards of usingthis important information to improve ourproduct, increase the potential for prof-itability and improve our credibility withthe consumer. “BQA started out as thequality assurance of beef products and hasevolved into the assurance of quality beeffor the consumer.”Food animal production has taken cen-

ter stage in our society. Every singlenuance of our meat animal protein deliv-ery system is under scrutiny. Laying hencrates to gestation stalls to confinementfeeding are merely the tip of the prover-bial iceberg.Consumers with little or no connection

to agriculture are being persuaded by mis-information by those motivated to disman-tle an incredibly efficient and sustainablesystem. If we don’t use the resourcesavailable to communicate the benefits ofour own agricultural society, inform theconsumer with factual information anddeliver a safe, consistent product every-day, who will?

Volume 10, Issue 3 September 2012

Published periodically by:

American-International Charolais Association11700 NW Plaza CircleKansas City, MO 64153

Phone: (816) 464-5977 � Fax: (816) 464-5759E-mail: info@charolaisusa.comWebsite: www.charolaisusa.com

Charolais Journal11700 NW Plaza CircleKansas City, MO 64153

(816) 464-5977 • fax (816) 464-5759Web site: www.charolaisusa.com

Association StaffJ. Neil Orth

Executive Vice President, ext. 101north@charolaisusa.com

Marilou WegnerRecording Secretary, ext. 400mwegner@charolaisusa.com

Maggie SmitheeAssistant Recording Secretary, ext. 401

msmithee@charolaisusa.comDavid Hobbs

Director of Activities, ext. 200dhobbs@charolaisusa.com

Robert WilliamsDirector of Breed Improvement& Foreign Marketing, ext. 103rwilliams@charolaisusa.com

Molly SchoenDirector of Foundation, ext. 104mmader@charolaisusa.com

Kaitlyn LewisDirector of Junior Activitiesklewis@charolaisusa.com

Judy ClementsAdministrative Assistant

& Affiliates Coordinator, ext. 102jclements@charolaisusa.com

Lewis MeyerController, ext. 300

lmeyer@charolaisusa.com

To use the extenson numbers listed for theabove staff, phone (816) 464-5977.

Future Issues Ad Deadline Mail DateDecember/January Edge . . . . . . . . November 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . December 15February Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . January 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 25Cattleman’s Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . August 1September Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . August 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . September 1

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Beef Quality Audit

By J. Neil OrthAICA Executive Vice President

Journal StaffJ. Neil OrthCPI President

David HobbsManager

Molly SchoenEditor

Forrest BassfordPublisher Emeritus

Central/NortheastRepresentativeCall AICA

(816) 464-2474, ext. 200

North CentralRepresentativeColt Keffer

c (765) 376-8784

Southeast RepresentativeFloyd Wampler

Bristol, TNc (423) 612-2144

SouthwestRepresentativeWes Chism

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Western AssociateAdvertising SalesDennis Metzgerc (816) 519-8208

Field Staff

page 2 September 2012

CHAROLAIS EDGE page 3

“A Day In Nanafalia”Compton Charolais 25th Annual Bull and Female Sale

Buck & Barbara Compton

55 Bulls10 Bred Cows (spring calving)

Profit Oriented Cattle…(continued from page 1)

their late father, to try white bulls. Garysays they did try the “black deal” forawhile, but it just wasn’t a good fit forthem. “We stayed with the Charolaisbecause we like them,” he relays, and theimpressive results they’ve consistently seenin their feedlot and received back from thepacker.The Olsons use Charolais bulls on mod-

erate framed commercial Angus cows,annually adding some 12 to 14 head ofyearling bulls to their herd. They calvebetween April 1 and June 1 because Garysays they’re more concerned with a livecalf versus a heavier weaning weight. Still,weaning in October brings back averageweights of 580-600 pounds (lbs.) on drynative and tame grasses for “excellent”weaning weights, he relays.Calving problems are minimal and

almost always the result of an infrequentabnormal presentation, the same as anyproducer gets on occasion, he reports, butnot many otherwise. “Very seldom do wehave them oversized.” He adds, “I was alittle disgusted when the Cobb bulls firstshowed up. They were pretty thick, prettybig, and I thought, ‘o man this is going tobe a wreck trying to calve.’ But we haven’t

had any trouble. The Cobbs said they’d bealright and I took their word for it.”The Olsons retain ownership of all calves

and finish them in their feedlot on home-grown feedstuffs. They also buy cattle andprefer to feed Charolais-crosses. Theircalves are age-and source-veri-fied and sent ontoJBS wherethey’re marketedon a JBS formula.According toGary, they usual-ly bring back a$50-$75 premiumover regular cattlebecause of theircarcasses.“They’re meat

wagons. We don’twant to sell any-thing else,” heassures.He says their

typical liveweights are in thehigh 1,300s at 12to 13 1/2 monthsof age, with usu-ally a 62 to 63

percent yield. Their final set of calves har-vested this past summer were 1,338 lbs. at13 months with a quality grade of 80 per-cent Choice.“What I like about these cattle are their

carcasses. They have the meat in them.Thick and meaty,that’s what youwant.” Aside fromthe performanceand cutability theCharolais-cross cat-tle offer, Gary alsorecognizes thehybrid vigor andprofitability bene-fits with cross-breeding, whichhelp keep his fami-ly in the ranchingbusiness.He comments,

“Everybody in thiscountry is breakingout their pasturesand farming. We’renot. When we start-ed, we couldn’t domuch without acow. They broughtus to the dance. The

cows have been there when times aretough, and they’ll always be there.”

Extra pounds: they do add upSimilar to Skogen and the Olson broth-

ers, Bruce Rowser of Henefer, Utah, hasalso discovered the value of qualityCharolais genetics. He, too, is a Cobbrepeat customer, and each spring travelseight hours north to Great Falls, from hisnortheastern Utah commercial ranch, fortheir spring bull sale.Rowser especially likes the calves these

bulls turn out, and so do his feedlot cus-tomers. He comments the Cobbs have botha good name for marketing with feeder calfbuyers and for “a carcass on their stock.”He adds, “They are just really genuinelynice people I really like dealing with. Theytreat you well.”This Utah cattle producer considers mul-

tiple factors when he selects herd sires,including performance, muscle and eyeappeal. “I go deeper than a lot of peopleinto performance,” he says, analyzing sireand dam past performance, in addition tobirth, weaning and yearling weights. “Ibelieve if a bull’s performance is good, hewill sire calves that perform likewise.”Rowser crosses Charolais bulls on an

Angus-based herd of which most are(continued on page 7)

page 4 September 2012

older bulls and keep them in good shapewithout having the expense of feeding agrain product. The only expense is haulingit home and the time involved.

Think outside the boxThere are a number of nontraditional

feeds that can be used for beef cattle,according to David Bohnert, BeefExtension Specialist and RuminantNutritionist, Oregon State University.The biggest factor in whether or not analternative feed is feasible is how far it hasto be hauled.“Some of the common alternative feeds

in our region include grass seed straw,distillers grains (which have been shown tobe a good energy/protein supplement), andcornstalks. The cornstalks can be grazed,and some people bale them to transportthem to where they must be fed, but thereis a lot of waste with baled cornstalks.Cull onions, turnips, potatoes, carrots, drybeans and other vegetables are available insome areas. Vegetable waste from food pro-cessing can be useful, depending on whereyou are located and how you might feedit,” he says.Bakery waste and other foods can some-

times be added into cattle rations if you’renear a bread making factory, or a manufac-turer of cookies or candy bars. “Food com-panies have to get rid of cull products occa-sionally and stockmen have fed these. Youhave to be careful how much you feed, andbalance the diet appropriately, but these areall things that can be utilized. A nutritionisthere in Oregon once created a ration usingcherry pies, candy bars, and corn flakes aspart of the energy base, and the cattle didfine on it,” says Bohnert.“When looking at possibilities, we need

to think outside the box. A beef cow has theadvantage of a large rumen. As long asthere are no toxins in feeds, rumenmicrobes can ferment and use nearly any-thing as a source of energy or protein. If aproduct is fed in appropriate amounts, andnot so much that it might cause digestivedistress, it can work. We can take advan-tage of the ruminant’s ability to digest justabout anything. Cattle are also wonderfulharvesters of low quality forages that other-wise would never get used, but these oftenneed to be supplemented with proteinand/or energy,” he says.“There are numerous things that can be

fed. Some of the liquid “syrup” from dis-tillers grains, or from making alcohol, canbe useful if you figure out a way to feed it.One producer used old bathtubs. Justbecause you haven’t done it in the pastdoesn’t mean it can’t be done.” There areways to use nearly any kind of feedstuff ifyou are creative.“Alternative feeds can help lower feed

costs. The main thing that limits their use islocation. You must be fairly close to wherethey are produced or it will cost too muchto transport them to your place, especiallythe ones that have high moisture contentlike cull potatoes or onions. Otherwise youare paying a lot for hauling water,” he says.

Make sure it’s cost effectiveand nutritionally adequateDuring drought, cattle producers often

When traditional feeds are in short sup-ply or expensive, stockmen often consideralternatives. There are a number of nontra-ditional feeds that can be used, and a grow-ing number of producers are becominginnovative in utilizing the resources in theirown region. Chris and Robert Bianchi raiseregistered and commercial cattle, mainlyCharolais, in Gilroy, California. They aremaking use of bell peppers during the sum-mer months from June through October,and waste barley (brewers grain) yearround.“We get some peppers that are locally

processed midsummer, but others we getfrom as far away as Bakersfield. Some arejust the cores and stems. One of the pepperprocessing plants hauls the cores and stemsto us to get rid of them. The peppers we getin June are whole (the culls), and we pickthem up from a couple different places.These processing plants are within threemiles from where we summer our cows, soit’s a short haul,” says Chris.The cattle readily eat the peppers. “Early

in the season it’s green peppers, but laterwe get some reds and yellows. Those mustbe a little sweeter because the cattle will eatthe yellows, the reds, and then the greens,”she explains.The brewers grain from beer making

they pick up in 40 to 50 gallon barrels.Most of it comes from San Jose, about ahalf hour drive. “We pick up barley fromabout five breweries, and get about 15 to18 barrels at a time,” Chris says.When feeding peppers they use a truck

and two trailers. “The truck puts them outin a row behind it, such as on top of a haywindrow. It’s an old feed truck we modifiedto feed out the back instead of out the side.The trailers dump and we spread the pep-pers in small piles out on the pasture,”she says.The barley is fed to bulls. “We feed some

to our older herd bulls during summer as asupplement. This year we have a lot ofyoung bulls we are backgrounding so wefeed them barley in feeders,” says Chris.Their ranch operation has been using bar-

ley for about 15 years. The breweries needto get rid of it after they’ve processed thegrain. “It’s wet and heavy and would be amajor disposal problem so they are happythat we take it. We’ve been feeding the bellpeppers about seven years,” she says.She and Robert run 450 cows, some of

them purebred Charolais, Hereford and RedAngus, and about 300 commercial cows.They feed the peppers to the commercial

cows. They started feeding peppers becausethe plant managers needed to get rid ofthem. “Years ago there were more dairies inthe area and some of them used the cullpeppers. My father-in-law used to have adairy and he fed a lot of cull lettuce, etc.Now the vegetable processors don’t havethe dairies to take these. We’ve never fedlettuce or garlic but we have a neighborwho feeds a lot of garlic peels. They dumpit out in the pasture and the cows eat thosereally well,” she says.“We started using the peppers to help

stretch our pastures farther. Anything wecan do to cheapen our feed expenses is abig help. The pastures where we feed thepeppers is planted to winter forage (a seedmixture that contains wheat, oats and bar-ley). We plant this in late fall and then wecut and windrow it for the cattle in May orearly June. The peppers are fed with that sothe cows have a lot of roughage to go alongwith the peppers which are very moist andpalatable.”A nearby producer feeds artichokes and

the cows really like those, too. Other pro-ducers have fed cull almonds, carrots, andalmost anything that has food value for thecattle. “Dairies have fed these by-productsfor a long time, but it’s more of a new thingfor beef producers. The dairies have feedmangers and can put these various feed-stuffs in their mixer truck,” says Chris.The Bianchi cattle run on about 6,000

acres in the foothills, and the bull calvesrun in the hills with their mothers. “Wewinter them in the hills, and seldom getsnow. The cattle graze through most of thewinter. The peppers help stretch those pas-tures,” she explains.The barley is not high protein, but

enough to be a good supplement for the

Cut Costs with Alternative FeedsBy Heather Smith Thomas

CHAROLAIS EDGE page 5

John & Cheryl Cobb: (406)562-3670cobbchar@3riversdbs.net

COBB CHAROLAIS RANCHCOBB CHAROLAIS RANCHMike & Sarah Cobb: (406)562-3694

cobbcow1@riversdbs.netwww.cobbcharolais.com

Linebred performance

testing since 1956.

See the valuable difference Crossbreed with Cobb Charolais Bulls

60 Charolais Bulls Sell

140 Charolais Bulls Sell

Sight Unseen Buyer Program GuaranteedGreat Falls, Montana

have to be innovative to try to match feedneeds with what might be available. GlennNader, Extension Livestock and NaturalResources Adviser in California (Butte,Sutter and Yuba counties), says manystockmen in his area have been using ricestraw, since there’s a lot of rice producedlocally. It’s a low quality feed, but there’s awide variability in forage quality and insome instances it can work if used in con-junction with a good protein source.“Protein level in rice straw is related to

how much nitrogen the farmer applies.Protein content can vary from as low as twopercent to as high as almost eight percent.Test the stack before you buy it, or at leasttalk with the grower to find out how muchthe crop was fertilized. If it was on the highend of fertilization, or fertilized late, you cananticipate more protein in the straw. Drycows need seven to eight percent protein; ahigh quality rice straw might be adequatebut anything less will need supplementa-tion,” he says.“The other variation in this type of straw

is acid detergent fiber (ADF). This type ofanalysis is our cheapest way of looking atdigestibility; the higher the number, theworse it is for digestibility. Some rice strawis as high as 56 ADF and some as low as44, which is a huge difference,” explains

Nader. If you buy the lowest quality ricestraw you’ll end up paying more to balanceit with a supplement than you’d pay forhigh priced good hay.The digestibility of rice straw is also

dependent on how it’s harvested and baled.“If it’s baled soon after the rice is harvest-ed, at about 13 to 15 percent moisture,where it still has some green color andgood aroma and not too dried out, it’s muchbetter. If it’s baled right behind the har-vester, it is as digestible and has the nutri-ent quality of low end alfalfa. But within48 hours it drops dramatically and turnsinto very poor quality forage,” he says.“In studies where we’ve fed it to cattle

green chopped right out of the field, intakeand performance increases. No one feedsgreen chop rice straw or silage to cattlehowever, because of the cost of hauling thelow quality forage (too much volume). So,it must be baled. But, if it can be cut andbaled with high moisture, the cows aremore interested in it,” says Nader. As onerancher says, “Put it up like hay and itfeeds like hay; put it up like straw and itfeeds like straw.”Another alternative feed, with the

increase in ethanol plants, is corn stalks. Indrought situations, some ranchers are haul-ing baled cornstalks from nearby farming

regions. But it’s expensive to haul very far,for the nutrient value you get, and caremust be taken in feeding big bales to mini-mize waste.

“You have to put them in bale feeders,and may have to pitch the bigger stalks outthat the cattle won’t clean up.” He warnsproducers that cornstalks also need to betested to check nitrate levels.“Cornstalks have a little higher nutrient

level than rice straw—about 5.9 percent

protein. It’s a little better feed but you needto have a better handle on it to feed it. Likerice straw, the faster you can bale it afterharvest, the better it is. The more times it

gets rained on, the quality isleached out of it,” he says.“When forages become

high priced, ranchers mustlook at their total costs. It’seasy to buy an alternative for-age and purchase supplement.Concentrated energy is stillcheaper to ship, but not manyranchers want to go out andfeed cattle every day,” he says.“We will probably see more

canola meal shipped in fromCanada since they are growingmore. It’s often brought byrail, and pelleted. Otherwise itbecomes compacted in therailroad cars and difficult toget out. The freight on this ischeaper by rail than by truck,

with high costs of diesel,”he says.“The last time we had a serious drought

one rancher bought an old conveyer beltfrom a Nevada gold mine and used it to feedon. It was four feet wide and very long.

(continued on page 6)

page 6 September 2012

InjectionTechniques—Routesof AdministrationBy Heather Smith Thomas

Fall is often a time of working cattleincluding giving preweaning vaccinationsto calves and semiannual vaccines to cows.An occasional animal may also need to betreated for foot rot, pinkeye or a respiratorydisease. Knowing how to administerinjectable products through proper dosageand location, is crucial for optimum effica-cy and for animal safety.

Intramuscular injectionsIntramuscular (IM) injections require a

needle long enough to go deep into muscle.For an adult animal use a needle at least 1.5inches long and two inches is better. Use a16-gauge needle large enough to gothrough a cow’s thick skin without bendingor breaking. Anything larger than 16 hasmore risk for tissue damage and leakage.For a calf use a smaller needle; 18 gauge, 1to 1.5 inches long, works best.The biggest mistake people make when

vaccinating, especially when running a lotof cattle through the chute, is not takingtime to do a good job. This may result insome animals not being adequately vacci-nated, some of the product leaks out, andincreases risk of tissue damage, abscessesand reactions. To reduce leakage, keep theneedle inserted for at least two secondsafter the injection before removing it fromthe muscle.Another way to prevent leakage is to pull

the skin taut across the injection site withone hand while you inject with the other,

then release the skin after you remove theneedle. The skin then moves over the holeand closes it. You can also rub the injectionsite briefly, to help distribute the productwithin the muscle and reduce pressure soit’s less apt to ooze back out.When using a trigger-type syringe for IM

shots, thrust the needle into muscle and pullthe trigger. When using a smaller or dispos-able syringe, detach the needle and pressyour hand firmly against the skin to desen-sitize the site so the animal won’t jumpwhen you insert the needle. Then thrust itin quickly and forcefully. A new, sharp nee-dle goes in easier and causes less pain anddamage than a dull one. If the animal

jumps, wait until she settles downbefore attaching the syringe to theinserted needle and giving theinjection. If the needle starts toooze blood, take it out and try adifferent spot. Never inject intra-muscular products into a bloodvessel.

Subcutaneous injectionsOriginally, subcutaneous injec-

tions were used because a particu-lar product was irritating to muscletissue or designed for slower rateof absorption. Today, due to con-cerns about carcass quality andavoiding IM shots where possible,more injectables are approved forsubcutaneous use. When you havea choice, according to label direc-tions, inject under the skin ratherthan into muscle. IM shots aremore likely to develop a seriousabscess if a needle is dirty.

Infection introduced by a subcutaneousshot is merely beneath the skin and anabscess more readily breaks open to drain.For a subcutaneous injection, lift a fold

of skin on neck or shoulder where skin isloosest, and slip the needle in between skinand muscle. If using a trigger-type syringe,aim it alongside the animal so the needlegoes under the skin and not into muscle.For a small calf, it may be easiest to give asubcutaneous injection under the loose skinof the shoulder, and if there’s a local reac-tion it won’t make his neck sore, whichmay hinder nursing.Giving injections subcutaneous rather

than IM allows you to use a shorter needle(¾ inch if using a trigger type syringe, orup to one inch if using both hands to tentthe skin and slip the needle underneath) soit’s less likely to bend or break. In the con-fined space of some chutes, insert the nee-dle at an angle so you can use a one handedtechnique with a syringe gun, rather thanboth hands to tent the skin. There’s less riskof getting your hand jammed between the

animal and the chute or accidentally hittingyourself with the needle.Some of the new antibiotics can be

injected subcutaneously at the back of theear. This is a way to avoid tissue reactions,scarring and other problems than couldaffect the carcass. The animal must be ade-quately restrained to minimize risk of goingtoo deep or accidentally injecting into avein.

Intravenous injectionsSome medications are more effective by

acting faster and more readily absorbed ifgiven intravenously (IV). Some are irritat-ing to muscle tissue and must be given IV.These injections must be done properly.Chances for problems are greater, as is thespeed with which a serious problem maydevelop, so you must know which productscan be given IV (follow label directions).Large volumes of fluid or medicationsgiven too swiftly can put too much load onthe heart and some drugs speed up theheart. Heart rate should be monitored whengiving fluids or certain IV medications andrate of administration adjusted accordingly.Any large vein will work for an IV injec-

tion, including the large veins under thetail, the big milk vein ahead of the udder ona lactating cow, or the jugular vein oneither side of the neck in the groove abovewindpipe and esophagus. A large needle, atleast 16 gauge and two inches long orlonger, works best for adults.Needles must be sterile. The animal must

be restrained. If using the jugular vein,press on it with fingers or fist to build uppressure between your hand and the ani-mal’s head so the vein stands up and is eas-ier to inject. Still pressing on the vein,insert the needle at a point between yourhand and the animal’s head, then move theneedle a little forward inside the vein paral-lel with the neck. If blood flows freelyfrom the needle, it’s in the vein. You canthen attach your syringe or tubing, if givingfluid.The most common problem is pushing

the needle too far, clear through the vein.Sometimes the animal moves and the nee-dle slips out of the vein. Don’t assume it’sin the vein just because you see blood.Blood will flow rapidly and steadily fromthe needle if it’s actually in the vein. Makesure the needle stays in the vein when yougive the injection. Some products can causesevere irritation, stress and sometimesdeath if they leak into the tissues aroundthe vein. If the needle slips out of the veinwhile giving fluid, tissues around the veinstart to swell. Take it out and start over. Ifgiving fluid, it’s best to use an IV catheter,which is longer than a needle and moreflexible, and stays in the vein better.

Cut Costs WithAlternative Feeds…(continued from page 5)

He drug it around his rangeland andaugered feed onto the belt from his feedwagon. There was some waste, but it wasstill cheaper than building a drylot for thecattle. He hooked onto the belt with a trac-tor and moved it to a new place each dayso the cattle wouldn’t beat up the range-land, and the belt kept the feed from beingtromped in the dirt,” explains Nader.Almond hulls are another alternative in

some regions. “But as the price of corn hasrisen, all the other alternatives have risen aswell. With almond hulls, some people dumpthem in the pasture and use electric fence tolimit what cattle eat each day, moving thefence farther into the pile. There is somewaste this way, and when almond hullswere $48 to $56 a ton delivered, this wasok. But now they are over $100 a ton andyou don’t want to waste that much.”Traditionally it was cheaper to move cat-

tle to the feed than to haul feed to the cattlein a drought situation, but not anymore.Transportation costs dictate using some-thing close, even rain damaged alfalfa. “Astudy at University of Nevada (Reno)found you can actually keep rumen proteinlevels the same if you feed alfalfa everyother day and poor quality grass hay everyday,” he says.“The problem when feeding a small

amount every day (like three pounds perhead) is that the dominant cows eat all of itbecause you’re not feeding enough to reallyspread it out. Feeding seven pounds everyother day gives all of them more chance at it.The rumen protein levels stay high enough tokeep the microbes working,” he says.“It’s hard to beat alfalfa as a supplement,

even if it’s more than $250 a ton. For whatyou get, it’s still the best feed to balancepoor quality forage. The problem with feed-ing straight alfalfa is that it’s inefficient costwise. Cows easily meet their protein require-ments and start burning the excess protein tomake energy. And this is a very expensivesource of energy. That’s why you want touse just a small amount of alfalfa and look atother forage alternative to meet the energydemands of the cow. If good alfalfa is 20percent protein, you don’t need to be feedingthat as the full diet,” says Nader.

Participants may enroll by contactingMarilou Wegner, American-International Charolais Association, e-mail mwegner@charolaisusa.comor 816-464-5977, ext. 400.

There are lots of ways to makemoney with Charolais genetics.

we just made it

4

Profit Oriented Cattle…(continued from page 3)

Angus-Simmental-crosses. He also breedswhite bulls to Red Angus-cross cows, andhas this to say: “They give me great calves.Those buckskin calves all look alike. Youget them the same color and they reallylook good.”“I think uniformity affects your market-

ing, definitely,” he says. “I strictly runblack and red cows and Charolais bulls.Everything I have is the same and it surelooks nice when they look through a penand you can tell they’re all Charolais-crosscalves.” Rowser markets calves typicallyon video in mid-October after a 45-daywean on meadow grass.He’s found the Cobb calves look a lot

like their sires. “I do like their calves;they’re really heavy muscled and performwell.” He adds, “They’re linebred so whenyou cross them on these cows, you get apretty uniform set of calves.”Turning out performance based, linebred

Charolais has been a specialty of the Cobbfamily’s for more than 50 years. Today, thetradition is continued by Cheryl and John

Cobb and Sarah andMike Cobb on theirnorth centralMontana ranch.Their white breed

was established byJohn and Mike’sfather, Buddy, whostarted using perform-ance records early onas a basis for herdselection. He is known as a true pioneer ofthe Charolais breed itself in the UnitedStates, Canada and Mexico, and of the per-formance movement which blossomed intothe Beef Improvement Federation.Performance numbers on the Cobb cattle

actually trace back to 1956. Today, John,Mike and their families continue the Cobblinebreeding legacy and the philosophyheld by their father: the key to makingmoney in the cattle business lies in gettingthe animal from birth to slaughter in theshortest time possible; early maturity com-bined with feed efficiency, carcass qualityand cutability.To carry this out, the Cobb family stays

CHAROLAIS EDGE page 7

Steer clear of residue by choosingthe right treatment later in thefeeding periodBovine respiratory disease (BRD) can

strike at any time. When BRD developslater in the feeding period, producersshould pay careful attention to the with-drawal time of the selected antimicrobialtreatment helping keep cattle healthy andoperations profitable.“It is critical that producers pay close

attention to withdrawal times for all prod-ucts and have double check systems inplace to avoid a residue occurrence,” saysLee Bob Harper, DVM, ManagingVeterinarian, Feedlot Veterinary Operationswith Pfizer Animal Health Cattle andEquine Technical Services. “Residues havethe potential to place our food supply atrisk and can result in consequences to theproducer.”Antimicrobial treatments with shorter

withdrawal times are well matched to fightdisease later in the feeding period, Dr.Harper notes. Shorter withdrawal timesgive feedlots flexibility if animals are diag-nosed with BRD.“If a 1,200-pound steer is diagnosed

with BRD 10 days before scheduledslaughter, it is important to have a productwith a withdrawal less than 10 days so thatanimal will be clear to ship on schedule

when recovery occurs,” Dr. Harper says.When selecting a product for later in the

feeding period, producers should reviewoptions with their veterinarian to choose aproduct that will be effective and is suitablefor use in the given timeframe.ADVOCIN™ (danofloxacin mesylate)offers the shortest withdrawal time, fourdays prior to slaughter, among all singledose products available for cattle.Along with selecting the appropriate

treatment, accurate record keeping is criti-cal to confirming cattle have met the appro-priate withdrawal time stated on the prod-uct label, Dr. Harper says.“Choosing the right product with the

help of your veterinarian is half the battlewhen deciding on late treatment options,”Dr. Harper notes. “The final step is accuraterecord keeping to confirm withdrawal timeindications have been met. Whatever sys-tem works best for the operation, recordkeeping is an important final step to ensurewe are all doing our part to produce safeand wholesome beef.”Important Safety Information: Federal

law prohibits the extra-label use of all fluo-roquinolones including ADVOCIN in foodproducing animals. Not for use in cattleintended for dairy production or in calvesto be processed for veal. ADVOCIN has apre-slaughter withdrawal time of four days.

2 Annual Bull SalesArcadia, FL – November 9, 2012

Montgomery, AL – December 7, 2012

RICHARD MEADOWS GLENN MEADOWS(334) 797-4870 (334) 797-5808www.meadowscreekfarm.com

4421 Co. Rd. 33 N.Columbia, Alabama 36319

Watch Withdrawal Times Carefully

away from trends.John describes theirCharolais as the realthing—thick, deep,long, muscular, andearly maturing.Linebreeding assistsin keeping thebreed’s best traits andcontributes to herduniformity while they

also select for an animal that is suited totheir rocky, mountainous environment.Mike assures their environment selectstheir female.The Cobbs host two bull sales a year, one

in April and another in November. Onlyselling their best, they strive to provide cus-tomers with a product that not only fitstoday’s industry, but gives them an “edge”to compete in today’s aggressive market-place, with added pounds at weaning andharvest, efficiencies of feed conversion andgains and high quality carcasses.Rowser, himself, has used Charolais

bulls for some 20 years, but just exclusive-ly the last 10 years. He’s discovered a num-ber of differences when he’s comparedwhite to black, namely in health and per-formance.Healthwise, he’s found the Charolais

sired calves to be more vigorous, some-thing important for his northern climate.“When they’re born, they’ll get up andgoing faster than the black calves.” He addsthat last year’s feeder didn’t lose a singlecalf he fed from the group he purchasedfrom Rowser.Just as importantly, the scale has shown

him the added performance value ofCharolais on pay day. He explains, “I usedto buy some white bulls to mix in with theblacks. I figured out the white bulls wereoutperforming the black bulls by quite a bit.”“We’ve sorted and weighed up both sets

of calves at sale time and these whitecalves will be 30 to 50 lbs. heavier on aver-age than the black calves. Each year wewere doing so much better with the whitebulls and that was the big selling point tous to switch over to the white bulls.”He reminds, “We’re selling by the pound.

We always get a good price out of ourcalves because we have quality calves, so Imight as well have the extra pounds. If youget an added 50 lbs. on a calf at $1.50 orbetter, that’s $75 a head difference. Thatadds up.””As long as the buyers are happy and

paying the good prices they’re paying forcalves, there’s no reason for me not to useCharolais bulls.”

“We’re selling by the pound . . .if you get an added 50 lbs.on a calf at $1.50 or better,

that’s $75 a head difference.That adds up.”

– Bruce RowserUtah commercial producer

Beef Genetics

Megan, Lori & Galen Fink 15523 Tuttle Creek Boulevard, Randolph, Kansas 66554 Ph/Fax: 785-293-5106 Galen: 785-532-9936 Lori: 785-532-8171 Megan: 785-410-5559

Email: finkbull1@twinvalley.net Website: www.finkbeefgenetics.com

Commercial Services Representatives Barrett Broadie: 620-635-6128 Gene Barrett: 785-224-8509

“Several years ago, management of my father’s operation became necessary and I wanted to begin moving our operation to new levels. I was looking for more than just a place to purchase bulls.

We ranch on the Red River in Southwest Arkansas. Weather extremes, drought, floods, and insects are always testing our operation. We run approximately 550

cows and now raise our replacements (some are smokies); we top auction markets; and in recent years, have started feeding our calves and earning significant premiums.

At Finks, I found more than just a place to purchase bulls. I also found the ’partnership’ that I was looking for to move our operation to a new level.”

“We have fed cattle for Steve Douglas for the past 3 years. Steve’s cattle are predominately Charolais-Angus cross with a few Angus calves mixed in. Feed yard performance has been excellent, and are in the top 25% of cattle closed out in their shipment month. They also performed very well on the USPB grid, returning up too $87 per head above the cash market the week sold. Steve continues to make great progress in improving his cattle to meet to-day’s beef consumer demand for high-quality beef.”