McBee Angus and Accelerated Genetics excel in Tennessee (8/17/2010)
It's one of the coldest weather
fronts of the year and Tom
McBee has 45 heifers that are
calving this week. McBee has
moved his heifers in a field he
has drilled in wheat and rye by
the house so he can watch them
closely. He has been working
night duty checking on his Black
Angus heifers to make sure
there are no problems. He had
11 calve last night and although
he has helped a few along, all
has gone smoothly so far. Tom
McBee has bred about 550 cows
this year and he will calve out
about 400 of them on his farm.
The rest he will sell as bred cows
or heifers through private treaty
or through his on farm sales.
He will also sell a number of
bulls. McBee Angus in Cowan,
Tennessee will host two sales on
the farm this year, one in April
and the other the third Saturday
in November.
It's all about blood lines and cow families for Tom McBee. McBee's lines come from some of the top genetics that originated out of Montana. He credits Randall Robbins with Accelerated Genetics for much of the success he has had in producing top of the line bulls and heifers. "The success of an AI program depends on the people. We have worked together a number of years and Randall is one of the best in the business." Robbins had this to say about McBee's operation. "Two things are evident with the genetic program at McBee Angus: quality and quantity. Tom McBee is not working with a handful of good or great cows. He has hundreds of them. This program is built around cow families and is basically linebred to time tested females for generation and this makes the results predictable and repeatable. Tom has excellent knowledge of both pedigrees and individual cows and his goal of medium framed, easy fleshing, efficient grass based cattle developed on low input and no creep feed is producing predictable results. I have often said, McBee Angus is one of the best kept secrets in the Tennessee beef cattle industry."
The AI Program consists of spring and fall breed of groups of heifers and cows. This fall McBee and Robbins synchronized and inseminated over 150 cows and heifers and did about the same number last spring. They use the Select Synch + CIDR & Time AI. They use a hybrid in that they do some heat detection and OV Synch any non responders. They use the estrus alert path with extra spray adhesive to assist with heat detection with large groups of animal. The protocol is pretty standard. It is listed in the sire directories of the AI organization as a result of the Beef Reproduction Task Force. The estrus alert patch with some visual heat detection allows use to make decisions as to the time to inseminate cows and heifers. They use the AM/PM rule of what we see in heat this morning is inseminated this evening and vice versa. Robbins tells customers that an hour or two variations in when the animal is inseminated will have little affect on conception but being off 12 or more hours when presenting the animal for insemination will have a big effect. Robbins has outlined a few keys for producers considering an AI program in their cows. "We can handle about any number as long as we have the help and facilities to handle them without stress on people or animals. The main thing is get a system that works and is repeatable and make it work for you. Animals are pretty smart and once they see what you are trying to do, they generally cooperate unless you are just not using common sense in working them. Everyone has their part in the program, be it catching heads, pushing cattle, giving injections, etc. It is an assembly line approach and it doesn't take long to get the job done."
"For producers interested in AI, I suggest an interview and want them to understand some of the prerequisites to make an AI program work." Some of these are:
1. Adequate facilities to handle and process cattle
2. Herd records of the animals for AI consideration
3. Herd health, sexual maturity of heifers or post calving rest of cow, level of nutrition, temperament of cattle, etc
4. Protocol that fits the operator/operation 5. Labor and commitment
to make the program work. Knowledge of reproduction and heat detection
6. Resources available, thought and planning, Does the operator have an ideal of what he wants to achieve?
7. Adequate number of animals to achieve economy of scale
8. Who will do the insemination? Everyone wants to learn to inseminate cows at first but I tell folks they should devote their efforts to more important things and have a professional do the insemination.
Some of the real benefits of AI are:
1. Use of high accuracy proven/ progeny tested sires that can be selected for a number of traits depending on goals and needs of the producer, these traits make calving easier for heifers: high weaning weight and yearling weight EPDs for cows, maternal traits for replacement females, carcass traits if retained ownership or terminal, etc.
2. Shorter calving season resulting in a more uniform calf crop with a high percentage of the calves born early in the calving season
3. Incorporate a crossbreeding program that requires different breeds
4. Marketing opportunities for reputation cattle of known genetic merit and performance
5. AI makes semen on bulls at a fraction of the cost to own these animals
McBee focuses on moderate framed efficient cows that minimize production costs and perform well on grass. McBee also keeps a focus on sound feet and for udder quality.
McBee will only feed grain to his first calf heifers about 20 days before calving to build up their colostrums and keeps them on grain thru AI so that they can recover and breed back more easily. Afterwards they have to raise their calves on the grass of Hawkins Cove at the base of the Cumberland Plateau, just down the mountain from Sewanee where he grew up. McBee believes cow-calf producers need to raise cattle that can perform on grass due to the uncertainty of grain prices in the future. He expects his cows to raise a calf that will wean at 650 to 800 lbs at weaning without creep feed.
A lawyer by trade, it is clear Tom McBee has a passion for Angus when you hear him talk about the different lines he uses and the characteristics of each. His April sale will feature approximately 40 two year old bulls, 20 breed heifers and 40 cow-calf pairs. Tom McBee credits his wife Jearldine for much of the success of his sales. The great food and hospitality she provides his customers is one reason people like to come to his farm. McBee thanks his wife for her patience with his time consuming hobby. Although he sells to some pure bred producers, most of his customers are repeat business from commercial cow calf producers that like the way his bulls and cows perform on the farm. Raised on grass, his customers know his bulls are ready to be turned out and go to work when they purchase them. For more information on Tom McBee's sale call (931) 967-1715 or (931) 308-5175. For information on beginning an AI program on your farm call Randall Robbins at Accelerated Genetics at (615) 828-5577 or email rrobbins@accelgen.com.
It's all about blood lines and cow families for Tom McBee. McBee's lines come from some of the top genetics that originated out of Montana. He credits Randall Robbins with Accelerated Genetics for much of the success he has had in producing top of the line bulls and heifers. "The success of an AI program depends on the people. We have worked together a number of years and Randall is one of the best in the business." Robbins had this to say about McBee's operation. "Two things are evident with the genetic program at McBee Angus: quality and quantity. Tom McBee is not working with a handful of good or great cows. He has hundreds of them. This program is built around cow families and is basically linebred to time tested females for generation and this makes the results predictable and repeatable. Tom has excellent knowledge of both pedigrees and individual cows and his goal of medium framed, easy fleshing, efficient grass based cattle developed on low input and no creep feed is producing predictable results. I have often said, McBee Angus is one of the best kept secrets in the Tennessee beef cattle industry."
The AI Program consists of spring and fall breed of groups of heifers and cows. This fall McBee and Robbins synchronized and inseminated over 150 cows and heifers and did about the same number last spring. They use the Select Synch + CIDR & Time AI. They use a hybrid in that they do some heat detection and OV Synch any non responders. They use the estrus alert path with extra spray adhesive to assist with heat detection with large groups of animal. The protocol is pretty standard. It is listed in the sire directories of the AI organization as a result of the Beef Reproduction Task Force. The estrus alert patch with some visual heat detection allows use to make decisions as to the time to inseminate cows and heifers. They use the AM/PM rule of what we see in heat this morning is inseminated this evening and vice versa. Robbins tells customers that an hour or two variations in when the animal is inseminated will have little affect on conception but being off 12 or more hours when presenting the animal for insemination will have a big effect. Robbins has outlined a few keys for producers considering an AI program in their cows. "We can handle about any number as long as we have the help and facilities to handle them without stress on people or animals. The main thing is get a system that works and is repeatable and make it work for you. Animals are pretty smart and once they see what you are trying to do, they generally cooperate unless you are just not using common sense in working them. Everyone has their part in the program, be it catching heads, pushing cattle, giving injections, etc. It is an assembly line approach and it doesn't take long to get the job done."
"For producers interested in AI, I suggest an interview and want them to understand some of the prerequisites to make an AI program work." Some of these are:
1. Adequate facilities to handle and process cattle
2. Herd records of the animals for AI consideration
3. Herd health, sexual maturity of heifers or post calving rest of cow, level of nutrition, temperament of cattle, etc
4. Protocol that fits the operator/operation 5. Labor and commitment
to make the program work. Knowledge of reproduction and heat detection
6. Resources available, thought and planning, Does the operator have an ideal of what he wants to achieve?
7. Adequate number of animals to achieve economy of scale
8. Who will do the insemination? Everyone wants to learn to inseminate cows at first but I tell folks they should devote their efforts to more important things and have a professional do the insemination.
Some of the real benefits of AI are:
1. Use of high accuracy proven/ progeny tested sires that can be selected for a number of traits depending on goals and needs of the producer, these traits make calving easier for heifers: high weaning weight and yearling weight EPDs for cows, maternal traits for replacement females, carcass traits if retained ownership or terminal, etc.
2. Shorter calving season resulting in a more uniform calf crop with a high percentage of the calves born early in the calving season
3. Incorporate a crossbreeding program that requires different breeds
4. Marketing opportunities for reputation cattle of known genetic merit and performance
5. AI makes semen on bulls at a fraction of the cost to own these animals
McBee focuses on moderate framed efficient cows that minimize production costs and perform well on grass. McBee also keeps a focus on sound feet and for udder quality.
McBee will only feed grain to his first calf heifers about 20 days before calving to build up their colostrums and keeps them on grain thru AI so that they can recover and breed back more easily. Afterwards they have to raise their calves on the grass of Hawkins Cove at the base of the Cumberland Plateau, just down the mountain from Sewanee where he grew up. McBee believes cow-calf producers need to raise cattle that can perform on grass due to the uncertainty of grain prices in the future. He expects his cows to raise a calf that will wean at 650 to 800 lbs at weaning without creep feed.
A lawyer by trade, it is clear Tom McBee has a passion for Angus when you hear him talk about the different lines he uses and the characteristics of each. His April sale will feature approximately 40 two year old bulls, 20 breed heifers and 40 cow-calf pairs. Tom McBee credits his wife Jearldine for much of the success of his sales. The great food and hospitality she provides his customers is one reason people like to come to his farm. McBee thanks his wife for her patience with his time consuming hobby. Although he sells to some pure bred producers, most of his customers are repeat business from commercial cow calf producers that like the way his bulls and cows perform on the farm. Raised on grass, his customers know his bulls are ready to be turned out and go to work when they purchase them. For more information on Tom McBee's sale call (931) 967-1715 or (931) 308-5175. For information on beginning an AI program on your farm call Randall Robbins at Accelerated Genetics at (615) 828-5577 or email rrobbins@accelgen.com.