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A Diamond in the Rough
est thing to do in the cattle business is to downsize frame and lose muscle. And we did not want to do that,”
Kris concludes.
Table 2. Calving Ease of Lowline Bulls on Conventional Heifers
Year No BW Unassisted Assisted
2004 9 68.6 9 0
2005 25 64.9 24 1
2006 48 63.8 48 0
2007 44 74.7 42 2
“So where do the Lowline influence females fit? We had established usage on the males and determined
they had a place in the business. What about the females? We bred the F1 females to either Red Angus
or Angus calving ease bulls and we were quite pleased with the resulting calves. What really impressed us
was the average cow weight of the F1 relative to the weight of the calf they produced.”
“The other thing that was impressive was the acres per pair that were required to run the F1 compared
to the conventional pairs. You really have to look at the acres required to run a cow when you look at the
differences in frame size.”
Table 4. Input and Production Per Pair
Conventional Herd Lowline F1 Herd
Acres/Pair 12.5 10.1
Gain/Acre 23.6 32.4
% Cow Wt. Weaned 46.2% 51.9%
“We have about 80 head of F1 Lowline females. We know the Lowline influence will reduce cow size. It
will reduce calving issues. We produce more ribeye area/hundred weight. We produce more gain per acre.
And the Lowline influence creates management options that we can implement. We have an opportunity to
breed Lowline bulls to conventional heifers. The male progeny can be marketed through traditional chan-
nels. The F1 females from this cross – ½ Lowline and ½ conventional heifers become your replacement
females in a terminal Lowline herd where all offspring from these F1’s are marketed. This beef cattle sys-
tem results in shaving 300 pounds off your cow size while maintaining muscle and producing mainstream
industry carcasses.”
Kris wraps up his discussion on the Lowline influence at the Dickinson Research Center, “The ½ blood
Lowline is really a diamond in the rough, she is really somewhat undiscovered. Our story says the F1
Lowline female makes a terrific cow herd – they really do. Your challenge is to breed more heifers Lowline
to make the F1’s and let people try those F1’s. You need to tell your story – they work, they really do.”