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Brian & DeDee Begeman
John, Trevor, Wade & Brenden
30530 130th St., Selby, SD 57472
605-649-9927 Cell: 605-230-0591
Dear Cattle Enthusiasts and Longtime Customers,
Wow, change has and is happening at the Lazy TV Ranch. We built a new shop last year and
our 32nd Annual Production sale is going to be held here at the ranch
for the first time in history! We will be using the video format to sell the bulls so the bulls will not actually come into the sale ring but they will
be stalled right outside the door for your inspection. We will have people on hand to load out your bulls as soon as you purchase, if you desire to
take them home with you. This format should be easier on the cattle and the sale crew and should mean a prompt and comfortable sale for each
one of you. We will sell the bulls in near sale catalog lot order except we will start with the Black Balancer bulls.
Early sale order would be: Lots 82-146,
Lots 1-81, Lots 189-226, Lots 147-188.
This may change a little, but this is our tentative plan.
I’m sure if you are in the cattle business you are interested in saving money on your feed costs by implementing selection based on feed efficiency
measurement. With corn prices at a record $7.00/bushel and hay costs at all time highs, now more than ever the cost of feed plays a bigger role in
the bottom line on every livestock operation. We have been testing for feed efficiency for 4 years now and we are beginning to see improvements in
our cost of gain by approximately 5% in just one generation of selection pressure. University data indicates 15% to 20% improvement is possible as
we begin to stack multiple generations of feed efficient genetics. On years with high feed costs, like the one we are currently in, 15% of our total
feed bill (on bulls, steers, replacement heifers and cows) would be approximately $75,000, I can’t afford not to embrace this technology and I don’t
think anyone in the cattle business can either.
We have new generation performance EPDs in this catalog. They were just developed in a joint venture with Red Angus and Simmental and offer
more accuracy than before (by incorporating data from those breed associations). The new EPDs have a new base which is currently the same as
the Red Angus and Simmental so you can effectively compare across these three breeds with the new numbers. We are hoping to have EPDs for
feed efficiency available sale day on the bulls selling. This should help each one of you select the best bull by using not only the RFI actual data
(included in this sale catalog) but also these new EPD’s which will incorporate all of the 1300+ records we already have tested and those of other
ranches and bull test stations. Based on these records, they then calculate an EPD that should represent an excellent measure on which to base
your selection in order to move your cowherd in a more efficient direction. If you do not keep any replacement females or retain ownership in your
steers, I think you will find the bulls with poorer feed conversion (high RFI numbers) to be an outstanding value on our sale as most of these sires
will sire extra pounds at weaning.
Most of the spring bull calves were weaned earlier than normal (due to grass shortage) with no creep feed. There were a few bulls left on pasture
with creep feed that would be in the group 2 spring bulls. The fall bulls were also raised without creep feed. The weights on the fall bulls are lower
than most years, reflective of the lack of creep, but I think you will find their condition and size to be optimum for a long, useful life. We have listed
which group the bulls were tested in so you can compare actual intake data within that group, if that is a factor you wish to use in bull selection.
Actual intake stays very constant throughout the life of the animal. New research has found cows tested as calves on GrowSafe and then retested
on actual range conditions ranked nearly identical seven years later. Intake is also very heritable. Because of this we have included the actual dry
matter intake numbers in the catalog.
We will have the bulls here at the ranch prior to the sale and invite you to stop by any time to inspect the offering. We look forward to showing you
our Growsafe feed intake system and the bulls on March 2nd. Come early and stay late, there will be breakfast, lunch and snacks after the sale!
Vaughn & Wendy Thorstenson
Gina, Kendra, Jana & Kara
12980 Cedar Rd., Selby, SD 57472
605-649-6262
Cell: 605-848-0421
Fax: 605-649-7361
