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| The Gill Ranch began in the late 60’s when Larry & Janet moved home after Larry got out of the army. In 1979, we bought our first registered Red Angus cattle from the Enid School dispersion. Our foundation herd consisted of mainly Chief bred females, which has given us the great maternal herd we have today. Give us a call or stop in sometime. There is only one thing that we enjoy more than raising Red Angus, and that is visiting with our friends and customers.
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“You buy our bulls, Hello again, This is our second newsletter and we decided to send it out a little earlier than planned. That’s because we wanted to remind our customers to let us know when and where you plan to sell your calves this fall so we can be there to bid on them for you. Also, pre-weaning, weaning, and preg-testing are right around the corner and we just made an exciting agreement with DeTye Vet Supply that we want to share with you. All Gill Red Angus customers can now get a 3% discount on any and all vet supplies from DeTye Vet Supply. DeTye already guarantees they have the lowest cost vet supplies in the country. In fact, last fall we received a nice surprise when they sent us a rebate after they found out that some other company was selling the product at a lower price. So they beat the competitor‘s price without us even asking. They can afford to guarantee these low prices because of very low overhead costs since they work out of their home. Please read their short note in this newsletter and take advantage of this exciting opportunity. But you must be a Gill Red Angus customer first! “Vegetables aint food, Red Angus - A Driving Force in the Industry As I am writing this, the Superior Auction is also taking place in Sheridan, WY. So far, I have seen 10 loads of calves weighing 600 lbs or more bring $1.20 or higher, and half of them were Red Angus calves. We purchased George Schaeffer’s steer calves. He’s a good customer of ours from Selfridge, ND. The 580 lb calves brought $1.21 and the 680 lb calves brought $1.16.50. Another top customer of ours, the Jones Ranch from White Owl, SD, topped the Superior sale this past July. His 625 lb steers brought $123.75 cwt, which was $4.00 cwt higher than anything else we saw sell. Although we didn’t get them bought, we were contending bidders. We saw several of his neighbors sell with black calves of the same weight and delivery and they brought $5 cwt less than the Jones Ranch calves. Talk about a premium We bid at least $2 cwt on all three sets of these calves. This made them an extra $12.56 per calf. Another premium!!! It is so nice to see our customers calves finally bring what they are worth. The industry isn’t just buying cattle by color anymore. They are buying by quality, which is the way it should be. The Red Angus Association has done a lot of work to drive this shift in behavior. In fact, I know Blake Angell, Director of Commercial Marketing for the Red Angus Association, Do vegetarians eat animal crackers? Support and Service My wife used to work for John Deere as an Aftermarket Manager. She would go out and help get a new piece of machinery running in the field and ensure the operator understood how to set up the machine for optimal performance. The dealers she worked with would also invite all of their customers to John Deere Days, where the focus was more than just providing more information to improve their bottom line. Deere also wanted to know what they could do to make the product more valuable to them. This isn't meant to be a commercial plug for John Deere. After all, nearly every non-commodity business in the world spends considerable time thanking their customers for their business and trying to learn how those customers think the product can be improved. As a commercial rancher, when was the last time you received a thank-you note from your seedstock supplier? Have they ever invited you to share a meal, spent time to understand how their seedstock performed for you, or how the product could be improved to make you more money? Have they asked you how they could provide you more value or how they could help market your product? Don't worry if they haven't. Odds are, most commercial breeders have not experienced any of this. My question is why -- if we expect that quality of service from our truck and tractor dealers, computer companies, equipment makers and pharmaceutical companies – why don't most seedstock suppliers do something similar for their customers? Here at Gill Red Angus, we do. We are trying to get more and more involved with you every year. We need to let you know how much you really are appreciated and hear how we can improve our product for you. This is why we are sending out these newsletters, try to buy your calves, help you out with discounted vet supplies, send out thank you letters, etc. We want you to enjoy ranch life as much as possible and to make as much of a profit as you can. “Why not buy your seed stock from a supplier who works for you.” What to Cull? Having better fertility will also help you capture some other benefits such as uniformity. If most calves are born early in the season they should come in at about the same size making them more uniform in weight, which means you’ll have more animals to sell in that pen. This almost always translates into a better selling price. Here at Gill Red Angus we are trying to fix this problem for you. All of our females have a bull in with them for only 42 days. Anything that does not breed gets sold. We don’t give them another chance. We do let them have 2 cycles to breed because our breeding pastures are from 640 acres to 1120 acres in size, which are in the middle of the Grand River breaks, hills, creeks, and trees. We don’t think the bull can be everywhere. Since we have water running through the entire ranch, the animals don‘t have a gathering point, and we only use 1 bull per 35-40 cows for each breeding pasture. We feel that breeding for only 42 days has really helped address some fertility issues we had experienced in the past. There is such a small area of profit in agriculture anymore, so anything you can do to increase your profit is time well spent. The more pounds of beef you sell means more money in your pocket. Having excellent fertility is a free source of income. The Value Of Feeder Cattle Traits Frame size and muscling. KSU and OSU research found that cattle classified as light muscled were severely discounted, compared to heavier-muscled cattle. Medium to large-framed cattle, on the other hand, bring significantly higher prices than small-framed cattle. Feeder cattle buyers perceive that medium to larger framed cattle have more growth potential and are less likely to incur packer discounts due to small carcass size and a higher number of yield grade 3’s and 4’s. Data suggests the discount for small- vs. medium/large-framed cattle is increasing. Discounts for small-framed feeder steers in Kansas vs. medium/large-framed feeder steers increased from $5/cwt. in the 1980s to $9/cwt. in the '90s. In two KSU studies, lightweight, small-framed steers were discounted $10-$11/cwt. By the late 1990s, OSU data found average discounts for lightweight, small-framed steers as large as $19/cwt. As the historical price differences point out, the market demands medium- to large-frame feeder calves which are well-muscled. Between the medium and large-frame calves, there is little price premium for large-frame calves (very-large-frame calves actually draw discounts due to heavy carcasses). Thus, there is no incentive to increase frame size above the medium level. However, the large discounts for small-frame animals suggest that breeding programs to increase frame to the medium/large score will be more profitable. So remember when searching for your next bull that small-framed feeder cattle are consistently discounted compared to cattle that are medium/large-framed and heavier muscled. This is why we try to keep our bulls around a 6 frame and only use heavier muscled sires. Coming from an agricultural background, we are aware of the trials and tribulations that producers face. We understand the importance of a dollar and that’s why we strive to be the most competitive in the business. We aim to be abreast of the medical needs for all livestock and offer service second to none with the personal touch you demand. We are only a phone call away. Our hours are the same as yours. We are pleased to offer all Gill Red Angus Customers special pricing on all of your animal health products. In addition to already guaranteed lowest prices, you will also receive a 3% discount, just for being a customer of Gill Red Angus. Please mention this when you place your order. All orders over $250.00 receive free shipping. Most medicines ship next day air. Thank you, “Vegetables aint food, The Gill Red Angus Customer Marketing Program Here is how it works: “You buy our bulls, We will bid on your calves” Feedlot & Carcass Results Travis Johnson Leo & Tom Aberle We have been happy with the results on most of the cattle that we purchased. A lot of the cattle were mixed in a pen with a few different customers cattle, because they didn’t have a full truck load when we purchased them, so we could not individualize certain owners, but we can tell you that these repeat customers, Steve Holzer, Bob Cyr, and Roger Aberle filled one of these mixed pens. They did very well and graded 85.6 % choice and Prime while 8.5% qualified for sterling silver. Tracy Collins had a small pen and his graded very well too, with 75% choice and prime while 37.5 % qualified for Sterling silver! Every pen we fed out finished at 1300lbs or better. This is exactly where they need to be in order to get the size of carcass the industry is demanding. A 63% yield of a 1300lbs critter results in an 819 lbs carcass. We want all our carcasses to weigh from 819lbs to 899 lbs if possible while having a cost of gain at $.45 or less. We are doing everything we can with our cattle to produce bulls that will do this for you. Just about all the cattle we fed out did have a cost of gain of only $.45 or less. According to feedlot professionals, anything that is costing you only $.45 is doing great. If you have any questions understanding the above, please give any one of us or Scott Mueller a call and we would be glad to explain this to you in more detail. Keep up the good work guys, and with any luck we will get your cattle in the lot again this fall. What is the ideal target weight for finished steers? For me, it is 1325 pounds to 1400 pounds. Looking back at this past year’s data, the calves that hit that target weight gained from 3.2 to 3.5 pounds per day rate and had a cost of gain in the low 40 cent range. Cattle that finished below or above that range had lower average daily gains and higher costs of production. The significance of this is that I can accurately predict the average daily cost of feeding a calf based on his purchase weight and corn price. By feeding a steer that can gain rapidly to the upper 1300’s, I can not only lower the cost of putting the pounds on the steer but also sell more pounds. The negative side of this weight range is that grid premiums become harder to achieve as the opportunity for heavyweight discounts and yield grade fours increase. However, I would rather sell cattle for $85 per cwt at 1375 pounds without a grid than sell one for $85 at 1250 pounds with a $25 per head grid premium. The first group would bring back $1,168.75 with a lower break even and the second group would bring back $1,087.50. Even if I use a $.50 cost of gain on the last 125 pounds, I would still net $18.75 per head more. As I look at buying calves this year, I will focus on those that have the capacity to gain at 3.3 lbs per day or more and finish at 1350 to 1375. Those calves will provide me with my best opportunity to succeed. “Building a Better Beef” Fall Sale - December 7, 2005 @ the ranch Make sure you contact us when you sell your next feeder calf crop. We want to be there to help you get the best price possible. If you don’t tell us when you sell, we won’t know. Please contact us if you need anything at all, when you are selling your calves, or just want to BS. Our door is never closed and the coffee is always on. Hope you enjoy these chats, and we are looking forward to seeing you this fall on December 7th. Ranch Manager Sales & Breeding Manager “Think ahead, 10 Reasons Why You Should Use Gill Red Angus As Your Seed Stock Supplier!!!
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