The Cattle

Below are some examples of the cattle MLAR has and the standards that are kept. Beef is the main goal, but other factors like temperament are important, too.

Fairwyn's Power

ALR Registration Number: FM2293

Birthdate: 2/22/04

Birthweight: 56

Power is the main herd bull: most MLAR cows are either pasture bred or A.I.ed to him at one time or another. He produces awesome calves--we have never seen a bad calf out of him, even out of cows that had pitiful calves out of other bulls. Not only are his genetics a great contribution to the herd, his good temperament is well worth mentioning. He is the only registered fullblood Lowline bull sired by BR New Vision, and he out of the famed cow, Natesa.

Power is the first Lowline to be tested with Pfizer Animal Health's HD 50K test, so his results are compared against the commercial Angus breed (we are trying to get more Lowline breeders to have their animals tested, so results can be compared to other Lowlines, also). Because the test is so involved, it takes a legend to read the results, both files are in pdf. format and can be downloaded using the following links:

How to read HD 50K results      Fairwyn Power's HD 50K results

To summarize his results: His calves are low birthweight (we have never had to assist a cow in calving with a Power baby); do not eat a lot (dry matter intake is 1%); but grow like weeds, producing lean muscle (carcass weight is 90%, while fat is only 30%, but still in the 70% for marbling and tenderness). Most helpful to the commercial producers and other beef industry users is the $MVP: with an MVP of 66, putting the ranking in the 90%, Power calves are profitable!

Pfizer did not have a universal, easy way to display the results of the HD50K. As the local rep told me, I could use "hearts, moons, or stars..." (Lucky Charms commercial). I chose dollar signs, since that is what it is about anyway. To save having to use graphics and pictures, I simply used the $ on the keyboard (a special font is okay). Each $ represents 20% as displayed on the link above. Therefore, if the animal is in the 70%, it would have four $ for that trait. While the system does not replace the accuracy of the text results, it does give a person a good idea whether the animal is something they want to review further. Also, for some traits it is better to be in the high percentages, like the $MVP; for other traits it is better to be in the lower percentages, like dry matter intake. Since more $ is better, I inverted the percentage for the traits that it is better to be lower. For example, Power's dry matter intake was at 1%, I inverted it and made it 99%, giving him five $. Basically, more $ is better.

EZ Sherry Gerry 55P

ALR Registration Number: FF2831

Birthdate: 7/17/04

Birthweight: 45

Sherry is an ideal phenotype for us. 1 1/2 times longer than she is tall, and about as wide as she is tall! Easy fleshing cow, great maternal abilities, and gentle temperament! We look forward to flushing her in a few months. The calf she has on the ground right now, Hey Baby, is a tank and at only a few days old, was already bulking up quickly.