The beasts of the field

Despite many of their commercial customers being in close proximity, Jim says there’s a variety of demands the calf crop has to satisfy.

“People have different tastes in bulls,” Joe explains. “You can pick about whatever type you want, and find the outliers in any of those types to fit your herd and what you’re wanting to do. If you want real big, tall cattle, you can find efficient real big, tall cattle. If you want short, thick cattle, you can find efficient, short, thick cattle.”

It’s this philosophy that drives breeding decisions at Werner Family Angus. Jim says his pasture has tall cattle, lean cattle, thick cattle, short cattle.  

It’s an economic choice, though he admits it’s a bit unusual. For him, good cattle are good cattle.

“If they work, we keep them around. If they don’t, they’re gone,” he says. J

im’s personal definition of “good cattle” has to do with how hardy they are. He says his stock have to “do it on their own.” The herd has to be able to find feed, convert that feed to energy, produce a calf and raise an animal worth selling.

“That’s one reason we have Angus,” he says, “because they’re hardy.”

Although Jim likes his herd to appeal to a variety of customers, there are a few consistencies in each animal. He stresses the importance of growth expected progeny differences (EPDs). Jim has always appreciated animals that can efficiently turn feed to pounds, and it’s an appreciation that’s grown over the years.

Part of that can be attributed to his son-in-law, Craig. When he married Becky, Craig joined the family with a pioneer mindset that matched his wife’s. The duo has a passion for ultrasound data in the industry, and Craig helped create a custom feed efficiency testing facility at the operation.

“He was the one that had the vision,” Jim says. “He built the buildings, and he started the business.”

Their two barns can hold up to 400 head. With 48 bunks utilized for three-month cycles, Joe says the family can test about 1,000 to 1,200 head of cattle each year if all runs smoothly.

Different breeds of cattle are fed, and though Bonnie has an appreciation for cattle that put on weight easily, she says there’s a clear standout when it comes to feed efficiency. “

Angus is number one for a reason,” Jim adds.

To the Werners, however, The Business Breed is more than just home to an efficient animal.

Bonnie says she and her family are proud to be tied to the American Angus Association — an organization dedicated to breed improvement and data collection.

In the last 15-20 years, Ann says there’s a visible difference in the quality of feet on seedstock cattle, and it’s not a good one. So, when Becky first told her parents about the new research foot score EPD, they knew it was something they had to take part in.

“Genomics are a great tool, but without the phenotypical data, they’re worthless,” Jim says. “The more phenotypical data you have, the better.”

Bonnie printed off the guide released by the Association and watched an Angus University webinar. At one of their familar family meetings, a plan was sketched out for the collection of this new data. A lot has changed since that initial day of working cattle, but Bonnie says it’s change she expected. Now, everyone knows their role, and data collection is just another step in the day’s work.

“Are you going to be great the first time? No,” she says. “Just do it. Find what fits your operation.”

Before breeding or at weaning, when cows exit the chute onto a clean, concrete floor, Joe will stand off to the side of the alley, laminated guide from the Association in hand, and watch cows walk toward him. He studies the claw as the animals come toward him, and then looks at angle as they walk past.

Once the animal is out of sight, he’ll call out three numbers: claw, angle and docility. The order matches what is printed onto a chart made by Bonnie, and the “recorder” for the day acts as a scribe.

The process is repeated for each animal in a contemporary group, and additional data is gathered simultaneously such as body condition, weight and hip height.

When the chuteside work is done, Bonnie takes the chart and heads to the computer. She merges all the data points and numbers into a spreadsheet and uploads that to the AAA Login page. She likes to send in whole contemporary groups at a time and aims for data submission less than a week after it’s collected.

The entire process has helped identify animals that need to be culled, Joe says. Animals with a score of 8 are culled from the herd immediately (there’s a 1 to 9 scale for both claw and angle, where 5 is ideal.)

Collecting and evaluating foot scores has changed the way Joe studies cattle, too.

“Feet are now the first thing I look at, then I work up,” he explains. “It’s ground, up.”

Though there are a lot of numbers, Jim says it’s easy to see what the foot score EPD is doing for his family and for the industry.

“We like data. It takes time, and it takes labor,” Bonnie adds. “It’s an expense, but it’s a justifiable one and well worth it.”

The decision to embrace Association efforts like this foot scoring system is a way Jim ensures the herd is heading in the right direction. While he says he’s still not where he wants to be, there’s no denying the data collection is propelling the herd forward.

Better feet mean better cattle, and better cattle typically mean happier customers.

“We get fewer complaints [about feet] today than we did five years ago,” Ann says. “And the ‘why’ we collect is for our customers. Really. It’s ultimately for our customers.”

But Ann also knows better feet mean healthier cattle, and that thought leads her back to the one special verse in the book of Psalms. If there’s a way to better care for God’s creatures, then it’s what the Werner family is going to pursue.

“We’re stewards of the land and the Lord,” Jim says. “With that mentality in mind, you want to do the best job you can. So, we do it to try and please the Lord.”