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Bull & Heifer
Sale
12:30 pm, March
3rd, 2007
At the farm… 5 Miles
West of Somerset, KY on
Hwy 80
Selling 50 Yearling Angus Bulls and 20 Open Heifers |
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Do you like Angus Cattle?
Webster’s defines a breed as
a group of usually domesticated animals presumably related by
descent from common ancestors and visibly similar in most characters.
I've discovered most Angus breeders don’t
like Angus cattle!
The animals that most represent the Angus
breed are centered in the middle of the bell curve of variation...
but every time I pick up a bull sale advertisement, every
one is proclaiming how far their cattle are from the average.
The fringe 1% percentile seems to be the goal; the cattle
that are most different from what the Angus breed represents.
We have now lived long enough to see the shortest, the tallest,
the widest, the leanest, and the fattest cattle become the
most popular for a short season…when we will ever
see the best cattle that represents the Angus breed be most
popular? Well, in reality, they are right now among the people
that make a living raising cattle. All the fluff and fuss
we always read about in magazines are created and paid for
by a small percentage of cattle breeders.
We like Angus cattle. We
like how they perform in our environment based on grass. If
we wanted cattle with more marbling; we would raise Wagyu.
If we needed more muscle; we would raise Limousin. But the
average Angus does a lot of things fairly well; and that is
why they are the most popular breed in use today. Changing
the breed to create rarity of extreme traits is only accomplished
to the detriment of other traits…and to the demise of
prepotency.
What we and our Angus do. The
cattle reproduce what they are. The cows live on summer grass
and fescue hay; the calves don't need creep feed. Calves
wean at the maximum our grass allows. We like slick-haired,
feminine cows. Our weights are determined by genetics and practical
environment; not feed bunks and show barns. Our cattle look
good muddy. We don't play silly games; no clipping, no
spray paint; no white-washing the truth. We sell genetics;
not dreams or illusions of greatness substantiated by artificial
prices of high roller trading games. Our bulls are the
right frame size {5} for lower input maternal use, and have
thickness and doability on grass to fit grass-fed beef production.
With $4/bu corn a reality for the nearby future, our cattle
will be more economical to finish in feedlots as well. We use
our own bulls; they are the most proven to us that we can use.
What we do for you. We sell you a product
you can depend on to be trouble free and economical to produce.
We are a low-cost producer ourselves and the cattle are a product
of that mentality. When you have heifer calves to sell, we
can help you get premiums. When you have steer calves to sell;
the marketplace will pay top dollar for them. We eliminate
frivolity so that you can buy our genetics at a lower cost...
Visitors
are welcomed anytime. It seems all
our recent visitors have been from out of state. Our customers
know that the same product that was here yesterday; is here
today, and will be tomorrow... you either like it, or you don't.
Times change; but the demand for useful and predictable Angus
cattle hasn't changed in my lifetime. Fads change as
often as the wind; based on little more than hot air. We hope
to see you on March 3rd. |
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Mike Keeney
5893 Hwy 80 W ~ Nancy, KY 42544 ~ 606-636-6500 ~ 606-305-4501 (c)
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