5. Land
• Soil
– Sandy loams and clays mixed throughout the area
• Average top soil depth is 6 to 7”
• Water
– Water table is approx. 4 ½ to 5 feet
– Average yearly rainfall is 45 inches
• Minerals
– Nitrogen deficient soils
• 450 total acres
7. Warm Season Grass
• Texas tough Bermuda
• Superior production to coastal (sprigged) bermudagrass at
TAMU Overton and Commerce
• Combination of hulled common, Unhulled common and hulled
giant berdmudagrass for spring and early summer planting
• Planted in pastures at a seeding rate of ten pounds per acre, or
interseeded in existing pastures at five pounds per acre
• Economically priced to avoid the high cost of sprigging hybrid
bermudagrass pastures or beefing up existing bermudagrass
pastures
• 10 lbs of seed per acre planted in disced pastures
8. Cool Season Grass
• TAM 90 Rye grass
– High forage yield potential
– Improved winter hardiness
– Crown rust resistance
– Plant in late September and early October
– Fertilize with Nitrogen in December on three
pastures, so as not to interfere with stockpiled
Bermudagrass
9. Invasive Vegetation
• Bahiagrass (Paspalum Notatum)
• Carpet grass (Axonopus affinis)
• Crabgrass (Digitaria ischamum)
• Fertilization and spring disking will combat
these species
10. Carrying Capacity
• 1 ½ to 2 acres per cow, 450 total acres
• Rotational grazing
– Three pastures of 112 acres and one pasture of 114
acres
– From breeding to weaning two herds of 109 head will
be on three pastures (100 ac) with calves from August
to February on Bermuda/Tam 90
– From February to mid March weaned calves (approx.
189) will be on two pastures of Tam 90
– From April to July Stockers (approx. 80) will be on one
pasture of Bermudagrass
– Herds will be rotated every 14 to 21 days
11. Stockpiled Bermuda
• From August to late November, one pasture
of 150 acres will be set aside for stockpiling
Bermuda
• Bring both herds in mid September a week
apart to graze down thatch and then come in
with a recommended Nitrogen ratio based
on soil tests
• Graze pasture from October to December
13. Mineral/Protein Supplementation
• Roylx Max
• 4 % Crude protein
• 5 % Magnesium
• Feed from February to
May to prevent Grass
Tetany
– Both supplements
come in 250 lb tubs
• 1 tub can feed 20 to 25
head
14. Insect Control
• Pour-on wormer
– Cydectin (1 ml per 22 lbs)
• Covers broad spectrum of internal and external
parasites
• Fly control
– Rubs placed around gates and/or trees
15. Cow-calf Operation
• Three breed terminal cross
– Maine Anjou bulls bred to F1 Angus/Brahman females
• Maine Anjou bulls (8 total)
– Black hide
– Good growth rate and mature size
– Lean to fat ratio
– Age at puberty
– Good milk production
16. Cow-calf Operation
• F1 females (210 total)
• Angus
– Black hide
– Early maturing
– Age at puberty
• Brahman
– Good growth rate and mature size
– Lean to fat ratio
– Good milk production
18. Vaccinations
• All Vaccinations will be given in front of
the shoulder, subcutaneous injections only
• Females
– 5-way Lepto, 7-way Blackleg, and Bovi-Shield
Gold 5 given in August
• Bulls
– 5-way Lepto and 7-way Blackleg given in
August
19. Vaccinations
• Calves
– First 5-way Lepto, 7-way Blackleg, and Bovi-
Shield Gold 5 given in October or November
– First Ralgro Implant given in October or
November
– Heifer Brucellosis given in January
– Pasteurella Hemolyticum given in January
20. Vaccinations
• Calves
– Second 5-way Lepto, 7-way Blackleg, and
Bovi-Shield Gold 5 given at weaning
(February)
– Second Ralgro implant given at weaning
• Stockers
– Ralgro implant given in April
– Wormer
22. TEXAS Cattle Vaccines Product Name Quantity 1st Vacc 2nd Vacc Price/Vacc Total Cost
Cows 210 5-way Lepto Vibrio-Lepto 5 (50 dose) 6 Aug - Sept $25.50 $153.00
8-way Blackleg Ultrabac 8 (50 dose) 6 Aug - Sept $13.95 $83.70
Bovi-Shield Gold 5 (50 dose) 6 Aug - Sept $56.95 $341.70
Wormer Cydectin (1 ml per 22 lbs) Aug - Sept $0.00
Total 18 $96.40 $578.40
Bulls 8 5-way Lepto Vibrio-Lepto 5 (10 dose) 1 Aug - Sept $5.00 $5.00
8-way Blackleg Ultrabac 8 (10 dose) 1 Aug - Sept $3.45 $3.45
Wormer Cydectin (1 ml per 22 lbs) - 1 L 1 Aug - Sept $86.00 $86.00
Total 3 $94.45 $94.45
Calves 189 5-way Lepto Vibrio-Lepto 5 (50 dose) 8 Oct - Nov Feb - Apr $25.50 $204.00
8-way Blackleg Ultrabac 7/Somubac (50 dose) 8 Oct - Nov Feb - Apr $34.95 $279.60
Bovi-Shield Gold 5 (50 dose) 8 Oct - Nov Feb - Apr $56.95 $455.60
Ralgro Implant (24 dose pkg) 16 Oct - Nov Feb - Apr $25.50 $408.00
Wormer Cydectin (1 ml per 22 lbs) - 5 L 1 Oct - Nov $302.95 $302.95
Hefier Brucellosis Veterinary call 95 Jan $5.00 $475.00
Pasteurella hemo. One Shot Mannheimia (50 dose) 8 Jan $108.00 $864.00
Total 144 $558.85 $2,989.15
Stockers 82 Ralgro Implant (24 dose pkg) 4 April $25.50 $102.00
Wormer Cydectin (1 ml per 22 lbs) - 2.5 L 1 April $189.00 $189.00
Total 5 $214.50 $291.00
Misc Ralgro Gun 2 $46.00 $92.00
Ralgro Needles (6 needles/pkg) 6 $5.88 $35.28
Total 330 $1,016.08 $4,080.28
Price per Cow = $8.18
Price per Bull = $11.81
Price per Calf = $2.40
Price per Stocker = $3.55
23. East Texas Forage Costs
Acres Cattle Planting time Seeds lbs/ac Cost/lb Seeds total/ac Cost/ac Total Cost
450 300
Tex Tough Bermuda March-April 10 $5.00 4500 $50.00 $22,500.00
TAM 90 Ryegrass Sept-Oct 25 $0.42 3750 $10.50 $4,725.00
Total 450 300 35 $5.42 8250 $60.50 $27,225.00
24. East Texas Fertilizer Costs
TEXAS Fert Acres Cattle Time of Year lbs/ac needed TonsNeeded Cost/ton Cost/ac Total Cost
450 300
TXT. Bermuda 17-17-17 April 300 68 $298 $20,115
Ryegrass Mix 17-17-17 Mid-December 45 10 $298 $3,017
Total 450 300 78 $596 $0 $23,132
25. East Texas Protein Costs
Acres Cattle Time of year Tubs needed Consumption Cost/hd/day Cost per tub Total Cost
Supplement 400 300
Rolyx - 4% CP Feb - May 11 .5 to 1.5 lbs/hd $0.50 $133.75 $1,471.25
Iono-Lyx B300 Sept - Dec 9 .5 to 1.5 lbs/hd $0.44 $118.00 $1,062.00
Total 20 $0.94 $251.75 $2,533.25
26. Marketing
• All calves will go through the VAC-45 program
– Calves will be held for 45 days after weaning
– All calves will be implanted with a second Ralgro
implant unless they are heifers that will be retained for
replacements
– All calves will also be tagged with a radio frequency ID
that meets the requirements of United States Animal
Identification Plan (USAIP)
• 10 to 15% of heifers will be retained for
replacements ( approx. 15)
– Depending on market conditions
27. Marketing
• Calves will be sold
through the NETBIO
sale at Sulphur
Springs, TX
– Calves will be
vaccinated according
to the requirements of
the sale
28. Marketing
• Buy approx. 80 stockers from NETBIO sale
in Sulphur Springs, TX in late march
• Background stockers for 60 to 90 days
– Sell in mid July at NETBIO sale
29. Future Considerations
• Possibly add more stockers and keep more
replacements depending on the market in
future years
• Reseed pastures with Tam 90 ryegrass in
third year
• Interseed Tex Tough Bermudagrass in 4th
or
5th
year to beef up the common
Bermudagrass that will have taken over
32. Land
• Soil
– Sandy loams and Clays mixed throughout the area
– Average soil depth is 2 to 3 ft
• Water
– No water tables
– Average yearly rainfall of 30 inches
– Rainfall comes in late fall and winter, no rain from may
to October
• Minerals
– Selenium, Copper, and Molybdenum are deficient
• 3900 total acres
34. Warm Season Grass
• California Brome Grass (Bromus carinatus)
– Good on droughty soils
– Have to mow in summer months to 3-4” to
decrease fire chances
– Can be damaged by overgrazing
35. Cool Season Grass
• California Fescue – Festuca californica
– Grows 2 ft tall
– Good groundcover for slopes
– Drought tolerant
– Mid-sized bunch grass
36. Invasive Vegetation
• Yellow Star thistle (Centaurea solstitialis)
• Medusa head (Taeniatherum crinitum)
– Annual grass that contains high amounts of silica
– Will shade out improved grasses
• Control measures
– Burn
– Spray
– Intensive grazing
37. Carrying capacity
• 12 to 15 acres per cow
• Rotational grazing
• Short Duration Grazing System (SDG)
– Eight pastures of 490 acres apiece
– November to May rest periods will be five
days, because of California Fescue growth
– June to October rest periods will be 7 to 14
days, due to the dry period
38. Mineral/Protein Supplementation
• Stockmaker CAL-204
• 12.5% Crude Protein
• 200 ppm Copper (min)
• 3.6 ppm Selenium
(min)
• Liquid will provide
additional protein
needed
• Increases dry matter
digestibility by 30%
• Feed from June through
November
39. Mineral/Protein Supplementation
• 2101 Cow Base HC
weatherized
– Mineral helps maintain
nutrition during the
winter months when
green grass starts
growing
– Contains organic
minerals for better
availability and is wind
and rain resistant
40. Insect Control
• Wormer
– Ivomec Plus injectable
• Injectable needed for “All natural” beef operation
• Fly control
– Rubs placed around gates
41. Cow-calf Operation
• Cross
• Angus bulls bred to F1 Angus/Hereford
females
• Angus bulls (12 total)
– Black hide
– Early maturing
– Age at puberty
– Good milking ability
44. Vaccinations
• Females
– 5-way Lepto, 7-way Blackleg, and Bovi-Shield
Gold 5 given in July
• Bulls
– 5-way Lepto and 7-way Blackleg given in July
45. Vaccinations
• Calves
– First 8-way Blackleg, and Bovi-Shield Gold 5
given in November through January
– Heifer Brucellosis given in February through
March
– Second 8-way Blackleg given in February
through March
– Bovi-Shield Gold 5 and wormer given in April
46. California Vaccination Costs
CALIFORNIA Cattle Vaccines Product Name Quantity 1st Vacc 2nd Vacc Price/Vaccine Total Cost
Cows 288 5-way Lepto Vibrio-Lepto 5 (50 dose) 6 July - Aug $25.50 $153.00
7-way Blackleg Ultrabac 8 (50 dose) 6 July - Aug $13.95 $83.70
Bovi-Shield Gold 5 (50 dose) 6 July - Aug $56.95 $341.70
Wormer Ivomec Plus Injectable 3 July - Aug $369.95 $1,109.85
Total 21 $466.35 $1,688.25
Bulls 12 5-way Lepto Vibrio-Lepto 5 (50 dose) 1 July - Aug $25.50 $25.50
7-way Blackleg Ultrabac 8 (10 dose) 1 July - Aug $3.45 $3.45
Wormer Ivomec Plus Injectable 1 July - Aug $101.95 $101.95
Total 3 $130.90 $130.90
Calves 260 8-way Blackleg Ultrabac 8 (50 dose) 12 Nov - Jan Feb -Mar $13.95 $167.40
Bovi-Shield Gold 5 (50 dose) 6 Nov - Jan Apr $56.95 $341.70
Hefier Brucellosis Veterinary call 95 Feb -Mar $5.00 $475.00
Wormer Ivomec Plus Injectable 1 Feb -Mar $573.90 $573.90
Total 114 $649.80 $984.10
Total 138 $2,803.25
Price per Cow = $5.61
Price per Bull = $10.91
Price per Calf = $0.66
47. California Protein Costs
Acres Cattle Time of year Tons needed Consumption Cost/hd/day Cost per ton Total Cost
Supplement 3900 300
Stockmaker June - Nov 28 1 to 1.5 lbs/hd $0.18 $300.00 $8,400.00
2101 Cow Base Sept - Dec 6 0.1 to 0.25 lbs/hd $0.06 $650.00 $3,900.00
Total 34 $0.24 $950.00 $12,300.00
48. Marketing
• All calves will be sold
through the Niman Ranch
• No antibiotics or
hormones will be
administered
• All calves will be selected
by Niman Ranch
representatives
• All calves will be tagged
with an electronic ID, to
go along with the USAIP
49. Future Considerations
• In second or third year bring in Stockers, to
supplement possibly low market prices in
the future
• Stockers will not go through the Niman
Ranch program, but will be sold in a local
sell barn
• Stockers will be managed very little to
maximize profit on them
52. Land
• Soil
– Various Clay soils mixed throughout the area
• Water
– In the last 36 months, they have had 94 in of rainfall
• Minerals
– Deficient in Selenium, Copper, Molybdenum, and
Magnesium if grazing on dryland oats
• 2000 total acres
54. Grass
• Native Grasses
– Kangaroo grass (Themeda australis)
• Perennial
• Summer growing
• Palatable forage
• Doesn’t withstand heavy grazing
• Fire tolerant
– Queensland Blue grass (Dicanthium spp.)
• Very frost sensitive, but resumes growth when warm weather
starts
• Deals with trampling very well
• Not as drought resistant, but a heavy seeder
• Reproduces well with adequate rains
56. Mineral/Protein Supplementation
• Anipro
– Molasses based
supplement that
contains a slow release
protein – Rumapro
– There is a sweet and a
sour component and
consumption can be
controlled by
increasing the ratio of
either component
57. Mineral/Protein Supplementation
• Intake for Cow/calf
pairs is approx. 1 lb
per day
• Distributor from
Performance Feeds
services each 500 L
Trough on a three
week cycle
• One trough per 40
cows
59. Cow-calf Operation
• Three breed terminal cross
– Wagyu bulls bred to F1 Wagyu – Angus females
• Wagyu bulls
– Tajima bloodlines are thought to be ideal for the
production of F1 cattle for slaughter
– Regarded as the best quality meat in all of Japan
– Higher ratio of mono-unsaturated fatty acids to
saturated fatty acids which makes fat softer and meat
taste better
60. Cow–calf Operation
• Wagyu
– Usually have black hides, but they also have a recessive
red gene
– Horned
– Early maturing
• Angus
– Early maturing
– Good milk production
– Good marbling
63. Australian Vaccination Costs
Australia Cattle Vaccines Product Name Quantity 1st Vacc 2nd Vacc Price/Vacc Total Cost
Cows 288 5-way Lepto Vibrio-Lepto 5 (50 dose) 6 Sept - Oct $25.50 $153.00
7-way Blackleg Ultrabac 8 (50 dose) 6 Sept - Oct $13.95 $83.70
Bovi-Shield Gold 5 (50 dose) 6 Sept - Oct $56.95 $341.70
Wormer Ivomec Plus Injectable 1 Sept - Oct 1,479.80 $1,479.80
Total 19 $39.45 $2,058.20
Bulls 12 5-way Lepto Vibrio-Lepto 5 (10 dose) 2 Sept - Oct $5.00 $10.00
7-way Blackleg Ultrabac 8 (10 dose) 2 Sept - Oct $3.45 $6.90
Wormer Ivomec Plus Injectable 1 Sept - Oct 136.90 $136.90
Total 5 $8.45 $16.90
Calves 260 8-way Blackleg Ultrabac 8 (50 dose) 12 Nov - Jan March $13.95 $167.40
Bovi-Shield Gold 5 (50 dose) 6 Nov - Jan March $56.95 $341.70
Wormer Ivomec Plus Injectable 1 Nov - Jan $573.90 $573.90
Total 19 $644.80 $1,083.00
Total 43 $3,158.10
Price per Cow = $5.27
Price per Bull = $1.41
Price per Calf = $3.19
64. Australian Protein Costs
Acres Cattle Time of year Tubs needed Consumption Cost/hd/day Cost per tub Total Cost
Supplement 2000 300
Anipro Nov- Apr 50 0.7 - 0.9 L/day $0.11 $319.00 $15,950.00
Total 50 0.7 - 0.9 L/day $0.11 $319.00 $15,950.00
65. Marketing
• Australia currently supplies 30 percent of
Japanese market requirement – about 1
million carcasses annually
• Market growth to Japan will continue to
grow, but more in boxed beef
• Japanese consumers will pay a premium for
highly marbled meat
66. Marketing
• Wagyu steers are targeted at the Japanese B3
market
– A long stay in feedlots with a high-energy diet is
required
• Australian grading is 5-star with MS3+
• B3 market is for feeder steers 16-18 months of age
and 792-880 lbs live weight to be slaughtered at
26-28 months after 200+ days feeding with a final
carcass weight of 836-880 lbs, marble score of 3-4
with 25 mm of fat
67. Marketing
• W.A.L. Wagyu Australia Limited
– A private share company has been set up to
facilitate Wagyu Markets through a single
marketing desk
68. Marketing
• Animal welfare and origin is very important
to Japanese consumers
– All calves will be tagged with an electronic ID,
as required by the National Livestock
Identification System (NLIS Australia)
– No implants and very few if any antibiotics will
be administered to cattle
– Background calves for at least 45 days before
sending to a feedlot
70. First Year Total Costs
Texas California Australia
Vaccines $4,080.28 $2,803.25 $2,803.25
Fertilizer $23,132.00 n/a n/a
Protein $2,265.75 $12,300.00 $15,950.00
Forage $27,225.00 n/a n/a
Total $56,703.03 $15,103.25 $18,753.25
71. Future Total Costs
Texas California Australia
2nd year $6,613.53 $14,195.95 $17,054.40
3rd year $14,355.53 $14,195.95 $17,054.40
4th year $6,613.53 $14,195.95 $17,054.40
5th year $6,613.53 $14,195.95 $17,054.40
Total $34,196.12 $56,783.80 $68,217.60
