The View From My Saddle- October 2025

It has been a while since I have updated this blog. I guess it's because my thoughts haven't changed much since we first put up the website. Also, I'm not much of a computer whiz. I have one major announcement to make. I have a new partner. As I am trying to slow down in my old age, I've partnered with a young neighbor who has taken on our registered herd on a share basis.

Let me introduce Caden Billings to you. Caden came home to the family ranch after graduating from the University of Nebraska with a degree in Grazing Livestock Systems. He worked part-time for me for a while before buying my commercial cowherd a couple of years back. His father, Coby, started buying Hereford bulls from me in 2018 to use on their Angus cows. Caden has impressed me with his work ethic, and his pasture management degree brings some fresh new knowledge to our operation. He is also a proponent of breeding cattle that require fewer inputs and a graduate of the Ranching For Profit School.

Caden can be reached at 402-322-1208.

As I stated before, we have not changed the way we do things around here. We are still running low-input cows. We still ultrasound the bulls and collect individual feed efficiency data on them, and we still put steers in the feedlot trials. The last set of steers from our commercial herd that went to the Hereford Feedlot were 86% choice and prime, with REAs of 15.1 sq. in. The following year, we had four head from our daughter's herd and three steers from some old cows. Those steers were three primes and four choices. The average REA was 14.1 sq. in. You can see that we are still hitting the quality targets the industry requires.

In September, I attended the Beef Reproduction Task Force conference in North Platte, NE. For the first time, I heard the experts talk about how important feed efficiency is in getting a cow to rebreed on time each year. It has made sense to me for over forty years. The biggest reason for a cow getting rebred is that she has adequate nutrition. If she is feed efficient, then she can have adequate nutrition on lower inputs. I was glad to hear that this trait, which is moderate to highly inheritable, is finally being noticed.

Another main point that was discussed was bulls that are too fat. When fat gets deposited in a bull's scrotum, the testicles cannot be lowered enough to maintain the proper temperature for semen production. Even if a bull is put on a weight loss diet, the fat in the testicles is some of the last fat to be absorbed. My understanding is that around .3 in. of back fat is pushing the threshold for too much fat. If you take a bull home like that and try to lean him up, he is going to look a little tough by the time he will semen test in hot weather. Our bulls generally measure around .2 in. of back fat when we ultrasound them just before they are offered for sale.

I will leave you with these thoughts for now.

-Ken Stephens

-Ken Stephens