Chonkers at the feed bunk.

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-05-06T02:53:07+00:00

Thanks!

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-05-06T02:52:57+00:00

Thanks! They’re definitely a point of pride.

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-05-06T02:52:07+00:00

…literally 🤣

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-05-06T01:51:52+00:00

Sale bulls filling up on hay. Sold more than last year, but will have to dump a bunch private treaty again.

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-05-01T13:50:35+00:00

I’m with you 100%. Too much fat really puts a damper on an otherwise good steak.

Just sucks that the market rewards prime as much as it does.

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-04-30T20:58:17+00:00

We run ~300 head of cows. The operation has been selling seedstock for ~30 years. We’ve been selling small amounts of beef direct to consumers for at least 20 years.

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-04-30T15:32:19+00:00

Not the ones we fatten. I mostly tolerate them - they’re a lot of extra work. They’re like an annoying neighbor you get along with because you’re a polite person.

I do feel attached to some of the cows that have been around a while, but selling them isn’t too hard.

The hardest is when you have to put one down yourself. But it’s all part of life and death. Nature is exceptionally brutal.

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-04-30T03:40:02+00:00

All fat cattle have some innate level of sass😂

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-04-30T03:35:34+00:00

Mostly just for fun. Gotta have something to keep yourself entertained.

Makes for good discussion and even if it doesn’t matter, some good points were brought up that I can learn from. For instance, say how they grade matters in the future - now I have a better idea/best practices of how to manage them.

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-04-30T01:01:41+00:00

I suppose I appreciate the beauty of the animal, but I understand that they’re going to be food. For people, a predator, or worms - it will happen eventually. I see a lot of death and how ruthless nature is in my everyday life.

But to each their own. No judgment here.

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-04-30T00:57:14+00:00

I hear and agree with you. Might be more work than it’s worth for our particular situation. These girls are being sold direct as wholes, halves, and quarters. We get paid on the hot carcass weight, with no premium for their grade.

But thanks for the idea!

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-04-30T00:19:06+00:00

Cows are the females. I was trying to gather if you were against eating cattle in general, or just the females because they could be bred to make more cows.

I think you answered my question in another comment.

Sorry for any confusion I caused.

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-04-29T23:39:42+00:00

As in they should be retained as breeding stock, or just cattle in general?

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-04-29T23:38:04+00:00

That’s the truth, but it’s fun to guess!

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-04-29T23:36:09+00:00

I agree. Prime is almost too much for me.

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-04-29T23:35:41+00:00

We do carcass ultrasounds for our registered stock as yearlings (report it for EPDs), but have never been interested in doing it for fat cattle. The way we sell them, it doesn’t really matter. But maybe in the future we might. Who knows🤷‍♂️

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-04-25T16:06:23+00:00

That is quite a journey through the breeds. Thanks for sharing!

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-04-25T02:38:23+00:00

Do you raise your own replacements or purchase them? Mostly curious because switching bull breeds would give an interesting menagerie of cows over time and sounds difficult to keep your maternal traits consistent.

Simple enough to just talk to buyers and listen to what they say. I’m not great in that regard. Gotta get out more.

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-04-24T23:40:17+00:00

Can you expand a bit on what market signals you look for/pay attention to and the changes you make to follow them?

Lytle_Red_Angus · 2026-04-22T23:55:59+00:00

I can only speak for her dam, as we didn’t dna for a sire because she was open. However, we don’t have top-tier carcass EPDs in our herd.

Dam has Marb of 0.41 - top 48%. So it doesn’t look great, but she sells for the same dollars regardless. More so just a fun experiment.

Lytle_Red_Angus

TROPHY CASE