He’s owned cows. He’s milked cows. He’s shown cows. Now he’s helping others realize their dreams by breeding cows in Whatcom County. Well-liked technician Gary Sterk of Sumas, WA, has the experience and the knowledge to be a fan favorite in the Pacific Northwest. When we finally caught up with this busy technician, he gave us a run-down of his favorite bulls in the tank!
“I’m not afraid to use proven bulls at all,” said the All West veteran. “The bulls on my list are really solid, and if I can fit them into a program, I’ll do it and I’ll stick with the plan. My customers trust me to make the best decision for their businesses, and that’s not something I take lightly. So one of the biggest things I recommend for people is to breed a uniform herd. It’s better for the environment and all your management decisions, and it’s also better for the cows. So to me, sticking with proven bulls is great because we know that we know that we know what we’re going to get. If you want to use the newest, highest TPI sire every three months, that’s fine, but you’re losing uniformity and you’re losing reliability. You might be out-horsed right now on TPI levels, but I’ll be concerned about that in five years if those bulls are still that high on TPI. What I breed for are wide rumps, wide rear udders and good feet & legs. I also want a lot of rib, so these cows can be ruminants and turn less expensive forages into milk. By using proven bulls, my lineup is a lot more ‘milk-check friendly pricing’ as well!”
Bulls in the tank:
7HO12024 GARZA and 7HO12344 Rager-Red– Both have great type traits, solid components and high productive life.
7HO11314 MOGUL – Anywhere you can this bull, you better be using him! He’s the best bull to come out since Elevation! Watch it here
7HO11383 MORGAN – A solid 2536 on GTPI and plus DPR – I like what we’re seeing.
7HO11419 HEADLINER – Plus components and great type Watch it here
7HO11525 DONATELLO – Milk, components, DPR and over a point on type.
7HO11585 STERLING – Minus on components but I’ll protect for that just so I can use him.
7HO11752 BOB – I’ve got six fresh at one dairy and they just look great! I’ve used Bob a lot!
Watch it here
We’ll be visiting other technician tanks in the future! Thanks for letting us stop by Gary!
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