Curious which sires an All West Beef Team member may advise you to use? Adrienne Lulay is sharing insight about a few of her current favorite bulls in her tank!
“Early in the breeding season many of my jobs are purebred operations where bulls are chosen specifically for certain pedigrees and EPDs, but we’re nearing the time of year where most of my larger jobs are over and the cows I am breeding are small farm herds. If I am going to have bulls “on hand” then I like to have my “oldie but goodie bulls” that cover all the bases. They need to be high on what I call the “livability traits”. They need to have some calving ease, be moderate sized and be efficient with high marbling for their breed. If they are a bull calf, they will most likely become locker beef, but if they are a heifer they will be retained in the herd. Docility is extremely important, as well as needing to be conformation correctors. Sounds like a magical unicorn, right? However, I think the following bulls fit the bill.
In the Black Angus breed, I always have 7AN463 Tex PLAYBOOK 5437 in my tank. He is a stylish calving ease bull. I feel like his offspring can stand out in a local show ring and in a commercial herd as well. He has above average marbling and a moderate mature size that will make a good steer, but he will also make a beautiful cow that will be a great producer.
For the Red Angus breed, I have been really impressed with 7AR86 Bieber CL STOCKMARKET E119. Again, he is calving ease and has excellent marbling. His calves are born small, but are extremely vigorous! They hit the ground running and then grow like weeds! He also has an attractive and correct phenotype with great feet. His carcass traits are outstanding, making him another bull that covers all the bases.
14HP1030 KT BUILT TUFF 101 is my go-to sire for the Herefords. He is just the coolest little brick of a bull. He is moderate, calving ease and very high marbling within the breed! You may be questioning his small yearling weight and ribeye; however I believe that bigger is not always better. Many of the Herefords I see are too big now, without the muscle shape. I think that BUILT TUFF has the muscle dimension in a smaller package. It doesn’t mean you are taking away muscle shape, you are just shrinking it down in a proportional package.
For Simmentals, one of my favorite bulls ever is 7SM97 IR IMPERIAL D948. I may sound like a broken record, but I just adore this bull! I have used him quite a bit in my herd and have also seen many offspring. They are long spined and extremely correct and their feet and udders have been perfect so far. He again brings that efficient and moderate body size with breed topping marbling. They are also very docile. Don’t overlook him because he is red!
With feed prices skyrocketing and an interest in raising grass fed and home-grown beef, I think these are the bulls that will deliver. The cows need to be sweet cows that stay in the herd for a long time. The steers need to turn into quality beef on a reasonable timeline with less inputs than beef being raised in feedlots with professional nutritionists. These producers may not be making their living off their cows, but these cows need to make their owner’s life more livable.”
– Adrienne Lulay, Independent Beef Sales Representative
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