CALF News Aug./Sept 2018

28 CALF News • August | September 2018 • www.calfnews.net LED TO THE FLINT HILLS OF KANSAS by what he describes as fate, Arturo Pacheco is taking the heifer background- ing game to a different level. He and his wife, Wrenn, make up the ranch hand crew as they raise two boys, plenty of cows, and even write their own reci- pes that have been featured in several magazines and organizations. Describing this couple as a “power pair” would be an understatement. “I grew up in Moriarty, New Mexico, where our family operated a small seed- stock and commercial cow-calf opera- tion that was homesteaded by my great grandparents,” Arturo says. “I started showing in 4-H at the age of 9 and continued showing through FFA when I got to high school. I went to junior college on a livestock judging scholarship, and also went on to judge at Texas Tech University (TTU). While at Texas Tech, Arturo worked at the TTU Beef Center as an undergrad where he helped care for the university’s seedstock cows. The unit also operated a custom backgrounding yard, feeding cattle anywhere from 60-120 days. As undergrads, Wrenn and I were also part of the TTU show team that cared for and exhibited TTU Angus bulls and females at local and national Angus shows,” Arturo says. After graduating, he did an internship at the R.A. Brown Ranch in Throck- By Aly McClure Contributing Editor The Dream Team morton, Texas.“I was exposed to about everything on the ranch,” Arturo says. “We tagged calves several days a week, helped synchronize heifers, cows and recip cows during the breeding season.” He also helped vaccinate and brand calves and, on the weekends, took turns feeding at the ranch’s bull development center. “I realized I really enjoyed the AI work and the advancements you could make in the genetics of a herd by utiliz- ing reproductive technologies,” Arturo explains.“I decided to return to TTU for graduate school. “I completed my Master of Science Degree in Animal Breeding and Genet- ics in 2007. Wrenn and I got married in May of that year, and we moved to Manhattan [Kan.] for me to continue graduate school.” Arturo believes that moving to the Kansas Flint Hills was fate.“When I decided I wanted to continue grad school, KC Olson at Kansas State was the only person at a university who would answer the phone, much less return my call.” Through his growing passion for beef cattle reproduction, Arturo experienced an interesting turn of events that led them into what they do today.“Wrenn and I were fortunate enough to rent some ground,” he says.“However, the owners were only interested in renting it out for stockers; they weren’t interested in cows being on the ranch.We didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to rent the ground, so we took it knowing we would have to run yearlings on most of the grass. “Also, in my travels for my nutri- tion business, I found there was a fairly significant amount of interest in range- based heifer development among my cow-calf customers.” With his heart set on the cow-calf segment, Arturo negotiated with his landlords to allow him to graze replace- ment heifers on the ranch, enabling him to do the synchronization and reproduc- tive work he enjoys. Along the way, Arturo has learned a few things about caring for heifers. First, he says, treat them like a cow. Regardless of whether your operation is 100 percent range based or your cow herd is dry- lotted and fed a ration part of the year or they’re in total confinement,“you need to develop your heifers in the same format they will be managed in as a mature cow,” he says.“A female that’s developed in a grow yard, then is expected to be a pro- ductive female in a range environment is at a huge disadvantage. “There are a lot of stresses taking place on a replacement heifer when she calves … and don’t forget she still hasn’t even reached her mature size, so she still has energy requirements for growth. And we expect them to rebreed rapidly after calving.” Continued on page 31  Helpful ranch hands Leo and Ross Pacheco Arturo Pacheco wraps up a long day working cattle on horseback.