CALF_News_December_2021_January_2022

13 CALF News • December 2021 | January 2022 • www.calfnews.net The First Hydraulic Corral and still the Largest! • Pull on highway at speed limit. • Fits through any gate your pickup will. • Stable on uneven terrain. • Wheels on each panel and electric over hydraulic jack eliminates lifting—saves time. • Permanent sheeted adjustable alley. • Frame gates for sorting. • Transport wheels are permanent, no sliding off the axles and rolling out of the way. Rawhide Portable Corral 900 NORTHWASHINGTON ST., ABILENE, KS 67410 785.263.3436 www.rawhideportablecorral.com Rawhide Processor by John McDonald 3 Sizes Available! The calves get another dose of a prebiotic both at branding and preconditioning, he adds,“just to help get their guts working efficiently in times of stress.” The calves also have access to creep feeders while still on the cow to help teach them to eat from a feeder and help them grow and respond well to the vacci- nation program. “We’re retaining ownership all the way through,” Keller says. “We can’t afford to lose one to a late-term death, so we keep an eye on making sure they’re all healthy.” The calves wean at 400 to 450 pounds, Hawkins says, then are back- grounded and put on feed. Wagyu are slower growing than British and Conti- nental breeds, so they’ll stay on feed for around a year before being harvested. At the moment, the ranch runs around 250 mother cows consisting of purebred Wagyu along with Red Angus and F2 Akaushi as embryo transfer recipients. “We’re AI’ing all the Blacks and some of the Akaushi [and using natural ser- vice on the rest] and then use Black bulls for clean up,” Keller says. Future plans call for some of the top- end bull and heifer calves to be grown and sold to other beef producers. Of the 2021 calf crop, 42 heifers were held back as replacements. The rest are on feed and will be custom harvested. Down the road, Hawkins says they’d like to grow the cow herd. The portion of Brush Creek Ranch where the cows roam could handle as many as 500 head, but Hawkins is dedicated to conserva- tive stocking rates and improving soil health in the pastures and hay meadows. “So around 300 to 350 is probably the sweet spot,” he says. With that many, the ranch will be able to sell Wagyu beef beyond the ranch gate. “That’s certainly our goal,” he says, “once we start producing enough cattle to get an outside niche market. “And I’ve always felt we’ve got a really good base just by reaching out to all of our past guests.” After all, they already know how good the beef is. Beyond expanding the cow herd, Hawkins says they’re working toward a fully in-house production system. “We hope to soon be feeding our own cattle on the ranch and harvesting our own cattle on the ranch once we get the system down. We’ve built barns that simulate what we saw in Japan and, that way, we can keep them climate con- trolled rather than in an outdoor facility. We can feed these cattle with a lot less temperature fluctuations.” Temperature fluctuations in south-cen- tral Wyoming are simply part of the equa- tion. Temperatures can range from 90° F in the summer to -20° F in the winter. When provided good hay and a pro- tein supplement, the cows handle those swings very well, Keller says. “They need more protein in the winter, and it took us a couple of years to learn that.” In a confined feeding situation where pounds matter and the cattle are on feed CONNECTING THE DOTS Continued from page 8 Continued on page 24 