At Boyd Angus, we are dedicated to developing long-term relationships with our customers. We strive to serve our customers at the highest level year after year by providing naturally thick performance bulls that hold up in rough, high altitude environments. We run a larger commercial herd alongside our registered cattle, which has helped cattle buyers and feedlots to take notice of the type of calves we produce and who have, in turn, recommended Boyd genetics to many of our now long-term clients. In fact, that is how Boyd Angus ended up serving many of our current buyers. We owe especial gratitude to feedlot owner and cattle buyer Galen Sievers who began buying our calves in the ‘90’s. Knowing that we developed our own bulls for use on our own commercial cattle and being impressed with how the steer calves he’d purchased had been finishing, Mr. Sievers began recommending our bulls to many of the ranches from whom he’d historically purchased cattle.
Today, we continue to work to produce the kind of cattle that perform well in the feedlot with enough performance and frame to gain both before and after weaning. We keep our own replacement heifers for both the commercial and registered herds and thus heavily cull with a focus on the continued development of longevity, fertility, good udder structure, and moderate frame size in our replacement heifers, as these are the dams of our future bull calves. We have had a zero tolerance policy for temperament issues within our cow herd for many years and as our customers, hired hands, and night calvers will all attest to, Boyd cattle are widely known for their mild temperaments.
The cows calve beginning in early February and wean in October. The steer calves are shipped at weaning in the fall. Both the steer and heifer pairs are run above Virginia City at an elevation of 7,000+ feet in mountain sagebrush country where cattle without good feet and structure simply don’t make the cut. The cows are wintered at the home place near Alder, Montana, and are fed a mixed ration of grass and alfalfa hay while on a high quality mineral program. The bull calves are weaned in October and placed in our feedlot where they are fed a roughage diet, supported with a limited amount of Bull Challenger feed so as to maintain their feet and not overcondition them. Buyers have been happy with how the bulls hold up during breeding season and with the increase in weaning weights many have seen over time.
Focused herd management and selection have allowed us to continually improve our herd’s EPD’s, but we also make sure to maintain a solid structural and functional phenotype in our cattle. The numbers are an important tool, but our focus will always be on efficient structurally sound cows with good udders and feet that can calve assistance free. Regardless of her size, a cow should wean at least 50 percent of her body weight in order to stay in our herd. Over the years we’ve seen many trends come and go in the cattle industry, but as Ellis likes to say, one thing hasn’t changed: “they still sell by the pound!”
Our door is always open, so feel free to stop by or give us a call, have a cup of coffee, and look over the cattle anytime.
