Bull…
It has been a while since I have visited with you last. It probably hasn’t been as long as the winter we just left behind but it has been too long. Mother Nature has not improved her sense of humor in terms of the weather as the spring has been very challenging. April of 2011 is going to go down as one of the wettest if not the wettest single month of rainfall in history for this area. The same weather trend has continued into the month of May.
The last couple of months have been pretty exciting from a genetic perspective here at Maplecrest. We just wrapped up the spring calving season in mid April and the calves look good considering the weather they have been through. Breeding season started about a month ago and is progressing. We created several exciting matings through our April round of embryo flushes. However, quite possibly the most exciting news centers around a pair of herd bulls. One of them you are quite familiar with. We hope to make you very familiar with the other.
We are fortunate to have the opportunity to have possession of our Senior Herd sire, TC Total 410 for the spring breeding season. This incredible sire has been a large part of our breeding program for several years and this Pathfinder sire has cemented his legacy in the Angus breed for years to come. Total currently ranks as the #2 $B bull in the breed and ranks in the top 1% of the breed for WW, YW, and REA. He also ranks in the top 5% or greater for Docility, CW, and MARB. Our continued use of Total and his excellent daughters will play a prominent role in our future.
Our newest herd sire that we would like to acquaint you with is Connealy Confidence 0100. Maplecrest teamed with several other progressive breeders to make Confidence the $180,000 top-selling bull at the recent Connealy Angus bull sale. He is a son of Connealy Tobin out of a Connealy Thunder daughter. The maternal grand dam is sired by Bextor. This outstanding prospect is a one-of-a-kind combination of superior phenotype with a very unique EPD package backed up by impressive genomic results. Confidence is a +13 for CED, -1.5 BW, +58 WW, +115 YW, +29 CW, +.75 MARB, +.91 REA, +30.58 $W, and +76.40 $B. Confidence has been leased to Select Sires and semen will be available later this spring.
Congratulations to Gardiner Angus Ranch for hosting a very successful 32nd Annual Production Sale last month. Much of our genetic base comes from this great herd. We are honored to be Allied Producers with the Gardiner’s and market a large portion of our bull calf crop through them. We were pleased to have the fifth high-selling bull in the sale at $13,000. GAR MC New Day 454 J0012 is a son of B/R New Day 454 out of a Total daughter that sold to LeBus Angus of Lexington, KY. We also had the seventh high-selling bull at $11,000. GAR 5050 New Design J9165 is a son of G A R New Design 5050 out of a G A R Solution daughter that sold to Mayer Ranch of Guyman, OK.
