Performance
Performance - the bottom line
Want more money from your feeder calves? Then select genetics that pay! Wardens Farm offers unique genetics with proven:
- Feed Efficiency
- Carcass Quality
- Tenderness Data
The key to earning more for your feeder calves is to produce cattle that consistently make money in the feedlot. And there's no doubt that Wardens Farm can provide the proven genetics to help you produce efficient feeder cattle that make the grade on the rail, as well.
Feed efficiency
For the past 25 years, our annual bull test has included feed efficiency testing for 15 of the best bulls. In 2000, we increased the feed efficiency testing to 30 bulls per year. Recently, we again expanded with a new Feed Intake Monitoring System to allow us to feed 42 bulls for an 84-day feed efficiency test.
Can selection for feed efficiency make a difference? It has for us. Constant selection for this economically-important trait has allowed us to produce a bull, 4 Point 8 of Ironwood, that gained over 4.5 pounds per day with less than 5 pounds of feed per pound of gain. Many of his offspring have.
Summary of Wardens Farm Bull Test
| Avg. Daily Gain |
Wt. per day of age |
Avg. Feed Efficiency |
Residual Feed Intake |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.70 | 3.37 | 6.53 | |
| 2001 | 3.41 | 3.15 | 6.80 | |
| 2002 | 3.98 | 3.27 | 5.77 | |
| 2003 | 3.58 | 3.14 | 6.44 | |
| 2004 | 3.69 | 3.23 | 5.90 | |
| 2005 | 4.55 | 3.21 | 5.57 | |
| 2006 | 3.83 | 6.55 | 0.37 | |
| 2007 | 3.63 | 5.83 | -0.13 |
Spring 2008 Heifer Test
We are excited to have the capacity to begin selecting females for feed efficiency along with our sires. Our first group of heifers in 2006 impressed, with an average RFI of -0.11. This year's crop put up some outstanding numbers as well.
Our top performers:
- RFI -1.77, sired by 4 Point 8
- RFI -1.69, sired by New Level 5056
- RFI -1.67, sired by a 4 Point 8 son
- RFI -1.27, sired by Ironwood New Day 5526
For years, cattlemen have been talking about 5x5 cattle. At Wardens Farm, we are closing in on that goal.
Carcass Quality
We are committed to providing accurate information regarding our carcass genetics at Wardens Farm.
Since 1988 all of our yearling bulls have been ultrasounded for backfat and ribeye area. We added intramuscular fat measurements in 1993.
Since 1992, we have collected carcass data on 13 bulls through the American Angus Association® Sire Evaluation Program, and 5 more bulls are currently in the program.
In 1994 we began scanning all of our yearling heifers along with the yearling bulls.
Today we have amassed ultrasound data on hundreds of bulls and heifers raised in our program, in addition to our complete carcass testing of 13 mature bulls. But that isn't all. For over 18 years, we have collected data on our steers that go to slaughter through the Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity. We think you'll be impressed with the performance of our cattle.
2006 Carcass Data on 30 steers
| Certified Angus Beef® | 53% |
| Choice & Prime | 100% |
| Select | 0% |
| Yield Grade 1 & 2 | 50% |
| Yield Grade 3 | 50% |
| Yield Grade 4 | 0% |
Today, Wardens Farm is still ahead of the technology curve. In recent years, we have collected tenderness data on 238 steers through the Iowa Beef Tenderness & Carcass Evaluation Project. Once again, our steers put up some impressive numbers. In the 2000 group of 72 steers, the shear force values ranged from 5.31 to 7.4, with an average of 6.05 pounds! (A shear force value greater than 10 is considered tough.)
At Wardens Farm, our commitment to using proven performance data for genetic selection is paying big dividends on the rail.