McBee Cattle

RON & TERI MCBEE
221 State Route H
Fayette, MO 65248
Cell: 573-228-2517
email: McBCattle@aol.com
Website:
www.McBeeCattleCompany.com
Craig Ludwig, Marketing Agent
913-522-9701

Braunvieh Program at McBee Cattle Company

Our Braunvieh program began in 1992 when we were looking for bulls that would add milk and maternal traits to our crossbred commercial cowherd. This search led us to Ron Franken, Linn, Mo., the closest Braunvieh breeder we could find. We purchased 21 halfblood bred heifers from Franken Farm that year to add to our commercial herd. Those 21 heifers were bred to calve in January, which did not excite us very much, but we were willing to try them. All the heifers calved on time, they all claimed their calf, they all milked and they all bred back. We grew up in the Polled Hereford business and you can imagine our surprise. After that first experience with Braunvieh females, we were hooked.

We purchased Braunvieh bulls and bred 200 commercial cows for Â½ blood Braunvieh influence calves. A few fullblood heifers were purchased and an agreement was made with Franken Farm to develop their calves after weaning and merchandise them. We were on the way to becoming a Braunvieh seedstock supplier.

Maintaining a herd of one of the oldest pure breeds known to man was simple from the beginning. The Braunvieh females are more middle of the road, very maternal, easy keepers and fit our grass based operation very well. The bull portion of the seedstock business was going to be a little tougher. Selling someone a brown bull to use on their crossbred cows was going to produce a better, heavier calf at weaning than they were used to, but they were going to be a challenge to market at the local livestock market. Thus, the reason for the McBee Calf Roundup. From the first bull that we sold or leased McBee Cattle Company has helped our customers market their production through the grouping of their calves.

Performance records are used and maintained on every Braunvieh and Angus/Braunvieh Hybrid in our herd. We utilize the Braunvieh Association of America EPD's for Birth Wt., Weaning wt., Yearling wt., Milk, Maternal, Calving Ease Direct and Calving Ease Maternal. We are beginning to develop carcass trait EPD's from ultrasounding both our bulls and heifers. We are extremely proud that the 2010 Herd Sire Summary contains 42 McBee Cattle Company bred herdsires, many in the top 25 of each trait.

Bulls are developed on a fiber ration, with no corn, to gain around 3 lb. per day from weaning to yearling. They are not pushed to obtain the highest weight but are fed enough to accurately measure genetic differences for gain and growth. Bulls developed this way are rock hard and do not melt in your pasture so you do not recognize your bull a month later. You are also purchasing bulls and females that will genetically help you and not buying how good of a feeding job we are doing.

A typical McBee Braunvieh Yearling

A typical McBee 18-month Braunvieh

Our experience with the Braunvieh breed in a commercial production model has shown us that the breed has fewer faults than any other breed we know of. Research at some major experiment stations back up our experience, as well. Data from the US Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center,NE, compared Braunvieh cross females with five other breed cross females, including the well known industry standard cross cow, Hereford X Angus. In this study, the pregnancy rate for the Braunvieh cross females was equal to any of the other breed crosses in the comparison and 6%higher than the Hereford Angus cross females. The pregnancy rate for the Braunvieh cross females was 10% higher than the Simmental cross females, 17% higher than the Limousin cross females and 18% more than the Charlais cross females.

When the US Meat Animal Research Center compared the breed cross females for pounds of calf weaned per cow exposed, Braunvieh cross females weaned 4% more calf weight than the Gelbvieh cross females, 5% more than the Hereford Angus cross females, 9% more weaning weight than the Limousin cross females, 9% more than the Simmental cross females and 11% more weaning weight than the Charolais cross females.

Every commercial cowman's dream is of an increased pregnancy rate combined with extra weaning weight per cow exposed. This research data clearly shows the Maternal Excellence of the Braunvieh female.

A typical McBee Braunvieh cow calf pair

Using Braunvieh Genetics in a Commercial Program

When Braunvieh bulls are used in a crossbreeding program, dividends are made two ways. First, with the built in easy fleshing, lean to fat ratio, bigger ribeyes and performance of the bull and secondly, with hybrid vigor. We have never seen as much benefit from hybrid vigor as we have seen in these halfblood Braunvieh calves and it does not seem to matter what breed the cow is. In a normal crossbreeding scenario, 10% to 15% more weaning weight is
achieved, free of charge, from crossing two pure breeds. Some think they are crossbreeding when they put an Angus bull on their black crossbred cowherd. If you have a mostly black cowherd, there is a good chance that most of the blood in your cowherd is Angus. Putting an Angus bull on them is not taking full advantage of the free pounds that can be achieved with hybrid vigor. If you want proof, call or email, and we will help you prove it to yourself.

McBee Braunvieh Herdsires

EPD's on McBee Braunvieh Reference Sires may not be current. Their current numbers and pedigree information can be looked up by going to Braunvieh.org - Resource Area - Online Herd Management - then Resources - then Search Tools. Put the registration # of the animal in the search window and pull up their complete information.

MCBEE BRAUNVIEH BULLS

MISTER FF 102 (C102) - OB6982 - Fullblood
BW -1.2, CED 2, WW -2, YW -8, MM -1, MG -2, CEM 0.5

C102 - Our senior herd sire that continues to influence the longevity and usefulness of the females in our cowherd. One of the most consistent breeding bulls in the breed for calving ease and useful females C102 is now deceased,
but his legend lives on through A.I. He can be used through his semen on any kind of cow and his offspring will be the right kind.

MR FF H106 (BOXCAR) - OB24617 - Fullblood
BW -6.3, CED 8.8, WW -17, YW -24, MM 2, MG -7, CEM 0.1

Boxcar - One of the few true â€œheiferâ€ bulls that we have produced. A calving ease sire out of our famous A113 cow, the mother of herd bulls and herdbuilding females. We use Boxcar on every type of female, including heifers, for low birth weight, easy calving and stylish offspring.

DEPTHCHARGE - OB18296 - Fullblood
BW 1.7, CED -0.6, WW 12, YW 5, MM -7, MG -1, CEM -5.3

Depthcharge - A maternal brother to Boxcar, Depthcharge is a bull that we have selected to add growth and volume. Being a C102 son and out of A113, his consistency comes honestly.

MCB FF MR C102 106P - OB52282 - Fullblood
BW -1.1, CED 2.6, WW -2, YW -1, MM 0, MG -1, CEM 1.6

We are continually looking for the C102 replacement with his sons. 106P was sold to a commercial producer and bought back after seeing his calves. He is a double bred David Jr. which is the sire of C102. He is adding depth and thickness to all types of cows.

SBI EXCALIBUR F14 ET - OB17966 - Fullblood
BW +0.5, CED -1.5, WW -8, YW -21, MK -3, MW -6, CEM -1.7

Excalibur - This bull was purchased to use on C102 daughters and has since been used on a cross section of our cow herd. He has proven to be one of our positive carcass trait sires. His offspring consistently ratio at the top of the traits that we use to measure our bulls and females.

MCB EUREKA CHIEF 396N - PB48379 - 96.88% Purebred
BW 3.1, CED -4.4, WW 7, YW 21, MM 4, MG 8, CEM -4.1

Eureka Chief was the high selling bull in our 2005 SELECTION DAY Sale with 1/2 interest going to Brink Livestock, Piedmont, Kansas. This C102 son was a very high performing individual and his calves seem to have the same kind of performance. Some of his first daughters were the high selling open heifers in the 2006 Herd Builder Sale and some of his first male progeny placed seventh and ninth as steers in the 2007 Beef Empire Days. Total steers in the contest was 102 head.

MCB MR H106 A506R - PB55197 - 95.12% Purebred
BW -0.8, CED 3.2, WW 3, YW 20, MM 3, MG 5, CEM -0.7

Our second high selling bull in our SELECTION DAY â€˜06 with 1/2 interest going to Olson Bros., Kansas. Sired by â€œBoxcarâ€ with the performance of Polled Frank on the maternal side, this bull is producing offspring that will hit the ground running and perform with the best of them.

MCB MR F6193 573R - PB55135 - 96.88% Purebred
BW -1.2, CED -2.9, WW 19, YW 32, MM 7, MG 16, CEM -4.5

573R - Lot 137 in SELECTION DAY 06, owned with Vista Genetics, Texas. Maternal brother to 396N and sired by Spittinâ€™ Image, his ratios were MGR 120, REA 112 and IMF 102. We are expecting big things from him and so far have not been disappointed.

KWC QUINTO F020 - OB14245 - Fullblood
BW -0.5, CED -2.8, WW 5, YW 9, MM 15, MG 18, CEM -3.3

F020 is our high maternal herdsire. His daughters will go a long ways towards building a top cowherd for any one. His sons and daughters both ultrasound towards the top of their contemporary groups in Ribeye and are high in Carcass Weight numbers.

GLB POLLED PLUS 5003 - PB10650 - Purebred
BW -2.9, CED 6.4, WW -6, YW -5, MM -2, MG -4, CEM 5.8

Polled Plus was used AI as an outcross calving ease bull. Used on some of our larger, growthier cows, he has produced some excellent bulls and females. His first daughters in our herd are now just starting to produce. He produced our high selling bull in the 2006 SELECTION DAY Sale, MCB MR 5003 A518R.

MCB MR 5003 A518R - PB55180 - polled 92.58% Purebred
BW -2.6, CED 4.5, WW -7, YW 7, MM -3, MG -6, CEM 2.3

â€œA518Râ€ was the high selling bull in our 2006 SELECTION DAY Sale, going to Bodine Bros., Voltaire, North Dakota. As a yearling, this double polled son of Polled Plus had a 123 growth index, 112 ribeye ratio, a 100 IMF ratio and a birth weight of 74 lb. and 96 ratio. His first calves are on the ground and seem to have the attributes of their sire - low birth weight with good growth.

VISTA POLLED PRECISION 7L - PB38674 - Polled Purebred
BW 2, CED 0.1, WW 0, YW 6, MM -4, MG -4, CEM 3.9

7L Precision is our polled outcross sire that has produced as problem-free females of any bull we have used. They all calve unassisted, milk well, have near perfect udders and stay in good flesh easily. He is now deceased and will be used AI with a limited amount of semen.

MR MCB 440P - OB51313 - Fullblood
BW 1, CED -1.6, WW 0, YW 0, MM 1, MG 1, CEM -2

440P is a bull that we sold off the cow at the 2004 Herd Builder Sale to Breshear Farm, Missouri. We were allowed to used this bull in 2007 by Randy Breshears and hope to use him again. This E104 X Risson bred bull can make fullbloods as good as any of them.

FF MR 126L - OB45194 - Fullblood
BW 0.4, CED -0.4, WW 20, YW 33, MM -3, MG 7, CEM -1.1

We bred and raised this Sambo 605 X Sampson 629 bred bull. He was purchased and proven by Breshears Farm and Keith and Keith Braunvieh, Missouri. We were able to purchase a possession interest back in this bull and will use him heavily in our Fullblood program to improve both growth and carcass traits.

GLB SAM 627 ET - OB741 - Fullblood
BW 1.2, CED -5.8, WW 13, YW 21, MM 4, MG 10, CEM -8.5

627 has been siring calves since 1990 and has been one of the good Sambo/Erle combinations. We selected him to use AI primarily on C102 daughters to compliment maternal traits and increase growth.

MCB FF MR M122 28P - PB55896 - Scurred 98.44% Purebred
BW -2.3, CED 2.8, WW 14, YW 20, MM -1, MG 6, CEM 1.2

28P was a product of SELECTION DAY 2006, with half interest purchased by Franken Farm. With a REA ratio of 104, IMF ratio of 122, a 60 lb. birth wt. with a 668 weaning
wt., this polled scurred sire is being used on a lot of females in our herd.

MCB FF MR C102 118P - OB52281 - Fullbloood
BW 0.1, CED 1.6, WW 4, YW -2, MM -2, MG -4, CEM 1

118P is a well balanced, easy fleshing C102 son that has put some good looking, functional females on the ground. He is definitely breeding better than his numbers show.

MCB LEGEND 7205 - OB63428 - Fullblood
BW 0.6, CED -1.9, WW 4, YW -2, MM 5, MG 7, CEM -2.2
Legend was the first bull in our yearling pen at SELECTION DAY 2008. Half interest was purchased by 2 Bar Rockin K, Texas. A son of Spittinâ€™ Image and a top C102 daughter, we are very pleased with his first calves.