Braunvieh and Angus/Braunvieh Hybrids can be seen grazing
the rolling hills of McBee Cattle Company at Fayette, Mo. Ron
and Teri McBee own and operate 1500 acres and have been in
the registered seedstock business for over 30 years. Harvesting
grass with cattle enables us to use the same Braunvieh purebred
and fullblood females to produce both our Braunvieh seedstock
and our Angus/Braunvieh Hybrid bulls and females. Being in
both the registered Braunvieh business and commercial cow/
calf production lets us experience everything that our customers
do.
Our commercial operation consists of 200
commercial cows, mostly Angus/Braunvieh hybrids or ½ blood
Braunvieh influenced females. The purebred herd is made up
of 250 registered Braunvieh females that are mated to Braunvieh
bulls to make purebreds and Angus bulls to make our McBeef
Builder Hybrids. Calving both spring and fall, between the
Braunvieh herd and the Angus/Braunvieh Hybrid herd, we develop
100 to 125 heifers annually as well as performance measure
around 120 bulls per year. Every animal, bull and female
, are measured from birth to yearling for growth and ultrasounded
for ribeye and marbling quality. The measurements we use
are the ones that we feel are important for commercial beef
producers to use to improve their bottom line. The bulls
are developed on a high fiber diet with no corn, and the
heifers are developed the same way on grass. We feel this
is the best way to handle the cattle so they can be measured
and compared in an environment similar to where they will
spend the rest of their lives.
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All of the pasture on the ranch is part of an intensive rotational
grazing system in use year round. After extensive work in completing
our corrals at ranch headquarters, the task of converting the
1500 acres to a rotational grazing operation was started in
the summer of 2006. From our past experiences with Controlled
Grazing in the 1980's, Intensive Grazing in the early 1990's,
Management Intensive Grazing in the late 1990's and early 2000's,
and lately Mob Grazing, with a grazing system in mind, the
main portion of the ranch was divided into 80 paddocks with
fresh water in each paddock by installing 7 miles of underground
pipeline and 50 rubber tire water tanks. Around 29 miles of
electric fence and 500 gates with a lane through the middle
of the ranch makes handling the cowherds a one man operation.
Our grazing system allows us to keep the cattle on a higher
plane of nutrition and allows us to grow more grass and stockpile
fescue for winter grazing. In a normal year, around half of
our cowherd receives no hay in the winter, none. Into our fourth
full year in this system, it is enabling us to more accurately
forage test and measure our Braunvieh and Angus/Braunvieh Hybrids
in a real world environment.
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Every third Saturday in April, McBee Cattle Company
has their annual SELECTION
DAY at the ranch, Fayette, MO. We offer 60 to 70 Braunvieh
and Angus/Braunvieh Hybrid bulls and 30 to 40 Braunvieh and Angus/Braunvieh Hybrid 1st calf pairs, bred heifers and open heifers
that have been developed
on a fiber ration for a long productive life, evaluated for
efficient production
and measured for performance in large contemporary
groups and offered at affordable prices. The cattle are sold
in a silent auction
type offering with a base price on each lot. The clip boards
go up at 10:00 and
start coming down at 2:00 for a more relaxed and laid back
atmosphere for the
cattle to be selected and bid on. On April 16, 2010, we will
be holding our 8th
Annual SELECTION DAY, The Real Deal.
Annually in November, McBee Cattle Company participates
with 5 other Braunvieh breeders in the Annual Braunvieh Herd
Builder Female Sale, held at
Marshall Jct, MO. November of 2011 will be the 9th annual sale
where around 70 Braunvieh and Angus/Braunvieh Hybrid lots are
offered. McBee Cattle
Company usually offers 12 to 15 female lots at this sale.
We also offer bulls and groups
of females for sale private treaty at the ranch all
year round. We do not offer bulls or first calf pairs privately
until after our
SELECTION DAY in April. All the good ones are here for our
customers' evaluation
on that day.
McBee Cattle Company has a Cooperator program
for our registered customers
who have purchased McBee Braunvieh or Angus/Braunvieh Hybrid
genetics.
Their bull calves can be developed and measured in the McBee
Bull Program
and merchandised through our annual SELECTION DAY Sales or
privately.
Our commercial bull and female customers can
market their McBee bred steer
and heifer calves through the McBee Calf Roundup and some of
their heifers
with the McBee Gate Cut Heifer Sale. Over 17,000 calves have
been sold
through the Calf Roundup in 17 years. See the Calf Roundup
page for information.
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