There is a philosophy by which McBee Cattle Company lives: “Marketing your calves should not be your biggest chore. It should be a pleasurable and painless experience that nets the customer as many dollars as possible, no matter the group size or color of calves. We put the marketing of our customers’ cattle production as a top priority and selling someone a performance-measured bull or group of production proven females is just something else we do.”
The ideas behind our philosophy prompted us 11 years ago to start the popular McBee Calf Roundup. Annually we have three Roundup dates (two fall, one spring); they are announced and eligible cattlemen bring their calves to the Fayette facility on those dates. Upon delivery (including calves from our own herd), the calves are individually weighed, tagged, sorted and grouped into six uniform groups based on weight and sex. All calves are identified by farm of origin and must have received two rounds of pre-conditioning vaccinations and been weaned for at least 45 days. Besides farm of origin, McBee records each calf’s birth date, sire breed and ID, dam breed and ID, and Roundup (MCR) ID. Thus these calves are essentially QSA (Quality System Assessment) qualified.
After the calves are worked at delivery, they are held from 10 to 20 days before they are sold to either a finishing or backgrounding operation. During the 10 to 20 days they are held at McBee Cattle Company, they regain their delivery shrink and are prepared for shipment and, consequently, better performance for their new owners.
With the 2005 fall Roundup completed, we have gathered over 11,000 calves for the 11 years the Roundup has existed. These Roundup calves have established a reputation for above average performance both on the hoof and in the cooler and now we have several finishing lots calling us about Roundup calves. Of course, this increased interest in the Roundup calves means more profit for our customers.
No comments:
Post a Comment