How Do You Choose Cattle For A Foundation Herd?
• Choose your cow-calf type operation accordingly. Look at what you are capable of and what you want to achieve when you buy cattle. Are you ready to take on the responsibilities of a seedstock/purebred breeder? Or would you rather start on the easy route that involves buying cows to sell calves at the end of every year? • Purebred or Seedstock cow-calf operations involve starting with and ending with superior parent stock in order to sell top-quality bulls and heifers that other producers want or need for their herds. Knowledge in genetics, EPDs (expected progeny differences), conformation, marketing, financing, record keeping, among other things, is crucial if you want to have a purebred operation. With these types of operations, you get to choose your favorite breed and improve on it and use it as a selling point to other breeders. • Commercial cow-calf operations involve starting with average to good parent stock that can be purebred, straight-bred or crossbred in order to produce
