If your ranch in Wyoming, you need the services of Angus bulls that have been bred and registered in Wyoming. But if you live in Montana, Nebraska, Texas, or anywhere else in North America, Angus bulls from Wyoming are your best choice.
What’s special about Wyoming Angus bulls? Here are five things ranchers need to know.
1. Breeders know their Angus bulls in Wyoming.
In Wyoming, genetics isn’t something ranchers leave to chance. Pingetzer’s Bull and Heifer Development Center near Shoshoni put bulls through a series of performance tests. Before Angus bulls are offered through the Wyoming Beef Cattle Improvement Association (WBCIA) Bull Test and Sale to ranchers in Wyoming, they are tested for:
- Fertility. Bulls get fertility and semen checks before they are offered for sire or for sale.
- Pulmonary arterial pressure. The summer range in Wyoming involves high altitudes. Pulmonary arterial pressure is a good indicator of whether the bull is healthy enough to go to high altitude without developing high altitude disease (HAD) and congestive heart failure.
- Expected Progeny Differences, also known as EPDs. These are estimates of how well the bull will express all of the characteristics required in Certified Angus Beef. They are a way of gauging the quality of the meat while the bull is still on the hoof. EPDs are based on bloodline, reports of progeny, and records on relatives of the bull.
An Angus bull that can perform at high altitudes in the winter in Wyoming can handle conditions anywhere else in the United States. Wyoming Angus bulls are bred for tough conditions.
2. Angus bulls in Wyoming are bred for superior weight gain.
Angus bulls in Wyoming put on weight faster than other breeds from other breeding programs. Just consider results like these from the Bull and Heifer Development Center, as reported by Wyoming Livestock Roundup:
“Registered Angus bulls from five consignors had an average daily gain of 2.99 pounds per day despite inclement winter weather. The top-gaining bull in this division, Klein Cartwright 011, came in with a day-65 weight of 1,215 pounds and an average daily weight gain of 4.02 pounds.
The Angus bulls showing the second and third highest gains also came from Klein Angus. Klein Blaster 004 performed with a day-65 weight of 1,025 pounds and an average daily weight gain of 4.02 pounds. Klein Top Generation 010 produced a middle-of-test weight of 1,030 pounds from an average daily weight gain of 3.94 pounds.
Three additional commercial Angus bulls were consigned to the program. Their average day-65 weight was 979 pounds, with an average daily weight gain of 3.64 pounds.”
Bulls like these put the genetics for weight gain into your herd. You don’t get that kind of weight gain without the right bloodlines. But superior weight gain isn’t the only advantage of Angus bulls from Wyoming.
3. Angus bulls from Wyoming are at home on the range.
Angus bulls from Wyoming do well on grass.
Most breeds need to be finished to produce well-marbled, tender, flavorful meat. Angus cattle, of course, respond to a grain-feeding regimen with great results.
But Angus bulls from Wyoming also possess the genetics to produce just enough marbling and fat to meet certification requirements even when they are raised mostly on forage.
Sophisticated consumers know that grass-fed beef offers a higher content of beneficial omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids as well as CLA. They also know that cattle raised on the range have fewer diseases, consume fewer antibiotics, and can even be certified organic.
Even with all of those desirable characteristics, consumers want meat that tastes good and cooks tender. Angus bulls from Wyoming pass on the qualities of good meat in grass-fed cattle. Grass-fed Angus cattle put on weight more slowly than grain-fed Angus cattle, but the cost of production can be as much as 10 percent lower.
4. Wyoming Angus bulls aren’t just cold-resistant. They are being bred to be heat-resistant, too.
The Angus breed originated in Aberdeenshire in northeastern Scotland. Northeastern Scotland was, until very recently, a place where cattle never had to deal with heat. But changes in the climate in the United States, even in Wyoming, require cattle that can continue to gain weight and stay healthy even in unusually hot summer weather.
Wyoming Angus breeders have established EVPs based on both heat and cold resistance. When you use a registered Angus bull from Wyoming to breed your cows, you will get the heat- and cold resistance you need to stay profitable even in years of extreme weather.
5. In Wyoming, no crazy critters are allowed.
Every rancher wants compliant cows. The ancestors and the progeny of Wyoming Angus bulls are scored for temperament. Most rating systems use a scale of 1 to 6, with 1 being very docile and 6 being aggressive. Temperament goes into the calculation of the EVPs that enable Wyoming Angus breeders to offer only the best bulls.
Starting your herd with registered angus cattle for sale with known genetics is the best way to ensure the sustainable profitability of your cattle operation.
