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April 4, 2004
Dear Friends:
Thank you for your interest in or purchase of semen from Bakewell Reproductive Center in 2003. We hope you are as pleased as we are with the Bakewell offspring. The crop of calves that have resulted from the Bakewell bulls is heads and shoulders above the normal calf crop. For instance, on Little Alaska Farm in Maine we weighed yearlings and last years' calves at six months of age and found the young calves (Bakewell calves) were approaching the same weights as the older calves. The average rate of gain of the Bakewell calves (still nursing their mothers and on grass only) was three pounds per day.
While we were weighing, Roger Fortin (owner of Little Alaska Farm with his wife, Linda) said, “Do you know what this means to me economically?” Gearld Fry and I do know what early maturing calves mean to the economic prospects of all producers. The lack of good bulls in this country has been a tremendous problem. The main reason we started Bakewell Reproductive Center was to make bulls available to grass-farmers, bulls that will generate calves that grow quickly on grass and result in a carcass that is tasty and tender and also contains a high volume of the high-priced cuts of meat.
Profit per carcass
Many of you are direct marketing your grass-finished beef. Quality and quantity are probably your major focus. At a gathering of grass-farmers at Teddy Gentry's farm in Alabama last spring, we were treated to some of the results of Teddy's data gathering. Two cattle that were the same live weight were analyzed and slaughtered. The quality data, provided by ultrasound readings, was identical; they both graded choice and had tender meat. When the retail volume of meat was analyzed and weighed, it turned out that one animal resulted in $400 more retail product value than the other animal.
A close look at the linear measurement data showed that the lesser animal had a deficit in the ratio of its heart girth to its top line and the more profitable animal had an additional four inches of heart girth in relation to its top line. This is yet another example that linear measurement is an accurate way to measure retail product in live animals. We encourage you to learn to linear measure and use this tool to sort your cattle and advise your breeding decisions. These quality and quantity characteristics are quite heritable and are the basis of our selection of seed stock in the Bakewell portfolio of cattle.
Public health problems and solutions
The recent BSE or mad-cow news, as well as the ongoing e-coli recalls, point to the problems with the conventional system of producing beef. Obesity in human beings has been identified as another major health problem for our society to deal with. Beef with an imbalance of fatty-acids caused by grain-finishing is a big part of the problem. The system has been massively misguided for a long time and these terrible public health emergencies are a result of this lack of understanding. Bakewell Reproductive Center proposes a radical solution to these massive public health problems: Feed ruminants a grass-only diet!
The selection of show stock, seed stock, and commercial stock for performance in the terminal market (feedlots) has severely diminished most bovines' ability to subsist entirely on forage, grow well and quickly on this diet, and produce a finished, fat, tender carcass at 16 to 18 months of age. Some of the "English" breeds have persisted in their ability to produce a tender, tasty carcass on grass, but there is little volume of retail product on most of the resulting carcasses.
Rotokawa Devons
We do offer semen from five breeds that are suited for grass; we are particularly impressed by the Rotokawa Devons and these are the centerpiece of our genetic offerings. This small herd has been managed by Ken McDowell for 25 years and selected during this time towards the same targets that we are aiming for. Ken has succeeded in creating a sub-breed of the Devon breed that carries all of the desirable characteristics we seek. His bull calves average 1050 to 1100 pounds at 400 days on grass only. His rate of breed back on his first calf heifers is 100%. For 25 years, all of his heifers have bred back. This kind of functional efficiency is extremely rare in the bovine world, and we are grateful to have the partnership with Ken McDowell and the Rotokawa Stud, to bring this genetic success to the USA and Canada.
Record-keeping registry
Bakewell Reproductive Center has purchased a record keeping program that allows for on-farm record keeping and also will allow users to participate in our breed/cattle analysis program. This program will allow us to show a five generation pedigree, calculate a coefficient of inbreeding, produce a passport for any individual animal, and will also include linear measurement data in the individual animal record. We intend to register all of the progeny from our Rotokawa Devons as well as any of the other breeds we are promoting. We will also register crossbred calves, so that we will be able to track our breeding progress towards great grass-fed and grass-finished cattle. Copies of our record keeping program, Animal Record, produced by GrassRoots Systems (www.grassroots.co.uk), can be purchased on our website. We are taking pre-orders now.
Gearld and I want it all: We want quality (taste and tenderness) as well as quantity in the same early maturing animal. In our travels, we have found a few small pockets of quality cattle that meet our standard and these are the bulls and females we offer to you.
Gearld and I want to help you evaluate your cattle and plan a breeding program that fits your production goals. We want to help you position your farm/ranch to be able to produce consistently high quality 100% grass-fed beef for the tremendous market that is emerging. The sooner one focuses their genetics on quality for grass production the sooner they can participate in this market. We can evaluate your cattle with ultrasound and linear measurement. Capturing this data on your herd will inform your selection and breeding and give you a baseline to measure progress. We can advise on specific bulls and families of bulls that will complement your cows and perform well in your specific environment. Your unique set of cattle can be optimized by careful evaluation and a clear multi-year breeding plan. By the time you get to your third generation, your bulls and heifers will be valuable in the marketplace. This is part of the service we want to provide to you, as well as semen from the top bulls in the world for grass-farming.
We continue to travel within the country, and internationally, to spread the word about cattle suited for grass-farming. We are hopeful we will find more groups of good cattle to use for foundation animals. Seminars, conferences, and on-farm visits indicate increased interest in grass-farming and how to make a living at grass-farming. The market-place is being educated about the tremendous benefits of grass-finished meat. The challenge is creating supply to meet the demand. Please write or call us to report on your success with our Bakewell semen. We look forward to talking with you and arranging your purchase of semen for this breeding season. Many people are asking us where they can purchase truly great bulls; the answer is they can't, but they can buy the world's best bull semen for grass-farming for $26 per unit from the Bakewell Reproductive Center.
We all know it takes two to two-and-one-half years from insemination to harvest. Start now with Bakewell semen to make the most rapid progress toward great grass-finished cattle. Visit our website www.bakewellreprocenter.com to see photos of bulls and to find information about them. You can order semen on line with a credit card or place your order by phone at 501-454-9949. Feel free to call Gearld or me at the phone numbers below to discuss your breeding needs and to find a bull that will work with your cows.
Ridge Shinn, Executive Director
413-657-7709
Gearld Fry, President
501-454-3252
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