Meeting the needs of the American beef producer & consumer

The American Beef Industry is in the midst of numerous adverse challenges. The survival of the U.S. Producer and feeder operations is dependent upon efficiency. Unless an operator is selling the maximum amount of quality product at the lowest possible cost, the soaring operating costs of energy, feed, parts and materials necessary to one's business will devour the slim profit margins.

U.S. cattle producers over the past few decades have prioritized frame size at the expense of efficiency. In my lifetime of being associated with the cattle industry, I have witnessed the foundational English breeds (Hereford, Shorthorn and Angus) compromise the essentials of efficieny for frame sizes deficient of substance.

The many exotic breeds that have been intertwined into our industry have only produced an inconsistent quality of the beef that American farmers and ranchers are marketing to consumers.

Cattlemen in Australia have developed a breed of cattle that has all the qualities that fits the needs for a viable and competitive U.S. raised beef product. They have done so by selecting the best of the foundational English genetics. The Australians have developed the phenomenal Murray Grey breed by crossing the best of the original Aberdeen Angus with the best of the Shorthorn breed.

This breed makes up the majority of their beef exports to Japan and other Asian countries. The Murray Grey carcass quality combines yield, tenderness, marbling and consistency that has created a well earned export market for the Australian beef industry. The Murray Greys' extraordinary carcass quality was well illustrated at the 2008 Midland Bull Test and sale in Columbus, Montana. For the first time in the history of the Midland Bull Test, a Murray Grey bull scored a perfect 10 on the genetic test for marbling and a near perfect 9 on the genetic test for tenderness. No bull of any breed has ever tested this well before.

LU Ranching Company, which is located in Owyhee County, Idaho began using Murray Grey bulls on their first calf Hereford heifers in the late 1990s. Their primary reason was the breed's calving ease. The experiment was a success. Their heifer calving problems ceased. Not only are their heifers having unassisted calves, the calves have unbelievable vigor. They no sooner hit the ground in snow banks and subfreezing temperatures and they up nursing and full of life.

These calves are a real testament to the feed conversion attribute of the breed. The crossbred Murray Grey calves out of first calf heifers wean as fleshy and heavy as the calves from LU's mature cows. When they enter the feedlot, the Murray Grey cross calves go to feed immediately. Their stress time is very minimal, due to the quiet temperament of the breed and they gain as well as, or better than, most of the other cattle in the feedlot. The LU Ranching Company believes that their Murray Grey calves verify the efficiency of the breed.

Through my involvement with LU Ranching Company, I had the privilege of being introduced to the Murray Grey breed. They are truly the unique breed with all of the qualities that farmers, ranchers and feeders want in beef cattle.

*Disposition: these are the easiest handling cattle that I have ever worked with
*Milk: cows are heavy milk producers with good udders and teats
*Feed Conversion: they grow, maintain and retain flesh and can utilize the tough outside country
*Soundness: black feet: I have yet to see a tender footed Murray Grey
*Carcass:consistently high yield with both tenderness and marbling
*Marketability: their uniformity, quality and eye appeal brings top dollar at the feeder calf sales
*Efficiency: producers who raise these cattle and feeders who feed them experience cattle that produce for their type of operation – maximum gain with less cost.
*Black Hides: most Murray Greys are homozygous black giving black and black baldy calves from Hereford and other red cows.

Mike Lowry
Fernley, NV
July 2008

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