American British White Females in Texas Available for Lease for Embryo Flushing . . . 

The topic of embryo flushing has come in to conversation this past week, and I thought of this fine photo of Colombian BON calves the product of embryo transfer. If you are interested in embryos of the British White breed, or using one of my females for flushing to the BON or another breed, please let me know. I will certainly make available my superior females for flushing and export on a lease basis as I've done in the past. It's an excellent approach to introducing desirable genetics around the world. I think the combination of the beefiness of the American British White and the BON's documented excellent tolerance to heat and biting insects would be a great joining for tropical areas in pursuit of greater beef production in tropical environments.  One day it will happen!!!   

Blanco Orejinegro calves in Colombia

"Nice set of embryo calves of the Blanco Orejinegro breed in Colombia. A road to more rapid improvement and expansion of any small breed is the use of embryo flushing of the superior females."Embriones Agropecuaria Pacaraima -- Pacaraima livestock embryos (Translated by Bing)

Embriones Agropecuaria Pacaraima

Beef Prices are on the Rise - While Beef Quality is Dropping?

"David Theno had been advising the USDA and the beef industry that, because we were changing how we raised and slaughtered cattle, a disaster was just waiting around the corner if things did not change. . ."
POISONED, June 27, 2011, By: Richard Raymond, Industry Blogs, Meatingplace.com .

Texas Grassfed British White Cow Herd - JWCC 

 With the price of beef skyrocketing at the market these days, and the healthful quality of that beef very questionable.....isn't it time to seek out healthy natural grassfed beef straight from the producer? Have you noticed cattle grazing in the rural areas that you enjoy on country drives?  And, yes, I know much of Texas is in a drought, so grazing for food is hardly an option for a cow herd in many parts of the State.  However, cattle raisers who are focused on grassfed beef production will be offering their cows and growing beeves good grass hay and supplemental alfalfa to keep their herd on the proper growth curve.  In those rural areas near you where you enjoy the site of grazing cattle on your country drives, you'll most likely a grassfed beef producer or two right under your nose.

If you buy straight from a grassfed producer you could buy the steer or bull based on its carcass hanging weight at the abattoir or live weight upon leaving the farm, and you would then pay the processor about .40 to .50 cents a pound (cost varies by region) for actual carcass hanging weight to cut and wrap it the way you want them to. Average cost per pound of beef for your family just dropped or hit an equivalent, and you're providing yourself and your children with the best of nutrition..........you won't worry so much if their diet is nothing but hamburgers.....it will be hamburgers providing optimal Fatty Acids, CLA's, Vitamin E, Vitamin A......and more.

The American Grassfed Association (AGA) tells us:

"According to a 2009 study conducted by the USDA and Clemson University, grassfed beef is better for human health than grainfed beef in ten ways:


1. Lower in total fat
2. Higher in beta-carotene (Vit. A)
3. Higher in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)
4. Higher in the B-vitamins thiamine and riboflavin
5. Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium
6. Higher in total omega-3s
7. Better ratio of omega-6 to 3 fatty acids (1.65 vs 4.84)
8. Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans-11), a potential cancer fighter
9. Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be transformed into CLA)
10. Lower in the saturated fats linked with heart disease.

We've been brainwashed into thinking that all fats are bad for us, but the truth is that fats are a necessary component of a healthy diet. The human body needs an array of fats in the right amounts to function and remain disease-free. Grassfed beef is one way to add those healthy fats to a balanced diet."  AGA Newsletter 6/22/11



Texas Grassfed British White Bull Herd

Put grassfed beef in the freezer and you'll never wish to shop for grocery store beef again. Guaranteed. Put grassfed beef in the freezer and you won't have to worry so much about the fat in that delicious ribeye, it will be heart healthy fat you can enjoy, and generally less of it. 
Buying a whole beef is maybe too much to handle, but you can find a friend to take a side of beef and you the other, about 300 or so pounds of beef  at most from moderate framed beeves.  Or split the beef in quarters amongst your friends and families.  The butcher is accustomed to processing beef in halves and quarters to be taken home by several folks.

Consider the economics of buying a grassfed steer or bull straight from a producer. Too many people don't realize that it is still done today, and not just in rural America. Many grassfed beef producers will arrange to ship your beef to you in the city. These days, buying just a few cuts of grassfed beef at a retail grocer can cost a bundle over what regular grain fed beef costs at the grocery store.  As well, online storefronts for grassfed beef producers that sell you beef by the cut rather than the whole beef carcass can be prohibitively expensive for the average family.  You can avoid much of the added retail cost by buying direct from a grassfed beef producer, and you can control just what cuts of beef you'd like to put in the freezer. 

If you want 2 inch ribeyes, they will cut you 2 inch ribeyes. If you don't want a lot of roasts, well they'll just make those cuts into more ground beef instead if you like - and grassfed ground beef is by far the best tasting burgers and tacos you will ever put in your mouth.

Texas Grassfed British White Bull Herd - J.West Cattle Company

The cost of processing by the abattoir is the same per pound no matter what cuts you choose. And the cost of processing is on the actual beef carcass poundage processed and packaged for you - or better known as the hanging weight of the carcass.  If you are on a budget, it's worth saving up to pay for the beef carcass and the processing. It really puts money in the bank in the long run. Not to mention the better eating quality of the beef and the superior nutrition of the beef that will be in your freezer.....and not beef from an overpriced Walmart that injects their meat with.......weird stuff.

Look for authentic 100% Grassfed or Grass-finished animals;  no corn and no emergency byproducts to get through the winter if you're buying a steer for harvest in early Spring. There are various studies examining the length of time it takes for a beef steer's muscle and fat to convert back to a Heart Healthy state for optimum nutritional benefit, and it does take a few months and more of grazing or grass/alfalfa haying for that to occur - just like it would the human body to develop a proper store of fat soluble vitamins and the optimal ratio of Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.  We all know water soluble Vitamin C runs right through us, but those such as Vitamin A and E and Fatty acids, etc.... are stored for the longer haul.

A steer or bull with superior grassfed genetics will thrive on grass hay and high quality alfalfa hay as a supplement. Always ask what they're eating, and don't presume they haven't received antibiotics or hormone implants or recent long periods of grain supplement, you need to ask and if possible visit the farm or ranch that you're considering buying from direct.  You can also look for American Grassfed Association (AGA) certified producers who are also Animal Welfare Approved (AWA).

The Lazy A Ranch in Belleville, Texas is AGA and AWA certified and has grassfed beef available now, and the Lazy A follows a finishing protocol that I am particularly fond of - it includes the addition of natural molasses to the finishing beeves diet.  There are other small producers in the Texas area who also raise registered British White cattle in a grassfed program, and they have grassfed beeves available as well.  See the British White Cattle Association member listing at this link, and make a few phone calls to find British White grassfed beef in your area.  British White breeders of registered seedstock that follow a grassfed feeding protocol for their herds oftentimes have bull calves that don't make the cut as herd sires, but will be excellent natural grassfed beef for your supper table.

The late J.West's Big Mac, Elvis sired bull born, bred, and fed with zero grain inputs . . . he had 7 of 8 known markers for Feed Efficiency in bovines.

Growth Pattern of Bulls - When are they 'Fully Matured'? At what age do they express their muscling potential?

          I always enjoy calls that come from folks interested in learning more about the British White breed.  Oftentimes, the questions asked of me leave me pondering the question to myself of how I can better answer those questions next time around.  Recently, the question/observation was posed that full muscle expression in bulls wouldn't generally show itself until they were further on the road to maturity.  I was hesitant in that regard, as my first thought was that by yearling age the muscling attributes of a bull should be well visible.  I found myself looking back through photos of various bulls, particularly the ones that I've seen grow to maturity myself or via photographs, which really amounts to just a handful of bulls.

After looking through those photos, I came to the conclusion that the muscling potential really ought to be clear by yearling age under optimal nutrition for the frame score of the animal in question.  And even during the bull's months as a calf at his dam's side, the muscling potential is apparent.  Most often, if the animal is expressing more muscle definition than its peers, it's noticeable; if much less definition than the others, that's fairly noticeable as well.  Pictured to the left is an Elvis sired bull calf that did receive his sires muscling in the rump; he grew up to be J.West's Big Mac, and was the most like his sire, Elvis, of any of Elvis' sons to date, including his good-natured disposition.

That said, without a doubt as the bull matures that muscle expressed in youth continues to increase tremendously as the years pass -- but the basic structure, the basic muscle expression remains the same.  What follows are some photos of my senior herd bull, J.West's Elvis.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to locate calf photos of him, I didn't take as many pictures back then and didn't have the benefit of a digital camera.  Nonetheless, from the time he was born, he was quite a distinctively made and handsome youngster; thus the name Elvis that was given him. 

I've also included the different weights taken on Elvis over the years, which illustrate quite well for me the transformation of my good-natured, short and chunky, handsome bull calf  into the mature and hefty Frame Score 2/3 herd bull he is today.  Elvis' hip height measure was taken by Gerald Fry when Elvis was just over 48 months of age and he stood 51" over his hook bones.  This puts Elvis at somewhere between a Frame Score 2 and Frame Score 3, depending on charting sources. 

J.West's Elvis was born March 10, 2003, with a recorded birth weight of 76 lbs. using a taped chest measure.  It's possible it was lower, as I didn't hold the tape snugly back then as is recommended for the best weight estimate.  Elvis was weaned in fall of 2003 with an actual wean weight of 438 lbs on the 28th of November.  His dam, Halliburton Adios, a Popeye daughter, weighed 846 lbs on that same day and she was almost exactly 3 years old.   Elvis was her second calf. 

The next weight I can locate on Elvis is from November 12, 2004, and this photo of Elvis' Rump is from November of 2004 -- at 20 months of age.  His weight was 856 lbs., practically a doubling in size over the prior 12 months.  Unfortunately, I can't locate any other photos of him from this group, it predates my switch to a digital camera.  Hopefully, I'll locate the Kodak disc one of these days that the photo came from.

My next actual weight on Elvis was Feb. 16, 2005, at 23 months old, and he had reached 980 lbs., a gain of about 40 lbs. a month, and not bad with  zero grain concentrates that winter.  The photos below were taken in May of 2005 when Elvis was about 26 months old.  He was fully expressing his  muscling - but still had much, much growing ahead of him.

Unfortunately, I don't have another recorded weight on Elvis until May 15, 2008.  At 5 years of age he had reached a weight of 1715 lbs.  The next weight recorded was on December 18, 2009, at what I'm sure is his peak mature weight of  1785 lbs.  He is pictured below at about this same time.  And if you compare the photo below and the one above, the muscle expression is very much the same, just extraordinarily increased.

The growth of Elvis from a 2 year old to his 6th year can  better seen in this March 2009 video of Elvis below.  He does seem to have expressed more muscling with age, he is almost twice as heavy, but he has also laid on a lot of fat at this stage, which can add to perceived muscling in most mature bulls.  In Elvis's case, there is definitely muscle defining him in every way, with the fat cover adding to his natural gifts, although he has lost that bloom of youth and the sharpness of his muscling - I think he perhaps should have to work a bit harder!  Elvis is a 100% grassfed bull, he has high genetic Feed Efficiency, and there's never been a day when he was not well fit.

Cap and Trade Comes to Califironia! Cutting edge aren't they?

        !Well, here we go, some interesting first steps by California in measuring the methane produced by cattle.  Production of beef cattle, including maintenance of breeding stock, on a grass and legume diet is becoming more clearly every day the safest approach to seedstock and beef production -- as in safer for your pocket book in the years to come.  Cattle on grain produce more nitrous oxide than cattle on grass, surely this fact will eventually be more important than the EPA and FAO's recommended increase in grain feeding.  Unless you have a vast forest to offset perhaps the dastardly global warming impact of your grain supplemented herd, it's time for increased focus on grass production of seedstock, in a logical world. 

         Superior Feed Efficiency of your seedstock herd is going to be vital to your success at grass-based seedstock as well as beef production.  The photos included here are of my mature herd and were taken a few days ago.  They are content and browsing on old dry grass, but mostly on the young native grasses and clovers that responded well to the sunny winter weather we had in East Texas on the heals of very nice rainfall.
         These girls also have round bales of average quality bahia grass hay, but they've dropped their consumption tremendously over the past few weeks.  They also receive a ration of alfalfa hay three times a week that generally equates to about 20 lbs for each female.  Unless you are individually feeding a cow either supplemental alfalfa or grain, it's always going to be strictly an estimate on per head consumption. 

          Purchasing alfalfa hay by the truckload direct from the farmer is generally the best approach for getting quality hay at a fair price.  As well, the per ton cost of alfalfa hay, delivered, easily competes with the average cost of a basic 20% protein bag of grain cubes, which run about $7/Bag, or $280 per ton in my area.  Even buying the grain in bulk only results in at most a 10% cost reduction for a ton of grain feed.  And most aggravating of all, to my mind, you have to practically live in the feed store picking up food, or build a real swank barn that can hold a lot of grain bags and hope the mice or the weather don't find their way in.  (Pictured above is J.West's Nell Opal 07, a Mazarati daughter, and a heavy bred heifer handling herself quite well with the big girls despite growing both herself and her calf on a zero grain diet.  Notice she has a 'poopy' tail from the watery young grass and clover in her February diet.)

California To Measure Methane To Pinpoint Emissions

02/03/2010 10:13AM  (Please follow the blog title link above for the full text of this AP article.)

California plans to install a network of computerized monitors to measure methane emissions from regions that are home to dairy ranches, farms, landfills and other sources.

It will be the first network of its kind in the United States and will help the state take another step toward reducing emissions of the gases related to global warming.

By May, seven devices about the size of a personal computer will be placed in regions of the state where methane emissions are believed to be the highest. Those include the farm fields of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys and landfills in the Los Angeles basin.

"What we'll be able to do is to find the identity, the location and the strength of methane emissions within the state," said Jorn Herner, the scientist managing the program at the California Air Resources Board. "This is new and pioneering work."

The air board spent about $400,000 on the devices and software modeling to analyze the data.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, academic research scientists and other countries have deployed similar monitors in the last two years to track greenhouse gases around the globe.

California's approach, scientists say, is the most extensive effort to gauge local emissions. The information gleaned from the monitoring system is expected to inform state regulators who are charged with implementing the state's landmark global warming law, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed in 2006. . .

. . .California's global warming law, known as AB32, requires the state to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by about 25 percent over the next 10 years. Methane, which is 21 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, is the most prevalent greenhouse gas behind carbon dioxide.

State regulators currently rely on power plants, oil refineries and others to report their own emissions. That information is used to compile California's greenhouse gas registries and will determine which polluters must buy emission permits under a state cap-and-trade system now being crafted.

Under such a system, companies that cannot cut their emissions because of cost or technical hurdles can buy pollution credits from companies that have achieved cleaner emissions. . . .
. . .Providing a more accurate accounting of emissions should build confidence in carbon-trading markets, said Michael Woelk, Picarro's chief executive.

". . . These devices will tell real time, minute to minute, what your emissions are," Woelk said. "The free market has to know whether this stuff is working in real time, or the credibility is pulled out from under it."

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.