Angus Bull Sale 1st Thursday of November Moses Lake, Wa
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OUR PROGRAM
We collect as much data as possible to base our decisions on. There is historical data,
theoretical data, measured data, visual data, and mathematical data, and it is all important in making
strong decisions.
HISTORIC DATA
Pedigrees, knowledge of the past generations and what they bring to the table (good and bad) is a good indicator of what to expect in the future. We use it in choosing AI sires and determining matings.
Past performance is a great indicator of future performance.
HISTORIC DATA
EMPIRICAL DATA
Ratios and indexes help us organize data to make valuable comparisons.
We use ratios to define comparisons of a single trait of an animal's score, compared to others in the herd. Birth weights are good example of where ratios help measure cows in relation to herd average birth weights.
Collecting ratio performance averages for all traits allow us to use indexes to score multiple traits to compare different animals to one another.
Empirical data helps us avoid weighing one trait more heavily over all others in determining performance quality.
EMPIRICAL DATA
VISUAL DATA
Looks don't really lie.
The phenotype, or look of an animal is important.
Body structure, the way the feet, legs and utter are put together correctly or not, matters.
Movement is key, we're looking for an athletic animal, not stiff joints.
VISUAL DATA
VERIFIED DATA
Top Dollar Angus is the first and only certification program for commercial feeder cattle focused exclusively on Angus and Red Angus-based cattle with top 25% growth and carcass traits.
The Top Dollar Angus mission is to help seedstock and commercial cattlemen capture more value when we market the calves produced by the high caliber genetics we invest in.
Stokrose is a Top Dollar Angus seedstock partner.
VERIFIED DATA
MEASURED DATA
We ultrasound for terminal traits: Rib Eye, intramuscular, and back fat.
We measure heights on yearlings to determine mature heights, and yearling testicles to determine fertility rates.
We weigh, and weigh, and weigh again. We retake calf weights at 4 months, at weaning (8 months), and yearlings. We weigh cows annually to determine performance and weight and maintenance of that performance.
Ultrasounds, measurements, and weights, oh my.
MEASURED DATA
THEORETICAL DATA
EPD's aren't perfect, but they are a great tool to help predict what an animal could be. We use this a lot in determining matings and cull decisions.
Genomic data isn't perfect, but is used to enhance what EPD's show.
EPDs and Genomics at work
THEORETICAL DATA
Angus Expertise
“Stokrose bulls have been developed and known to thrive in many different environments including the high desert grasslands of Eastern Oregon to the mountain pastures and dryland ranges of Eastern Washington.”
- Rod Wesselman
Our cattle move seasonally from our scabrock covered ranch near Edwall, Wash. to our farm ground in Warden, so our stock must thrive in variable climates and terrain at home. They've been bred and selected so our customers will have the same experience.
The ranch
Edwall, Wash.
We've added a significant amount of rangeland to support our registered and commercial Angus herd. "The Ranch" is 70 miles from our home base of Warden, Wash.
One of the reasons we chose this area is the vast array of different environments and terrains. Our cattle live on everything from rocky basalt flats to the deep rolling hills of the Palouse; lush growing creek bottoms to sagebrush flats, to thickly covered Ponderosa tree groves. Our cows get to see all of it and must perform and teach their calves to do the same.
These bulls were bred and weaned by Stokrose for the Rathbun Angus Ranch 2019 sale. Click on the bulls in the gallery below to learn more about each.
OUR COWS
A good cow starts off as a good heifer and then it is evaluated over and over again, year after year.
HEIFERS
We're not afraid to cull our way to excellence.
During the first year a heifer calf is weighed often to determine her growth performance. We also evaluate their pedigree, DNA, and EPDs.
As we move them in and out of different environments and situations, we also carefully note any structure or disposition issues. Any problems on these fronts, and it's a quick trip to the cull pen. We wash out about 65% of the heifer crop at the yearling mark, choosing only the animals with the best maternal potential.
The remaining 35% will go into our breeding program. They will get one shot of AI and then the bulls are turned out for 65 days.
At preg check, we average 10-15% of heifers open, and those are dropped from the program.
HEIFERS
BRED HEIFERS
Bred heifers are segregated from the rest of the cow herd so we can maintain a close eye on their growth, structure, and demeanor through pregnancy.
We also keep them separate so at calving we can keep a very close eye out for calving problems, demeanor, and mothering instinct, noting any issues in our records.
Proof of concept isn't taken for granted at this stage.
BRED HEIFERS
COWS
Our cows' main evaluation occurs every year at calving. Does she have a live calf? Is she a good mother? Is she overly aggressive when we handle the calf? How do her udder and teats look?
No better time to ask these questions than when you are out in the wide open, up close and personal with the cow. All of these factors of maternal quality are scored on a computer program used to evaluate and keep or cull the cow at weaning time.
Cows are evaluated and weighed at vaccination time as well. Significant weight loss is another indication to cull.
We get up close and personal at calving to keep an eye on cow performance.
COWS
These bulls were bred and weaned by Stokrose for the Rathbun Angus Ranch 2019 sale. Click on the bulls in the gallery below to learn more about each.
OUR BULLS
Our focus is developing bulls that will perform anywhere. Read below to follow the path a Stokrose bull must perform on to be a part of our program and offered to our customers.
BIRTH
We start developing our bulls at birth. When they are born, they are on irrigated pasture. After a month or so, they move to some type of crop residue, typically cereal grain regrowth or alfalfa regrowth. There they start to learn how to graze along side their mothers.
In late October we will start feeding the cows and calves under a feed wire, where they get a ration of 40% alfalfa and 60% corn silage. They get NO creep feed.
In late January they are moved to corn stalks. They still get a ration, but they begin to learn how to graze corn stalks by their mother's side.
In early March the cows will come in for preg checking and all of the calves receive their first rounds of vaccinations and a set of weights is taken.
Mid-April the pairs are moved out to either the ranch in Edwall or to some irrigated ground in the rocky environment west of Warden.
Bull development begins at birth.
BIRTH
WEANING
In early June the pairs are gathered and the calves are sorted to be weaned. The calves get their second round of vaccination and we take weights.
Using the data we've collected from birth, we start the culling process:
- A calf born with a high birth weight is steered
- A calf born with bad EPD's, DNA or substandard growth will be steered
- a calf with structural problems (legs, feet, or back) will be steered
- A calf showing any demeanor problems will be steered
We castrate an average of 40-50% of the bull calves born each year to offer customers the best breeding stock we can. While "good" bulls don't make that grade, they make great steers!
A good bull, makes a GREAT steer.
WEANING
DEVELOPMENT
After weaning the remaining bulls are moved to one of the three grass pastures they will rotate through as they grow.
They are supplemented with an alfalfa hay and bakery waste ration, with the goal of a 3.1 rate of gain.
The bulls rotate through three 10-acre pastures once every two weeks. We believe this allows the bulls plenty of space to develop and become athletic. It also helps cut down on fighting injuries.
We get these bulls ready to work in the real world.