To place an order call Mark Carson @ (501)279-1230

*Please note:  We guarantee the quality and viability of our semen to the point of delivery.  However, we cannot control or be responsible for the semen once the shipping container has been opened and handled by other parties.  Therefore, we cannot allow returns on semen, as it would compromise our ability to maintain the appropriate level of quality control.

 TOP LINE

1. The top line is the total length of the animal from front of pool to back of rump. The top line is taken for three measurements, Neck length, Body length and Rump length. These three measurements make up the total top line length.

TRUE, TOTAl TOP LINE FOR BULLS ONLY

2. Total top line or true top =

2/3 top line X 1.5 (.5, 1.0,   1.5).

Example: If the bull was 70 inches long and his 2/3 is 48,  his neck length would be 22 inches long. (70 inches – 48 inches = 22 inches).               

(Formula)

Multiplying by 1.5 (1.5 X 48 =72) you get the true top.

 HEART GIRTH

3. The total distance aroundof the animals heart girth. The girth should be equal to the total top line or larger at 12 months of age. The large girth is needed for proper size for vital organs (heart, lungs, and glands). The closer the heart girth is to the top line, the more efficient, adaptable and vigorous the animal is. If heart girth is larger than top line it is a plus. Insufficient heart is a high indicator of structural defects, allows front feet to toe out, hooked toe, more susceptible to stress and is a high maintenance animal. They do not perform well on grass. Reproduction suffers. Small heart girth is a structural defect and should not be tolerated.

 ADJUSTED NECK LENGTH

4. Actual neck length minus half the body length (24 –22 = -2). The higher the levels of testosterone, the more crest development, the shorter the neck.

 _ Short necks are a good indicator of libido and high testosterone.

_ The cervical vertebrates have a tendency to curve up, making the neck 

    shorter.

_ Short necks indicate a larger scrotal therefore a higher level of hormones.

_ Short necks indicate wider shoulders (male characteristics).

_ Bulls with a neck longer than 2 inches at 12 months lack male hormones,

   resulting in late maturing daughters, reaching puberty later in life and

  tend to be slow breeders.

_ Long necks are structural defects, no genetic progress can be made with

   these bulls. They will be high maintenance bulls.

_ Bulls with long necks have a smaller scrotum.

_ Bulls with shorter necks sire daughters with wider rumps.

_ Bulls with short necks sire daughters that mature early.

BODY LENGTH OR 2/3 TOP LINE

5. The 2/3 top line is composed of the rump length and back length. Distance from the middle dip in the vertebrate (chine bone) between the shoulder blades to back of rump. If the back is too long it affects the neck length and the animal is out of balance. Long backs tend to be weak and will sway. Most long backs have too small a loin muscle. The long backed animals will have a dip from loin to top of the shoulder. There will be a dip from rib cage to shoulder blade. These breaks or dips are  structural defects and should not be tolerated.

 RUMP LENGTH PERCENT

6. The rump length percent is the percentage the rump makes up of the body length or 2/3 body length. Divide the 2/3 body length into the rump length. Rump length percent in the bull influences the neck length in his daughters. Less than 40% rump length in the bull increases the neck length of his daughters and makes for a smaller heart girth, thus higher maintenance. A long neck in females is not symbolic of femininity. A range of 38% to 40% is ideal, less than or more than is in the extreme.  This range works best and will make adequate milking daughters. The rump length percent sets the standard for the degree of masculinity in the bull. If the rump length is below the 38% level, the standard for masculinity is much lower. The low standard does not create rugged bulls and in most cases the scrotal is less than 38 centimeters at 12 months.

 RUMP WIDTH

7. Divide the rump height into the rump width = rump width percent. This number should be 44% or greater. Greater is better. (Example- 24 rw. by 50 rh = 48% rmp. Wdth%). High rump width percent is indicative of early maturity and ease of keeping. Bulls with higher rump width percent usually have wide shoulders, deep chest and a more acceptable scrotal. With good rump width% the animal normally has a better chest & shoulder area.

 ADJUSTED SHOULDER WIDTH

8. Shoulder width minus rump length. Adjusted shoulder width in bulls should be +2 inches or greater at 12 months of age. Greater is better. Wide shoulders makes room for vital organs (heart & lungs). Masculinity is responsible for:

 _ Highest indicator of reproductive efficiency.

 _ Ability to withstand stress.

_ Sire sons when mated to proper phenotype

   cows (feminine) that make herd sires.

_ Sire daughters that reach puberty early,

   breed back and  wean a heavy calf.

_ Yearling bulls with good adjusted shoulder

    widths correlates with uniform

_ Gestation time and length, uniform

    birth weights, ease of calving and more

    uniform weaning weights. Wideshoulders

    usually means a larger scrotum.

_ Masculinity in the bull is in the wide, deep shoulders and

    short neck with a rump to match the front.

_ Masculinity sires more pounds of beef. In the bull the

    rump should balance with the shoulders.

  RUMP HEIGHT

9. Correlates highly with gain-ability. Extremely tall animals tend to be out of balance due to slow puberty development, which lowers reproductive efficiency.

 _ Taller animals have less meat on their carcass 

     than the shorter thicker animals.

_ Taller animals will tend to have a smaller chest and 

    shoulders and are easy to stress  and are a higher maintenance animal.

    Taller animals do not do as well on grass and takes longer to finish.

    Tall animals require more high energy.

_ A frame score from 4.5 to 5.5 tends to work best for finishing on grass.

FLANK CIRCUMFERENCE

10. The flank circumference should be 0 with heart girth to 2 inches larger than heart girth.Small flank measurement is indicative of absence of meat on rump. The same will be passed on to the progeny.

 THURL

11. Thurl should be 13% of the rump height or greater. Greater is better if the slopes of the rump is of the proper angle.

 _ Thurl size and shape makes for ease of calving.

_ Indicates pelvic depth and structural soundness of hind legs.

    If the thurl is properly in place the animal will track (back foot in front track) measurement is taken from ground to stifle joint to top of back.

 SCROTUM

12. The scrotum of yearling bulls should be 38 to 40 centimeters. Larger or smaller is in the extreme and should not be tolerated. The scrotum should be football shaped with the epididymis on the very bottom of testicle. If the epididymis is anywhere else but on bottom, the results shows up in the quality of udder of the daughters. The sons will have the same problem as the sire or worse with irregular shaped testicles (recessive genes). If the nipples of the sire are on the neck of the scrotal sack the daughters udders will be tilted up in font and lower milk production. If the nipples of the sire are on the scrotal neck his sons will have a large navel area with the opening pointing toward the ground and fertility is lower. Irregular shaped testicle and epididymis causes irregular and cylinder shaped udders, large nipples and causes udders to sag and break down.

 IMPORTANT AREAS OF THE MALE

13. Shoulder width.

       Neck length.

      Scrotum size.

      Heart girth to top line.

Our Hereford bulls come from a very old herd in Mexico that has had no outside genetics brought in for 43 years.  They have the "old-style" body type (short and wide); exactly the body style needed in a grass-based system. (They are very similiar to the type of Herefords that were prominent in the 1950s.) Their genetic traits have been selected over the years for hardiness and an ability to thrive on grass, and not much of it.  The ranch in Mexico, Valle Columbia, where they were born and raised is high desert country and has very little grass, yet the cows and bulls there are all very healthy and fat. They are used to working for their food and walking for miles to get to water. When we brought our bulls over to the United States, they showed almost no signs of adaptation problems.  What little weight loss they had during transport was quickly regained and more. They are surprisingly docile, given the "range" type system they have grown up in and have adapted well to our more "hands-on" management. These bulls have the genetic density to improve your herd and give you a high return on your grass.

Hereford Bull #99:

Click here to see #99's picture and Linear Measurement scores.  For more pictures of the

Hereford Bull #144:

Click here to see #144's picture and Linear Measurement scores.

Hereford Bull #145:

Click here to see #145's picture and Linear Measurement scores.

For more pictures of our Hereford bulls click here.

Rotokawa Rangatira 243

This bull is sired by Rotokawa 93, son of the famous Rotokawa 688 bull, and is the last son of the great Rotokawa 592 cow that has produced so many magnificent herd bulls.  This combination of genetics has produced a high performance bull whose progeny will deliver a high return on grass.

Rangatira has the genetic density to improve your herd in reproduction, muscle-mass, tenderness, fat and grass utilization.  His linear measurement scores and avg. daily gain tell the story.

 Rangatira is the ultimate genetic package and gene pool creator for your cows, Devon or commercial.  He will take your replacements to another level.  A decision to use Rotokawa Rangatira will put you in a market position to sell your grass with quality, consistency and profitability.

Other Devon Bull semen available:

Rotokawa 982

Harrier Fields Glorys Abraham (a double-bred son of 688)

Ken McDowell and the Rotokawa Devon farm and cow herd span 32 years of history; selecting, breeding and managing for animals that perform (produce & reproduce) on grass.  Ken’s health began to deteriorate and he was forced to disperse his Rotokawa Devon herd. Most of the cows came to America, however the environmental impact of moving the herd will require 4-5 years for adaptation in order to consistently produce a normal progeny that thrives on the grass in their new environment.

 Ken McDowell had developed a near complete symbiosis (understanding) with the Rotokawa herd; he understood every cow and bull, their genetic and productive potential.  He understood this because of the knowledge and wisdom he had of his Devon herd and the paternal genetic density he built in it through observation, selection and management. Ken was the husbandry manager and stockman of his herd.    

 Rangatira and his mother Rotokawa 292 did not make the trip to America; she was crippled after 13 years of being consecutively the number one (1) cow in the Rotokawa herd. All of her sons became herd bulls. Three (3) of those sons became herd bulls in the Rotokawa herd. Many of you are familiar with the great 667 line that produced the bull 974 who is a son of 292, half brother to Rangatira. Ken created this paternal line from Potheridge Masterpiece.  His brother, Potheridge President, won every category for production, reproduction and quality of meat over all other bulls in the ABS trials performed in the late 1960s here in the U.S.

 Rotokawa 292 was then bred to bull 93, a son of the great 688, which produced Rangatira.  Rotokawa 688 bred more cows in 2005 & 2006 than any other bull in America (nearly 5000). His paternal genetic density dominates the genetic combinations of his offspring.  I have tested, using the Warner-Bratzler shear-test, many of the half-blood calves 688 produced and there has never been one that did not test well above the finest restaurant quality beef (gourmet).  Additionally, all the Rotokawa-bred, half-blood calves have added an extra 3-5% muscle-mass to the carcass, creating extra volume of meat and weight which equates to $$$.  Rangatira has all the paternal genetic potential of his grandfather 688 plus genetic maternal characteristics of the best and greatest cow Ken McDowell ever produced.

 I fussed at Ken for selling the mother of 688 at age 14, because she was pregnant and still had many good productive years left. His response was, “My breeding program and genetics will produce better females than her; she has served me well.”  All cows at Rotokawa were sold at 14 years of age to make room for their daughters to enter the herd.   

 There will never be another Ken McDowell-bred Rotokawa bull available to us.  Ken McDowell is retired and no longer has any cows.  Young Rangatira was left on the farm with mother to develop.  At Rangatira’s weaning, 292 went to the works and Rangatira stayed on grass to develop because Ken recognized the potential in Rangatira’s development and conformation and knew he could not be overlooked.  Ken later collected a few straws of semen from Rangatira.

 Artisan Beef Genetics bought the Rangatira semen and have a small supply here in America and when it is gone there will never be another Ken McDowall-developed bull for us to build our Devon or Herbataurus female foundation, grass-based cow herds with. The Rotokawa herd is dispersed; Ken no longer manages the genetics or controls the breeding so the results will change. No one will be able to manage those cows as Ken did. 

 The Rotokawa Rangatira opportunity is great, yet the supply is short. Capitalize on 32 years of genetic grass progress and make the necessary changes in the first calf crop. Take a look at Rangatira’s performance on grass and his linear measurements by clicking here.

The American cattle industry is in a revolution from supplements back to all grass. Grass- performing genetics are in high demand but extremely hard to find. It takes many generations of careful selection to return your cow herd back to all-grass management with the bulls being used today.  Can you produce beef for $.25 a pound?  If the answer is no, you should take a serious look! Change your management performance back to grass in one generation.  THIS IS OUR FUTURE!

 Rangatira’s paternal genetic density can bring tremendous change in just one generation and produce fine quality gourmet meat with any British breed.  Get in on the ground floor of a breed whose genetics have always been selected for grass production. After all; all cattle breeders sell grass.  Beef  is our grass outlet tool.

 Do an agriculturally humane act:  produce fine quality gourmet meat for your neighbor’s health, longevity and intelligence. Grass Fed Beef:  It’s What’s for Dinner!!!!

Blessings,

Gearld

           Linear measuring is designed to help the producer choose the body type or form(phenotype) of bull and cow that will be high in reproduction, meat production and low in maintenance. Measuring of the many different body parts allows the operator to recognize structural and functional defects, which are genetic defects, and potential problems that arise from improper breeding practices. Linear measuring teaches the operator about body form and function.

          Linear measuring is not about a gene pool concentration. That comes later. Linear measuring is about selecting animals for proper type or form (phenotype). Therefore the desired function can be achieved. Choosing the proper body type or form and mating those cows and bulls with each other (kin folk) will build a concentrated gene pool that is consistent, predictable and works best on grass.

          Utilizing Linear Measuring procedures and methods allows the operator to choose the body type or form that the environment around the animals calls for (weather, forage,  management, etc.). It works as well for the dairy operator. The cows and bulls he builds from linear measuring will perform best on grass, be high in reproduction and low in maintenance.

         Building herds of cows and bulls with the proper form and type sets the stage for healthy, calving ease cows with longevity as is outlined in the instructions. Mastering the instruction manuals teaches you about the many body styles and the effects they have on function and performance of the animal. These practices create grass based genetics. This type of cow must work for the producer 10 months of the year or she will become fat on grass and therefore reproductively unsound.

         Allow our Creator to bless you in all areas of your life and livestock. We have not because we ask not (James 4:2). Have someone you trust view what you are creating. Four eyes with wisdom are better than two.

To view an indepth review of Linear Measurement Guidelines for bulls click here.