Thursday, April 4, 2013

A Search For Superior Cows


The 2013 Angus Pathfinder® Report has been released and we were proud and excited to have two Gizmo Angus cows listed in this year's report. Following is an excerpt from an article in the April 2013 Angus Journal: 

The Angus Pathfinder program® was started in 1978 in an effort to identify superior cows in the breed based on Angus Herd Improvement Records (AHIR®).  In identifying these superior cows, emphasis was placed on early puberty, breeding and early calving, followed by regularity of calving and above-average performance of offspring.

While outstanding cows can be identified after their first or second calves, the Pathfinder program requires a minimum of three calves from a cow to determine her regularity of calving and ability to produce superior calves for weaning weight year after year.  In addition, an important part of the report is the list of bulls that have sired five or more qualifying females. 

The 2013 Angus Pathfinder Report identifies a total of 8,680 cows that have produced a calf measured through AHIR in the past 18 months, Examined were 2,060,329 different eligible dams with 6,810,762 weaning weights in order to determine Pathfinder status.  There are 1,992 members recognized in the 2013 report as owning a Pathfinder cow. 

In addition, 234 bulls that have sired a minimum of five or more Pathfinder Cows in the current listing are listed as Pathfinder Sires at the end of the report, which is available online under the Performance link at www.angus.org. 

AS Paul Harvey used to say “Now for the Rest of the Story” The two cows that made the pathfinder report are :
Gizmo Pride 525 065 0125 Registration #15394906 
525 with her 2012 Heifer Calf by Coleman Regis 904
This cow is out of Finks Pride 065 6198 LB Registration #13847351 a cow we purchased as an eight month old heifer from the Fink program in Kansas.  The 065 cow has done an awesome job for us here at Gizmo and we have four of her daughters currently working in our herd.  We liked her so much that we decided to flush her this year, and that decision was made prior to finding out she had produced a Pathfinder® daughter.  Another part of the history on the 525 cow is she is a cow we almost let go.  We came close to selling the 525 cow back when she had her first calf on her side and was bred back for her second, we just couldn’t pull the trigger and wow am I glad that we made the decision to keep her. 
Gizmo Pride 717 314 4132 Registration # 16030500
 
717  two days after calving in 2012

717 with her 2 day old Heifer calf out of Coleman Midland 430 
Gizmo Pride 717 314 4132 is out of Gizmo Pride 6211 8005 314 who was the natural daughter of our donor cow Finks Pride 6211 345 71.  Now for the rest of the story on this cow.  Prior to receiving the notice that she had made Pathfinder® we had been invited to participate in the Southeast Angus Classic in May.  This was the first time we had been issued an invitation to this elite sale so needless to say we wanted to select high quality cattle.  You guessed it 717 and her heifer calf by Coleman Midland 430 were selected to represent Gizmo in this year’s sale.  This is the kind of cow to build a herd around so although I hate to see her go I know she will be a good representative of our program.  She has been palpated safe in calf to Coleman Regis so she is continuing to prove that she deserves the honor of Pathfinder®.
Gizmo Pride 6211 8005 314 Dam of 717
 
 
B C Matrix Sire of 717
 
We invite you to the SE Angus Classic sale on May 18, 2013 at Lawler Farms in Opelika Alabama to check her and her calf out for yourself.