Santa Gertrudis Source Producer Q&A
By Jessica Wesson, Contributing Writer
Santa Gertrudis is a breed known for its adaptability, maternal proficiency, heterosis and productivity. Santa Gertrudis Source asked seven breeders from across the country to give their thoughts on the breed, how it fits into today’s cattle industry and why it is the preferred American beef breed. Their insights are consistent, yet diverse – a reflection of the diversity in climates, production processes, goals and marketing programs. These breeders provide a true insight into the ability of Santa Gertrudis cattle to add profit to any cattle herd across the United States.
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David Harris, Harris Riverbend Farms, Glen Rose, Texas
Harris Riverbend Farms is a seedstock and cow-calf operation that raises purebred Santa Gertrudis cattle. Their herd is half purebred and half commercial, but the base is all Santa Gertrudis. They market 75 to 100 bulls annually, along with an assortment of females and utilize embryo transfer, artificial insemination and natural service.
Q: How does Santa Gertrudis add value to the cattle industry in Texas and the Southwest?
A: The females work with almost any bull, and they have great heat tolerance. If you’re breeding for the terminal side of the business, Santa Gertrudis cattle will give you heterosis. The females also provide great maternal traits for being productive in the cow herd. The breed has done a lot of hard work to improve the carcass quality to where many herds will grade 80 to 90 percent Choice.
Q: How do today’s Santa Gertrudis compare to the Santa Gertrudis of 50 years ago?
A: The breed has more moderation, and the bulls have much better sheaths. Overall, I also think the carcass quality and disposition of the cattle have improved. We also have more tools to work with and to use for improvement. I think our product is much better suited for the commercial sector as well.
Q: What made you choose to produce Santa Gertrudis cattle?
A: We started working with Santa Gertrudis in 1984. We had a variety of breeds in the operation at the time, and we started buying some Santa Gertrudis replacements. The weaning weights on those calves outperformed every other calf on the farm, no matter what the Santa Gertrudis cows were bred to. Back then, that meant the world to me. Overall, they outshine other breeds from the weight standpoint.
Q: What does the future hold for Santa Gertrudis cattle?
A: In the future, we’re going to have to expand our commercial base. Some may have to do it with females rather than bulls. Overall, our goal should be to produce more and more cattle that will work for the commercial cattleman.
Q: You market some of your cattle through joint ventures with other producers via the Tri-Star Sale. How does collaboration with other breeders help vs. hinder your operation?
A: We’ve developed great relationships by doing that. We’re always exchanging ideas and helping each other. One of the biggest benefits of collaboration is the ability to compare a variety of genetics and see how they are performing. The synergy of working together brings more contacts. You can bring more people to an event because you can tap into the contacts from various ranches. Most of the time, you’ll be working with operations that have common goals and similar viewpoints on what our position in the industry should be. On the commercial side, the larger herd you can build with your collaboration will attract interest from larger operations.
We sell about 80 percent of our cattle this way. It enables us to concentrate our efforts, time and money on large events. It gets cost prohibitive when you can’t sell a large number of cattle at once.
Q: What data and/or selection criteria are the most important to your customers?
A: We have so many tools now, but the key to everything is efficiency. Whether feeding or breeding, you must get those cows bred and have a live calf on the ground. There are so many things that customers can look at now to help them. They can look at expected progeny differences (EPDs) for things like weaning weight, live weight, birth weight, scrotum measurements and marbling. As long as customers can set their goals before they come to buy animals, producers can make accurate recommendations that will help them be successful in their breeding programs.
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Yancey Strait, Strait Ranches, Streetman, Texas
Strait Ranches’ Santa Gertrudis herd was established in 1951 by Y.C. Strait in Big Wells, Texas. Today, Strait Ranches is owned by the Y.N. Strait family of Streetman, Texas. Strait Ranches is driven by the need to produce fertile, functional, efficient beef cattle. Their Santa Gertrudis cattle have been selected to perform in the tough environment of South Texas. Strait Ranches is focused on continuous improvement and identification of superior genetics through DNA collection, performance testing and phenotypic evaluation.
Q: How do Santa Gertrudis cattle excel in the areas of fertility, function and efficiency?
A: Fertility is the key to success in the cattle industry. To maximize production and revenue, cattle must reproduce with as little downtime as possible between calves. The Santa Gertrudis breed and its breeders have placed tremendous emphasis on fertility by requiring early breed-up on heifers and quick breed-back after calving.
Functionality leads to structurally sound animals, which leads to the longevity of a cow herd. Historically, Santa Gertrudis cattle have been forced to be sound, considering the environments in which they have been used – typically in hot, humid environments and/or in locations that require significant traveling to water or forage. Due to the environment, natural selection has ensured that our cattle have remained sound. As breeders, we must continue emphasizing feet, legs, udder soundness, etc. I think Santa Gertrudis cattle are extremely functional.
Efficiency is bred into these cattle, as they were developed to perform in the harshest environments. We recently fed a set of steers with a dry matter conversion of 5.7 to 1 and a cost of gain of $0.897.
Q: What selection criteria or data is most important to your customers?
A: First and foremost, our commercial customers expect us, as seedstock breeders, to continually seek improvement. My dad told us, “The only reason seedstock operations exist is to improve commercial cattle.”
Our buyers want us to use all available technologies to improve these cattle, but they also expect us to cull animals that are not fertile or have bad udders, feet or legs. Our buyers typically want the following (in this order): 1. structurally sound, fertile cattle; 2. cattle that perform and grow (heavy weaning weights); and 3. cattle that meet environmental or producer-specific requirements.
Q: What does the Santa Gertrudis breed need to do to remain viable and grow in the future?
A: The breed needs a combination of marketing, research and education, coupled with genetic improvement to remain viable and grow. We must continue to identify our strengths, educate our consumers and breeders, and market the benefits of the Santa Gertrudis breed. As breeders, we must continue to improve our cattle every single day. We must be diligent about culling unsound cattle and those that don’t meet any other performance standards we have in our herds. Research is paramount as it can clearly outline the benefits of Santa Gertrudis without bias.
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Joe Jones, Briggs Ranches, Victoria, Texas
Briggs Ranches is a relatively large operation that started in the 1940s with Hereford cattle. Briggs Ranches added Santa Gertrudis bulls and upgraded to purebred status by the 1950s, which served as a perfect base for the operation. Briggs Ranches currently has three divisions in Texas: the headquarters operation located just outside of Victoria, and other divisions in Catarina and Rio Grande City. They have approximately 600 purebred Santa Gertrudis cows and about 250 Brangus cows.
The headquarters division has purebred Santa Gertrudis cattle, but we implanted a small herd of Brangus cattle in 2015. The Catarina division has purebred Santa Gertrudis cattle and a large commercial operation. When there’s grass available, we’ll keep stockers down there. The Rio Grande City operation is smaller and mainly used for stockers. However, we keep a group of Santa Gertrudis cows and a pretty good group of commercial cows. We disperse the stocker heifers from that operation out to the other divisions.
The weather in our area is relatively dry and hot. The Victoria location gets about 45 inches of rainfall annually. Catarina receives about 18 inches, and Rio Grande City gets 9 to 10 inches annually. The southern divisions have Buffalo grass, which has been introduced to the region over many years. The division at Victoria makes a lot of forage from June to the first frost. That’s where we also do most of our hay production and disperse the hay back to the other divisions as needed.
We have about 600 purebred Santa Gertrudis cows and about 250 Brangus cows.
Q: What has allowed Santa Gertrudis to thrive in Texas and beyond?
A: Santa Gertrudis cattle have always withstood our environment. They are drought and heat-tolerant, and they’re as thrifty as they can be. Over the years, Santa Gertrudis has been kind to us in the production line. Our steers have done well in the feedlot. The females have performed well in both the purebred and commercial sectors.
We hired a young man about 10 years ago who graduated from TCU Ranch Management School, and my daughter and her husband returned to the farm a few years ago. With their background and knowledge, we’ve implemented some criteria that the Santa Gertrudis and Brangus cattle must meet to be eligible to be put back in our purebred herds. By and large, the Santa Gertrudis cattle have done really well with this requirement.
Q: How does offering two breeds elevate Briggs Ranches and Santa Gertrudis cattle in particular?
A: We try to grow a product that will fit the commercial industry, and we are Santa Gertrudis based on most of the cattle we raise. We’ll buy some Hereford bulls to put on the Santa Gertrudis cows to create a red-motley face, which is a highly sought-after product. We’ll use some Brangus bulls on our Santa Gertrudis cows to develop a Black Super American, and these females are popular, too. And we’ll also use Santa Gertrudis bulls on Santa Gertrudis cows to get a purebred Santa Gertrudis heifer. Our goal is to have a product that fits many different needs. We want to offer a variety of cattle to cater to customers’ preferences.
Q: How do Santa Gertrudis genetics best fit into a commercial cattle operation?
A: Santa Gertrudis fit best by taking advantage of a crossbreeding program. The more crossbreeding you have, the more it seems to enhance everything. When you put a Santa Gertrudis bull on about any other breed, the heifers and steers are explosive and competitive.
Q: Briggs Ranches sells a lot of bulls to commercial cattle producers. What are they looking for when they buy bulls and females from you?
A: Things have changed in the commercial industry quite a bit. When they are buying bulls, buyers want to see the data. Many producers are beginning to look at EPDs, whereas 20 to 30 years ago, they didn’t understand them. We’ve performance-tested bulls for a long time and gathered all kinds of information about them. EPDs and ultrasound data have helped tremendously in this area. We try to assemble as much data as possible for buyers to utilize.
On the other hand, there is a group of commercial cattlemen who want a phenotypic animal in their price range. So, when dealing with the commercial industry, you have a broad spectrum of customers. Another thing we must remember is that these cattle can’t get so overpriced that the commercial sector can’t afford them.
Q: What data and/or selection criteria are most important to your customers?
A: The commercial customers looking at data are primarily interested in weaning weight. Most commercial customers we sell bulls to will sell their calves at weaning time and they want as heavy of a calf as possible at weaning time.
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Cody Black, Black Hills Land and Cattle, Muleshoe, Texas
Black Hills Land and Cattle is a diverse operation consisting of a farming operation made up of roughly 3,500 acres of dryland and irrigated farmland in the Texas Panhandle. They run 220 brood cows and have a 900-head feedyard.
Q: How do Santa Gertrudis cattle fit into the industry’s feeding sector?
A: Years back, we ran a lot of stockers and would finish those cattle out in the feedyard. When we got their grades back from the plant, we noticed that the Santa Gertrudis cattle were finishing at High Choice to Prime on fewer days on feed. The Santa Gertrudis thrived, and their rate of gain outperformed the English cattle. Also, their death loss was minimal. Overall, they did better health-wise and finished out faster on less forage – and tolerate our extreme environment much better than the English breeds.
Q: How do you combat feeding misconceptions about Santa Gertrudis cattle?
A: We overcome those misconceptions by having the data to prove what these cattle can do. A lot of the misconceptions come from old-school feeders who think the only thing to feed is Angus influenced. We ran into that early on with big finishing yards that would not buy our Santa Gertrudis cattle to finish. However, we retained those steers and collected carcass data proving that Santa Gertrudis cattle performed better than black-hided animals.
The other thing to remember is that today’s Santa Gertrudis cattle are not what they used to be. They’re cleaner and moderately framed. Santa Gertrudis cattle are more carcass-based in quality due to their genetics. Santa Gertrudis seedstock producers are putting a lot of effort into improving the breed’s genetics.
Q: How do Santa Gertrudis cattle handle variations in Texas Panhandle weather?
A: We get some extreme weather here. It seems that we can have all four seasons in one day. Our winters get below-freezing temperatures, and our summers will get to triple-digit temperatures. We always have wind up here, which can blow up to 50 miles per hour on any given day. Our average annual rainfall is 20 inches.
Santa Gertrudis have adapted to and tolerated the weather better than anything else. Their ability to survive is a lot better. They’re able to travel farther to find water during dry spells. You can see it just by driving around. The Santa Gertrudis are all fleshy and nice looking out on dead pasture. However, the Angus on similar pastures are struggling to put on weight and don’t look good. I think the Santa Gertrudis cattle are just tougher.
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Kade Thigpen, Hefte Ranch, Hondo, Texas
Hefte Ranch has been raising purebred seedstock Santa Gertrudis cattle since the 1970s, focusing on cattle that fit industry needs. Their goal is to provide a well-balanced animal for their customers that will improve their herds, whether they are commercial or seedstock producers. Hefte Ranch runs approximately 150 head in Hondo and Agua Dulce, Texas.
Q: Why and how does genetic evaluation benefit Hefte Ranch and your customers?
A: We look at genetic evaluation as a tool in the toolbox. It allows us to compare different animals from different areas, giving an “apples-to-apples” comparison. We have no other way of comparing cattle developed in Alabama to those developed in South Texas. Genetic evaluation provides a way to put everything on the same playing field. It is one of the most used tools in the toolbox, but we don’t lean on it as our only crutch. However, it is a great tool to increase the performance in our herds.
Q: How does the Santa Gertrudis breed best position itself for an upcoming U.S. cow herd expansion?
A: We must establish ourselves as a marketable product within the commercial industry. If there’s commercial demand for our cattle, there’ll be feedlot demand. If there’s commercial and feedlot demand for our cattle, then that will result in more demand for the seedstock operations to produce good cattle. If there’s demand in the seedstock industry, people will grow their herds. Others will see and want to join in.
If there’s more supply than demand, then there isn’t a reason for it to grow. However, if we establish ourselves and help people see the value of our cattle and what they can do, I think the demand will come.
Q: As a young producer, what do you feel the Santa Gertrudis breed needs to do to increase its market share in the cattle industry among other young producers?
A: Young producers must be innovative because we understand technology better than anyone else. Technology is part of everyday life for most people, whether it’s smartphones or social media. As Santa Gertrudis cattle producers, we need to find a way to be competitive on that front. That market has a huge opportunity to attract other young producers to our breed.
I also think we should educate young producers. So many people come into this business with big upfront expenses, and they get no help. There aren’t any marketing classes or programs to help producers who are just getting started. People are just kind of going in on their own, and we lose a lot of small breeders within three to five years because they give up on it. If there was some way to educate and help them, that would help.
Young producers should look at working together. So many people try to do this independently, and they get so competitive. If we work together as producers, we will be more successful.
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Roland “Scooter” Sanchez, Red Doc Farm, Bosque, N.M.
Red Doc Farm is a family-owned, purebred Santa Gertrudis operation that started 50 years ago. When Roland and Elia Sanchez started the operation, they were looking for a breed that could live in the extreme environment of central New Mexico. They wanted something that could survive and produce a quality product in extreme heat, cold and drought. They chose Santa Gertrudis because of their consistent color, body type and carcass characteristics.
Q: Why is the international market an opportunity for the Santa Gertrudis breed?
A: A great opportunity lies within the international market. Most cattle produced worldwide are raised in the hotter atmospheres, such as Latin America and Australia. These areas have masses of land with grass that can produce cheap protein. Worldwide, there are more Brahman-influenced cattle than anything else.
The cattle industry is designed to sell one thing – efficiency – and the battle people face entering the international market is being unable to market a product that fits customers’ needs. We work hard to gather data on our cattle yearly to verify that we’re producing a product that the world industry demands. We can’t make more land, so we must use cattle that efficiently produce more pounds of beef with less input. Santa Gertrudis cattle are heat tolerant, insect resistant, durable and efficient.
Q: How does your environment affect your breeding and selection decisions?
A: We’re very fortunate because we’re in a brutal environment. One of our biggest advantages is the survival of the fittest. Only the toughest cattle survive our dry, arid desert with high elevation and limited water. In selection, we never give up the most important trait – fertility. Without fertility, it doesn’t matter what you do; you can’t make up for the loss of a calf.
Q: How do Santa Gertrudis cattle perform in the feedlot and on the rail?
A: Our last set of kill steers graded 89.3 percent Choice and Prime, which is standard for us. If the industry can do it, then our cattle better be able to do it as well. If they don’t, then we will breed it into them. Our expectations for carcass quality are very high. We selectively breed for the traits we’re looking for. You must use consistent, heritable traits to produce high-quality genetics. We’ve had to line breed for the last 20 years to select for carcass quality and efficiency, and we’ve seen great results from doing that.
Q: How can Santa Gertrudis prove their worth in a feedlot?
A: The Santa Gertrudis breed does have major advantages in today’s feeding industry. The animal’s hardiness is huge. They can maintain caloric gain with heat resistance. The red color is also coming into demand against the black for the heat tolerance factor.
Q: How do you measure efficiency?
A: We have been gain-testing bulls since the 1980s. We own a GrowSafe System (a feed intake system) which is the only way to truly measure efficiency. We know how much each animal consumes daily and how many pounds of beef they produce from that. So, we know who makes the most beef efficiently, select for that and breed it into our herd until we are consistently producing that product.
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Tony Creech, Creech Farm, Zebulon, N.C.
Creech Farm is a family operation consisting of approximately 75 purebred Santa Gertrudis brood cows. The whole family is involved – Tony and Allyson and their four kids: Brandon, Caroline, Seth and Colin. They started raising Santa Gertrudis crossbreds in the 1980s, got out of cattle production in 1992, but came back to it in 2006 with purebred Santa Gertrudis.
Q: How does the Santa Gertrudis breed adapt to your environment?
A: Our environment gets up to 75 inches of rain yearly, but we can have dry spells. From mid-May to the first of July, we usually don’t get a lot of rain. Then we’ll get a bunch of rain in July and August, but it’ll dry out again in the fall. More often than not, we have too much rain rather than not enough. We have good soil that is great for our grass. We don’t have to fertilize the grass. I feed a lot of hay because we have so much grass in the spring that I have to do something to keep the grass from getting out of control.
Our area has a lot of black-hided cattle. We’ll have 100-degree days, and our cattle will be out on the pasture grazing. Producers with black-hided cattle come by my place and tell me they haven’t seen their herd because they’ve been hiding out in the shade or the pond. They can’t believe how well our Santa Gertrudis cattle handle the heat.
Q: How do genomic-enhanced EPDs and performance data allow you to improve your Santa Gertrudis herd and help your customers?
A: The importance of genomic EPDs and performance data goes hand-in-hand. EPDs reflect a calf’s performance and genetic ability, and helps me select the animals I want to keep for myself. Most of my customers are seedstock operations, and they trust me to use the data because they’re doing the same thing.
Q: How receptive are people in your area to the Santa Gertrudis breed?
A: Overall, the industry is starting to evolve away from black-hided animals. The Santa Gertrudis breed is in a great position to expand. However, there are still a lot of people who think black animals are better in terms of carcass quality. Many red-hided breeders around here take a hit at the sale barn because they aren’t selling black-hided cattle. Some of my breeders have my Santa Gertrudis bulls but aren’t taking the hit since their calves are still black-hided. However, they are starting to see a difference in the weaning and yearling weights, which outperform their black-hided cattle. Most of them want that extra 100 pounds at weaning time. Every one of my customers who have tried the Santa Gertrudis bulls has stuck with them.
Q: How does the disposition of Santa Gertrudis cattle contribute to the success of your grazing management program?
A: We strip graze. I’ll divide most of my pastures into four sections. I’ll leave cattle in a section for one week, and then they move and the section is rested for three weeks. Once our Gerts get adapted to the grazing program, they move around great. I think this sort of technique helps improve their disposition because they get used to being handled and seeing you every day.
Q: What does data tell you about your cattle and operation?
A: Data collection is as important as vaccines for us. I mostly look at weaning weight, yearling weight, marbling and ribeye area, and try to average all of them together. I like a 550- to 650-pound weaning weight and an 800- to 900-pound yearling weight. Some people say they need to be more moderate, and I agree that they don’t need to be too big, but I prefer bigger calves and a cow that will produce a lot of milk, because we have an abundance of grass.
Q: How do Santa Gertrudis cattle fit into the cattle industry of tomorrow and beyond?
A: Santa Gertrudis is in an excellent position to take a significant market share because we’ve got a good product. Getting noticed is our biggest challenge. If we can collect the data, share it and get more Santa Gertrudis in the commercial market, then we can overcome that. I could see Santa Gertrudis being 25 percent of the main cattle market in the future.
