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Why raise Lowlines? Ask someone who
raises this special breed and they’ll likely say, “Why not?”
An ancestor of the Angus breed,
Lowlines are about 30% smaller than full-sized Angus cattle –
which means they are cute in a teddy-bear sort of way, but more
importantly they are efficient and offer attributes like calving
ease.
Average size mature Lowline cows
generally weigh about 650 to 950 pounds and stand from 36 to 42
inches at the shoulder. Average size mature Lowline bulls weigh
from 950 to 1350 pounds and stand from 39 to 46 inches. The
average birth weight of fullblood calves is 42 to 52 pounds,
which makes for ease of calving.
That calving ease makes the breed
appealing for registered and commercial operations as well – and
research has shown producers don’t give up growth with Lowline
crosses.
A three year study where Lowline bulls were used on commercial
heifers, that ended in 2006 by North Dakota State University,
Dickinson Research Extension Center came to this conclusion for
the commercial industry “The halfblood Lowline steers average
weight for the three year study was 1221 lbs., 51-52 inches at
the hip, and brought 92 cents per pound average. “These bulls
produce small calves that grow,” concluded the NDSU researchers.
As well, the Lowline breed finishes very well on grass, which
also adds to the efficiency of the breed and gives many breeders
an opportunity to add value to their operation with direct
grass-fed beef sales.
Those who raise Lowlines says the
docility of the breed is also an attribute. Research has shown
calm animals tend to be earlier maturing. And, docile animals
are easier for any producer to handle with limited facilities.
With all that going for it, the
Lowline breed has seen increased popularity in regions like the
Northwest. On Jan. 1, 2007, the Northwest Lowline Association (NWLA)
was formed to assist breeders in the region with education,
marketing, networking and sales cooperatives.
Gordon Lenhard of Colville, WA, currently serves as president of
the NWLA. He says he and his wife have technically been raising
Lowlines for three years. But he adds that as a third generation
Angus breeder, he has photos of Angus that his grandfather,
uncle and father raised back in the 1940’s and those were the
original “Lowlines.”
Lenhard sought out the Lowline
genetics three years ago for their calving ease. He used a
half-blood Lowline bull out of an Angus cow to breed his heifers
too. Today, he runs over 100-head of percentage Lowline mother
cows, and has two fullblood Lowline cows that are flushed for
embryos.
Lenhard counts the calving ease,
ability to downsize frame and lower feed costs as the attributes
of the Lowline breed. He says, “They are more efficient. I’m
trying to build a herd that can make me money as a commercial or
purebred producer.”
Of the NWLA’s efforts, Lenhard
says right now the focus is on promoting the cattle at fairs and
getting information about the breed out to commercial and
registered producers. In early September, the Northwest Lowline
Classic was held in Spokane with 85 head shown – making it the
second largest Lowline show behind the National Western Stock
Show. Lenhard says the NWLA is discussing hosting a Lowline sale
with the show in 2010.
He concludes that there are a lot of positives for the breed and
it has a bright future. He adds that once people learn about the
Lowline breed, “The cattle sell themselves.”
Here, three additional breeders
share why they’ve begun raising the Lowline breed as well.
Ankeny Acres, Bruce & Greta Ankeny - Nampa, ID
Small frame size, heavy-muscled and efficient. Those are the
characteristics Bruce and Greta Ankeny felt were important when
they got into the livestock business in 1985. They began with a
flock of Polled Dorset sheep and have earned a reputation across
the nation for their sheep’s true Dorset character.
Having both been raised with
cattle – Greta on a ranch in northern California and Bruce on a
diversified irritated farm in southwestern Idaho, the couple
decided in early 2000 that they’d like to add cattle to their
repertoire as well.
They did some research, as they
looked for a breed with a bright future – and Lowline Angus was
their breed of choice.
The Ankeny’s tell that their
reasons for selecting this breed were many: 1) The coming demand
on energy products; 2) The growing trent of the grass finishing
type cattle; and 3) The idea of making profit of production.
The duo adds, “Lowlines also fit
with our sheep philosophy of smaller, heavy muscled, efficient.”
The fact that the Lowlines were
from the original Angus stock purchased by the Australians in
the 1920’s and 30’s also influenced their decision. Bruce says,
“I purchased my first 4-H Angus heifer in 1957, and the first
Lowlines we saw were a mirror image of the cattle I had as a
kid. The Angus cattle I had as young boy had a great influence
on me; so in some ways the Lowlines brought me back to my
childhood.”
The Ankeny’s purchased their
first Lowlines in 2002. Today, Bruce runs their livestock farm
which also includes a hay brokerage and delivery business, while
Greta works as an elementary principal and helps on the farm
where she can.
Bruce goes on to explain that
Ankeny Acres is a livestock operation based around irrigated
pastures. “We believe in maintaining the livestock in as close
to a natural environment as possible,” he says.
Of the Lowlines, he says, “We
were interested in the feed efficiency that they offered and
their ability to finish on grass or forage rather than high
energy grains. We knew we would be swimming upstream because of
the packer-influenced livestock culture of bigger is better.”
The Ankeny’s say their goal is to raise Lowline cattle that do
well on forage only.” In today’s high grain prices and the grass
finished beef industry growing at 20% per year we think we’re in
the right groove.,” says the couple.
They sell Fullblood and
Percentage Lowline Breeding Stock, calving ease heifer bulls for
commercial herd use, and grass finished beef. Some of their
cattle have been rated as perfect grass finish genetics, and the
meat they sell has rated on the level of gourmet.
Their newest venture is the breed up of Purebred Red Lowlines.
To do this they are using purebred Red Poll cattle and their new
Red Lowline herd sire ‘Red Baron’ – who was imported from
Australia. He offers a Fullblood outcross and in DNA testing had
4 genetic marker stars for tenderness and 8 genetic marker stars
for feed efficiency.
Bruce and Greta like to say
Ankeny Acres is the “Home of Blue Collar Genetics,” because they
says that is the easiest way of stating their farm’s mission.
“In today’s world of high profile show livestock, we feel we
bring a fresh, down-to-earth approach to the purebred livestock
industry – whether it be our traditional Polled Dorset sheep,
Lowline Angus cattle or the grass finished beef we market,” says
the couple.
For more information visit www.ankenyacres.com.
Green Valley Enterprises Leslie Boyle/Barry Swenson -
Alturas, CA
Green Valley Enterprises owner Barry Swenson noticed a trend at
steakhouses that sent him seeking smaller framed cattle. He
observed that when his meal arrived, the steak and potato
couldn’t fit on the same plate. Thus, he concluded that beef had
become too big, and that the direction the beef cattle operation
needed to go was to smaller cattle.
After much research, Swenson and
his team at Green Valley Enterprises concluded that the best
option for quickly decreasing frame size while maintaining a
quality beef product was with the Lowline Angus. Swenson had
been to Australia many times during the Royal shows and the
Lowline cattle in Australia consistently won the taste testing
competitions.
Green Valley Enterprises
purchased their first Lowlines in 2005. Today, the Green Valley
operation has approximately 25 “fullblood” mother cows, who
produce the “fullblood” bull requirements for the operation.
The operation also has
approximately 200 head of purebred Angus cows that are breed
each year to Lowline bulls to produce half-blood cattle, and
approximately 150 head of half- blood cows and heifers are bred
back to half-blood bulls.
Green Valley Enterprises is
managed by Sid Howard, along with two cowboys, Jeremy “Bear”
Joanette and Dale McKee, who are on the ground (and horseback)
with the fullblood and commercial herds every day.
Leslie Boyle, who oversees
marketing for Green Valley Enterprises, says, “We have found
that using Lowline bulls – either fullblood or half-blood – on
our commercial heifers has virtually eliminated calving
problems. It is very rare that a heifer ever has a problem
calving. The heifers tend to breed back quicker also, as they
have had very little stress during calving. One other advantage
with the Lowline bulls is that the gestation period is about 7
to 14 days shorter, so that gives the heifers a bit more time
before rebreeding also.”
In regard to marketing, Boyle
says Green Valley Enterprises is still building their Lowline
herd, so they have not actively tried to sell heifers or cows.
They do sell Lowline fullblood and half-blood bulls to
commercial ranches for use on their replacement heifers. They’ve
also been selling steers in to the natural grass fat market.
“We’ve very pleased with the
half- blood steers ability to finish on grass without ‘yellow
fat.’ The cattle marble very well and put on minimal backfat,”
Boyle says.
Green Valley has also been
involved with some youth shows. Local 4-H and FFA members are
given the opportunity to apply for two half-blood Lowline steers
each fall. The winning recipient takes his or her steers in
November, and raises them for sale for the Jr. Livestock show
and sale in June. The kid that raised the steers gets to show
both animals, and then decides which animal they wish to sell
for their own profit. The other steer is sold and proceeds go to
the Jr. Livestock show board for whatever improvements need to
be made at the show grounds.
Last year was the inaugural year
with this program, and each steer placed 1st in their weight
division – and graded Prime when ultrasounded, and they placed
3rd and 4th directly behind the Grand Champion and Reserve Grand
Champion animals. “We were very pleased at how well these
animals competed with the larger commercial type steers that
they showed against,” Boyle says.
Another nice surprise, the two
steers came in under budget by half of the expected cost to
finish based on the 4-H’ers previous traditional steer projects.
“This provides a bit of insight into the efficiency of these
cattle,” Boyle adds.
Looking forward, Boyle says the
focus for Green Valley Enterprises is to continue to move more
of the commercial herd in the direction of the half-blood
Lowlines “The success of the program so far is testament to the
commercial viability of the Lowline and half-blood cattle,”
Boyle says.
Boyle concludes, “I believe the
breed offers an option for cattle operations that are looking
for ease of calving while still maintaining a viable beef
carcass, and also a great way to begin downsizing operations
with large frame cows that are needing to frame down a bit.”
California Lowline Cattle Company, John and Nadine de Bruin -
Santa Barbara, CA
John de Bruin admits that he grew up on Louis L’Amour novels and
always wanted to be a cowboy someday. He was able to convince
his wife of 38 years how much fun it would be, so today the
couple is hard at work establishing a quality herd of Lowlines
on their California ranch.
The couple has two adult children
and five grandchildren, so they bought a small ranch 45 minutes
north of Santa Barbara and started raising commercial cattle.
But the smaller breeds of cattle – breeds that were more people
friendly, better suited to a smaller ranch like theirs and
finish well on grass as opposed to grain – soon caught their
attention. “The Lowline breed fit us to a T,” says John.
The couple says they have always
been health conscious and thus, raising premium grassfed beef
appealed to them.
In 2005 they purchased their
first Lowlines, and today their herd has grown to about 75 head
of full bloods, five half-bloods, and 50 full size recipient
cows. “We are committed cattle ranchers seeking excellence in
our cattle as proven by their performance in hows and their
superiority in quality as demonstrated at the dinner table,”
John says.
They report that the quality of
the Lowline meat and its taste is outstanding. Their focus is on
grassfed, all natural beef that they finish themselves. “At no
time during the finishing process do we use any grains, animal
byproducts or hormones to add weight. Lowlines marble well on
grass and do not need grain to achieve a superior taste,” John
explains. The de Bruin’s raise five different grasses to feed
their animals. He rotates the herd on seasonal, native pastures
as well as growing additional feed in the winter season to feed
his animals during the dry California summers.
John and Nadine offer their
Lowline beef for sale on their website as individual cuts or
quarters or you can visit them at the Goleta Farmer’s Market
every Sunday. They are known as “DeyDey’s Best Beef Ever” - a
name the five grandchildren call John and the beef he grows.
John and Nadine intend to become a premier supplier of all
natural grassfed beef for their local community.
John attributes their success
with Lowlines to a focus on the basics – award winning genetics,
the gentleness of the breed, and the natural nutrition program
he uses to raise their herd. Their herd sires include several
champions at the National Western Stock Show and other
prestigious events. Having been an engineer, John likes to
utilize genetic marker DNA test data from Gene-Star as a means
for selecting Lowline genetics that are predisposed to marbling
and tenderness. He also places great emphasis on superior
conformation.
The de Bruins offer a full line
of full blood bulls, heifers, embryos and semen as well as
pregnant recipient cows for sale private treaty. California
Lowline Cattle Company will be participating at the Lowline show
and consignment sale held at the Denver National Stock Show in
January 2010.
John concludes, “We have a
careful selection program in place of those animals which
conform to the highest standards of the Lowline breed.” And for
him and Nadine, raising Lowlines has been as wonderful of an
adventure as any Louis L’Amour novel.
For more information visit www.californialowlines.com.
Lowline History
The first Lowline was imported to the United States from
Australia in 1996.
Lowline cattle closely resemble their ancestors, the Aberdeen
Angus but are about 30% smaller. Lowlines are not a dwarf breed.
Instead they were intentionally bred down in size as part of a
nineteen year study conducted by the Trangie Research Center in
Australia.
The animals selected for the
study were originally derived from the best Angus stock imported
to the research center beginning in 1929 for the purpose of
developing a high quality commercial export market. By the early
1960’s, the Trangie Research Center had accomplished their goal
with herds firmly established throughout Australia and nearby
regions, and a strong Japanese export market.
The additional research that
ultimately produced the Lowline breed began in 1974 and was
conducted for 19 years within a closed herd selected from
Trangie’s large herd of Champion Angus cattle. The purpose of
the study was to determine whether larger or smaller cattle were
more efficient converters of grass to beef. The closed herd was
split into 3 groups, one called Lowline.
The study concluded that the
overall efficiency of the cattle as grass converters was
essentially the same between larger and smaller animals –
interesting data considering that Lowlines are shorter, eat less
and require less acreage.
Towards the end of the trial a
group of interested cattlemen persuaded the Department of
Agriculture to sell the Lowline cattle on the open market. On
August 8, 1992, 9 bulls, 23 heifers and 7 cows were sold to 7
purchasers. They then formed the Australian Lowline Cattle
Association. The complete dispersal sale followed on October 30,
1993 where 20 bulls were sold, together with 44 cows and 51
heifers.
For more facts and history visit
www.usa-lowline.org
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