Cattle genetics raise the steaks and that’s no bull! 

By Jim Bridges / Signals contributor

A number of interesting occupations are represented in Lake Tansi Village. Some belong to retirees while others are associated with residents still working. One in the latter category is Jack Looney, who is manager of a cattle farm in partnership with his brother, Tom Looney. The cattle you might have seen in the pasture across Cherokee Trail from the spa are part of their herd. The pasture is behind the residence of Tom and his wife, Ann.

The brothers grew up in the Homestead community, where their farming efforts helped finance their college education at the University of Tennessee. They began a cow-calf operation in 1972 and have been partners ever since. At first, they sold their calves through the local feeder-calf sales. At one time, their herd numbered 225 mama cows, but is now 175. For several years they raised mostly Angus cattle. They saw the need to get more production in their cattle for more weight, and in 1984 they bought their first hybrid Angus bull. The actual breed of cattle is called Chiangus (key-Angus), a composite of Chianina and Angus.

Jack and Tom live and breathe by their motto, “We keep the best and feedlot the rest.” The best cattle are kept on the farm for replacement or sale. Their business philosophy, “End product dictates genetic beginning,” is as evident in their cowherd as on their business cards. Good genetics on the front makes good end products, beef that is tender and flavorful and high quality. They focus on utilizing the most humane practices to produce a quality product while increasing profitability. Three steps they’ve taken in this direction include upgrading genetics, a sound nutritional program and retaining ownership in their calves at the feedlot. Jack said they try to follow usable research information available from land grant institutions in all phases of their operation. While Jack is on the farm, Tom is out selecting the genetics. He serves on the board of directors of the American Chiangus Association.

With a large operation like Looney Farms, good and accurate records are essential. This follows the old farming adage that “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” It begins with an ear tag, something a new calf receives shortly after birth. The calf is assigned a sheet in their records book. The information entered on the sheet includes tag number, sire, dam, sex, birth date and weight. When Jack sees an animal being bred, he enters the date in a gestation calendar as well as the tag number of the mama and the tag number of the bull. The gestation period for cattle is nine months (283 days) the same as for humans. Jack will look for a missing cow if she is due to give birth.

Mature bulls (three years plus) can handle up to 70 mama cows. Younger bulls (up to two years of age) can suitably handle up to about 20 cows. Bulls are turned out in January. Calves begin arriving in mid-October. This time frame was selected because October is our driest month. Calves born in a dry period are not as likely to contract pneumonia or viral infections. Calves can survive cold weather but not when it is also wet. A typical calf weighs 80 pounds while a low weight is considered 65-70 pounds.

I asked Jack how long a cow is referred to as a calf and he said until it is two years old; then it called a mama cow. A calf will reach puberty and can be bred when it is 14-15 months old. It will have calved by 24 months and then is called a cow. They expect the cow to conceive and have another calf within twelve months. A heifer is a female cow not in production. When it is ready for breeding it is said to come into heat. The term standing heat means she will accept a bull.

When I met Jack at one of their barns it was feeding time. Mamas and calves waiting for the feed to be put out were very quiet. But I heard a lot of bawling coming from an adjoining lot. Jack said it was a group of calves being weaned from their mamas. Calves nurse for six to eight months. He said they are initiating early weaning at five to six months.

After feeding we went to a holding area where Jack introduced me to their “herd bull,” the primary bull used to breed mama cows. In an adjacent area were a number of young bulls. Next he showed me a headlock device that holds the animal safely and securely by the neck. Some of its uses include giving preventative shots, treating wounds and attaching the ear tags. If he thinks a newborn calf hasn’t nursed he will put the mama in the head lock and put the young calf in to nurse. He will put an animal in to trim the hair at the end of its tail. If the end of the tail gets wet it can freeze and a mud ball can form there. He uses the headlock when vaccinating all their cattle. Blackleg is a highly fatal disease of young cattle caused by bacteria clostridium chauvoei. If the mama has cholosterum, the calf gets its immunity to blackleg and other various disorders through her milk. Vaccinating produces anti-bodies which reduces fatalities to less than one per cent.

At the first of this article I mentioned that Looney Farms keeps the best and feeds the rest. Included in the best is “seed stock,” those kept for replacement to make future mama cows. The feeding part refers to a feed lot. Looney Farms uses one located in Nebraska. Jack said they send calves to the feedlot when they are eight to 12 months of age. Typically they weigh 600-650 pounds. At the feed lot they are taught to eat and drink from troughs. During their 180 or so days there, they will gain an average of three-and-a-half-pounds a day. At the feeding lot, their cattle stay in a group. When they are harvested the average weight is 1,250-1,350 pounds, doubling their weight when they arrived. Approximately 60-65 percent of this weight is usable for food use; the remainder is used for byproducts.

Earlier we learned about the record kept on every cow. Additional information entered on each cow’s sheet in the book includes the weight of the calf at weaning, dates and types of vaccinations, regular feed, date put on dry feed prior to being shipped to feed lot, weight at time of shipping and date shipped.

Something Looney Farms does that other operators don’t do is they retain ownership of the calves at the feed lot. They buy the feed and pay the feed lot to feed their cattle. They insist on humane conditions at all times in all places. Jack closely monitors weather forecasts so when it is time to ship calves to the feed lot the trip will be made during as good weather conditions as possible. Nebraska winters can be harsh; cattle grow a heavy hair coat to help them withstand the frigid conditions. Fortunately, it is a dry cold.

Here is something Jack told me that you will find interesting. Animals have a swirl in the hair on their face. If the swirl is located between their eyes or in the middle below their eyes, they are docile. If the swirl is located in the middle of their face but above their eyes they are more likely to be high strung. So if you approach a herd of cattle out in a pasture, the first cow to rear its head and look around or the first one to move away probably has a swirl above its eyes. When high-strung cattle go to a feedlot, they will probably have a tendency to move away when feed is brought out and will probably be late in eating. This results in less weight gain than the other cattle and means the quality of their meat will not be the best. As oxymoronic as it may sound, bad dispositions have a zero tolerance at the Looney Farm. Thus, the high-strung cattle do not stay around, no matter how good they may otherwise be. As a result, their Chiangus cattle are docile, and that single trait goes a long way towards producing a quality end product.

On a lighter note, they have had inquiries from individuals locally desiring to secure a one-quarter or one-half beef for their freezers. The beef in this case is fed under their management and processed locally. Think about it — outdoor grilling season isn’t too far away.

 

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