Dayspring Cattle

22/05/2026

It was spring hay field fertilizing time. We received 3/8” over a few days earlier this week which was our first measurable rain this year. We do have some remnant moisture a bit deeper from our somewhat limited snowfall but looking for some appreciable moisture soon.

We applied our usual amount of P, K & S to keep the plants healthy but cut our nitrogen by a third to 20 lbs/acre.

19/05/2026

13/05/2026

Thought this was very insightful. Sometimes coffee shop bragging rights don’t make for real life success.

Everyone notices the sale day “wow” bull. Big topped, heavy weaning weight, extra shape, the one everyone stands around talking about.

If that’s the bull you take home, set your expectations early. He’s a high-end performance bull. If you’re also expecting longevity, you’re often asking for two different breeding goals in one package.

A lot of those big-performance bulls come from young cows in their peak—lots of milk, lots of power, and a little more edge.

Longevity usually comes from the older cows—the ones that never missed, never came up open, and never needed excuses. They just bred back, raised a calf, and stayed.

Buy the wow bull for what he is—not what you hope he becomes. High-performance and longevity come from different selection pressure, and they rarely show up in the same package.

11/05/2026

Historically seedstock breeders & their associations have been possessive of their information. Some still are. The primary reason was to promote individual breed & breeder sales. This lack of available information inhibited leverage of the possibilities presented through heterosis.

These walls are coming down. IGS (International Genetic Solutions) has worked with many cattle breed associations to pool their data bases creating a substantially larger & more effective data base. Analyzing seedstock data by academia goes back more than a century in an attempt to better understand & implement improvements. Thanks to this foundation of well developed knowledge, dedicated academia & breed associations along with the computing power available today across breed EPDs are now available.

This is a very important development regarding cattle breeding & the practical use of a tremendous amount of data allowing commercial cattle producers to make better informed decisions. Within the partner breeds of IGS you can now directly compare EPDs across the different breeds represented.

Canadian breed partners: Canadian Gelbvieh Association, Canadian Shorthorn Association, Canadian Simmental Association, Canadian Angus Association, Canadian Limousin Association, Salers Association of Canada, Canadian Speckle Park Association

Through pooling information, the International Genetic Solutions offers better selection tools to seedstock breeders and the beef industry.

08/05/2026

It's statistics time. This one is the most important for us as this is when we get yearling weights. At this time we again consider which animals will be carried forward for breeding purposes.

We use the adjusted calculations produced when we enter the information into the Canadian Gelbvieh Assoc. Digital Beef program. Adjusted weights are best for in-herd comparison. The adjusted weights attempt to lessen the bias towards older calves that actual weights on a given day would.

Bull calves average: 1042 lbs
High weight: 1130 lbs (96 lb BW, 733 lb adj WW)
Low weight: 913 lbs (69 lb BW, 610 lb adj WW)
Bull calves were grown out over the winter on good quality hay & a modest amount of 16% Right Way (zero grain starch) pellets.

Heifer calves average: 782 lbs
High weight: 860 lbs (86 lb BW, 648 lb adj WW)
Low weight: 605 lbs (80 lb BW, 563 lb adj WW)
Heifer calves were grown out over the winter on good quality hay.

05/05/2026

Our two walking herd bulls represented in the ‘26 calf crop.

Our second year with FRSQ 39L calves hitting the ground. We are impressed with the ‘25 calves sired by this easy calving cow bull & looking forward to this years.

https://cdgv.digitalbeef.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=_animal&file=_animal&animal_registration=CDGV184278

7T Cattle, Adam, is looking forward to the first AJN 9L calves hitting the ground. He is an easy calving bull Adam used on both heifers & cows.

https://cdgv.digitalbeef.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=_animal&file=_animal&animal_registration=CDGV184232

02/05/2026

And we are started. Our first calf of 2026. Not sure if it’s a heifer or bull calf as we didn’t want disturb this first time new mother & calf in this critical period. Might have cut our preparation for calving a little close to the line but all seems well. We think it should be Shorthorn (BigTicket) sired but unsure because of the more solid colour.

01/05/2026

Calving season has arrived here. We are ready & thankful for the beautiful spring weather that has also arrived. The shelter is ready in case we get wet and/or cool weather. The emergency tote is ready to go. This year we are going to give Inforce 3 nasal vaccine & Vitaferst-Care oral selenium/vitamins when we weigh the newly born calves after they get their fill of colostrum. And oh ya - the mornings coffee will be a notch or two stronger after a 2am check of the heifers.

Looking forward to what this years calves bring. Sires represented will be: AJN 9L (63%, homo polled, homo black, calving ease), FRSQ 39L (red, homo polled, calving ease cow bull), STON Jackson (red, homo polled, performance), SLC Swagger (red, homo polled, cow maker), DSP 3H (hetro black, homo polled, calving ease cow bull) & of course there will be a few calving ease Shorthorn hybrids.

08/04/2026

Gate. Slightly bent but should be good for salvage parts. At least the chain.

Having mature bulls around the yard this time of year can be a pain. Soon they’ll be Ponoka pasture bound to wander & graze until they’re needed in August.

27/03/2026

Thank you to our buyers in the Gelbvieh Logic Bull Sale.

Lot #12: B & R Ranch, Barry & Robin Mader, Pritchard, BC
Long established Gelbvieh breeders.

Lot #13: Taylor Farms, Larry & Sandra Taylor, Stoney Plain, AB
Multiple time repeat buyers.

We are grateful for your trust in our program & look forward to the impact these bulls will have in your operation.

25/03/2026

Thank you very much to all who expressed interest, inquired & viewed our bulls with a special thanks to those who bid & bought.

We appreciate each & every one.