Rocky Meadow Farm

09/28/2026

I think the new farm hand will have to go, he takes too many naps!

09/22/2026

A rainbow when your first fall calf is born is definitely a good sign!

09/21/2026

07/24/2026

Buy a terminal bull, keep his daughters, and you will pay for it for years.

Buy a terminal bull, keep his daughters, and you will pay for it for years.

Extension guidance splits beef breeds into two jobs, and most bad breeding decisions come from asking one breed to do both.

Terminal sires are chosen for growth rate and retail product yield. Every calf gets sold. No heifers are kept back. Charolais and Limousin are the standard examples, crossed onto British cows so the calf gets growth and yield from the sire and grade from the dam.

Dual purpose breeds get used in rotational programs where some heifers are retained. Gelbvieh, Salers and Simmental are the ones commonly named there, because they carry growth without giving up milk and moderate puberty.

Maternal British breeds bring the other half. Grade, calving ease, early puberty, and daughters that hold up.

The mistake is buying a terminal bull and then keeping his daughters. You end up with a cow herd selected on growth and yield and short on milk, fertility and grade, and it takes years to breed back out of.

Do you keep replacements, or does everything ship? 👇

07/23/2026

Continental growth almost always costs you at calving, and this breed is the exception.

Most Continental breeds buy their growth with harder calvings. Salers is one of the exceptions in the research.

In U.S. Meat Animal Research Center data, calf survival to weaning tended to be higher in the breeds that needed less assistance at birth. The breeds named in that group were Hereford-Angus, Shorthorn and Salers. That is two British-type entries and one Continental.

But Salers does not sit in the British column on growth. In the MARC characterizations, calves sired by Salers, Gelbvieh, Maine-Anjou and Simmental were moderate to high in growth rate and mature size, high in lean to fat ratio, moderate in age at puberty, and moderate to high in milk production.

Salers also ranked among the top breeds for total retail product, behind Charolais, Piedmontese, Chianina and Holstein.

Growth, yield, milk, and a calf that gets up on its own. That is a rare combination, and it is why Salers turns up in rotational programs where heifers get kept back.

Ever used a Salers bull on heifers? 👇

07/11/2026

Penelope loves her alfalfa treats!

04/26/2026

This cow exemplifies the Salers breed. Her first calf was up and nursing shortly after birth yesterday. Both are out with the rest of the herd today. I’m always impressed with the maternal values and calf vigor of the Salers breed.