Page 26 - MWC 8-6-20s

The Midwest Cattleman · August 6, 2020 · P26
A Competitive Position for Future Success

By Megan Slater
The American Gelbvieh Balancer bulls
Association (AGA) is tasked were accept-
with providing information ed for use in
on Gelbvieh and Balancer® the Integrity
cattle and assisting mem- Beef Alliance
bers and customers with the program. The
tools to be successful in to- Integrity Beef
day’s modern beef industry. Alliance is a
Aside from this, another very program that
important role of the AGA is simplifies cow-
to continue to increase breed calf producer
acceptance and industry rel- management
evance of Gelbvieh and Bal- decisions and
ancer genetics, and ultimate- increases the
ly gain market share. This is marketabil -
why one of the primary areas ity of calves
of focus in the AGA Meeting through the
Modern Industry Demands production of
Strategic Plan is the Gelbvieh high-quality,
and Balancer breed’s compet- uniform, pre-
itive position within the beef conditioned
industry. cattle. Gelbvieh
The AGA has continued to and Balancer’s Photo - B/F Cattle Co.
see an increase in industry access into this program is “Balancer, Balancer” on the All of these things point
acceptance and demand for a small step to not only con- block on one of the biggest toward the Gelbvieh and Bal-
Gelbvieh and Balancer genet- tinuing to gain industry-wide stages in the livestock market ancer breed being in a very
ics. This can be seen in sever- acceptance, but to also gain arena. competitive position right
al different areas. market share. People have gained much now. Not only is our indus-
For example, the popularity For several years now, the more familiarity with both try acceptance increasing,
of the name Balancer is grow- AGA has grown its relation- Gelbvieh and Balancer and but Continental breeds and
ing and gaining increased ship with Superior Livestock this has increased the aware- hybrid cattle are in high de-
beef industry acceptance. Auction and other video mar- ness of the positive impacts mand right now. Those pro-
When I started with the asso- keting companies such as Gelbvieh-influenced cattle ducers who have been using
ciation nearly six short years Western Video Market and can have on all sectors of the straightbred English or even
ago, we would often get asked, Cattle Country Video to help beef industry. In fact, BEEF English x English crosses are
“What’s a Balancer?” Now promote the breed to both buy- Magazine’s 2019 Seedstock now looking to add Continen-
when we interact with people ers and sellers. Through these 100 list stated Balancers were tal into their herd, and there
in the industry, we are getting valued partnerships, we have one of only two breeds that is no better solution than Gel-
comments from producers seen a tremendous increase were offered by more S100 bvieh.
saying they’ve heard a lot of in the number of lots that are operations from year to year. The AGA has history of
good things about Balancers listed as Gelbvieh and Bal- Seedstock 100 operations being a proponent of cross-
and want more information. ancer sired rather than just marketed 32 different breeds breeding and was the first
Another example of in- Angus-cross or black-hided. and composites, of those 6% cattle breed registry to regis-
dustry acceptance happened We have also seen an increase offered Balancer and 5% of- ter hybrid cattle. In addition,
in 2018 when Gelbvieh and of the auctioneers calling out fered Gelbvieh. the AGA has also prided itself
One thing we have start- on maintaining commercial
JUG Livestock Waterers ed to see in the beef indus- focus and always wanting to
try is the overwhelming ac- serve the customer. For de-
WesLynn Enterprises ceptance of crossbreeding in cades, members of the AGA
herds throughout the coun- have been raising cattle that
try. Many producers are look- work for the commercial pro-
ing for ways to add heterosis ducer and now these genetics
and capitalize on all of the are no longer a secret. This is
benefits crossbreeding has to why the AGA and its mem-
offer. More and more buyers bers must not lose sight of
and feedyards are wanting raising quality genetics and
to know exactly what those remembering whom we are
black-hided cattle are. Feedy- here to serve, because our
Performance Tested for over 25 years ards are asking more specific time is now.
Clean Fresh Water Every Time
Open Bowl Design questions about the genetics
Draw Tube for Natural Drinking Action and management of the cat-
Feed Trap Keeps Feed out of Water Reservoir tle they are buying: Are they
No Flap, Disks or Balls for animal to move crossbred and do they have
www.weslynn.net Ph: 515-771-6036 Continental influence?