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RED DIRT                           carcass yield. “There weren’t                            The Midwest Cattleman · March 9, 2023 · P34
      continued from page 33             any dark cutters. They were
                                         very satisfactory.”
      The steers gained an aver-            When asked what added
      age of three and a quarter         value the Salers influence
      pounds a day.”                     can bring to a commercial
         After the preconditioning       herd, Mike had  several an-
      period, and depending on the       swers.  The unrivaled calf
      impact of drought on avail-        vigor and excellent calving
      able wheat pasture, Mike           ease are the biggest reasons
      will graze his calves on dor-      the Mcaskills have contin-
      mant wheat for up to three-        ued to use Salers genetics for
      and-a-half months before           almost four decades.  “We’ve
      selling. When he has sold in       joked that a Salers calf will
      early March, Mike’s calves         shake his head, blow the snot
      will weigh between 850 and         out of his nose and be up to
      900     pounds.      Regardless    nurse before you can get
      of when they are sold, the         back to the pickup to get a
      calves are bunk broken and         tag,” said Mike. “I’m not sure
      feedlot-ready.                     you can really tell people and
         Though he  “prefers to let      have them believe the vigor        and gentle mother cows who  cacy  for  the  breed.  Thank
      somebody else feed them,”          of these cattle. It is really      weigh  1100-1150  pounds,  a  you, Mike.
      Mike has had success in the        something they have to expe-       perfect fit for this operation       1.  Boswell-Gore, Alisa. “West-
      past sending cattle to a feed-     rience.” The improvement in        on the southern Plains.           ern Oklahoma Faces Devastating
      lot. Several years ago, he sent    temperament over the years           The Mcaskills have had  Wheat Crop.” Milling Journal,
      a load of all-natural steers to    has also been a huge benefit.      tremendous success with  Milling Journal, 23 May 2022,
      a feedlot in Emporia, Kansas       Mike added that the Salers         Salers through the decades.       https://www.millingjournal.com/
      for the purpose of gathering       influence has produced cows        Ever humble, Mike was quick       article/273296/western-oklaho-
      carcass data. Despite some         that are gentle to the point       to express his gratitude for      ma-faces-devastating-wheat-crop.
      possible drawbacks with an         of being almost annoying.          once again being named the
      all-natural feed plan, the         “When you get out of the pick-     Salers Commercial Producer
      steers gained around three-        up, they come up to you want-      of the Year. It is an honor for
      point-six pounds per day           ing to eat out of your hand.”      the American  Salers Asso-
      and graded eighty-nine per-        Mike Mcaskill’s combination        ciation to recognize a great,
      cent Choice and Prime with         of an Angus heifer and a Sal-      knowledgeable cattleman for
      a roughly sixty-four percent       ers bull produces good, hardy,     his contribution to and advo-


















































                                                                                       Sancrest Trailer Sales
                                                                                       Billings, MO
                                                                                       417-744-2100
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