Goings on at DeBruycker Charolais

Mon 02 Sep, 2013

Goings on at DeBruycker Charolais -

Haying, Harvesting, Buying Cattle, Moving Cattle, and Preparing Cattle for Weaning

We are just coming through that time of year when everything happens at once! Running the ranch is a full-time job for our family but now, with cattle and harvesting to add to it, it’s in overdrive with all hands on deck.

Bringing up the Charolais

Raising our Charolais cattle to meet our high standards and customer expectations is not a quick process. Over the years we have put a lot of time and effort into ensuring our cattle have the best genetic makeup but, of course, the work doesn’t stop after the cow is bred or even after the calf is born.

We've just finished the preconditioning of our calves to prepare them for weaning. This vaccination, nutritional and management program keeps our young stock in the best health. Some of these calves involved in the vaccination program will be ready for our 2014's Charolais bull sale(1st Saturday in April). These purebred Charolais bull calves look great and we're already excited for the sale. Thankfully, our customers feel our genetics are second to none, so we always work hard to ensure that each calf’s condition lives up to his excellent genes.

Back on the ranch, a fairly dry summer has meant our pasture required extra careful management. We’ve moved cattle from pasture to pasture, and been fortunate enough to keep them on fairly decent grass, but it's been a struggle with little rain.

We've also been buying calves for our grass and feedlot program from customers who have purchased bulls from us. We build strong relationships with our customers and work closely with those using our carefully-crafted bloodlines.

Harvesting is a family business

Harvest time is one of the busiest times of the year and everyone gets involved. We've been harvesting our wheat and barley crop, which is no small feat. With three combine harvesters, two grain carts, four trucks, a person manning the elevator and four women keeping everyone fed, there are no idle hands this time of year. As this is a family-led business, all of us are involved, plus some key hired-help ensure the process goes smoothly.

The malt barley we raise is for top brewers Anheuser Busch and for Miller Coors. Thankfully, we have had a very good malt barley crop. The winter wheat, however, hasn’t done so well in the drought conditions and is below average. Our hay crop is average this year and we’ve been haying like crazy to get it up, too. We produce wild grass hay and alfalfa, which is all the more important when the pasture is suffering. Other ranchers in the area are in the same situation – we all need more rain!

In the next few weeks we'll be seeding winter wheat, weaning the calves off of our Charolais herd and beginning to purchase cattle for our feedlot.

To find out more about the DeBruyckers, Charolais cattle or the history of the ranch, visit www.debruyckercharolais.com