Bull Genetics, EPDs & the Business Behind Riverbend Ranches with Chris Howell

And it just goes

back to the reputation that you built for yourself and what you did on the database there at Riverbend and getting that relationship with those customers.

You mentioned earlier about procuring your bulls for your family ranch.

That's what I see pretty neat with guys like yourself and Dennis and some of these other reps that have that relationship with their customers on genetic choices, bull choices, and how that looks to better their program, to better their end results.

And I think that's where you see tying the seed stock side with the commercial side and where that advice comes from and who it comes from and what that looks like.

So when you're doing that, what do you, I guess, what do you look for? And I know you're at Riverbend, you sell a lot of Riverbend bulls, but kind of what are you looking for? Is it different for each cow herd? Is it different for each management practice? What does that look like?

It really is different from everybody's perspective, right? I mean, Um, I think that's where marrying between a seed stock operation and commercial operations really happens is what guys are looking for, for them, for value, right? Um, what we talk about, you know, when I talk to commercial cow calf guys, what we're a lot of it is, is how can we create value for what you're trying to do in, in the marketing aspect? But the bulls are, and genetics are a huge opportunity in that, in that, in creating value.

Not only in, you know, genetic programs such as Riverbender 44 Farms, right? But also in like creating a product that's going to work for you and your environment, right? What I've found and saw a lot of times is commercial, there's some really good commercial cow-calf producers, but they think about marketing one or two times a year.

They think about genetic selection once a year when the sale catalog shows up and that's where they buy bulls from, right? Whatever place that is.

And there's not necessarily as big of a management choice all the time in what they're trying to do.

Most of our cow-calf producers are really good at managing grass, managing the environment to the best of their ability, managing all the small stuff that make their operation successful on a day-to-day basis.

But they don't necessarily think as much about the marketing of their cattle or opportunity and what genetics can do for what they're trying to buy, whether they are looking at a maternal, trying to create a little bit more of a maternal herder or looking at it as an opportunity for, you know, a marbling opportunity in selling the calves or something in that regard.

Well, I think you're touching on something that brings value from somebody in your position, whether that's repping cattle or whether that's working for a seed stock operator, is providing that insight, providing that information to a producer so that they can make an informed decision.

One of the questions I've always had in the seed stock industry, I kind of relate it to the horse industry.

I know the difference between a $600 horse and a $6,000 horse, but I've never known the difference between a $6,000 horse and like a $40,000 horse.

Like, what's the difference? So when I think about the seed stock industry, When you're talking about offering value and maybe that producer knows what they're looking for in a trade to add to their herd, how do they know how much value to attach to that? So if they're looking for a trade and that bull trade is bringing like 20,000, like where's that value coming from? How do they know how to attach value to that? You

know, that's a good question.

And it's kind of hard to see sometimes too, right? I mean, guys look at it and they're not, you know, recently, as this markets really went up, they look at it and say, Oh, man, I guess I'm gonna have to pay 12 or $15,000 for my bulls this year versus, you know, two years ago paying nine, you know, and so part of it is related to market value, right.

But a lot of guys look at it, and they really do look at the perspective of what they think they need into, you know, I always promote not single, you know, try not to just select on a single tray, right? You know, and, and so trying to promote, like looking at it as a larger picture of what you're trying to do for the whole program and what you can try to, what you're trying to accomplish for the whole program.

And so, and then after that, then I just start saying, Hey, there's levels of different bowls that you can look at and say, okay, well, if I'm, if I'm really looking at this type of bowl, this is what it's going to cost.

And a lot of guys, The value at Riverbend is a lot of guys looked at it and said, hey, I understand the value that I'm creating by buying bulls from this program, right? And it obviously was a genetic value, but then there was also the marketing value that Riverbend offered on top of what they were doing.

It all goes back to the end result, in my opinion.

Okay, how do you differentiate what that end result's going to be? Well, what can this bull offer my cow herd to make that end result better? What genetics or what EPDs do I need to look at to make these cattle grow faster, get big enough, grade better? hang better? What does that look like? And what are those genetics look like? So, I mean, it's all an informed decision.

And that's what's so good about knowledge is king here.

So getting somebody like Chris and some of these other guys to go around and buy these bulls and know the deal, know the programs, that knowledge is king to ask them their advice.