Maine Education Thank You

I want to give a huge thanks to all the people that attended Maine Education on Saturday. Your participation made the event a big success. Thank you to all the sponsors and donors who were able to raise a significant amount of money for the TMAA and their contributions to youth activities.

I also want to thank all those that took advantage of our Montego Bay semen special we offered at Maine Education.

Welcome Home

After about 9 months of breeding heifers and cows, Montego Bay came home. This picture is of him at 27 months, right out of the pasture, with no clip job. Won't find many purebred Maine bulls looking this good at this age. Did I mention he did all this in the worst drought in Texas history!

Montego Bay Semen Special

The shareholders of Montego Bay are going to offer a special deal for all those that make an order for Montego Bay semen at Maine Education on September 24th. This will be a one-day-only price of $15/unit with no minimum or maximum purchase.

Contact Zane, or stop by the ZNT display to make your order. Semen will be on hand for those that want to pick up that day.

Montego Bay Calves Arriving

The time has finally arrived. Montego Bay offspring are hitting the ground this fall calving season. Reports have been good. Calves have low birthweights, hairy, and have a solid color pattern. None of the calves have been assisted at birth so far out of either first or second calf heifers.

Check out this 2 day old bull calf out of a Wisdom x Parker first calf heifer. He had a 64# BW.









Stay tuned for more Montego Bay offspring reports as they come in.

1st Montego Bay Born

Just got a text from a breeder that just had the first Montego Bay calf born.

"My wife just called and we had our first calf of the year- a Montego Bay out of a solid black Golden Child. She said it looks good" - Robert Chambers

The calf was born unassisted out of a Golden Child second calf heifer.

Lots of Montego Bay's coming this fall, so watch for more reports as they hit the ground.

Maine Education

As many of you know, I was elected to as the Vice President of the Texas Maine Anjou Association earlier this year, but you may not know that I was also made head of the Education Committee for the Association. As a result, MAINE EDUCATION was created.

Maine Education was inspired by my good friend, Chad Hull of Hull Show Cattle, and was created for 3 reasons. First of all, it was designed to provide an educational experience not only to the junior exhibitors of Maine Anjou cattle here in Texas, but for all cattle exhibitors both young and old of all breeds. Second, it serves as a forum to bring together the junior exhibitors and the breeders of Maine Anjou cattle in the State of Texas in one location. Lastly, it proves an event with a large gathering to raise money for the TMAA to fulfill their obligation to support the National Jr. Maine Anjou Show and provide scholarships to the youth.

MAINE EDUCATION OVERVIEW

What:   The event will include:

• Grooming/Fitting demo provided by Sullivan Supply's “Stock Show U”
• Showmanship demo by the Allgood family
• Speakers from the National Maine Anjou Office
• Free t-shirts 
• Free BBQ dinner provided by Martindale Feed Mill
• Great prizes to be raffled off, INCLUDING a heifer that is donated by Jerry Gibson of 4J Family Partnership
• Several booths will be set up by our sponsors, and cattle will be on display from several of our members of the TMAA.

When: September 24th, 2011. Registration will take place from noon to 1pm, with clinics to follow. Dinner around 5-6pm, along with social and a live fundraiser auction afterward, with proceeds going toward the National Jr. Maine Anjou Show and scholarships provided by the TMAA.

Where: Salt Creek Arena in Boyd, TX. Arena is located just South of the intersection of HWY 114 and FM 51 approximately 10 miles South of Decatur, TX, 25 miles North of Weatherford, TX, and 25 miles Northwest of Ft. Worth. Plenty of affordable lodging is available in Decatur, Rhome, and Weatherford.

Cost: FREE, and all youth that attend will receive a raffle ticket for great prizes and the possibility of winning a heifer. Must be present to win! Additional raffle tickets can be purchased by youth, adults, or clubs.

Who: Open to all youth and adults involved in the cattle industry. FFA chapters and 4-H clubs encouraged to attend.

For the latest updates, check out the Maine Education Website or follow Maine Education on Facebook.

Make sure you mark you calendars for September 24th! I really look forward to seeing y’all there.

With any questions, feel free to reach me on my cell 817-233-9357 or by email: zntcattle@gmail.com

Gestation Table for Cattle

I know there are several different places you can find Gestation Tables, but I just thought I would share the link I use regularly to determine calving dates when I am making my breeding plans. Thank you Becky at Showsteers.com for providing such a good resource.

http://www.showsteers.com/NAV/gestation.htm

Thank You to Cattle.com

Thank you to Jeff at www.cattle.com for being our all-time biggest referring site to ZNT Cattle Co. You have a great site filled with the commentary on the latest sires and happenings in the cattle world.  I suggest your site to anyone involved in the cattle industry.

Heat Detection in Cattle (Video)

I have put together a short video demonstrating the 3 stages of estrus in cattle.  Many may think this is very basic information, but I remember years ago when we synchronized our first set of cow, and I didn't have a clue what exactly I was looking for when I was sent out to "heat check."

Ideally, a heifer or cow should be inseminated 10 hrs after standing heat ends.  Sounds simple??? Not really.  Cows do not tell us when they start, they don't tell us when they end, and they definitely don't wait for daylight hours to show us.  I typically like to inseminate 12-24 hrs after I observe an animal in "heat."

Here's my rule of thumb:
Heat observed between sunrise and 9am - breed between 6pm-8pm
Heat observed after 9am - breed between 6am-8am of next day

Feel free to email or call me if you have any questions.

Thanks for watching!

Triple X strikes again - Update, She's For Sale!

Update
The Kaz Family has advised me that they would be willing to sell this outstanding heifer.  She is a dual registered Mainetainer and Chimaine.  Born in April of 2010.  An opportunity to purchase a great heifer like this does not come around often.  Call me to see this heifer, and several other powerful heifer prospects.  The trip to Rhome will be worth it.

Originally Posted on Jan 5, 2010
Just had to have a little fun clipping and picturing this Triple X heifer out of a Direct Hit (Heatseeker) x Mercedes cow that was raised by the Kaz Family here in North Texas.  This mating has worked well over the last few years, but this year it really clicked.  We just bred her dam to Montego Bay today.