Married 40 years, Rob and Peggy Appleby have lived on their 120-acre farm near Conway, Mo., for the past 12 years. Around 80 head of Simmental and Gelbvieh cattle roam the family farm.
Their son and daughter started showing cattle 20 years ago. Rob explained, “Our son wanted Simmental and our daughter thought the Gelbvieh looked like teddy bears. So we’ve just stayed with those breeds.”
With years of experience in the cattle business Rob had a recommendation for someone buying cattle for the first time. “You don’t have to spend the most money to get the best genetics. You need to go around to different breeders, look at what they have and see what advice they have to offer.” He warned, “Don’t just buy the first one you see.”
Rob also advised, “Shop around and find what you like, but also put the wisdom of the breeders who have been in the business to work too, because they all have a different viewpoint.”
Their children may have selected the cattle, but Rob has maintained the herd. He said, “We like Simmental and Gelbvieh because they have very good milking ability and that relates to pounds on weaned calves.” That is profitable for everyone. He said, “whether you’re selling by the pound or you have an earlier maturing calf for re-breeding – your calves can be bred at 14 months old and they reproduce by the time they’re 2 years old. So your turn around time on investment is better.”
One thing that has lowered production costs is the size of the animal. Rob explained, “For a while, everybody got their cattle too big. It had to come full circle and come back to a moderate size animal that doesn’t take extra forage or feed.” That is very important “especially now, with today’s feed costs,” he said. “They look at what they can convert the quickest and make the most out of their animal.”
For 15 years he used only artificial insemination throughout the herd. Rob stated, “We got our genetic pool to what we liked and so we started using a bull, partly because it saves time for me.” Since Rob works in town, he has found that using a bull among his herd is more convenient with the number of cattle he owns.
Calving ease is one of the major traits that Rob looks for in herd sires. “In 20 years, I think I’ve only had to pull five calves. With the bull we’re using now, our calves range from 45 to 50 pounds. Some people think that’s a little light, but we don’t have to pull calves and they are still weaning at 600 pounds plus.”
While Rob started out with a good genetic base, he still enjoys “watching it improve and change every year.”
