A Beef Cattle Ballet

Herford-cross heifers graze on the Bridwell West Ranch.

It’s semi-dessert country. Patches of short grass cover the rolling hills; mesquite and cholla throng the rocky draws. Despite the stillness, these plains are the stage of a choreographed balance between superior genetics and exceptional management at the Bridwell West Ranch.

The Herford-cross cow is the main actor, and the performance is spectacular.

East of the New Mexico line and north of I40, the Bridwell West Ranch is one of several ranches established by cattleman J.S. Bridwell in the 1930s and ‘40s. Ranch management created more marketable cattle when they put Red Angus bulls on Hereford females 20 years ago, notes Bridwell West Ranch Manager Mark Bowles.

“I think it’s the best move they’ve ever made, as far as the quality of the cattle and raising something people actually want,” says Bowles, who has managed the ranch for nearly 21 years. “I have no idea why the big managers chose Red Angus, but I’m glad they did. I thought it was a good choice.”

J.S. Bridwell was a famous Hereford breeder, raising 1939 World Champion Hereford bull Larry Domino. Building on those Hereford genetics, ranch management adds hybrid vigor and marketability through a Red Angus cross, says Jay Evans, who oversees two Bridwell ranches in the Panhandle.

“We had a good base Herford herd, and real good genetics there,” Evans says. “We start with a good female, and with the hybrid vigor and the quality of the R.A. Brown bulls, we’ve upgraded our herd.”

Mark Bowles manages the Bridwell West Ranch.

The Herford-cross calves sell well, specifically into Kansas and Nebraska.

“I think they are just more desirable,” Bowles notes. “The calves perform well, they grade good, and they are gentler. It is just a good outcome all the way around.”

Good bulls are expensive, but the superior genetics is quickly noticeable in the calves.

“When they are about 4 months old, you can see them blossoming,” explains Bowles, who has been buying Red Angus bulls from the R.A. Brown Ranch since 2004. “I think you have to acknowledge that. That’s why you go spend what you spend.”

“I’m a lot happier and I know Jay [Evans] is too,” Bowles shares. “He saw the difference. He’s happy with the bulls we get.”

Fertility, efficiency, and carcass performance are the traits Evans focuses on. He needs cattle to appeal to a variety of buyers.

“We’re trying to produce a quality female for our own cow herd and for sale,” Evans says, “but we are also producing quality steers that can go north and bring a premium.”

Balance is his strategy for producing these versatile cattle.

“We are about balance,” Evans explains. “We look straight across the board and try to get balance in our calving ease, fertility, carcass traits and efficiency. We try to buy a moderate framed, balanced bull. Growth is important to us, but we not just going for growth.”

Pursuit of balance allows Evans to get more performance from his first-calf heifers.

“One thing we are trying to do now is buy calving ease bulls that have balanced EPD’s so that we can use them on our heifers but then they have the quality to use in our mature cow herd,” Evans said. “That helps us with marketability. We’re really raising a quality product out of our first-calf heifers.”

Superior genetics give calves an exceptional start, but cattle must be managed well to be productive. Rangeland and cattle need to interact in a symbiotic way. Here too, balance is maintained by ranch managers.

“The guys that make it happen on the ground, that’s where a lot of the credit needs to go,” Evans reflects. “I work for them, I’m just their support system.”

At the Bridwell West Ranch, Bowles is the man on the ground. He ensures the productivity of the pastures, consisting of buffalo grass, blue and black gramma grasses and curly mesquite grass. Recently, Bowles also added man-made improvements, including 20 miles of fence, cattle handling facilities and water projects.

Though Bowles wasn’t born into ranching, he caught cattle fever in his teens. He’s been pursing the balance between conserving rangeland and producing better cattle ever since.

“I grew up in Oklahoma City. I was a city boy, but I think my heart was always at the ranch,” Bowles explains. “My uncle was the foreman of the Bridwell’s ranch in Wichita Falls. I’d go every summer and hang out, play and learn for a month or so before school started, and I just couldn’t stay away after that.”

Bowles strives to make ranching a worthwhile occupation. He has the same goal as most ranchers: produce desirable cattle for his customers so he can turn a profit. Of course, he isn’t going to make a fortune, he laughs.

“We all know that it’s a heck of a life. You aren’t going to get rich doing it but sometimes you trade happiness for dough.”

Feature as appeared in R.A. Brown Ranch 2021 Spring Newsletter. To see the original article, click here.