This year I produced a Corriente X Star bull calf that was born on March 31, 2018. This is an excellent cross for using as a breeding bull where forage quality is a real issue. He has a good conformation, is deep-gutted and is very gentle. This bull is also out of one of my best cows – LR Dusty who is 11 and one tough cow. She has raised a good calf every years since she was a 2 year-old.

Here are photos of the bull calf and of Dusty. He will be ready to sell in November. Contact me by email (slukefahr@gmail.edu) or phone (361-219-0382) if you have any questions. The best offer will be accepted.

For ranchers who want to breed cattle that are both heat tolerant and drought adapted, here is a great opportunity. Dr. Jerry Underbrink (a local veterinarian from the Kingsville area) has for sale several excellent Star-sired heifers out of Beefmaster cows. Two years ago, Jerry was interested in purchasing a Star bull that he could breed to his heifers and not worry about pulling calves. I sold him Bull LR 18-2015 who was in the upper 1 percentile for low birth weight Epds! Long story short, his Star bull produced small calves weighing approximately 50 pounds that were “up and running” within minutes of birth. Now several of these heifer calves are for sale. They were born between Feb. 15 and March 25. These heifers are super gentle and easy to manage. If interested please directly contact Jerry’s herd manager, Bobby Bennett, at (361)459-9043. The first photo is of their sire, LR 18-2015 as a two year-old at the time of purchase, followed by his photo pedigree.

Photos of dams of bull calves that will be sold for breeding have just been posted to this website at the Bulls for Sale page.

Photo taken at about 4:00 at a temperature between 104 and 105 degrees of Star cattle grazing.

While doing a deeper literature search on the Tuli breed, I came across a video: Cattle Out of Africa (1990). It is very well done and includes interviews with the Australian scientists who collected the embryos in Zimbabwe and later produced Tulis in Australia, which were later compared to the performances of other breeds. Today the Tuli breed is credited for making a major impact on the Australian beef industry through its use in developing new composite breeds that are more heat and disease resistant. Here is the video link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKy0M0axO1I&feature=youtu.be. I have also added this link at the Purebred Reference Sires page in the Tuli breed section.

For 2018 the overall cow and heifer pregnancy rate was 95.1%. Over 90% of the cows conceived in their first heat cycle, despite the brutally high temperature and humidity levels during the breeding season (mid-July through August). Cows at Lukefahr Ranch are not pampered; if they do not adapt they are culled. In 2017 the average feed cost per cow was $4.04. No hay was fed during the winter. The photo features a Star cow with her Mashona-sired heifer calf.

This past Sunday, I observed a Star heifer birth her calf. She was bred to a Star bull. I kept track of the time from when she first broke her water until the calf was nursing. This whole process took less than 30 minutes. In fact, she laid down only once and contracted a few times. The calf weighed 57 pounds. It was up and nursing in no time. Of course, big calves at birth are usually sore and are less thrifty at birth. One yearling bull is for sale (#23). He weighed 55 pounds at birth and has a -5.3 birth weight EPD, ranking the highest of all bull calves born last year. He is featured at the Bulls for Sale page.