Should I Buy a Club Calf?
Every Fall we get the opportunity to visit with new families who are just getting started with showing cattle. It can be intimidating and nerve-wracking for them because they don’t understand what they are doing and for many of them the question in their minds is “Should I buy a club calf?”
Parents want the best for their kids, particularly if there is an investment involved. By the end of this post, you should have a better understanding of what a club calf is and the value of a little added investment. So let’s start by defining the term club calf.
What is a Club Calf?
This term is used in many different ways and interchangeably with words like show steer or show cattle. Pretty sure it’s not in the dictionary. So what does it mean to you? It simply means that breeders have focused specifically on the genetics of the cattle they raise to do one specific thing. The good ones are bred for muscle, structure and eye appeal. Certainly, disposition and appetite come into play as well.
Calf on the Run
No joke, my dad was always looking for a good deal. One of my first memories of Frank was my dad talking to Matt MacFarlane and Frank at our county fair. He was looking for my next steer and I just knew my dad was whipping out his famous line.
“I want one cheap but good.”
– Dad
Eye roll!!
This was coming off of the year that we’d picked my steer out of a group of Hereford pairs that were literally running across the irrigated pasture. “I want that one,” I said of the calf that was darker red and at the back of the herd of sprinters. Oh, the joys of cattle selection.
That calf was a terrible eater and shockingly, he wasn’t fat enough at the fair! But he was cheap! Atta boy Dad!
Dad’s changed over the years, but we didn’t have anyone advising us about the benefits of cattle that were selected specifically to be shown by a kid at the fair.
In the absence of any other knowledge, people will always default to cost. Always.
Why is a Show Steer or Club Calf More Expensive?
Yes, you absolutely can go to the auction yard and buy a calf to feed for your fair…but I HIGHLY recommend against it. You may say, “well, of course, you recommend against it. You raise show cattle.”
You’d be right, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.
Let’s explore why…
In the past couple of decades, breeders have placed tremendous focus and investment in raising cattle that will feed easily for kids. They must be muscular enough to make good market animals. They also must put it together in a sound structured and attractive package.
Raising cattle that can do all of that is not easy or cheap.
Your chances of success astronomically higher when you invest in a calf that’s been bred to do what you are asking of him. Everything in our lives is becoming more specialized.
Let’s look at kids for example. It used to be that any kid could play every sport that he wanted to all year and get along pretty well. Now, if a girl wants to be a really, really good softball player, she is going to camps and playing travel ball and her coaches may or may not want her playing other sports. It is specialized.
Cattle are the same way. The competition is becoming specialized. Breeding for those traits is expensive and time-consuming to do and therefore there is added value in those cattle. Not to mention that most of the time the show cattle you’ll buy are halter broke.
There is Value in Buying a Calf That Is Broke
You are dealing with an animal and there are ways that can make the halter breaking process easy or super difficult! Look at it this way, any time you are working with a large animal, you are best off to let someone who knows what they are doing help you through the initial process. I do not ride my colts for the first 3 months because I am not qualified. I want the best long term experience and you should too!
The fastest way to ruin a kid for showing livestock is to put them in a situation where they are scared, or worse, they get hurt.
Unbroke cattle can be scary to kids! They are big, and in most cases, they are not trying to be mean to you. However, they need to understand that you aren’t trying to hurt them either.
It’s best that someone who understands their behavior and the way they think handles them initially. If you are given the option to buy a calf that is broke to tie and has been handled…do it! You’ll thank me later.
Enjoyment of the Beef Project
Let’s face it, any time something is fun to be around, it makes for a great experience! This is true of a football coach, your friends, and your livestock. This year, Will has a calf that’s a handful.
We are dealing with it because he’s pretty good and at this point, I think Will likes the challenge. Also, we’ve been at this a while and while the dumb ones aren’t as much fun, we are willing to put up with it for a good one.
However, when you are first starting…that is a BAD plan. So, if you go to the auction yard and buy a calf, how would you possibly know what kind of disposition or appetite he’s going to have? You’ll be lucky to get a good enough look at him to know if he has any muscle.
Move Forward Quickly
Buying a club calf or show steer that’s broke will get you moving in the direction you want to go more quickly. This DOES NOT mean that all of the work is done for you. It means the scary stuff is out of the way and you can move along to getting them show-broke.
The Hard Way
Hopefully, now you know the answer to “Why Should I buy a Club Calf?” As always, I try to teach by the example. I tell the stories of the ways we have done or seen things done the wrong or the hard way. Don’t pick your calf out of the pasture on the run or out of the sale barn when he’s spinning around in circles.
Not unless you’ve done this for a very long time and have really trained your eye to pick out the diamonds in the rough. Of course, even a blind squirrel finds a nut…but I’m certainly not willing to invest so much time and money into those odds!
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