In Hico, Texas April 2007, a small group gathered to discuss the issues surrounding American Corriente Cattle. Their conversation was dominated by the price difference between native grown cattle and border steers. The question was “what are native Corrientes really worth in a market dominated by Mexican border steers and their perceived superiority.” Can we change the perceptions and show the advantages, if any, of using natives? We had other questions. How many runs can be expected on native Corrientes that are broke in right and fed correctly? How would a uniform group of native Corrientes be received by stock contractors and ropers? Can cattle be individually identified and judged on performance throughout a roping season? Is it important to have the animals age and origin identified? Can a web based cattle management program be created that would be useful to ranchers who want to improve their herd? These questions and a search for the answers formed the nucleus for the creation of an entity that could accomplish this task. ARC, American Roping Cattle, was formed in November of 2007 and like minded individuals were asked to partner with us in our search for answers. Twelve different ranches interested in testing their cattle against other natives sent 12 to 15 month old fresh native steers to Hico to begin the performance test in January 2008.

ARC’s young native Corrientes performed exceptionally and were well received by discriminating ropers in a variety of arenas around Central Texas. On site information collected by ARC gave us data on the runs and performance for every steer at each roping. Thanks to the Corriente producers that have partnered with us, we’re drawing close to answering many of the questions we’ve had and we are looking at more creative ways to continue to get more information. We are testing a multifunctional electronic animal I.D. that will be compatible with some hand held PDAs, personal digital assistants. The creation of a web-based cattle management program is also in the final stages.

After traveling to many different arenas and a period of time on grass, most of ARC’s steers are in the San Angelo Feedyard, which is located near San Angelo, Texas. They have many years of experience feeding Corrientes. The Feedyard will market the cattle through Sam Kane, a beef processor in Corpus Christi, Texas that processes many Corrientes. Kane’s buyers pay $5 back of the current market on Corrientes that are under 30 months of age. They reduce the price $10-12 for over-age cattle.

The steers were shipped in July to San Angelo averaging almost 550 lbs. The feedyard is projecting our steers to feed for $1.00 per lb. (including all cost except interest) and to be ready for market in February. The projected weight when they finish is 1050 lbs. Using rough feedyard math, if our cattle have to gain 500 lbs. they will cost us $500.00 while on feed. If February cattle are bringing $1.00 per lb., our less than 30 month steers will bring $5.00 back per 100 pounds, or $.95 cents per lb. Average weight 1050 lbs X $.95 cents per lb = $997.00 per head. Less $500.00 for costs the projected return would be $497.00 per head. These figures are projections, of course. When we close the steers out in February we will have detailed performance data on each animal from entering the arena, to the packer 13 months later. This documentation can be a tool for ranchers who wish to cull, or strengthen their herd.

Our two biggest questions, which are the break even cost and the advantages of using American Roping Cattle, are closer to being answered.

Feel free to contact us with questions or comments about the ARC program.