Hello all from Ichthys Cattle Enterprise (ICE):

There are probably things I’d rather do less than market cattle…but I try not to do those either. I remember as a child how I considered salesmen to be the lowest life form on the planet…similar to how I view far left, liberal politicians now. You just couldn’t trust them…but I digress. I do NOT want to be a salesman, and I won’t be. You visit with most selling cattle today and their “product” can solve all of your problems. Our cattle can’t do that; they can solve very specific problems but not all of them. We aim to help people build a profitable herd of momma cows that they enjoy working with. If you can profit doing what you want to do, you have, by God’s grace, the world by the tail.

We have had a significant number of calls, emails and texts regarding our cattle since our sale last March. PLEASE FORGIVE ME…I do not do a great job of getting back to you. I, and a few others, are busy doing the work it takes to produce what I believe are the best cattle available to solve the problems I referenced above.

So, what are the problems we can fix, or at least start to work on? Calving Ease: We aim to build bulletproof calving ease into all of our seedstock. Most of our bulls can safely be used on heifers, even some of our composites. We offer a calving ease guarantee on most bulls that covers the cost of a vet call, up to $100/birth. If there is a problem most of our customers simply pull the calf themselves and it’s not a big deal. Always remember, a calving ease bull makes up only half of the genetics of a calf and none of the genetics of a bred heifer. There can still be problems. However, we aim to solve that problem and even are willing to guarantee it. One of the least fun aspects of the cattle business is calving bred heifers…did I hear an Amen?!

Disposition: Another problem in the cattle industry is disposition. Another least fun aspect of the cattle business is dealing with Peloscows (no not a new breed, just cows that are mean and ornery and no one wants to be around). Peloscows do not remain on this operation and are gone given the first opportunity. We currently have none that I am aware of. Like begets like (unless your cows identify as sheep).  No, like begets like regardless! Gentle momma cows, by and large, produce offspring that grow up to be gentle. Every bull and bred heifer in our upcoming sale has an excellent disposition rating, collectively it is the highest rating we’ve ever had.

Frame Score: Our cattle will help you reduce the frame size of your herd, a major problem the industry has been acknowledging for a few years. Many claim to want to reduce frame score but purchase 5+ frame bulls. Many of our bulls are frame 2+, not small mind you, but just right to solve the frame score problem.

In addition to the traits listed above, our cattle flesh easily on good forage (notice I wrote good forage; cattle can’t flesh on a bare pasture or on poor quality hay), typically breed back and live into their teens (if they ever miss a year they are culled) and do all of this on the 4 ingredients of grazing forage, water, salt and mineral. Our cattle graze year-round, we never have a planned hay feeding period. Our cows graze native grasses in the spring, summer and fall and are on cornstalks all winter. Our bulls and bred heifers live similarly but typically get some cover crops to graze during the year.

I am NOT a salesman. I can share our story and I can work with my children and hired men to produce what I believe are the best cattle to solve the toughest production problems in the industry…but it might take me awhile to return a phone call or email (texting is usually best).

If you are reading this, you are likely aware of Pharo Cattle Company. We were partners with PCC for about 13 years and our cattle came from cows owned by them (we leased their cows and kept the heifer calves as our share). So, if you like PCC cattle at, unfortunately for us, a significant discount I would urge you to take a look. Our bulls were some of the highest sellers during our time with PCC. Our bulls sell for significantly less now, no difference in quality, probably better, I’m just not as good a salesman. However, we do have something to offer that I believe is singularly unique in the cattle industry. For the past 3 years we have been using Ohlde Cattle Company semen during our A.I. project. OCC bulls used to sell in PCC sales and were the lead-off market toppers for Black Angus. We use OCC black and red angus and composite semen sires. OCC believes in many of the same philosophies and have cattle that are extremely impressive (if you know about PCC you probably know about OCC too). We have had the opportunity to combine the Best of Both Worlds, and the bulls and bred heifers we are selling in March are the first to be 50% OCC. By the eye test, it is overwhelmingly clear, the offering we have available is the best in our 15+ years in the seedstock industry.

So, I hope I haven’t been a salesman, or a marketer for that matter (moving on from childhood, telemarketers took the place of salesmen in my heart). I simply want to tell you the story of what we have. If you think we can help you solve your problems, please come take a look (we can arrange a personal tour just about anytime) before or during our upcoming sale. If not, peace to you!

Our sale will be held at our headquarters on March 13, 2020 at 11 am. It will go fast as we use a Cowboy Auction. This format keeps it from getting loud and we don’t wait around for bids. The bulls will sell first and start at a base price of $2000, the heifers will follow and start at $1200. We will be offering around 50 bulls and 75 bred heifers.

Oh, by the way, if you like Peloscows just print this off, consider it a speech…and delight in ripping it in two; I can’t solve your problems.

On a sad note: We learned this week that our friend Jim Madsen from Russell, Kansas passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. We got acquainted with Jim during our mutual time at PCC. The past few years I would see Jim a few times/year and we would solve all of the cattle industry and world’s problems. Jim, you will be missed.

Lanny Greenhalgh | Steward
[email protected] | (402) 984-6375
www.icecattle.com