Lasater Ranch 3/8/12

Today Leah and I visited Lasater Ranch which is situated approximately 80 miles from Denver which is operated and owned by Dale and Alex Lasater and family. The Lasater are the founders of the breed called Beefmaster which is a three way composite cross of Brahman, Hereford and Shorthorn. The development of the Beefmaster herd commenced in the early 1930s by Tom Lasater (Dale's father). Some of the concepts he used to create the breed go back to the early 1900s. In those years some of the breeding and management policies behind the development of today's beef masters were began by Edward C Lasater (Tom's father). The Lasater Ranch sells Beefmaster semen and embryos worldwide to Australia, South Africa and Mexico. All of their herd are pasture based only, they are just provided with a mineral supplement. Some of their practices are 45 day breeding season, starting as yearlings; wean a good calf every year; unassisted calving; not killing of feral animals; no use of any insecticides for more than 40 years; limited use of vaccinations (7in1); annual feet and udder evaluation; home-raised herd sires grown out on grass and selected for their superior growth traits; cattle with poor dispositions are culled; every cow has to have a calf every year otherwise culled as well. Cows are not culled for age, they are only culled by fertility. The wean their calves between nine to ten months of age. The Lasater herd has been a closed herd for 40 years. The Lasater own and lease a total of 35000 acres which is very hot and dry climate with an annual rainfall of 12 inches (a combination of rain and snow). The temperament and condition of their cattle was outstanding even though the cattle are under harsh conditions. They look as if they have been living in a feedlot. They have unique herd sire bull selection based upon weaning weight, post weaning gain and yearling weight. The test consist of 100 days between actual weaning weight and actual yearling weight. This type of development demonstrates a bull's ability to efficiently convert native forage into pounds of beef. The Lasater Ranch a practises Alan Savory's method of cell grazing and it is evident in the cattle and pastures that they are both thriving. Alan Savory is a great mentor in holistic management. I personal thank-you to Dale and Alex Lasater for sharing your knowledge and time with his, it was a very memorable day. The Lasater beef master herd and family's practices would suit Australia's conditions. The Lasater Ranch website is www.LasaterRanch.com