CRYSTALYX® and Holden Line One Bulls Have a Lot in Common
Jack Holden
Valier, Montana
April, 2002
"The CRYSTALYX® program is similar to ours", Jack Holden of Holden Herefords says. "We sell a predictable, reliable product. The return on investment is always good. People come here to buy bulls because they know they'll get a reliable product. CRYSTALYX® is the same way."
Genetics is a key to success on this purebred ranch north of Great Falls, Montana. CRYSTALYX® helps give the 300-head cow herd every opportunity to show its genetic potential.
"We're taking away any excuses they have not to re-breed," Holden said. "We let the cows sort it out themselves."
The herd starts calving in early January and finishes by March. Any cow that did not re-breed within that 60-day window is sold. The cows are put on CRYSTALYX® HE-12% or Natural-20 or Natural-27®, depending on the quality of hay available.
"Three weeks before breeding, every female is on CRYSTALYX® barrels," Holden said. "It really helps with our conception rates."
Holden's calculations on the value of CRYSTALYX® are based on what would happen if he did not use it as a supplement.
"It costs more to put condition back on a cow than to keep it on her. Not supplementing cows prior to breeding results in lower calf weaning weights, lower fertility rates and, in the long run, increased feed costs. There is a strong benefit to having CRYSTALYX® out there and not stressing the cows."
The herd consumes an average of three-quarters to one-pound per-cow, per-day. "CRYSTALYX® is extremely cost effective given the amount consumed," Holden said.
Three years of drought in Montana has added to the CRYSTALYX® resume. Holden Herefords used CRYSTALYX® to stretch forage supplies in the fall when the cattle were running on dry grass. In the spring, cattle stay on the barrels longer while the ranch waits for pastures to green up.
The ranch's own herd bulls also get CRYSTALYX® in the fall and winter to ensure the bulls are in breeding shape in the spring.
Everything at Holden Herefords is geared toward producing uniform, reliable cattle that perform equally well in a commercial herd or a purebred herd. That's why a feeding program that enhances genetic potential without overpowering it is so important.
Replacement heifers are fed a pelleted product after weaning. This serves to get them accustomed to having people around and also to get Rumensin® into their system. They're on CRYSTALYX® from early January through May.
After more than 15 years of feeding CRYSTALYX®, Holden stays with CRYSTALYX® for the same reason he tried it in the first place: It's a reliable product that is easy to use that produces results.
Just like a Holden Line One bull.
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