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Gentry Shares Secret to Successful Cow/Calf Operation  "The further we go into this, the more convinced I am that the small, highly productive, low maintenance, grass-fed cow is the secret to the cow-calf industry," said South Poll innovator Teddy Gentry at the first meeting of what he ultimately intends to be a national South Poll association. South Poll breeders from seven states attended the meeting hosted by Gentry and his wife, Linda, at their Bent Tree Farms in Fort Payne, Alabama, on May 15 and heard Gentry say, "I want to organize this group so that we're the envy of other associations. We want to be the pride and joy of the everyday cattleman, the average cow-calf guy. We want to put a page on our website that talks about every one of you guys' farms." Gentry says that "if a breeder has a good herd of South Poll mama cows, you have all the options in the world" and stresses that the good genetics in the breed come through the mama cows, enough so that any type bull could be used to produce marketable calves. Gentry said a local breeder had used a herd of South Poll mama cows and bred them to a bull that was about 20 percent Chianina and 80 percent Angus. "At about a year old those calves weighed about 1200 pounds and he sent them off to be slaughtered and smiled all the way to the bank." <But Gentry cautioned breeders that he felt the biggest market in the breed for the next 10 to 15 years would be in the production of South Poll females. "I think if you breed your South Poll cows to South Poll bulls your to pend females will be worth a premium of 50 to 100 percent over commercial prices. These cows are gentle, slick haired, produce a good piece of meat on grass and fit in with our humidity and heat. The females are driving this industry. The steers are a by-product of our maternal program. We have to stick with the mama cows. We can't put our emphasis on the steers." he told breeders. "I want to maximize my profitability per acre on the grass that I've got. These cows work for me, I don't work for them." Gentry says and contends that the data he has compiled shows that the small 1,000 to 1,050 pound cow that is shaped right will work best for the cattleman. "There's a big difference in 1,000 pound cows, too. You can't have a frame 5 cow that looks like a razor blade. I'm talking about a 2 to 2-1/2 frame cow that is shaped like a cow should be."  "Even if you are selling your animals to a local sale barn, the small, highly productive cow is gonna be your ticket. For every 100 pounds of body weight on a cow above 1,000 pounds, only 20 percent of that amount is shown in gain on that cow's calf. In other words, you can only gain 20 pounds on the calf for every 100 pounds of extra body weight on the cow." Gentry told the group. "Sure, weaning that 600 pound calf off a 1,500 pound cow is great, but what is that extra 500 pounds of body weight on the cow going to cost you? We all know that a cow will eat the same amount as their body weight every thirty days. So every four months that cow has to eat a ton of feed to keep that extra 500 pounds. The cost of that ton of feed will be a lot higher than what you got off the few extra pounds on the calf." Gentry said. "I don't think I'm real good at merchandising, but I think if we present people with the facts and let them come look at our cattle, that's all we have to do to sell these South Polls. The future of the cattle business goes back to our production costs and we've got it all right here." Gentry told breeders. "It's a whole new way of thinking, but I've been this way for the last 15 years and I get more convinced I'm right every year. It's the flexibility of the animal to adapt to a wide range of management practices." he explained to the breeders.
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