What does a team of horses have to do with cattle breeding?

Leachman CattleGeneral Leave a Comment

As creatures of habit, all of us resist change. We also much prefer to be independent so that we can choose our own paths. In many ways, we are like a young horse before they are broke to work in a team. Training a team of horses requires CHANGE . The three must learn to work together – TEAMWORK. However, a team generally outperforms the work that can be done by the horses working separately. The benefit is SYNERGY – where 1+1+1 = 4.

The vision of three wonderfully independent, powerful, and spirited draft horses channeling all their collective energy through a single tongue and plow is a sight to behold. The results exceed what any could have hoped to achieve alone.

CHANGE + TEAMWORK + SYNERGY = LEADERSHIP

At Leachman’s, we see $Profit™ as being like a single plow behind the three horse team of the Seedstock, Cow/Calf, and Feeder sectors. This will require CHANGE in the way we do business. It will require independent operations to adopt an attitude of TEAMWORK . The resulting SYNERGY will exceed anything we could accomplish separately. The result will be industry LEADERSHIP.

It’s Time to Change the Way We Do Business!
CHANGE: Fragmented ownership and breeding of cattle has put our industry at a disadvantage. Our competitors, swine and poultry, have made more genetic progress on production efficiency. As an industry, we cannot afford to fall farther behind. We must respond by identifying, multiplying, and improving the animals that produce high quality beef most efficiently. It’s time we change to ensure that our family businesses survive and thrive.

TEAMWORK: Here’s our plan to increase teamwork:
• Share data and our index technology – we call this the $Profit™ Share program.
• Align with other progressive seedstock producers so they can select for $Profit™.
• Advise ranchers to help them make the right bull selection decisions.
• Provide $Profit™ on commercial heifers to help ranchers pick the right replacements.
• Score feeder calves with Verified Beef to help ranchers get paid for superior genetics.
• Partner with feedlots like Lincoln County Feed Yard to collect data and validate our systems.

SYNERGY: Together, we will make more genetic progress for improved profitability than ever before possible.

LEADERSHIP: Together, we will breed cattle that excel for all of the economically relevant traits and lead the industry in profitability.

Far Right (L to R): Great Grandmother and Great, Great Grandmother Leachman, 1st Leachman Bros, Billy Leachman and James H. Leachman. Leland L. Leachman and Lester J Leachman were not born yet. Circa 1908 Adamsville, OH.

Right: Leland L. Leachman, Lee’s grandfather and name sake, judging and showing heavy draft horses, Ohio State University. Circa 1938

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