Big Sandy, MT - Heifer Calves

Here's some calves that are light and will ship in a great time period before the big rush!

The IX Ranch is a large cow/calf operation in Northern Montana supporting over 3,500 mother cows. Part of the heifer calves will be weighed at another location on the ranch and hauled in to make a full load of heifers.

This set of calves is the second cycle calves that are younger, and will ship in September.

Below is information from the Ranch Manager Richard Roth-

Our goals are to produce a healthy, uniform steer calf that weans 565 lbs. each fall. This animal must perform well in the feedlot as well as on the rail. Likewise, our heifer cows must perform as mothers. We strive to have a mature cow that weights no more than 1250 lbs., can winter on less than a ton of hay and breed back 94-96% in a 50-55 day breeding season. In order to attain these goals we utilize proven key performance indicators (ranchkpi.com) and the Leachman Cattle of Colorado $Profit™ indexing system.

The IX Ranch is BQA certified and the 2020 BQA Cow Calf Operation of the Year. Therefore, they take pride in raising an animal that has been well cared for and is ready to go to work. Our cattle are grazed on a contiguous operation with little to no interaction with neighboring cattle. IX cattle are healthy and have good immune systems while being able to react quickly to medication when needed.

Our number one selection criteria when choosing sires is disposition but we also pay keen attention to muscling, scrotal size, feet and bone structure. We also use $Ranch and $Profit indexes formulated by Leachman's of Colorado. Avg $Ranch = $54.95; Avg $Profit = $11,905

The IX Ranch has purchased composite bulls from Leachman's of Colorado for over 12 years. We select sires for moderate weight and frame score cows. Our average mature cow weight is 1238 lbs and we select no sires bigger than a frame score 6. For more information on Leachman genetics please contact Lee Leachman at (970) 568-3983.

We offer free choice salt and mineral year-round to all our cattle. The mineral used is formulated based on summer and winter forage. Grass and Alfalfa hay, produced on our own ranch, is provided during the winter months to sustain a 5.5 BCS.