16— Lancaster Farming, Saturday Jan. 26.1974
The Holloway Plan
For Beef Success
by Dieter Krieg
Farm feature writer
"If you have something •
take care of it, otherwise you
may as well not have it.”
That’s William C.
Holloway's philosophy, and
bis achievements with beef
cattle are evidence that he
practices what he preaches.
The 44-year-old Holloway
manages Crebilly Farm,
West Chester RDS.
Crebilly Farm, with which
Bill has been associated for
nearly 14 years, is a 650 acre
tract of land owned by Mr.
and Mrs. James K. Robin
son, Jr. Most of the finished
cattle from this cow-calf
operation are “market
toppers”. Bill says that in
1972 they had the top selling
load of cattle at the Lan
caster Stock Yards, and they
have many repeat
customers. “This farm has a
reputation for having good
cattle,” he says.
One of the first things Bill
did when he started at
Crebilly was to switch from
Hereford cattle to Angus. He
arrived at this decision
because of previous ex
periences with both breeds.
“Angus cattle are known for
their resistance to pink eye,
calving problems, and sun
burned udders” says Bill,
who was born and raised on a
beef-hog farm in Harford
County, Maryland, and
received that state’s first
F.F.A. star farmer award.
Some Angus feeder steers
and heifers out of Virginia
became the nucleus of the
sustain top
production
with the
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new Crebilly Farm beef
herd, and Bill immediately
took charge of a careful
breeding program. Ac
cording to Bill, some good
breeding procedures to keep
in mind are: "have a good
registered bull around...a
bull is a lot of cheap in
vestment in the end”
...artificial breeding..."a
conscientious fanner can do
a better job with artificial
breeding than the in
seminator because of proper
timing”...crossbreeding,
and finally “there’s no
money in cattle that won’t
reproduce." As many as 350
head of cattle are kept on the
property, depending on the
season.
“I’m very well pleased,”
says Bill of results in
breeding his own cows,
something he has been doing
for the past two years. He
cautions, however, that for
the practice to be ef
fective,the cattleman must
be interested, conscientious,
and prompt. While con
tinuing to breed heifers to
Angus bulls, Bill has been
using Charolais bulls on
older animals since 1970.
“The first cross has
tremendous growth”, he
says. Heifers from the
Angus-Charolais cross are
bred back to Angus because
the smaller calves make for
easier, almost always
trouble-free calving. Bill
says occasional assistance is
needed with the Angus
Charolais cross, but most
problems can be avoided by
choosing the right bull.
Most of the calves are born
during the first five months
of the year. January,
February, and March are
considered ideal months for
starting calves because of
advantageous marketing
conditions. There’s also an
absence of hot weather and
flies, and calves are
generally thriftier, healthier
and wean heavier. Calves
are taken from the dams at
approximately 205 days of
age. Bill said average
weaning weight for Angus
Steers is 513 pounds while the
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crossbred steers are weaned
at 578 pounds. Angus heifers
weigh about 443 pounds at
weaning, while the
crossbreds tip the scales at
an average of 501 pounds.
The quality and growth
factors Bill looks for in sires
and dams must transmit
because, as Bill puts it,
“Trying to raise an inferior
calf to top standards is
throwing feed away.”
After weaning, the calves
go on pasture and receive a
growing ration in seif
feeders. About June or July
of the following year, the
animals are moved to the
feedlot where they are
finished on a corn and barley
mixture and ail the free
choice hay they want. Hay,
says Bill, serves to balance
the animals’ nutritional
needs. The com and barley
mixture which Bill uses is of
the home-made variety. “We
do all of our own work except
combining,” he says. Ear
com, rattier than shelled
com is used because he
believes the cobs have some
nutritional value, and
considerable roughage
value. The mixture never
contains more than SO
percent com, although it can
vary greatly, depending
upon the buying and selling
alternatives he may wish to
consider in his feed costs
calculations. In addition to
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■ Robert Fulton Highway
I Quarryville, Penn. 17566 Phone 717-786-7318
William C. Holloway, manager of West
Chester's Crebilly Farms, is one of
its feed value, Bill likes
barley for its ability to take
up moisture, keep the corn
from heating, and prevent
spoilage in the feeders.
Minerals and salt are
provided to the cattle free
choice. Bill has never seen
any advantage in the use of
such growth stimulants as
stilbesterol, and does not use
them. His major reason for
not using growth hormones
and related products is
because they require certain
withdrawal periods. Without
them he can take immediate
advantage of optimum
market conditions.
The cows at Crebilly Farm
receive only pasture in the
summer, and the poorer
quality hay in the winter.
Silage is not used at all in the
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feeding program because it
tends to get the cows too fat,
which in turn leads to
breeding and calving
complications. The beef
animal is capable of utilizing
a lot of roughage, says Bill.
Careful attention must
always be paid to the
animals who have freshened
and are nursing calves.
Normally, says Bill, a beef
animal does not produce
enough milk to get mastitis,
but it can happen if a calf
frequently fails to suck on a
certain quarter. Negligence
is nearly always the reason
behind mastitis. He has not
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breeders.
had a single case in the 14
years he has been there.
Milk production is an
important factor to consider
when selecting breed cows
because the calves must
attain their desirable
weaning weights while
nursing the dam. A normal
lactation for a beef cow is
about seven months;
however Bill pointed out that
a cow will usually dry herself
up even if the calf dies at
birth.
There aren’t many health
problems in the Crebilly
herd. Annual TB and
Continued on Page 17)
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