Justin A Ramirez, M.S. - Livestock Nutritionist

07/26/2025

Howdy!
Here’s a little behind the scenes at our ranch. We exclusively do artificial insemination in our breeding operation done by myself personally.

We’re preg checking females by tail bleeding to get results on site.

Today, July 26th, this percentage Simbrah cow at a BCS of 6.5 was confirmed bred 28 days post AI after using sexed semen to ensure we’ll be having another heifer on the way.

She calved May 19 and started cycling back 40 days later on June 28.

When females are in 5-7 BCS, research suggests they’ll be cycling around 40 days and typically will be bred back within 60-90 days. These windows are also factored by water and mineral quality.

This percentage Simbrah is well within the research data and one of the reasons I preach to producers I work with, monitor that body condition score and keep out a mineral they will consume to keep preg rates from slipping.

Big myth is just because they’re not eating it regularly, doesn’t mean that they don’t need it.

If you’re keeping a salt block, protein tub, and a loose mineral, but wonder why they’re not eating it.
Well, salt is the attractant and chances are they’re getting the salt from the salt block and not the mineral.

With performance like this, it’s hard to argue that research data isn’t repeatable. When it’s repeatable, we select those genetics and use heifer sexed semen to keep those genetics going.

This of course is the same in all species. The challenge with equine is we can tend to over supplement which can create deficiencies.

Hope this helps shed some light on this topic.

Cheers to another heifer on the way!

God bless and Gig ‘Em!

07/12/2025

Howdy!

Last week I had the opportunity to speak at the Ranch Gathering hosted by Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers at the Oasis Outback restaurant in Uvalde, Texas.

Most recent feedlot numbers indicate a lower number of cattle entering our feedlots. This suggests our overall numbers are either lower than projected, or livestock producers are retaining more females to grow their herd.

My presentation was focused on the importance of nutrition on reproduction, more specifically, the effect of nutrition on fetal development and fetal programming.

Research suggests that offspring born from females not receiving proper energy, vitamins, and minerals, could be predisposed to lower performance, fertility, and more likely to have chronic sickness throughout their lifetime.

This is also true for our horses as well.

I’ve included a link for your reference to get your feet wet on fetal development in horses.

In short, the diet for mares, regardless if they’re carrying their own foal or if they are a recip mare carrying an embryo with superior genetics, Their. Diet. Matters.

I can’t tell you how many times I hear, “oh this is a recipe mare/cow, I don’t want to put much into her because she’s just a sale barn cow or pasture mare.”
The mother could be inferior genetically by your standards but the fetus is still being affected by her diet in utero and will eventually nurse after calving/foaling. That females body condition will also have an effect on lactation and developing that calf/foal.

Keep in mind, the first trimester is where our tissues and organs are developed, lungs, heart, etc.
If you’re looking at improving genetics, the diet/environment plays a huge role in how that animal will perform throughout its lifetime.

Unfortunately, once that baby is born, those changes are irreversible.

I had some great conversations after my presentation with many producers appreciate about their new perspective on nutrition.

Ultimately, my goal to educate and challenge ourselves to do the best by our animals. God has entrusted us to be good stewards of our livestock and horses.

Thank you to all in attendance and Cargill for giving me the opportunity to share something I’m really passionate about.

Holler if I can be of any help in your program.

God bless and Gig ‘Em!

https://www.veterinary-practice.com/article/broodmare-nutrition-foetal-programming-epigenetics

07/09/2025

Howdy,
Big shout out to the Independent Cattlemen’s Association for having me as a guest speaker at this year’s convention in San Marcos.

Some early feedlot numbers are declining suggesting that producers may be retaining some females to rebuild their herd.
My presentation was covering the effects of nutrition on reproduction with emphasis on fetal programming and fetal development.
The better we take care of our females while they are bred, the better those calves will perform throughout their lifetime.
Research suggests females will be cycling sooner, have greater success at first breeding, and cattle will have overall better marbling, and carcass traits at processing.
While our base numbers are at an all-time low, we can certainly maximize the potential of what we have.
This of course, applies to all species not just beef.
God bless and Gig ‘Em!

06/28/2025

Thank you Brushy Creek Sires for having me out to present information on the effects of nutrition on reproduction.
Happy to hear the changes we’ve made in the diet are leading to better semen quality and volume.
Thank y’all for the opportunity to work yall!

Thank You to Our Sponsor!

A huge thank you to Cargill and representative Justin Ramirez for their generous support in sponsoring our AI/Palpation class. Your partnership is truly appreciated and makes it possible for us to provide valuable educational opportunities. We’re grateful for your commitment to innovation and learning!

06/25/2025

Howdy Yall,

I’ll be presenting tomorrow at the 51st Annual Independent Cattlemen’s Association Convention over the Effects of Nutrition on Reproduction. If you’ll be in the San Marcos, TX area, stop on by!
In this presentation I’ve added some really neat information on fetal development/fetal programming.
Often times I come across breeders in different species that don’t put an emphasis on the mother’s nutrition because they’re using a recip.
Just because the mother may not be as genetically superior as the baby she’s carrying, doesn’t change the fact that what her diet consists of is influencing the development of that baby in utero.
You could be holding back those genetics severely if that mom is not receiving proper nutrition in her diet.
If this subject is something of interest, let me know what species you want more info on and I’ll get the next write up on it.

God Bless and Gig ‘Em!

06/19/2025

Howdy yall,

I’ll be speaking at the Gonzalez ICA chapter meeting this evening at the VFW Hall. If you’re in the area and want to learn more on how you can maximize your cattle’s genetic potential, stop by!
The ICA is a great organization to be a part of and we’ll soon be rolling out a forage testing program.
Stop by to say howdy!

God Bless and Gig ‘Em!

06/15/2025

Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there! Being Witten’s dad has been one of my greatest blessings.
Cheers!

05/29/2025

Looking forward to presenting some great practical information on the effects of nutrition on reproduction for our beef cows.
Going to be sharing some examples of our Cargill technology and how it can help ensure your program is running as cost efficient as possible.
Hope to see yall there!!

We are excited to welcome Justin Ramirez as a speaker on animal nutrition at our upcoming AI class! Here's a quick bio:

Justin Ramirez, raised in La Feria, TX, spent his childhood summers at his grandparents’ ranch in Zapata, where his family raised Charolais, Black Brangus cattle, and racehorses. His passion for livestock and judging led him to Texas A&M-Kingsville, where he earned his Animal Science degree in 2010. He then pursued a Master’s in Animal Science at Texas A&M University, specializing in ruminant and equine nutrition, graduating in 2013. Justin joined Cargill Animal Nutrition in 2021, supporting beef producers across Texas with tailored nutrition strategies. Residing in Seguin with his wife Kristy and son Witten, he also runs a show cattle business. Justin combines classroom knowledge with practical pasture advice to help farmers maximize their cattle’s potential through research-backed nutrition.

Sign up while slots are still open to meet Justin and ask him all your herd nutrition questions!

05/17/2025

That Makes Sense

Howdy!
I’ve had some recent consultations that end with, “that makes sense.” One consultation in particular revolved around this hay analysis that a good friend of mine provided, see below.

As we walked through the analysis, I was making some predictions based on what the values tell us along with some experience I’ve gained along the way as a hay farmer.
We’ll focus on horses this go round. On average an 1100 lb horse is going to need 20-35 Mcals of energy based on level of activity, 21-44 grams of lysine, and 700-1000 grams of protein per day.
Now these requirements will vary on age, level of activity, and stage of production.

If our 1,100 horse is eating 2.25% body weight (27.5 lbs) of this hay per day that gives us 24.75 Mcals of energy, 63.25 grams of lysine, and 1,804 grams of protein per day.
Horses eating this amount of hay should look good because we’re meeting and or exceeding their requirements because this is some really good hay.

If they don’t, then we investigate if something is underlying we’re not aware of such as ulcers, leaky gut, teeth quality, parasites, etc. However the often overlooked part is hay fluctuates as often as you buy it.
Keep in mind, if we’re feeding 2-2.5% body weight in hay and 0.5-1% body weight in grain, where is the majority of our nutrients coming from?
If someone tells you forage is not important, I’d ask why?

If you’re buying from the same feed store, they may have different hay vendors. As a hay farmer, I can tell you hay fluctuates cutting to cutting.
The better quality hay, the less grain you feed and vice versa.

The big caveat to all of is, not all horses will eat 2-2.25% body weight in hay. Reason could be either we’re under feeding and we don’t know it or; the hay quality is too mature.

In other words, the hay takes too long to digest and takes longer to go through the digestive tract and keeps the animal “feeling full”. For someone wanting to lose weight, this would be great, not for someone who’s wanting to put on weight.

I hope this helps you understand this subject more and that it makes sense.
If it doesn’t, let me know!

God bless and Gig ‘Em!

04/18/2025

Yall put this on your calendar! I will be a guest speaker discussing some key nutrients we want to consider to improve reproduction both on bulls and females.

Join us at Brushy Creek Sires for our comprehensive Bovine Reproductive and Artificial Insemination Class! We are thrilled to announce that the training will be led by MVRS, featuring bovine reproductive specialists Dr. Tyler Moon and Chace Sherrill. Whether you're a beginner or looking to refine your skills, our classes are designed to provide you with the knowledge and hands-on experience you need.

🗓 We will have two sessions this summer!
📍 Location: Brushy Creek Sires, LLC

Don't miss this opportunity to learn from experienced professionals in the field! Enhance your understanding of artificial insemination techniques and boost your confidence in implementing them.

🔗 Sign up now and secure your spot! Limited spaces available!

For more details or to register, visit our website or contact us directly. Let’s make this summer a season of growth and learning together! 🐄💚

02/21/2025

Howdy Yall,

I’d like to share a little tip on water intake that was sparked by a little convo my wife and I were discussing after our water holding tank started to drop faster than usual.

We have a cistern style water system where we use our irrigation well to pump water into a holding tank. We’re able to monitor how much water cattle drink on a daily basis. Here recently we noticed their water intake increase with the colder weather.

Additionally, I was noticing their manure starting to stack up slightly, which indicates a slight deficiency in daily protein intake. As I increased available digestible protein, their manure started to soften back into pancake patties.

Subsequently, as feed intake increased, water intake increased as well. Generally, water intake will trend with feed intake until temperature becomes a factor.

On the flip side, if you’re noticing your animals not drinking water during colder weather, you can offer free choice salt, and or preferably a loose vitamin mineral to help increase water intake.

Additionally, water quality also affects feed I take. Always make sure to have clean fresh water, if not you may be losing performance via decreased feed intake.

Hope this helps you understand this topic a little better.

God Bless and Gig ‘Em

02/19/2025

Howdy Yall,

This week I’d like to share a little conversation I had recently with Jose Salas, owner of Salas Performance Horses in Seguin, TX, that covers a topic many horse trainers face, horses flooding their stalls with urine.

Horses around 1100 lbs, on average, have a protein requirement around 700 grams of protein per day. When they are fed protein in high excess, their body will excrete the excess nitrogen from their body through their urine.

Fun fact, crude protein is simply a calculation based on the amount of nitrogen something contains. If you’re really looking at building muscle, look at the amino acid profile.

Nitrogen in the body is in the form of urea and when it comes in contact with oxygen, it’s converted to ammonia.

This ammonia is what we smell in the air and if your stalls are not well ventilated, it could become a problem for some horses and or cattle by causing irritation in their lungs. If you’re feeding hay on the ground, you may hear more frequent coughing during feeding time which could affect feed intake.

If you are top dressing with different supplements, you may want to check your math to ensure you’re not contributing to this underlying problem.

This is largely due because most Vitamin C, B vitamins, and minerals are water soluble, meaning the body will absorb what it can and excrete the rest in urine.

Some big concerns Jose and I discussed were how this could affect his program by increasing their horse’s water requirements, decrease stamina, increase labor for cleaning stalls, and cost of shavings etc.

Now that we’ve made some adjustments to Jose’s program, we’ll give it some time before we consider altering anything else.

Working with people like Jose and his family are why I love what I do. We’re all striving to get better in what we do and if I can help someone reach their goals, I’ve done my job well.

Hope this helps you understand a little more on this topic!

God bless and Gig ‘Em!