Follow the Facts, Advise Oklahoma Stockers
"I never felt so sick in my entire life because I realized how far behind we were," says Tom Gallery of the Gallery Ranch at Dewey, OK. He's remembering the winter of 2002 and a demonstration of management software that opened his eyes to what was possible when you collected and analyzed cattle data in a systematic way.

At the time, the Gallerys recorded information on note cards. "It wasn't until after the cattle were gone that we could tally up what had happened. We didn't have any real-time information," explains Tom, who operates the stocker phase of the ranch with his brother, Bill.

Also at the time, the Gallerys -- the winner of the Dry lot/Backgrounding Division in this year's National Stocker Award competition -- still owned every head walking through their stocker operation, chasing grass deals from South Texas to South Dakota.

Aside from assuming all the risk in the cattle, Bill points out having to find cattle at certain weights to fit particular resources and timing also meant they often were backed in the corner on prices just to keep the wheels turning.

Tom had gone to take a look at the software with the Gallerys' consulting veterinarian, Shaun Sweiger of Edmond, OK. That's a whole other story, but it boils down to Tom and Bill discovering a veterinarian who had some commonsense suggestions that led them to cutting costs dramatically by winnowing their medicine cabinet, implementing consistent treatment protocols -- not switching products mid-treatment -- and treating cattle only as many as three times (with long-lasting antibiotics that may become even less).

"He broke us of medication overload," Tom says. "Hands-off for a certain period of time after treatment was the biggest eye-opener, to realize they weren't going to die if we didn't give them another shot that day."

Along the way, they also learned how devastating even a few calves persistently infected (PI) with bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) could be to the bottom line. They test every head on arrival these days and have for the past two years. By weeding out the PI calves, they figure they've cut mortality in half, sliced treatment cost by 40% and increased average daily gain by 0.25-0.75 lb.

When they find a PI calf, they always try to find out what cowherd produced it; they're successful in tracking down the source about 20% of the time. "It's not a matter of finding them to say we won't buy your calves next time; we're already testing," says Tom. "It's a matter of letting them know they have a problem that's costing them a fortune."

Soon after starting to work with Sweiger, the Gallerys began conducting commercial research trials which have paid for an extraordinary pen and alley renovation at their backgrounding facility. The renovation was required to conduct the largest trials, but having access to any group of cattle without having to move any other group also cut their labor by two employees. They've learned plenty, too.

For instance, Bill explains, "We learned to keep load lots together and in smaller bunches, especially with PI testing... We learned we were better sending everything back to a home pen rather than the hospital and not to take the sick cattle through the others." That's a short list. These days they'll conduct a major commercial research trial each year, in addition to the research they conduct on their own.

Managing risk with partnerships. It was through this research that the Gallerys first worked with Bill Roser, manager of Wheeler Brothers Feedyard at Watonga, OK. Over time, that's what led to discussions about how different segments of the industry might work together for the benefit of each one.

"We were tired of risking everything we had every year by owning all of them," Tom says. "We felt like we could increase volume through our facility and still participate in ownership... We were seasonal buyers, so that facility sat idle at times. We realized there would be more benefit if we could concentrate on that one phase of the business and get better at it."

These days, the Gallerys own a percentage of every head they backgound in a unique partnership with Joplin Regional Stock Yard at Joplin, MO, and Wheeler Brothers Feedyard. Within the unique alliance, each entity is the other's customer. Along the way they leverage their individual expertise, share risk and information, ratcheting up efficiencies along the way.

Not coincidentally, the arrangement also exploits geography. The cattle head from Missouri to northeastern Oklahoma, then on to the western part of the state, rather than passing each other on the highway.

Now, the Gallerys concentrate on backgrounding calves that will be shipped straight to Wheeler Brothers or for additional growth on forage along the way. About nine months of the year, the Gallerys receive and ship 2-3 loads/week. Cattle will spend the first 28 days here in separate home groups -- 20- to 60- acre traps -- and then another three weeks or so in commingled groups and larger pastures.

"We still participate in the ownership but we're not having to risk everything every day," Tom emphasizes.

"We've lowered our risk with this business model and we've been able to diversify with our cowherd, too," Bill explains.

Ironically, Dan Gallery -- Tom and Bill's father -- got out of the cow business in the mid 1980s -- a herd in the making since 1952 -- because it didn't fit the stocker and cattle-feeding programs he had in place. In 2002, industry and buying opportunity intersected; now cows fit again.

Oh, that software? Starting in 2003, Tom and Bill began collecting every nugget of data you can think of on every individual calf that runs through here.

"When we became computerized and started using that software we could finally pay attention to the results we were getting because we had captured all this data in a systematic way," explains Tom. In short, if there's a question about how any one cattle or management variable is affecting another, they have the wherewithal to ferret out the information. Plus, they can compare their performance with that of from other operations using the same data-management system.

Such precision is also made possible by the scales they've had under the chute since 1991, which allows for a host of opportunities, including dosing to actual weight. They also have portable scales they can easily move to pastures. And there's a scale under their feed box, so they know exactly how much of each commodity is in the mix.

None of this is to say they rely solely on the computer for management though. The Gallerys have one of the simplest, most powerful treatment-documentation schemes you've ever seen. When cattle are treated, they receive a vertical or horizontal mark on their shoulder or hip. A different color paint stick is used for each day of the week; the mark location and direction is based on the week. Ear tags are notched based on the product used.

"Anybody pushing cattle knows if they've been treated and exactly when, just by looking at the mark," says Tom.

"We're proud of where we are, who we've aligned ourselves with, and that we've been able to move forward," says Tom. "We're excited about where we are and where we're positioned to go."

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