Arizona cattle rancher uses engineering background to breed better beef

Green vegetation dots the mountain range from Quarter Circle U Ranch headquarters to the edge of the Superstition Mountains, where genetically selected black Angus cattle roam rocky trails, eating cacti and dry hay. Chuck Backus is a ranch owner cloaked in science, his background in engineering leading him to choose the right genes for cattle to survive in the hardened landscape and heat of the Arizona mountains. Regular cows and heifers, he said, “usually die.” He balances gene selection and artificial insemination with human kindness toward his cows, ending up with juicier and tastier beef. In Backus’ case, he has spent more than four decades turning scientific acumen he used in his career during the Cold War toward raising cattle in the Southwest. He tried raising cattle the traditional way, at first. Three decades later, he changed his mind. Backus raised Brahman-cross cows for 30 years. “I raised Brahman-cross cows, like everyone else in Arizona,” Backus says.” Backus said. “There’s an unwritten view that you have to have a lot of ear in cattle to survive in Arizona. So I had Brahman-cross cows for 30 years.” The Brahman-cross calves survived for a long time in the tough, mountainous terrain but the beef quality was poor. He also discovered that his herd lacked a genetic component that would help the ranch flourish. He changed his approach. Rather than buying bulls and heifers to match his ranch’s environment, he decided to use genetics to build the bulls and cows that deliver calves.

He faced several challenges because his ranch is located in a high desert terrain that makes calving difficult. “Here in the Superstition Mountains, it takes us about an hour to an hour and a half just to ride our horses to where the cattle are located,” Jordan Selchow, Quarter Circle U Ranch Manager, said. Backus now runs his ranch as a data-driven laboratory for sustainability. He shifted to gene selection, adopted artificial insemination methods and cut calving seasons in half, to two months. He also adopted more intensive feed models such as using non-hormone, non-antibiotic programs and utilizing custom feeding lots that lower the feed-to-gain ratio. The tightened breeding season allows the service bulls to stay on easier terrain before the cows head north. That keeps the bulls in a less demanding pasture during the calving months and this means Backus does not need to have the bulls back into the mountains in the adverse condition. Selectively choosing genes means that Backus can design cattle that not only survive in the Arizona mountains but behaves more docile than other breeds...MORE