• As with any breed of cattle, calving size is determined by a combination of both the male and female genetics and management practices.  With my program, both the commercial Romagnola cross calf and the fullblood Romagnola calf birthweights are typically in the 70-80# range, with some in the 60's and some in the 80's.  These weights vary and typically coincide with the cow size for influence in overall calf weight (i.e., the bigger the cow, the bigger the calf.) 
  

• Fast growing #1 calves.  Calves that I have sold at the sale barn generally bring within a cent or two of the top price in their respective weight class.  My market area rewards calf prices based on the calf condition.  The Romagnola calves weighed about 25-50# heavier than counterpart Brangus calves running in the same pasture.

• Heat/Cold tolerant.  These cattle shed hair off in the summer and grow long hair in the winter.  Some will grow hair 2-3” long during the winter months which make the cattle feeders very happy.

• Tick and fly resistant.  These cattle are of Bos-Indicus base and sweat through the skin similar to that of Brahman cattle.  Flies and ticks are typically not a problem on the fullblood cattle.  In addition, the Romagnola cattle are not bad about standing in the ponds like my commercial cattle do during the summer months.

• Consistent calf quality.  Comments are often made by interested buyers about the consistent calf quality that I get with my Romagnola bulls running on a very diverse set of cows.  Before switching to the Romagnola bulls, I was running Tyson and Exacto blood line Brangus bulls and getting about 10-15% doggie calves from the very same set of cows that I now use.  With the Romagnola bulls, I might get one or two doggie type calves per calving season.  If the cow gives decent milk, the calf will generally be of  excellent quality.

• Neutral color.  The Romagnola bull color is recessive and will generally produce a calf colored the same as the cow, usually a shade lighter in color. Therefore, black cows produce black calves, red cows produce red calves, black baldies will produce black calves with bald or motley faces, yellow cows result in yellow calves, etc., etc.

• The Romagnola is a leaner beef.  The muscle tissue is a finer grain than your average beef.  This finer grained beef quality is similar to that found in the normal beef tenderloin.  As you know, the tenderloin is a very tender cut of meat that contains minimal fat yet tastes great.  This finer grained meat quality is what makes Romagnola beef more tender without having to have the massive amounts of fatty marbling tissue within the meat to produce an edible carcass. 

• The typical finished Romagnola beef carcass will generally produce a Yield Grade 2 while the Quality Grade is Choice and higher with little external fat covering.  Less external fat covering, means less waste as external fat is usually trimmed and discarded.  These leaner carcasses are an excellent choice for branded meats such as Laura’s Lean Beef or other similar programs.

These are just some of the traits that I find desirable.  Consult other websites for additional Romagnola traits and characteristics which make these cattle one of the best in the beef cattle business.

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