I have seen what Dr.B drives, and trust me, he isn't getting rich! (No offense intended Dr.B!!)
But seriously, defects were around, as many of you have stated, long before any test was available. Obviously, someone wanted to know which bloodlines carried the defect, thus, the search was on. It wasn't a personal witch hunt, it wasn't a game, it was and is, simply a search for the truth, which is often times very difficult to find in the cattle industry.
rtmcc - I have seen defective calves. In person. I have witnessed a devastated little boy when his prized SHxMaine heifer attempted to have a PHA calf and died. I have also seen a pile of TH calves and dead cows at a clubby farm while hearing "if I gotta sacrifice 50 to the great one, then so be it." I have sold bulls to cattleman that "had lots of retards and deformities last year" but they had no idea why. I have had a defective calf born and I sent it in.
If you can identify "freaks of nature" why shouldn't they be? No different than identifying a bloodline that has superior marbling, superior growth or superior milking ability. I suppose if you want to get rid of all identifying "tests for freaks, lets get rid of the 50k, epd's and feed test. THEN we can let the chips fall where they may.
But seriously, defects were around, as many of you have stated, long before any test was available. Obviously, someone wanted to know which bloodlines carried the defect, thus, the search was on. It wasn't a personal witch hunt, it wasn't a game, it was and is, simply a search for the truth, which is often times very difficult to find in the cattle industry.
rtmcc - I have seen defective calves. In person. I have witnessed a devastated little boy when his prized SHxMaine heifer attempted to have a PHA calf and died. I have also seen a pile of TH calves and dead cows at a clubby farm while hearing "if I gotta sacrifice 50 to the great one, then so be it." I have sold bulls to cattleman that "had lots of retards and deformities last year" but they had no idea why. I have had a defective calf born and I sent it in.
If you can identify "freaks of nature" why shouldn't they be? No different than identifying a bloodline that has superior marbling, superior growth or superior milking ability. I suppose if you want to get rid of all identifying "tests for freaks, lets get rid of the 50k, epd's and feed test. THEN we can let the chips fall where they may.
