Star Lake Herefords Dispersal

Help Support Steer Planet:

tcf

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 12, 2012
Messages
110
Location
Saskatchewan, Canada
It is sad to see a prominent Hereford breeder go. They brought lots of attention to the breed through the show ring. I wish the crew the best and hope the sale goes well! Can't wait to see the catalogue, should be some good buys in there. With a big player out there is a lot of opportunity out there to take a shot at.
 

chambero

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 12, 2007
Messages
3,207
Location
Texas
Somebody on here was telling me I was crazy for lamenting the decline of Hereford cattle.  Big guys cant hardly make it anymore.  There isnt the demand for anything but the very top end.
 

chambero

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 12, 2007
Messages
3,207
Location
Texas
We had one of the largest in the country in my town thru the 80s - Lone Star Hereford Ranch.  They sold, went pure commercial, and sold again about a month ago and the last of their Herefords are now gone.
 

obie105

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Messages
780
It said they wanted to exit while they were still on top. The owners are a great group of people and they actually live in Iowa. Their are still several big players when it comes to the show ring. Right now Hoffmans are doing quite well and colyers have been popular for awhile. Thats also not including barbers and upstreams. Herefords aren't going down in fact the junior nationals once again had over 1000 entries.
 

DiamondMCattle

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 31, 2011
Messages
240
Location
Nenzel,NE
I think there is still a huge demand or hereford cattle.The AHA still registers the second most cattle year after year, and many commercial producers have hereford influenced cows. They may not compete in the club calf deal but they are still used widely.
 

Doc

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 13, 2007
Messages
3,636
Location
Cottontown, Tennessee
obie105 said:
It said they wanted to exit while they were still on top. The owners are a great group of people and they actually live in Iowa. Their are still several big players when it comes to the show ring. Right now Hoffmans are doing quite well and colyers have been popular for awhile. Thats also not including barbers and upstreams. Herefords aren't going down in fact the junior nationals once again had over 1000 entries.

Upstream has been around for awhile. I worked for EE Herefords in MS in 1983 and 1984 and would see their catlle when we would go to Denver. They had some good cattle.
 

chambero

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 12, 2007
Messages
3,207
Location
Texas
EE flipped over to quarter horses and has a big operation in Whitesboro, Tx.  They've been there a while now
 

David Fosbrink

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 18, 2011
Messages
88
Only a demand for the very top end cattle? no.. not at all haha and DiamondMCattle i don't know where you are located but around here ( southern Indiana ) Hereford heifers are winning shows every bit as much as cross bred heifers if not more. the past ten years the Hereford breed has improved so much its inane. Back then they could never beat the cross bred cattle, but every year they are winning more and more.
 

chambero

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 12, 2007
Messages
3,207
Location
Texas
How many of you that are giving me a hard time on this are actually familiar with just how big Herefords used to be in this country?  Their current registration numbers, the numbers of heifers getting shown by juniors, etc. are a very poor indicator of how the breed is doing.

There were massive Hereford ranches (ranches with thousands of head) in Texas and the south not that long ago.  You used to see more Hereford cattle than Angus thoughout many of the largest cattle producing states.  Yes - you can still find plenty of them running around in pastures because of that starting point.  But the large (and I'm not talking about show ranches) seedstock ranches are largely gone.  For a while now, true sale averages on Hereford bulls are about half what comparable Angus and Simmental bulls bring (again - throw out the show oriented sales). 

I like Hereford cattle.  It's what I showed a lot of when I was a kid.  We ran Hereford bulls on Angus cows for years and years.  I still like for my kids to show Hereford steers.  But the future for large ranches trying to make it as Hereford seedstock operations is fairly bleak right now for a variety of reasons. 
 

obie105

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Messages
780
Herefords are doing great right now! The junior show is a huge event only in numbers behind angus. They are becoming more and more competitive every year. The improvement in genetics is top of the line. I'm sure in recent years many ranches have changed directions and folded up  for many reasons. Just because one ranch is getting out doesn't mean the breed is doomed or that it will never be the same again.
 

Average Joe

Member
Joined
May 16, 2010
Messages
13
hate to be the bearer of more bad news but just heard that Michigan State is gonna Disperse as well ,  this will make two big hits on premier seedstock in the herfs
 

twistedhshowstock

Well-known member
Joined
May 2, 2011
Messages
758
Location
Nacogdoches, TX
I dont think people are understanding what chambero is trying to say here.  He is not talking about Herefords in the show ring.  He is talking about Herefords in the commercial segment. It hasnt been that many years since Hereford and heavily Hereford influenced cattle dominated the commercial cattle industry.  But in recent years, especially since the AAA released its CAB program and black hided cattle took dominance, the amount of Hereford influence in the commercial industry has dwindled.  Hereford marked cattle which once brought a premium at the markets and feedlots, now get docked just as hard as any other non black hided cattle. 
I think people have begun to misunderstand what a "Seedstock" operation truly is.  I have actually asked that question to many people, and the answer I get most often is that any purebred operation is a seedstock operation, but that isnt true.  A seedstock operation is an operation thats focus is to produce replacements, not to produce terminal animals.  Back in the day most of your big commercial operations that sold most of the feeder calves didnt keep their own replacements, because they wanted their cow battery to be heavily maternal and their bull battery to be heavily terminal.  That way they had cows that would definately raise a calf raising calves that would fair well in the feedlot.  If their cow battery had to much terminal blood in it then the cows wouldnt raise calves efficiently, vice versa if their bull battery had to much maternal genetics, then they didnt sire calves that performed as well in the feedlots. 
Yes its true that a lot of seedstock producers were purebred operations, and in that era almost all purebred producers were seedstock producers.  So all your show cattle typically came from seedstock producers.  But over the years the show world has become very specialized.  As you all know I dont personally believe that the show world and the commercial world are as far removed from each other as many would argue, but I will definately agree that in this day and age most of the big show calf producing herds are focused solely on the show ring.  Not that those cattle necessarily cant perform in commercial settings, but commercial industry is not considered by those outfits when they are producing those calves. 
But what chambero is trying to say is that in the true seedstock industry, herds that are producing replacements for the commercial setting, the herefords have definately lost the dominance they once had, in fact they have been dwarfed by other breeds, and all purebreds have been outdone by composites.  I agree with chambero and others, I dont think registration numbers and sizes of shows  are necessarily good indicators of how well a breed is doing anymore, since the dominance of composites and crossbreds emerged in the commercial world, I find that the largest portion of cattle being registered by any breed are largely cattle that at least at some point were intended for show.  I am not saying that is all cattle registered, just saying I feel that is the heaviest influence. Yes there will always be a lot of Herefords in the show ring.  The biggest reason I find for this is their disposition.  Herefords are the number one recomended breed for young showmen or new showmen because they have such a great disposition typically, then the people fall in love with them and their sweet personalities and continue to raise and show them.  So yes they will always have big numbers in the show ring, and yes there are some exceptional Herf femailes out there, I have used several Herfs to win supreme at Heifer shows. 
But in the grand scheme of things, outside the showring, Herfs have seen a huge decline.  Yes Star Lake has been a dominating force in the Herf show ring, especially the carload, etc shows, but to my understanding for most of their history Star lake was largely a seedstock producer as well.  With the decline of  demand of Herf seedstock, I dont see how they could continue to support a herd that size based on show alone.  Much the same Michigan States herd has to be a research focused herd, there arent many, actually any that I know of, university herds using show cattle as their research herd.  They are researching for the commercial industry, so their herd needs to be more in line with what you sommonly see in the commercial industry.
 

knabe

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 7, 2007
Messages
13,639
Location
Hollister, CA
what percent of retained ownership herefords have premiums for carcass?

quantitatively, how have herefords addressed pink eye, prolapses and carrot teats?

yes, they have come a ways with these.

no one seems to get the recessed eye with herefords is probably if not more desirable than pigment.

a hereford with it's eye sticking out like fly bait is doomed.
 

Doc

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 13, 2007
Messages
3,636
Location
Cottontown, Tennessee
chambero said:
EE flipped over to quarter horses and has a big operation in Whitesboro, Tx.  They've been there a while now

Chambero, Yea , that was Jo's project even back when I was there. They lived in TX and we were in MS. They would fly in about once a month and it seemed like everybody would fiind out when they were going to be there and come by trying to sell her horses or saddles. She has a nice looking stallion station down there.
They did the "reg. black baldy " thing in OK for awhile didn't they?
 

obie105

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Messages
780
Herefords are playing catch up to angus with the branded beef programs and such but they are doing better than many other breeds that are just riding along on the success of the angus guys. There are becoming more things when it comes to dataand breed improvement. Bull sales this past year where only behind angus.
 
Top