sjcattleco... we may not get paid by the inch, but we certainly do get paid by the pound! When we were running our feedlot, packers told me that 1 inch ,of extra length, in the middle of a 1200 lb finished steer was equivalent to 70 lbs extra weight( on a live basis). Again, I am just saying that we have to be careful not to go overboard in any direction. Here where I live, I am heari ng complaints from some of the biggest cattle buyers who tell me the quality of the cattle they are seeing has got poorer in the last decade. When asked why they think this is happening, they say it is the industry's obsession with low birth weight calves... and they feel most cattlemen are sacrificing length of body in order to get smaller birth weights.
I ran these comments past one of my vets, who is, in my opinion also an excellent cattlemen. He said he agrees with these statements and says that he is seeing more calving problems and more c-sections than ever in the years he has been in practice. He also said that he c- sectioned more 80-85 lb calves than ever before. This tells me that something is really wrong! Either the shape of these calves is wrong, or the continual selection for lower birth weight has also resulted in females with smaller pelvic area.... or both.... is taking place. I have found that almost everything in the cattle business happens for a reason... and I think we often, in our quest for improvement, create problems in other areas.
I will agree that shorter cattle tend to be easier fleshing cattle. I agree that we all need effiicient cattle, but at the same time... we also need trouble free, fast growing, early maturing cattle that can make the cowman, the feedlot owner and the packer some money. Going too far in any direction will not do this. The cattle buyer I was talking too, also said that he is already seeing discounts in our markets for cattle that are too short.... I find this interesting!!
