at our place (raising purebred shorthorns, and sometimes mating to a few clubby bulls)- it seems that to get the hair you have to go TH+, and to get the added stoutness- you have to be PHA+... I also think that the desirable hip structure comes somewhere in there too sometimes!
Although we aren't the biggest herd in the country, it seems that I can tell if a calf is dirty at birth... IMO it pretty darn hard to make them with the needed hair, bone, look, and whatever else they posses... as we call it the x-factor (quality). Go into a pen, pick out the frail made, slick haired ones and they'll be double clean. We have THC cattle, PHAC cattle, and double dirty cattle... We also have clean ones... To me, I worry much more about PHA than I do about TH. IMO TH won't kill the cow, just the calf. Just my 2 cents.
I know there are some good genetics out there that will make great cattle who are double clean- (we're all trying to find them and use them). And I know there are many more people out there who wouldn't dream of using carrier cattle. IMO carrier cattle can have their place in the short run. In the long run, I think raising and producing clean cattle and building a clean herd can and will pay off. It's so much easier to make a breeding decision- and it's so much more comforting to know there wasn't a mistake at the lab while reading a blood result, or whatever else... Making, and letting clean cattle reproduce takes the alot of the guess work out in terms of keeping calves and cows alive!
In the purebred side of things, maintaining a solid, carrier free foundation herd is quite a bit more important than the club calf side of things... IMO the clubby world is a cluster of big money guys just going with the calendar bull of the month- trying to make THE GREAT ONE- and not worrying about how many dead calves, cows, or crippled sale barn calves they make. It seems that some guys own 40 cows and breed to 30 different bulls... Everything is just a mix match of non-uniformity. The clubby ordeal is all about making a market animal project... THC and PHA carrier meat doesn't taste any different... to me.
It seems when that when clubby world gets in a bit of trouble, they just go back to the purebred side of things to fix their problems; and they should... Defects mainly... maternal ability & calving ease too! Just put a little Angus, Maine, or Shorthorn blood in them... All the more reason to maintain a defect free purebred base. But on the same token, a THC and PHAC cow will still make milk, and raise a calf...
Basically, it boils down to producer preference, and whether or not they believe in the (dirty factor) that can make a calf better in some area.. Whether it does or doesn't, that's just speculation, sometimes. I think all cattle, whether dirty or not, have a place in the industry. Those who want to use it to their advantage- go for it... Those who want to maintain a clean herd- for their advantage- go for it. Those who want to do both- by keeping a free herd, and breeding to dirty bulls- for a "Hybrid vigor like effect" go for it...
but all 3 categories of people still have to worry about...
When's the next defect coming out?