trevorgreycattleco
Well-known member
I stole this from a angus breeder who I am growing to appreciate. Made me think. How bout you?
Most everyone my age remembers the old Avis commercial about trying harder because they were No. 2. I don’t know where we rank in the purebred business, but it sure isn`t No. 1. But instead of trying harder, we just take it easier. While No. 1 manages his cows, our cows manage for themselves. While No.1 selects cattle that are extreme in their genetic traits, the most ribeye, the most milk, the most growth, we avoid extremes altogether. No 1 breeds for higher and higher production, we breed to cure or prevent the problems No 1 causes.
No1-itis is a contagious disease that,unfortunately, a lot of purebred cattlemen and commercial cattlemen catch. The disease is camouflaged with feed, and spread by the dreamweaver sales managers , AI studs, and the Drs. at the universities. It was a Frame Disease outbreak the last era that caused many to swallow an expensive and bitter pill; and now the first destructive symptoms of the “carcass craze” are showing up as no butt, no nuts, no guts, and non-functional cows. It is still early and not yet an epIdemic; but it will help keep the average lifespan of an Angus breeder at under 7 years. The “sugar daddy” herds will eventually retire or regroup to be the next “new and improved” No 1, but those without life support from another source will die a quiet death.
It doesn`t have to be that way; there is a place for carcass{on the plate} and a place for the cow{in the pasture}; the dreamweavers lie is that both can be had in one animal with consistency. The cow and the carcass isn`t a which came first, the hen or the egg, dilemna; the cow came/comes first, and always will. Without efficient reproduction, there is no carcass {except the cow herself.}
Most everyone my age remembers the old Avis commercial about trying harder because they were No. 2. I don’t know where we rank in the purebred business, but it sure isn`t No. 1. But instead of trying harder, we just take it easier. While No. 1 manages his cows, our cows manage for themselves. While No.1 selects cattle that are extreme in their genetic traits, the most ribeye, the most milk, the most growth, we avoid extremes altogether. No 1 breeds for higher and higher production, we breed to cure or prevent the problems No 1 causes.
No1-itis is a contagious disease that,unfortunately, a lot of purebred cattlemen and commercial cattlemen catch. The disease is camouflaged with feed, and spread by the dreamweaver sales managers , AI studs, and the Drs. at the universities. It was a Frame Disease outbreak the last era that caused many to swallow an expensive and bitter pill; and now the first destructive symptoms of the “carcass craze” are showing up as no butt, no nuts, no guts, and non-functional cows. It is still early and not yet an epIdemic; but it will help keep the average lifespan of an Angus breeder at under 7 years. The “sugar daddy” herds will eventually retire or regroup to be the next “new and improved” No 1, but those without life support from another source will die a quiet death.
It doesn`t have to be that way; there is a place for carcass{on the plate} and a place for the cow{in the pasture}; the dreamweavers lie is that both can be had in one animal with consistency. The cow and the carcass isn`t a which came first, the hen or the egg, dilemna; the cow came/comes first, and always will. Without efficient reproduction, there is no carcass {except the cow herself.}
