aj said:
If the Shorthorn breed would stop cattle shows for 10 years......the breed might get back on the right path. Most.....not all Shorthorns have little if any enviromental pressure put on them. Its mostly show feed......semen......embryos and et. No natural selection....this is problematic.
I think that using cattle shows as a reason we can't get the breed on the right path is an excuse that we all have used for far too long. Not all breeders are interested in producing show cattle, and I think we have far more breeders trying to produce cattle that will work in the commercial industry than ever in the past decade or two. I certainly do wish the show ring could move closer to real world cattle, but that does not mean that all show cattle are not useful. Some are excellent. I don't see why what happens in the show ring should affect the cattle you or I use in our breeding program. Of course, we need to keep up on what is happening in the shows but we certainly have the ability to decide what we are going to use in our own herds.
As for environmental pressure, I guess that would be different depending where you are located. I am sure the environmental pressure in Western Kansas would be a bit different from central Illinois. We all have to select cattle that work in our environments. As I have said more than a few times before, there are cattle from all bloodlines that can work for you and there are also cattle from all bloodlines that won't work anywhere. I have a cow in my herd, that is a true testament of this. If you judged her only by her pedigree, many would say she would not work in a real world operation. Her sire and dam were both US National Champions. Our cattle are run in a commercial way, and winter on basically hay and fresh air. This cow is picked out by almost every visitor as one of their favorites. She is always fat, despite milking well and raises great calves. One of my commercial bull buyers absolutely loves this cow and he recently purchased a set of 4 embryos from her in a sale, for $1400 each. He said he did not think he could afford to buy sons of her, so he was going to try to produce some himself. In my opinion, she simply works and asks no questions.
As far as semen, embryos, etc, there is no breed that does not utilize these techniques. That is not going to change so we better all get used to it. With costs raising at alarming rates, semen and embryos are becoming the most economical method of acquiring new genetics for your herd, whether you live a few states apart or in another country. I think AI and ET will only become more important when you consider the overall advancement of a breed. That is not going to change. It is up to each of us as breeders to sort though all the cattle we have available to use, and select what will work for us. The advancements we have today in genetic testing and other advancements are mind blowing and they are changing so fast I can't begin to keep up. That is not going to change. We are living in a pretty amazing time in the advancement of beef cattle.
Personally, I think it is time we toss all the excuses aside, and start to design cattle we think will work regardless of what others are doing. Production is only one part of the equation, as we all have to become better at marketing. I am convinced that if we produce the right kind of cattle and do the right kind of marketing, they will sell. Seems to me there is a saying about building a better mouse trap....