But the bottom line is, if you show up at Louisville or Denver with tons of cattle that are just "show cattle" then what does that say about the breed. Show breed. Drives me nuts honestly.
Why does that drive you crazy? That's all they are, at least in the US. That's all they will ever be as long as color is discrimination commercial cattle markets due to the CAB program. You can like it or lump it, it's just how it is. It's why Maines and Simmis are no longer red and white.
Oh yeah, Im curious..... How did those 100,000 dollar plus heifers do? Is it possible to make money on something that expensive or just a very nice write off?
The sooner you people stop comparing the show cattle business to commercial beef production and "making money" the sooner you'll run out of useless things to complain about. Showing cattle at the top level is more akin to racing horses at the top level than it is to beef production. They don't buy yearlings for $800,000 to 1.2 or 3 million in order to turn a profit later on. Less than 1% of those high priced horses ever make it to a grade one race let alone win one. They do it for recreation and for the competition. Now if you are John Sullivan and you have the factory that makes the product these recreational buyers want to purchase, then you are doing it for profit. (clapping) Good for him.
There are a few show ring type angus bloodlines but IMO they are just a very small part of the angus breed revenue and exposure.
That's because Angus is a viable commercial cattle breed in the US and shorthorns are not. It has nothing to do with their quality or their ability to perform to any measure, it has to do with their color. That's just the end of the story. I don't see any reason not to embrace it for what it is and enjoy your breed instead of beating your head against the wall for nothing.
As far as Trump related lines go, JIT brought up the point that few of the cattle at Agribition will have Trump in their lines. I think the reason for that is that a "prettier" animal is required here if you want to compete consistently. I think its easy to look at the Canadian cattle that win and the ones that win here and draw that distinction. That's not to say they aren't better cattle even, its just obvious that "pretty" isn't always weighed as heavily there as it is here. It has been that way in almost any breed since we began to import cattle from Canada 25 years ago. And it is difficult to get that "pretty" without sacrificing some other things without using something from Trump lineage. I am not saying that it doesn't happen from time to time, just not as consistently.
As to the % of SULL and Cates prefix cattle that show up in the list of entries, I am surprised it isn't more than that, frankly. Congratulations to Todd and the Vogel family. I my mind theirs is the only program that consistently competes with the big boys. Their success should be an example to all that try to compete with the elite breeders. It can be done.
As to the deal about having breeders judge cattle, that sure sounds like a good idea on the surface. In my estimation the only thing worse than allowing a breeder who also shows cattle to judge a show is using judging team members fresh out of college with their canned reasons. Their are "big name" individuals that have zero shame when it comes to picking cattle owned by other breeders who are also judges. I think it becomes more and more blatant as time goes on and those judges have seen no financial repercussions for their actions. After all, it's an "opinion." Obviously sometimes these outfits have the cattle to win, but many times there is no realistic justification. And I believe that is getting to be the norm rather than the exception in some breeds.
Commercial producers are the driving force behind the angus breed.
