Like most of you, it is two breeds for us as well, the Herefords and Shorthorns (and the commercials). Of course, my opinions here are based on what I have experienced in both (the Herefords have been on our farm for forty years while the Shorties are relative newcomers at only 9 years), so I'm sure you will not all share the same opinion!
It has taken a long, long time, but I think the Herefords are reaching their genetic goal as a maternal breed - they are there to make COWS: Our experience with using both our own and other bulls in the recent past has been this: Unbelievably functional cows - good feet and legs, more than enough milk in udders with strong udder attachments, fertile enough to have a 365 day calving interval, foraging ability, depth of rib, moderate-framed, docile, pigmented, dark-red, low input beef machines. In studying a number of angus catalogues this year, I have noticed that the marbling scan data we have had with our bulls and females each spring has been at least equivilent to the marbling scan data posted in these catalogues. This is good - and it has taken many, many years to take the breed back from the days where 'everything was kept, because you could sell them.' What the Herefords do not have: The round muscle so desired in the show ring (and not proving its worth anywhere else as of yet), the lean meat yeild of the exotic breeds, and perhaps the most important thing, Herefords still lack a good image. Despite the fact that the cattle are perhaps as functional as they have been in a very long time, unless we convince the packer, feedlot operator, and commercial cow-calf producer that Hereford does not mean dwarfy, curly haired, pink-eyed, bad-gaining, prolapsing, non-milking, goat-bagged beasties, we are doomed. Until we can change this opinion, it will remain tough to sell Hereford bulls.
As for the Shorthorns, I think others have stated it aptly when they've said they dominate in the show ring and are non-existent in the commercial arena. Having been one of those people who purchased some 'commercially-oriented' pedigrees as opposed to some show ring bloodlines, I fear that our biggest problem is not that the show ring bloodlines will not work in the commercial herd, but that those bloodlines which are being touted as the 'commercial cure' are, in fact, a far cry from what is needed. Case in point, some of those commercial-oriented heifer calves I bought are no longer with us, as aside from their very bad feet and very bad udders, they had little milk and were open by the time they were three or four. Needless to say, I am much more careful examining production records when I look into using new genetics.
I am also reminded of the little things that make a good cow 'good' at this time of year especially, as it is calving season at our house. Some of those 'commercial' pedigreed cows couldn't hustle a calf to save their lives, and on the range, that calf would have been coyote bait. I have also heard of more than one Shorthorn producer bragging about how their cow was letting two calves nurse her. What? This is not something to brag about, this is something to cull over! Whatever happened to mothering ability? A cow is supposed to look after her calf and no one else's, not let enough calves suck her that she becomes a rack of bones by fall. Maybe I'm just being a stickler, but I think we can have a balance between show cattle and functional working cattle, and they can happen in the same herd. Our positioning may be dependent on walking to the dairy-barn, looking at what a good udder really looks like, and then walking back to our herd and doing some awfully hard culling.
There are some unbelievable cows in this breed, and if we weed out the crap, we will go places. I do not think we numbers to capture the commercial market as much as we need quality. I, for one, would not have a problem having more potential buyers for my bulls than I had bulls...