Potential genetic defect in Shorthorn cattle

[aj]

My point with Doublestuff is that he was a triple carrier. I think you could argue that ds could almost be tolerated......except that pha is floating around. If pha was eliminated the dsc condition becomes a almost nothing deal. Someone said no one uses thc bulls anymore. Damn Proud seems to be used. Is he dsc also.....?

 

[oakview]

Damn Proud and Vegas are about the only THC bulls that I see listed as sires in all the sale catalogs I get and there aren't a lot of them.  There just aren't many being used today in purebred herds.  In my opinion, TH and PHA will eventually become self eliminated due to the refusal of most breeders to use carrier bulls.  Club calf herds are an entirely different matter.

 

[librarian]

Some people have been pointing out that
A. The genetic defect curse upon Shorthorns is already becoming irrelevant.
Why perpetuate a myth that Carriers are Winners?
That's bad press and sends a bad message to youngsters. The defects are already being bred out and animals are winning without carrying defects. The whole thing sounds like a superstition. Luck charms are rampant among gamblers, but they are not truths. The only reason to advertise falsehoods is to sell something to naive people.
The major Carriers of real interest are historic sires that remain useful for the purpose of replacing themselves with clean progeny. It's always handy to go back to the original to keep a bloodline from slipping away. Mate some clean half sibs and the genetic potency is preserved in clean form. But you need the original to get there. This is specialized work and should be left to those that have developed programs based on those bloodlines. They will clean things up because that's good business for them.

B. There are good Shorthorn breeders out there succeeding at selling bulls into commercial herds. These breeders already prioritize culling defect carriers from their programs.
Shorthorn sires do have offspring performing in feedlots, but they are crossbred.
Breeding commercially viable Shorthorn bulls is also specialized work and we should support those who have put in the time to build herds that will produce this type of bull. It's a limited market and for the time being we should only put our best programs forward.
Undermining the foundation that is being built, brick by brick,  among these breeders by promoting flash in the pan bulls of haphazard matings to commercial ranchers is what can hurt the breed. Nobody is going to get rich selling commercial bulls, but if we concentrate on sending commercial customers to a limited number of breeders who are cooperating instead of competing, the functional roots of Shorthorns will again take hold. This is the advertising challenge.
These are observations and realizations. Everybody can't be a breeder. I think we would get father, faster, as a breed by narrowing the field instead of trying to attract new members by selling unsustainable expectations. Maybe the Association doesn't need to be bigger, just more focused on growing new herds with seedstock packages of regional genetic strains. How is ASA meeting the needs of these breeders to gain recognition and increase access, as a group, to customers?

 

[caledon101]

I'm not sure it's an issue of how many or how few carrier animals are actually shown or not shown. It's the perception of the breed in general that's evolved. And, I believe that as long as the association leaders and managers avoid implementing a plan designed to slowly eradicate these genes from the breed population, the perception will persist.

As soon as someone points out the facts around the shorthorn association position on fatal defect genes the response is to project the attention away to the Angus breed and all the defects they have identified.

Question.....are there any other beef breeds in North America that have no policy in place to eradicate fatal defect genes? If the answer is no then I suggest that might explain the existing perception?

 

[Duncraggan]

Some people have been pointing out that
A. The genetic defect curse upon Shorthorns is already becoming irrelevant.
Why perpetuate a myth that Carriers are Winners?
That's bad press and sends a bad message to youngsters. The defects are already being bred out and animals are winning without carrying defects. The whole thing sounds like a superstition. Luck charms are rampant among gamblers, but they are not truths. The only reason to advertise falsehoods is to sell something to naive people.
The major Carriers of real interest are historic sires that remain useful for the purpose of replacing themselves with clean progeny. It's always handy to go back to the original to keep a bloodline from slipping away. Mate some clean half sibs and the genetic potency is preserved in clean form. But you need the original to get there. This is specialized work and should be left to those that have developed programs based on those bloodlines. They will clean things up because that's good business for them.

B. There are good Shorthorn breeders out there succeeding at selling bulls into commercial herds. These breeders already prioritize culling defect carriers from their programs.
Shorthorn sires do have offspring performing in feedlots, but they are crossbred.
Breeding commercially viable Shorthorn bulls is also specialized work and we should support those who have put in the time to build herds that will produce this type of bull. It's a limited market and for the time being we should only put our best programs forward.
Undermining the foundation that is being built, brick by brick,  among these breeders by promoting flash in the pan bulls of haphazard matings to commercial ranchers is what can hurt the breed. Nobody is going to get rich selling commercial bulls, but if we concentrate on sending commercial customers to a limited number of breeders who are cooperating instead of competing, the functional roots of Shorthorns will again take hold. This is the advertising challenge.
These are observations and realizations. Everybody can't be a breeder. I think we would get father, faster, as a breed by narrowing the field instead of trying to attract new members by selling unsustainable expectations. Maybe the Association doesn't need to be bigger, just more focused on growing new herds with seedstock packages of regional genetic strains. How is ASA meeting the needs of these breeders to gain recognition and increase access, as a group, to customers?

This is the most insightful post I have read in a long time!

 

[aj]

Where does one find out the "rules of engagement" for breeds national annual meeting? Does one have to be put on an agenda to make a motion and etc.. I assume that the directors do most of the voting but I assume delegates are the next level of power? The breeders elect the delegates and the breeders elect the national directors........If peta shows up with someone playing a trumpet and marching around the room with a sign.......who throws him out?

 

[knabe]

.....If AJ shows up marching around the room with a sign...Th...who throws him out?

A security guard belonging to at least 17 minority groups.

 

[aj]

I won't make the Shorthorn cause I am allready signed up for the "Black Catholics matter" convention.

 

[Okotoks]

If a person has questions about the American Shorthorn Association meeting wouldn't the best source of info be.......wait for it....... the American shorthorn Association ???
If you want to regulate genetic defects(because today's society is all about rules and regulations)why not start a discussion on the Association's FB.
In this day age I can't imagine anyone getting into a breed without doing some research. Both the American and Canadian Shorthorn websites have a genetice defect section... might be a clue to check it out. There are a lot breeders with tested herds it really isn't hard to navigate if one takes the time. Commercial breeders are usually well informed and know how to get the information they want. I don't understand why people still use carriers but I that;s their business, I'll keep testing and using free genetics.

 

[knabe]

You have never been envolved with production agriculture.

darn it. just sold some Maine bulls again to a commercial guy.  too bad they weren't your shorthorns.


i'm not sure what envolved means.