In response to the original post... Lord, help us if that happens! Thank goodness not every Simmental breeder went down that path...I think that's what saved us when the market crashed in '94. Because of that, Ryan, there were actually some usable bulls by the late 1990s. Not that every bull from 1980 until the mid 90s was all bad--we actually owned a Papillion son from Volks in NE that was a pretty dang good bull. I've seen some train wrecks, too, though...Pavilion, Superstar, Lightning, Tribute, Victory, and my favorite...Keystone. I had one of those, too...the best thing I got out of owning that bull was an education about real world cattle breeding! And the next bull I bought was a good one! We had cattle out of some of those big bulls that weren't bad cattle, but there weren't a lot of em that you could classify as small framed or early maturing. In all honesty, I think our weaning weights have increased or at least maintained as we've decreased frame drastically, and we've improved efficiency, productivity, fertility, soundness & longevity.
I'm actually going back and using some Bold Future on some Angus cows that I manage now, and those heifers are sure nice. I like em enough that I plan to make some more of em next year!