This is true. But I could never in a million years get bulls that looked like that sold out of the pen to commercial cattlemen, no matter what their production records or carcass stats were. (And especially not for $30,000. At least one of those herds is not making all their money in the commercial cattle business, by the prices they are asking for their animals). Commercial cattlemen (in our part of the world) are still looking for the big, burly, thick, masculine yearling bulls to compete with their Simmental and Angus counterparts. They are not looking for squinty-eyed, little, puddy red dumplings and and if that's what we produce, they will be going somewhere else to buy their bulls. Which will, in turn, leave us with very little net or gross income.
There has got to be a balance between functional maternal traits, growth traits and eye appeal. The packaging is important. I find the fact that there are NO curve-bending bulls being advertised in the Shorthorn breed to be a disgrace. Its either low birthweight and no go, or big birthweight and too much go. Is it too much to ask for a happy medium?
These herds are as extremist as the show-ring-only herds, IMHO.
[/quote]
I gotta agree SIQ. Ed Rinkoff called me one time about a cow of mine in a sale. Said he wanted to have a herd of all horned Shorthorns without any Irish breeding(which I see by his bulls he gave up on). That in itself would be a task, but to sell them IMO would be a major one. I tell you one thing, if he gets those prices for those bulls I will ship my whole herd up there for him to disperse for me. ;D