Doc said:
Phenotypically she is a good looking cow. The one thing is tho, I blew it up some and all I could see was one teat on the right side. Am I just missing it ? I wonder if she goes back to any US breeding?
I wondered the same thing about her udder, but I have been told her udder is flawless by a person who has seen her. I guess that is why pictures don't always tell the entire story. I was told that she is several generations of Argentinan breeding in her pedigree, but several generations back there is some US breeding. I am trying to find out more but I have not been able to find any place on the net where I can research Argentian Shorthorn pedigrees, I maybe haven't been looking in the right places yet though.
One of my neighbours, who I consider to be a very good cattleman, attended the Palermo show this past summer, and he came back saying that he felt there were some excellent cattle down there. He was pretty impressed with some of the Shorthorns he saw. I have seen several pictures of cattle that I think look pretty powerful, but as I said, pictures are only pictures.From the pictures I saw from last year's show, the Reserve Grand bull looked pretty powerful. That is why I am hoping to go to Argentina this year to see for myself. Pictures are just that, and can deceive. I learned this lesson many years ago when looking for a herd bull. I was sent a picture of a bull that was selling in a US sale. He looked impressive, so I drove 1000 miles and for most of those miles, I wondered how much money it would take to get him bought. When I arrived and walked to the stall where the bull was standing, I knew within 3 seconds that I would not even be bidding on the bull at any price. I think he sold for $1800 and was never heard of again. For once I was very glad I had took the time to drive to see for myself, rather than just place a bid on the bull based on a very good picture.
I have been told that genetics from Argentina ( semen and embryos) cannot be imported into the US, however they can be imported into Canada, providing all the health protocol is followed. There has been Red Angus embryos brought into Canada from Argentina, and the resulting calves are receiving pretty good reviews. A Red Angus heifer calf from an Argentinan embryo sold this fall in a sale here in Canada for $46,000.
I have been told that cattle in Argentina are very moderate framed, very easy fleshing and extremely sound in their make-up. They are bred to survive on grass, however, they do feed their show cattle to be fat!