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Discussions on different breeds?

A

andybob

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Joined
May 24, 2006
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Location
Fordingbridge England.
Would there be any interest in posting different breeds, not only those we have experience with, but also other breeds we might have come across at sales or just read about?
I thought this might just stimulate a different type of debate from the common "my breeds better than your breed" thread.
 
Not quite sure what the objective of the thread is andybob - if it's just to name breeds and list the qualities their breed association claim what does it achieve? If we're not allowed to make critical comments or relay experiences we've had with particular breeds what do we talk about?
 
Here are my perspectives on different breeds of cattle we have been around.

Charolais cattle totally have there place for adding pounds for terminal crosses with maximizing heterosis.

Herefords have been around forever and deserve respect for all around cattle that offer a variety of maternal and carcass traits. The F1 baldy black or red are tough cattle to beat.

Simmental cattle have changed from years ago and probably offer both the terminal and the maternal strengths for crossbreeding.

Angus is a power house association and have worked hard to become what they are. There are a lot of angus in the world that are working.

Saler cattle.... We used to have them and this is just my opinion but they were a breed that grew to fast and the natural culling for disposition did not take place and that is why they decreased in numbers as fast as they grew. We did cull hard for disposition and ended up with a solid set of cows that worked well for us. I still think they offer a great cross for terminal cattle with a lot of vigor at birth. There are still a lot of good saler breeders in the country.

Belgium Blue cattle are really heavy muscled and cool to look at, but probably not for me.

Red Angus (now I may be a little biased) offer a lot of traits that are valuable in crossbreeding including maternal and carcass. They have been on a hot streak for awhile and have been gaining popularity.

I guess I don't know much about north devon or even south for that matter.

These are just a few that I have been around or have knowledge of. Just my opinions and sure hope I didn't just start the fight.

If we were to add a breed for crossbreeding today it would be Hereford or Simmental but pretty certain Hereford.

have a good one

lazy ace
 
Beef Breeds are like brands of pickups, tractors, or balers. We all have our own favorites for different reasons. They all have their own pluses and minuses. We can all agree to that???
 
The British had draft horses and beef, the Continent had oxen….. :D :D :D
But will agree that those Continental cattle make for a good terminal cross.
But then I live in heavy snow country, and 2 to 3 tons of hay to a Herford or Angus cow, the Charolais and Simmental tend to have to fork out a lot more hay. 8)
Still have a little brisket show up on Angus up on high summer range, not much , but every once in awhile.
 
jodywy said:
The British had draft horses and beef, the Continent had oxen….. :D :D :D
But will agree that those Continental cattle make for a good terminal cross.
But then I live in heavy snow country, and 2 to 3 tons of hay to a Herford or Angus cow, the Charolais and Simmental tend to have to fork out a lot more hay. 8)
Still have a little brisket show up on Angus up on high summer range, not much , but every once in awhile.
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One persons terminal cross is often anothers maternal cross. Some of us feel that a few extra fork fulls of hay over the winter for a continental is more than worth it :wink:
 
Sometimes we need to take into consideration that it is not always what we want, but what the buyers are seeking and are willing to pay a premium to acquire. I have considered one of the long-haired breeds in the past, but decided to run the idea by a gentleman who purchases a lot of local cattle, and whose opinion I highly respect. He strongly advised against it because in feedlot situations, the extra hair gathers a lot of mud. He more or less indicated that he wouldn't bid on cattle of this cross, so I discarded the idea and sold the one bull that I had bought at a loss. :?
 
Grassfarmer said:
Not quite sure what the objective of the thread is andybob - if it's just to name breeds and list the qualities their breed association claim what does it achieve? If we're not allowed to make critical comments or relay experiences we've had with particular breeds what do we talk about?
Click to expand...

More a case of looking at breeds not in general use, and discussing their merits, and possible benefits and disadvantages in our breeding programs, some "out of the box" thinking perhaps?
Eg would the North Devon work to produce a good F1 with the Galloway to reduce the amount of hair in warmer weather, as this seems to be a major complaint with an otherwise exelent cold weather breed.
 
How do you want to care for them, and what problems can you deal with well? What does your climate and facilities require? I like a lot of cattle, but I like quality in whatever breed I deal with. I acknowlege that a lot of traders have made more money dealing with scrubs than I do trying to have the best quality. I believe that when cattle are good, any thing will make ya a buck, but when things get tight quality will be required to get two people interested enough to compete on bids. Fellas that survive over a period of years generally have quality. Lots of people have a great program with a variety of breeds, but quality is the common denominator.
 
OK andybob I'll throw this one in as out of the box thinking :D

I quote a breeder;

"We are producing Whitebred Shorthorn cross Highland cows at 440kgs with a three-month-old calf weighing 140kgs. By the time it is weaned the calf is over three-quarters of the mother's own bodyweight which in anyone's book is highly efficient production."

Hard to argue with that for performance. Check out http://www.whitebredshorthorn.co.uk

The difficulty in my opinion would be sourcing enough good quality WB Shorthorn and Highland cattle but like any breed I guess there are good ones out there.
 
The first Galloway sired calves we sold were 1/2bloods out of Angus cross cows and they made us money, topped the sale that day in fact. They had been on swath-grazing with their mommas right up until the day before they sold. The buyers thought they'd been weaned and on feed they lloked so shiny and full. Part of that was the winter and feed we had, part was the genetics, but it worked.

Purebred Galloways always get discounted for the reason Soap mentioned - hair collects tag. Maurice Boney told me he made alot of money on Galloways over the years until he tried sending them to feedlots in the mid-west where mud was a problem. He said they quickly acquired the nickname "Mudballs" b/c that's all that was left of them. They'd get so covered in tag they wouldn't even be gaining weight.

The cross with the North Devon is intriguing for sure. Knock some hair off, add more milk I would think, and compliment each other very well for efficiency and grass-finishing. Some of the best looking critters on our place right now are Galloway x Brown Swiss from our milk cow. We have a couple daughters that are 1/2 bloods, one 3/4 daughter and 1 3/4 Galloway son. He's really something to see. I'm quite tempted to breed him to a bunch of heifers.
 

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