Hereford76
Well-known member
To any Hereford people out there - please read this article and send a response to either Kim or the Great Falls Tribune editor. In my opinion Kim made a lame attempt with her article on the Hereford breed in Montana.
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070325/NEWS01/703250301/1002
Dwindling breed evokes memories of Montana's rich ranching history
By KIM SKORNOGOSKI
Tribune Staff Writer
The son of bull royalty, Prince Domino IX lived and died on the Willow Creek Ranch at the base of the Highwood Mountains near Belt.
Weighing more than a ton, his wide back and square body sat short to the ground — the epitome of the Hereford breed. His strong genes have since passed on to his more than 6 million descendants.
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"That's what a bull should look like," said Jack Hoover, whose father bought the bull for $5,000 in the 1920s.
These days, few do. Once as much a part of Montana's landscape as the prairies it grazed, the Hereford has been replaced.
Forty years ago, Montana Hereford breeders registered 23,000 calves a year. Today that's dropped to just 3,000.
Driven by aggressive and clever marketing, Angus is king, and Montana is the capital of the kingdom. The state has five of the country's largest Angus breeders and claims more registered Angus cattle than any other state.
Many of the qualities that made Herefords a vital part of developing the cattle industry in Montana during the homestead era are no longer prized.
"Every breed has their pros and cons," said Montana State University Professor Janis Rumph, who specializes in animal breeding and genetics. "There's a lot more focus on what the consumer wants, looking toward the end product."
Herefords are sturdy and hardy.
Their size and short legs helped them traverse the various terrains throughout the West. Their hides are thick, helping them adapt to both cold and warm weather. And Herefords are fast growers — what they eat efficiently converts into pounds of meat.
A bull, heifer and cow were first imported from Herefordshire in western England to Kentucky in 1817. With small numbers of cattle in the states, Hereford breeders didn't have much luck expanding their herds until two New York businessmen shipped over a dozen cows and calves at the exorbitant price of $8,000 in the 1840s.
The Herefords took a star turn at the 1844 New York State Fair, where the "Albany Cultivator" lavishly praised the breed.
"(Herefords) are the very best animals that could be selected," the paper wrote. "No one can help being struck by the extraordinary size of the cows, their fine forms and their substantial development, denoting strength and power."
By the 1870s, Herefords were part of the larger commercial herds moving west.
By the time W.H. Hoover and Sam Stephenson Jr. purchased Prince Domino IX, Hereford cattle populated the hills surrounding the Willow Creek Ranch. Each spring, breeders traveled from across Montana and Canada to buy the bull's offspring.
Spanning 6,000 acres, the ranch kept 400 head of cattle.
"The ranch had a good reputation. People came from around the country," Jack Hoover said.
When the partners died, Hoover's family sold the ranch. It now raises Black Angus.
The Makis are one of two ranching families in that area still raising Herefords. Though it's growing more difficult to find bulls and the market price is dropping, Ken Maki refuses to switch to Angus.
Because they are scarcer, Hereford bulls can cost between $3,500 and $4,000, compared to $1,500 to $2,500 for an Angus bull of similar quality. Top Hereford bulls are priced at $20,000.
Meanwhile at the slaughterhouse, Herefords are worth between 3 and 10 cents less per pound — a difference that adds up when yearlings weigh more than a ton.
"In the local market, black is beautiful," Maki said. "There's no excuse for it, but that's the way it is."
Faded signs along Montana's highways welcome drivers to cattle country. The bull on the sign has the white face of the Hereford.
But that is no longer the face of the cattle industry. Beginning in the 1950s, breeders experimented to accentuate specific Hereford traits.
Some pushed to make their bulls even bigger. That resulted in more work for ranchers, as their heifers needed more help delivering the larger calves.
John Paterson, beef cattle specialist with the Montana State University Extension Service in Bozeman, said that in response, ranchers began breeding Angus bulls with Hereford cows and heifers.
"They ended up with a wonderful cross with a white face and a black body," he said. "They got cattle to grow faster and were better at reproduction."
The cross also removed one of the Hereford's genetic flaws. When the sun reflects off the snow it can burn the cows' white udders, causing moms to kick away their hungry calves.
In the 1970s, dozens of exotic breeds, such as Chianina, Gelbviehs and Limousins were imported from France, Germany and Italy and bred with Herefords to further tweak the breed.
Paterson said breeders got carried away, and it wasn't long before their herds were a mottled mess.
"Buyers came in and said, 'Good God, you've got every color cow in the rainbow,'" he said.
Musselshell rancher Ben Brillhart, Montana's representative in the national Hereford Association, said breeders made other mistakes. They exchanged muscle mass for larger frames and paid little attention to milk quality.
"We were just so big and so dominant, we just thought we'd never be knocked off the top rung on the ladder," Brillhart said.
As Hereford breeders struggled, Angus ranchers answered industry concerns by creating the Certified Angus Beef program.
That stamp means the cow is half Angus. The other half could be anything but a dairy cow. Over time, the golden and red cattle dwindled.
While ranchers grew to appreciate Black Angus because the breed's udders didn't chap, buyers appreciated their highly marbled — and therefore tender and juicy — steaks.
Through the certification program, the American Angus Association built a reputation for quality and consistency.
"Just because it's black doesn't mean that underneath the hide they are a good cow," Paterson said. "But blacks sell. The mystique has been marketed very well."
Just like the Disney brand is identified as family entertainment, Angus is identified as excellence.
"They've sold Angus with the idea that if you said the word 'choice,' you would think Certified Angus Beef," Paterson said.
These days, grocery stores carry everything from T-bones to sirloins sporting the certified Angus sticker. Semis carrying the meat also are labeled with a certified Angus logo.
Fast-food restaurants such as Hardee's, McDonald's and Burger King are capitalizing on the brand, bragging that they serve Angus burgers.
"I don't just sell black animals," said Darrell Stevenson, whose family raises purebred Angus cattle two miles east of Hobson. "I sell high-performance predictability."
The Stevenson Basin Ranch is the largest registered Angus breeder in North America. Each year, buyers flock from all over the world to buy the 3,000 bulls and 4,000 females sold at spring and falls sales or through private arrangements.
Stevenson works daily with cattlemen in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and nearly every country in South America. In the late '80s, the ranch sold the largest-ever replacement shipment of heifers to Japan.
Several other Angus breeders report similar success. Just 40 years ago, Montana's Angus breeders registered roughly 14,000 calves a year. Today they register more than 30,000 annually — 10 times the number of the second-most popular breed, the Herefords.
"The best Angus breeders in the world are right here in Montana," Stevenson said. "Montana is a true leader in the beef industry."
Though they don't have the numbers, Hereford, Charolais, Red Angus and Simmental breeders in Montana are building a national reputation as well. Last week, the Cooper Ranch south of Three Forks drew buyers from across the West to purchase Herefords.
Trends evolve over generations of cattle, but technology is speeding change.
Rachel Endecott, a beef cattle specialist at Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory near Miles City, tracks the trends.
Artificial insemination makes it easier and cheaper to breed high-quality cattle. Frozen bull semen can be shipped easily, costing as little as $20 for enough to inseminate a cow.
Stevenson spends much of his time collecting data and charting breeding information. DNA samples are taken for research in marbling and meat tenderness.
Ultrasound machines measure rump and rib fat to determine the true value of the carcass.
Rumph encourages breeders to cross cattle to highlight the best characteristics of each breed.
With corn being used to create ethanol, the cost of feeding cattle is climbing. Consequently, Endecott expects cows will be bred for efficiency — growing as much as they eat.
Ranchers also are looking to save themselves time and stress. They want cows with gentle dispositions that care for their calves and don't need help giving birth.
Health-conscious consumers are leading more and more ranchers to skip hormones and other non-natural additives.
"We have some pretty visionary cattle breeders in this state," Endecott said.
Following the successful Certified Angus Beef program, the Hereford Association is starting its own certification programs.
"Every breed is trying to do it to promote their breed," Brillhart said. "It took 14 years or so to get that program going. They were the trendsetters in the meat industry that way."
It could take years to know whether the Hereford Association will be as effective in marketing its brand.
Ken Maki is willing to be patient. Though he's turning over the ranch operation to his son Paul, the family plans to stick with Herefords.
Even many of the Maki's Herefords have some Black Angus blood.
As he pet a Hereford heifer, whose newborn calf wobbled to stand for the first time, Paul Maki noted that few breeds are as gentle and easy to work with.
"You don't have to jump a fence when its with its calf," he said. "Life's too short to be watching your back every moment that you're out here."
Now the best place to see a great Hereford bull like Prince Domino IX is in a museum. Charlie Russell contemporary O.C. Seltzer created two oil paintings of Prince Domino in a grassy field with Herefords dotting the horizon.
They hang at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls. A bronze of the bull completes the shrine.
"I still think they are some of the most beautiful cattle in the world," Hoover said.
Reach Tribune Staff Writer Kim Skornogoski at 791-6574, 800-438-6600 or [email protected]
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070325/NEWS01/703250301/1002
Dwindling breed evokes memories of Montana's rich ranching history
By KIM SKORNOGOSKI
Tribune Staff Writer
The son of bull royalty, Prince Domino IX lived and died on the Willow Creek Ranch at the base of the Highwood Mountains near Belt.
Weighing more than a ton, his wide back and square body sat short to the ground — the epitome of the Hereford breed. His strong genes have since passed on to his more than 6 million descendants.
ADVERTISEMENT
"That's what a bull should look like," said Jack Hoover, whose father bought the bull for $5,000 in the 1920s.
These days, few do. Once as much a part of Montana's landscape as the prairies it grazed, the Hereford has been replaced.
Forty years ago, Montana Hereford breeders registered 23,000 calves a year. Today that's dropped to just 3,000.
Driven by aggressive and clever marketing, Angus is king, and Montana is the capital of the kingdom. The state has five of the country's largest Angus breeders and claims more registered Angus cattle than any other state.
Many of the qualities that made Herefords a vital part of developing the cattle industry in Montana during the homestead era are no longer prized.
"Every breed has their pros and cons," said Montana State University Professor Janis Rumph, who specializes in animal breeding and genetics. "There's a lot more focus on what the consumer wants, looking toward the end product."
Herefords are sturdy and hardy.
Their size and short legs helped them traverse the various terrains throughout the West. Their hides are thick, helping them adapt to both cold and warm weather. And Herefords are fast growers — what they eat efficiently converts into pounds of meat.
A bull, heifer and cow were first imported from Herefordshire in western England to Kentucky in 1817. With small numbers of cattle in the states, Hereford breeders didn't have much luck expanding their herds until two New York businessmen shipped over a dozen cows and calves at the exorbitant price of $8,000 in the 1840s.
The Herefords took a star turn at the 1844 New York State Fair, where the "Albany Cultivator" lavishly praised the breed.
"(Herefords) are the very best animals that could be selected," the paper wrote. "No one can help being struck by the extraordinary size of the cows, their fine forms and their substantial development, denoting strength and power."
By the 1870s, Herefords were part of the larger commercial herds moving west.
By the time W.H. Hoover and Sam Stephenson Jr. purchased Prince Domino IX, Hereford cattle populated the hills surrounding the Willow Creek Ranch. Each spring, breeders traveled from across Montana and Canada to buy the bull's offspring.
Spanning 6,000 acres, the ranch kept 400 head of cattle.
"The ranch had a good reputation. People came from around the country," Jack Hoover said.
When the partners died, Hoover's family sold the ranch. It now raises Black Angus.
The Makis are one of two ranching families in that area still raising Herefords. Though it's growing more difficult to find bulls and the market price is dropping, Ken Maki refuses to switch to Angus.
Because they are scarcer, Hereford bulls can cost between $3,500 and $4,000, compared to $1,500 to $2,500 for an Angus bull of similar quality. Top Hereford bulls are priced at $20,000.
Meanwhile at the slaughterhouse, Herefords are worth between 3 and 10 cents less per pound — a difference that adds up when yearlings weigh more than a ton.
"In the local market, black is beautiful," Maki said. "There's no excuse for it, but that's the way it is."
Faded signs along Montana's highways welcome drivers to cattle country. The bull on the sign has the white face of the Hereford.
But that is no longer the face of the cattle industry. Beginning in the 1950s, breeders experimented to accentuate specific Hereford traits.
Some pushed to make their bulls even bigger. That resulted in more work for ranchers, as their heifers needed more help delivering the larger calves.
John Paterson, beef cattle specialist with the Montana State University Extension Service in Bozeman, said that in response, ranchers began breeding Angus bulls with Hereford cows and heifers.
"They ended up with a wonderful cross with a white face and a black body," he said. "They got cattle to grow faster and were better at reproduction."
The cross also removed one of the Hereford's genetic flaws. When the sun reflects off the snow it can burn the cows' white udders, causing moms to kick away their hungry calves.
In the 1970s, dozens of exotic breeds, such as Chianina, Gelbviehs and Limousins were imported from France, Germany and Italy and bred with Herefords to further tweak the breed.
Paterson said breeders got carried away, and it wasn't long before their herds were a mottled mess.
"Buyers came in and said, 'Good God, you've got every color cow in the rainbow,'" he said.
Musselshell rancher Ben Brillhart, Montana's representative in the national Hereford Association, said breeders made other mistakes. They exchanged muscle mass for larger frames and paid little attention to milk quality.
"We were just so big and so dominant, we just thought we'd never be knocked off the top rung on the ladder," Brillhart said.
As Hereford breeders struggled, Angus ranchers answered industry concerns by creating the Certified Angus Beef program.
That stamp means the cow is half Angus. The other half could be anything but a dairy cow. Over time, the golden and red cattle dwindled.
While ranchers grew to appreciate Black Angus because the breed's udders didn't chap, buyers appreciated their highly marbled — and therefore tender and juicy — steaks.
Through the certification program, the American Angus Association built a reputation for quality and consistency.
"Just because it's black doesn't mean that underneath the hide they are a good cow," Paterson said. "But blacks sell. The mystique has been marketed very well."
Just like the Disney brand is identified as family entertainment, Angus is identified as excellence.
"They've sold Angus with the idea that if you said the word 'choice,' you would think Certified Angus Beef," Paterson said.
These days, grocery stores carry everything from T-bones to sirloins sporting the certified Angus sticker. Semis carrying the meat also are labeled with a certified Angus logo.
Fast-food restaurants such as Hardee's, McDonald's and Burger King are capitalizing on the brand, bragging that they serve Angus burgers.
"I don't just sell black animals," said Darrell Stevenson, whose family raises purebred Angus cattle two miles east of Hobson. "I sell high-performance predictability."
The Stevenson Basin Ranch is the largest registered Angus breeder in North America. Each year, buyers flock from all over the world to buy the 3,000 bulls and 4,000 females sold at spring and falls sales or through private arrangements.
Stevenson works daily with cattlemen in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and nearly every country in South America. In the late '80s, the ranch sold the largest-ever replacement shipment of heifers to Japan.
Several other Angus breeders report similar success. Just 40 years ago, Montana's Angus breeders registered roughly 14,000 calves a year. Today they register more than 30,000 annually — 10 times the number of the second-most popular breed, the Herefords.
"The best Angus breeders in the world are right here in Montana," Stevenson said. "Montana is a true leader in the beef industry."
Though they don't have the numbers, Hereford, Charolais, Red Angus and Simmental breeders in Montana are building a national reputation as well. Last week, the Cooper Ranch south of Three Forks drew buyers from across the West to purchase Herefords.
Trends evolve over generations of cattle, but technology is speeding change.
Rachel Endecott, a beef cattle specialist at Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory near Miles City, tracks the trends.
Artificial insemination makes it easier and cheaper to breed high-quality cattle. Frozen bull semen can be shipped easily, costing as little as $20 for enough to inseminate a cow.
Stevenson spends much of his time collecting data and charting breeding information. DNA samples are taken for research in marbling and meat tenderness.
Ultrasound machines measure rump and rib fat to determine the true value of the carcass.
Rumph encourages breeders to cross cattle to highlight the best characteristics of each breed.
With corn being used to create ethanol, the cost of feeding cattle is climbing. Consequently, Endecott expects cows will be bred for efficiency — growing as much as they eat.
Ranchers also are looking to save themselves time and stress. They want cows with gentle dispositions that care for their calves and don't need help giving birth.
Health-conscious consumers are leading more and more ranchers to skip hormones and other non-natural additives.
"We have some pretty visionary cattle breeders in this state," Endecott said.
Following the successful Certified Angus Beef program, the Hereford Association is starting its own certification programs.
"Every breed is trying to do it to promote their breed," Brillhart said. "It took 14 years or so to get that program going. They were the trendsetters in the meat industry that way."
It could take years to know whether the Hereford Association will be as effective in marketing its brand.
Ken Maki is willing to be patient. Though he's turning over the ranch operation to his son Paul, the family plans to stick with Herefords.
Even many of the Maki's Herefords have some Black Angus blood.
As he pet a Hereford heifer, whose newborn calf wobbled to stand for the first time, Paul Maki noted that few breeds are as gentle and easy to work with.
"You don't have to jump a fence when its with its calf," he said. "Life's too short to be watching your back every moment that you're out here."
Now the best place to see a great Hereford bull like Prince Domino IX is in a museum. Charlie Russell contemporary O.C. Seltzer created two oil paintings of Prince Domino in a grassy field with Herefords dotting the horizon.
They hang at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls. A bronze of the bull completes the shrine.
"I still think they are some of the most beautiful cattle in the world," Hoover said.
Reach Tribune Staff Writer Kim Skornogoski at 791-6574, 800-438-6600 or [email protected]