This message is in response to the question posed to Hereford breeders on what you would be doing by influencing your herd with Herefords.
Initially all I want to say is that you answered your own question when you stated that Herefords are 1/2 the equation when making a black baldy cow. But there is a lot more to be said than the Hereford breed contributes to the top three F1 cross cows (HerefordxGelbvieh, HerefordxCharolais, HerefordxAngus) in production today. As with any breed the Herefords have changed a lot over the years - some for the good and some not, but regardless of the trends some very prepotent traits have always been a part of the Hereford breed. To me the most important of them is what I refer to as DO-ABILITY, rugged cattle with hardiness, fertility, mother-ability, prolificy, and docility all rolled up into one breed. I make my living in the Heart of the Great North American Desert where we rely on about 8 inches of precipitation annually and 6 of the last 10 years we have had less than 5.5 inches of precip annually. The county I live in has lost over 90% of its tax base from cattle and the few guys that still have cows either have Hereford or Hereford cross cows. As a cattleman, I don't know how Hereford influence can be overlooked by the beef industry. I believe that most people making a living raising or feeding cattle today have to pay attention to their bottom line and cannot afford ineffeciency anymore. Heterosis is something I cannot believe producers overlook but I can understand producers hesitance about Hereford Cattle. I realize that our nations cowherd is predominately black and there has been atleast one generation of ranchers that have no direct experience with Hereford cattle and all they have to go buy is the stories that "Grandpa" used to tell about his old Hereford cows. I have experienced most of the stories and traits producers corellate with Herefords such as prolapse and cancer eye but to the breed's defense I want to say that those cattle are gone and if you still see those kind of problems you need to go somewhere else for your genetics. The last 10 years has been pretty tough for Hereford breeders and the breed has seen a lot of good producers and good cattle end up as commercial cows especially in Montana where the cattlemen are finatic about "black" cattle. My point is that over the last 10/15 years there has been as hard a culling effort within the Hereford breed as there ever has been and prolapse and cancer eye is less problematic in the Hereford breed today than it is in several other breeds.
I guess to sum this up, efficiency in all aspects of the beef industry today is what will keep you in the business. Efficiency will be the most important change you will make by influencing your herd with Herefords.
Also to respond to the Horned vs Polled issue - I've always believed that you need to make that decision from your own experience. Try a good Holled bull and try a good polled bull and you decide what you like better. I have my own beliefs on the issue but they came from personal experience.
Also if anyone is wondering about the dilutor gene within the Hereford breed, please feel free to ask me. I have paid a great deal of attention to the issue and have knowledge on this science behind it that a lot of purebred breeders don't.