The Great Plains of North America were once home to massive herds of Buffalo - roaming free, but loosely managed by the native peoples. In Alberta we visited 'Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump' - a site that was used from about 5000 years ago until less than 200 years ago to harvest buffalo for meat, tools, clothing and shelter - basically everything you needed to survive, plus some additional spiritual virtues. It was ideally placed where good grazing attracted big herds on their way south in the autumn, the topography lended itself to 'mustering' the buffalo together and heading them towards a cliff which they would run off if stampeded. The bottom of the fatal drop was close to a water supply and firewood for processing the carcases, and near to a good wintering camp for the people. There is an estimate of 2 million buffalo on the Great Plains before the white man came, but realistically there is no way of knowing - the entire US beef cow herd today is just under 30 million. The story of the near destruction of the wild buffalo by the white man brings a tear to my eye - and the pressure this destruction put on the people whose whole society was built firmly on that one animal can't be looked upon without a bit of shame. But in different times, Society looks at issues from different perspectives - we've had a 'paradigm shift' since the late 1800s, and I look back now on the wrongs done having enjoyed meeting the cattlemen who now run the Great Plains, with my belly full of their beef ...and corn and wheat and soya. |
Then someone brought a Hereford bull, and the first cross was better than the Longhorn, so everything gradually went Hereford. A spell later and an Angus bull got used and the same thing happened - first cross was better, next cross was better still and the herds slowly went in the Angus direction.
Then the continentals came along. Guess what? The same thing happened. First cross was better, next cross was still OK, next cross in and wham - all of a sudden the cows were too big, too much milk, too much growth, too lean and couldn't cope with the environment. Train Wreck.
An influence of the continental was still good though, but the Angus was still king of the feedlot, and nothing could beat the Hereford for durability when times got hard. So a cross-breeding structure of some kind is going to work. Ranches and cattlemen were set up for big herds on open range, and even those with a lot of fencing are using it now to rotationally graze large numbers in single mobs, so a straight breeding system is practical in terms of using bulls and managing cows.
The compromise is the composite. And that is acceptable because straight breeding has always worked before, and about half way between an Angus and a Continental is a fit for the environment and the market, and ultimately profit. Someone told me 'you can learn to like any type of cow if she leaves you a profit'.
Then the continentals came along. Guess what? The same thing happened. First cross was better, next cross was still OK, next cross in and wham - all of a sudden the cows were too big, too much milk, too much growth, too lean and couldn't cope with the environment. Train Wreck.
An influence of the continental was still good though, but the Angus was still king of the feedlot, and nothing could beat the Hereford for durability when times got hard. So a cross-breeding structure of some kind is going to work. Ranches and cattlemen were set up for big herds on open range, and even those with a lot of fencing are using it now to rotationally graze large numbers in single mobs, so a straight breeding system is practical in terms of using bulls and managing cows.
The compromise is the composite. And that is acceptable because straight breeding has always worked before, and about half way between an Angus and a Continental is a fit for the environment and the market, and ultimately profit. Someone told me 'you can learn to like any type of cow if she leaves you a profit'.
That leads me to Nichols Farms in Iowa - Dave Nichols will be inducted into the Saddle and Sirloin Club Portrait Gallery next month (Nov '15) for his impact on the US beef industry. He started his Angus herd with a heifer in 4H, got involved with Simmentals and now runs 1500 cows in Iowa and sells just short of 600 bulls a year - 100 Simmentals, 180 Angus and 300 Composites. He played his part in turning SImmentals black and polled saying "We sold our last red bull in '98 - at $500 less than his black counterpart". The photograph is of some of his fledgling South Devon herd - I think they were some of the best cattle I have ever seen - which he is incorporating as another line into his composite.
Iowa is the state of Pork and Corn - there are a lot of pigs here! I think the cattlemen have learnt from the pig men to line breed the foundation stock so that there is performance built into the raw materials, then cross-breed with complimentary breeds and sell a hybrid. I think the key to this working is that none of the initial 'purebreds' are very far apart phenotypically. It's going to take a paradigm shift for this to happen in the UK beef industry I think.
Iowa is the state of Pork and Corn - there are a lot of pigs here! I think the cattlemen have learnt from the pig men to line breed the foundation stock so that there is performance built into the raw materials, then cross-breed with complimentary breeds and sell a hybrid. I think the key to this working is that none of the initial 'purebreds' are very far apart phenotypically. It's going to take a paradigm shift for this to happen in the UK beef industry I think.