I really could not care less if this was true. We all raise Shorthorns ( or cattle of any breed) for a definite reason and if you want to produce show cattle, all I have to say is more power to you. I have come to the conclusion that people who dwell on this stuff are only using it for a crutch or an excuse for their own breeding program not getting ahead. Quite frankly, you can do whatever you want to do with your own breeding program. You do not have to follow the crowd and if you feel that most in the breed are heading in the wrong direction, I would think that would be a great incentive for you to get your butt in gear and produce some awesome cattle that are being demanding in the real beef industry. I know there are lots and lots of producers that have no interest or very little interest in the show ring, so these people need a place to source genetics for their breeding programs. There is a considerable market waiting for someone to design good useful real world breeding stock, yet I see so few actually doing something about it. The ones that do the most complaining are usually the ones that have no goals and no motivation to improve their own herds.
I have never understood why so many people complain about what the breed association does or doesn't do. If your success is going to be based on what your breed association is going to do for you, well you are going to have a long miserable time in that breed. Your success is based on what YOU do and no one else.
This afternoon, I received another phone call from a guy wanting to buy a Shorthorn bull. I am sold out,except for a bull I have kept for a back-up in case a herd bull gets hurt. This guy said, that he had never used a Shorthorn bull before but when he talks with his neighbors, Shorthorns are almost always talked about favorably. I see the interest in this breed slowly getting stronger over the past few years and I think it will continue to get better. It will be what the breeders do that determines how this plays out far more than what the breed association could ever do. I would suggest the time has come for everyone to quit complaining and get busy improving your own herd and not worry about what other breeders are doing.
I recently wrote an editorial in the Canadian Shorthorn Report in which I referenced a conversation I had with one of the largest cattle buyers in this part of the world. He predicted that Shorthorns ( and he mentioned one other breed) could be entering the best years they have had in history. He said that he hears cattlemen and feedlot managers, oftentimes saying that they are liking many of the Shorthorns they are seeing today. He also put a caveat on his comment, when he said, that the level of success this breed has in the future will depend totally on how its breeders react to this trend. It will have far more to do with the breeders than it will the cattle themselves. I could not agree more with what he said.
There is room for everyone, to do whatever they want, in any breed. Pick the market you want to produce cattle for and plan your breeding program accordingly. Success is not just based on the banners hanging in your office or barn. Personally, I think success is based on seeing cattle you planned and raised, going out and doing a good job for your customers. But so many find it so much easier to B**ch and moan about what someone else is doing ... or not doing!
