Best shorthorn cow families?

[shortybreeder]

What are some of the cow families that really seem to stand out as productive females in the shorthorn breed in this decade? If you can match them up to a specific herd as well for reference that would be great as well.

I'll start us off: It seems to me like the Rosewoods have had a pretty good impact at a few herds such as Leveldale and Jungels.
I also really liked the Elizabeth cows I saw at Hahn a few years back.

 

[mark tenenbaum]

Cumberlands and Margies O0

 

[aj]

Everything out of my old deceased 510 cow.

 

[oakview]

I think somebody developed the Rosewoods long before Leveldale and JSF got ahold of them.  The Leveldale Rosewoods go back many, many generations to EF breeding.  The JSF Rosewoods go back to many, many generations of KL breeding.  I didn't see any specific connection between the EF and KL Rosewoods on the ASA website going back quite a few generations.  Perhaps there is one if you go back far enough.  It appears to me that Leveldale and JSF took advantage of the EF and KL work on developing their Rosewoods.  Nothing wrong with that, most of us have picked up a cow or two along the way that contributed some excellent genetics.  Unfortunately, most of us have purchased a cow or two that was a total waste of money.  I really appreciate AJ's comment about his 510 cow.  My Roseleafs and Augustas seem to be families that have really withstood the test of time in my herd.  I've got lots or Roseleafs, but the Augustas seem to have mostly bull calves. 

 

[shortybreeder]

I think somebody developed the Rosewoods long before Leveldale and JSF got ahold of them.  The Leveldale Rosewoods go back many, many generations to EF breeding.  The JSF Rosewoods go back to many, many generations of KL breeding.  I didn't see any specific connection between the EF and KL Rosewoods on the ASA website going back quite a few generations.  Perhaps there is one if you go back far enough. It appears to me that Leveldale and JSF took advantage of the EF and KL work on developing their Rosewoods. Nothing wrong with that, most of us have picked up a cow or two along the way that contributed some excellent genetics.  Unfortunately, most of us have purchased a cow or two that was a total waste of money.  I really appreciate AJ's comment about his 510 cow.  My Roseleafs and Augustas seem to be families that have really withstood the test of time in my herd.  I've got lots or Roseleafs, but the Augustas seem to have mostly bull calves.

You are totally correct, and this is exactly my intentions behind this post. This fall I'll be essentially "starting over" with our herd and my goal is to find these types of cow families that other breeders have developed and use them as my foundation. I've got a good idea of the herds I would like to visit, now I'm looking for some ideas of cow families to potentially seek out at these operations--or at least have ideas of which cow family to go with if it comes down to picking between cow A or B for which one to bring home if it comes down to it.
I also think this topic could lead to some interesting discussions, so please keep the comments rolling.

 

[oakview]

If I was starting a cow herd, I would absolutely go to a herd that raises cattle just like I was intending to.  I would try to get the best females they would sell from their best families.  If you walk (or drive like us older folks have to do) through the pasture, you will probably note that certain cow family names are mentioned quite frequently.  Picking the best ones from that group is no guarantee, but it sure increases the odds.  I would also add that their are many noted cow families today that have never truly raised a calf on their own.  I like to get females from breeders that have generation after generation after generation of their own breeding on the bottom side of the pedigree.  I'm not going to name names, but there are plenty of those folks out there.

 

[Doc]

That is a kind of a loaded question in some aspects. You can have the standard answers like Myrtle Bo, Revival, Augusta Pride, Margies, Dream Girl, Dream Lady, Lucky Charm, Mona Lisa, Cumberland, Rose, Destiny Best, etc.
For myself and showing my age, some of my favorites besides the ones listed above are : Robin, Missie Ruth, Picture Perfect, Scarlet and Jealousy Par.
Now if you go to someone like Martindell Shorthorns and you will see their herd having the majority of the same cow families such as Lily, Appearance, Model, Mabel and Covergirl. I might have left 1 or 2 off. They have made a good living raising Shorthorn cattle with no off the farm jobs. Those cow families have been their mainstay. But if you look at the pedigree's on their cattle you will see for many generations their farm name listed.

 

[Medium Rare]

I think you could run yourself in circles trying to pick out the best.

Some of the current show ring trends are leaving some awfully productive cow families on the back burner as well. The Picture Perfect, Marie, Minnie, Una, Fools, & Playful Cait lines carry built in longevity as well as production. The Missie Ruth and Macie, previously Maybell??, cows that K's just dispersed were very respectable.

The Butterfly family Leveldale has via the EF herd and the Queen family via the Martindell herd are two that are working well here that often get overlooked. Hard working honest cattle.

There's a never ending supply and various types of the Margie line out there. Have a fun project going on where we dug deep to revive some of the source of that line. Not sure the new kids would even recognize it.

 

[beebe]

Depending on what you are looking for the Rosabell cow family in the Haumont herd has ultra sounded very well for tenderness and marbling. I think the Rosabells make up a large percentage of there herd.

 

[Okotoks]

Depending on what you are looking for the Rosabell cow family in the Haumont herd has ultra sounded very well for tenderness and marbling. I think the Rosabells make up a large percentage of there herd.

Is there an ultrasound test for tenderness? The 3 Haumont heifers we got had high marbling scans, 2 are Rosabells.

 

[beebe]

Dr. Allen Williams developed the software and does do tenderness.  Last summer I did every animal on the place,  Shorthorns  did very well Haumont Shorthorns did extremely well.

 

[beebe]

So that I  am fair, the two Sparkle cows that came here from JITs herd also did extremely well.  And they are producing great calves.

 

[RyanChandler]

I think it’s poor practice to get caught up in the promotional concept of cow families. 

If I were starting over,  I wouldn’t even look at pedigrees.  Know the type that is productive in your environment and select individuals who possess that type.  There’s too much variation in any cow family to ever reliably use the cow family name as a valuable descriptor. 

 

[aj]

I guess that for the most part I agree with x-bar. You may have a cow that really raises good offspring. If you are linebreeding......maybe cow families make sense. It is a promotion gimic for the most part. The beef industry talks in things like sire groups. But if you like to drive around pastures with white painted fences drinking wine spritzers and making love to a pedigree......you may be a cow family guy.

 

[beebe]

But if there was a cow that was in the herd after producing ten upper end calves and had three daughters that were doing the  same, I might want to take a look at a son or a grandson of hers.  In fact I just did that with a bull that I purchased from  Norris Albaugh.

 

[Shorthorn-Fed]

I firmly believe in keeping the cow lines within their names. You can notice traits from each line even considering the different sires used.
They may not be considered the best Shorthorn cow families but we have some long running lines at the farm with Clipper, Betsy, Daisy, Goldie, Florence, Muffin to name a few.
I would also say that a young cow- heifer should never be able to rest on the accomplishments of their name lineage. A good lineage should be an advantage for the animal to build its own reputation on.

Rusty

 

[RyanChandler]

Depending on what you are looking for the Rosabell cow family in the Haumont herd has ultra sounded very well for tenderness and marbling. I think the Rosabells make up a large percentage of there herd.

The fact that there’s as much variation within their rosabells as there is within their entire herd is point in case why I oppose this cow family notion.

Jargon is always alluring but I’ve yet to find any value in speaking in terms of cow families.

 

[beebe]

Going back to the ultrasound data, the Haumont cattle were all in the upper echelon for marbling and tenderness however they were not all Rosabell's.  The fact that the Rosabell cow family is as well represented in the herd as it is, is an indication of their performance. 

 

[r.n.reed]

I think value in a cow family is realized when the breeder makes an effort to preserve and enhance the traits that led them to purchase the original foundation female.I have told this story on here before but in 1973 I purchased a Helianthus heifer from the Haumont herd that became the foundation female to my Helianthus cow family.Except for one short visit in 1988 I did not return to the herd until 2005.As we toured the herd I asked Mary Bell Cooksley if she had many Helianthus cows in the herd.At that point we were approaching a group of about 25 replacement heifers.She told me there were 3 in that group and I found them with 4 picks.Mary Bell then proceeded to tell me one of the traits of that cow family is a long dry spell between heifers.I have seen that in my own herd as well.

 

[idalee]

If  you follow the history of the Shorthorn,  cow families were always a prominent part of discussions of those early breeders  and it seems to have made a lot of sense in those days.  Today,  the breed is so mixed up with various breeding tangents,  it seems that the good in those cow families has been fragmented.  In herds where a cogent breeding philosophy has been followed, in herds like Haumont,  cow families are still important and show a predictable breeding pattern.  I would suggest that you would be best served to visit establishments who have a rational breeding program,  rather than just the latest fad, to find your strong cow families.    I am not recommending Haumont in particular,  just using them as an example.