RyanChandler
Well-known member
Ran across a very interesting and informative piece about the Irish Black cattle breed. I had vaguely herd of the breed prior but never really read much into them. Does anyone here have any experience with the breed? I know their breeding philosophy is one I highly subscribe to. Hoping maybe someone here has some personal experience to share?
http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2008/April/CT1529.shtml
**Maurice Boney is worried about the beef business. He says the U.S. cow herd is too diverse, comprised of too many breeds and too many gene-trait combinations, to ever produce consistently high-quality products for consumers.
So he's spent much of his life trying to do something about it. Boney, who ranches near Johnstown, Colo., has been developing a linebred breed of cattle called Irish Blacks and Irish Reds for nearly 40 years. The breed, trademarked by Boney and marketed under an exclusive contractual agreement to a select but growing group of producers in 22 states, is gaining attention from cattle feeders, packers and restaurateurs as an answer to many of the industry's most pressing concerns. Derived primarily from Friesian genetics and a small amount of Black Angus genetics (35 years ago) from the old “Revolution” line, the breed has been close-herd line-bred for built-in genetic predictability to transmit quality genetics for fertility, production attributes and superior beef quality.
“The genetic make-up of a large portion of today's beef herds is highly heterozygous,” explains Boney. “Because most cattle in the U.S. cow herd are heterozygous – instead of homozygous — for important production and carcass traits, they've lost their ability to transmit desirable genetics for carcass quality and fertility to their offspring.” The result of all this heterozygosity, explains Boney, is genetic instability, inconsistency and diminishing beef quality.
“The extremely broad and ever-expanding gene pools of today's cow herds will only ensure beef's quality continues to decline,” he says. “That's why we have concentrated on producing a highly concentrated, small genetic pool of cattle for correcting many of the problems the industry faces today. Less than two percent of cattle attain the Prime quality grade. The percentage of Choice-quality carcasses falls every year. Our program is built on correcting those problems by producing cattle with heightened predictability to transmit superior, proven genes to their offspring.” Boney's efforts trace back to 1971 when he began implementing a linebreeding program built on the teachings of Dr. Jay Lush, a professor at Iowa State University and world-renowned geneticist.
Both Guy Gould and Maurice Boney believe there are six fundamental reasons for commercial producers to use Irish Blacks and Irish Reds: First, genetic purity. The breed has four decades of disciplined line-breeding behind it. It has had no other breed's blood introduced into its small gene pool, which has been the case in many “pure” breeds in the United States.
“It's most important to understand that a percentage bull cannot, and will not, reproduce himself,” says Boney. “Simple arithmetic bears this out: calves sired by a halfblood bull only possess 25 percent of the blood that one is trying to make improvements with. Then consider one's chances when using a percentage bull whose gene pool is made up of several different breeds. The result of such matings will produce a broader more diverse gene pool with hundreds of different gene trait combinations.”
Adds Boney: “The big bonus for the commercial producer in using our purebred bulls is the resulting heifer calves. These F1 heifers should be retained......."
http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2008/April/CT1529.shtml
**Maurice Boney is worried about the beef business. He says the U.S. cow herd is too diverse, comprised of too many breeds and too many gene-trait combinations, to ever produce consistently high-quality products for consumers.
So he's spent much of his life trying to do something about it. Boney, who ranches near Johnstown, Colo., has been developing a linebred breed of cattle called Irish Blacks and Irish Reds for nearly 40 years. The breed, trademarked by Boney and marketed under an exclusive contractual agreement to a select but growing group of producers in 22 states, is gaining attention from cattle feeders, packers and restaurateurs as an answer to many of the industry's most pressing concerns. Derived primarily from Friesian genetics and a small amount of Black Angus genetics (35 years ago) from the old “Revolution” line, the breed has been close-herd line-bred for built-in genetic predictability to transmit quality genetics for fertility, production attributes and superior beef quality.
“The genetic make-up of a large portion of today's beef herds is highly heterozygous,” explains Boney. “Because most cattle in the U.S. cow herd are heterozygous – instead of homozygous — for important production and carcass traits, they've lost their ability to transmit desirable genetics for carcass quality and fertility to their offspring.” The result of all this heterozygosity, explains Boney, is genetic instability, inconsistency and diminishing beef quality.
“The extremely broad and ever-expanding gene pools of today's cow herds will only ensure beef's quality continues to decline,” he says. “That's why we have concentrated on producing a highly concentrated, small genetic pool of cattle for correcting many of the problems the industry faces today. Less than two percent of cattle attain the Prime quality grade. The percentage of Choice-quality carcasses falls every year. Our program is built on correcting those problems by producing cattle with heightened predictability to transmit superior, proven genes to their offspring.” Boney's efforts trace back to 1971 when he began implementing a linebreeding program built on the teachings of Dr. Jay Lush, a professor at Iowa State University and world-renowned geneticist.
Both Guy Gould and Maurice Boney believe there are six fundamental reasons for commercial producers to use Irish Blacks and Irish Reds: First, genetic purity. The breed has four decades of disciplined line-breeding behind it. It has had no other breed's blood introduced into its small gene pool, which has been the case in many “pure” breeds in the United States.
“It's most important to understand that a percentage bull cannot, and will not, reproduce himself,” says Boney. “Simple arithmetic bears this out: calves sired by a halfblood bull only possess 25 percent of the blood that one is trying to make improvements with. Then consider one's chances when using a percentage bull whose gene pool is made up of several different breeds. The result of such matings will produce a broader more diverse gene pool with hundreds of different gene trait combinations.”
Adds Boney: “The big bonus for the commercial producer in using our purebred bulls is the resulting heifer calves. These F1 heifers should be retained......."
