aj said:
They don't wanna be fair or unfair. They want consistencies and they want pens that look alike.
Exactly. Of course I don't like the discount my red or roans receive but I've always accepted the fact as it's a pretty reasonable explanation as to why. I've never interpreted it as a knock to the intrinsic value of my calves. It's just that they're -different- whether better or worse is a non factor. Buyers want consistency and most importantly,
predictability. Knowing that cattle that
look similarly perform similarly, buyers have an incentive to hedge the risk of buying source-unknown cattle and do so by setting up phenotypical parameters in an attempt to minimize outlier performance, ie minimize days on feed / finish weight / cover variances. I don't like the outcome, but in terms of being able to accurately project performance, I can see why feeders are more inclined to put their money on similar (appearing)pens of cattle as opposed to gambling on the unknown.
Outlets like the Shorthorn Assn's great state feedout is a practical alternative for those of us the breed and I hope we see more of this. I think additional measures have to be taken by the Association to organize and facilitate an affordable and efficient means of bringing together SH cattle from across the country. Not only would this provide producers with a more profitable option for their cattle, but it would assist in attaining what the
SH breed needs most, performance documentation!
There is a quote by an AAA executive that says something to the effect of "Angus cattle aren't better because they're Angus or because they're black, they're better because of the information behind them." And in terms of predictability, the value of their performance documentation is hard to dispute. Angus cattle are the most documented breed of beef cattle there is and the AAA has done a tremendous job of decreasing the level of risk assumed by producers by making this information available.
For Shorthorns to rival the current position of the Angus breed will take documentation,, and lots of it! I'm a big proponent of our new WHR program, I think it's a huge step in the right direction. That being said, we need more. We need kill data. Buyers want to know once they retain possession of your cattle, how will they perform. Margins are tight and feeders are less willing to gamble. We need to minimize the risk of incorporating Shorthorn genetics and the only way we're going to accomplish this is with a preponderance of documentation substantiating our claims. Talk is cheap- we need cold. hard. facts.
