Found this Q & A and though I would ask your opinon of it.
Is this true or false?
SL
Is this true or false?
SL
Q. Let's talk about breed selection. Your seedstock program includes Red Angus, Black Angus, Hereford, Tarentaise and composites of these breeds. Why aren't you concentrating on just one breed - Angus or Hereford, for instance - as quite a few others in the business do?
A. Our seedstock program has always been focused on producing great maternal genetics. We like efficient, easy-fleshing, moderate-sized, low-maintenance momma cows that can raise a good calf every year for many, many years – with minimum supplementation. For nearly twenty years, we have taken a unique and different approach to seedstock production – in comparison to most of the mainstream, big-name seedstock producers.
Most of our new customers need to downsize their cows while adding thickness and fleshing ability. In those situations we usually recommend our Angus or Red Angus bulls. When a customer has cows of the correct size and type, however, we like to be able to provide him or her with the opportunity to introduce some hybrid vigor into their cowherd – through the use of our Hereford, Composite and/or Tarentaise bulls. Hybrid vigor (heterosis) has a very positive effect on cow production, fertility and longevity. The lifetime production of a crossbred cow will be much, much higher than that of a purebred cow. That translates into more profit.
Hybrid vigor is like 2 + 2 = 5. It is as close to a free lunch as you will find in the cow-calf business. Allow me to provide another analogy. Breeding Angus to Angus is like depositing money into a checking account. What you put in is exactly what you will be able to take out. In contrast, breeding Angus to Hereford is like depositing money into a savings account. When you withdraw your money from a savings account you will take out more money than you deposited – because of the interest your money earned.
A Composite is nothing more than a synthetic breed made up of two or more breeds. The intent is to combine the good traits of two or more breeds to form a superior breed. We designed and produced our first Composite cattle in the late 1980's to maintain high levels of hybrid vigor and breed complementarity – without all the hassles and frustrations of a typical crossbreeding system.
A properly managed crossbreeding system requires you to identify the breed makeup of every cow you own – and to sort them into different breeding pastures to be bred by different breeds of bulls. It is not simple or easy. The use of Composite bulls, however, allows you to run all of your cows in one herd (if you want) with one set of Composite bulls. This makes it possible for you to implement and take advantage of rotational grazing.
