I loved this discussion and where it went. Read it all. The question that started to emerge, at least for me, is about composites.
I'm surprised no one mentioned composite breeds, and not very much the use of balancer-type bulls for composite-type herds. From my experience with another species—sheep, Katahdins—the combination of traits, fair to very good genotypical uniformity, AND the preservation of heterosis make composites another answer to the question, Purebred or crossbred base?
Of course, composites gradually tend to become just another pure breed. Especially with use of popular sires. I mean, they may be a great new breed, but heterosis is gradually lost. A couple large operations that originated composites that became breeds, King Ranch in Texas and Adams Ranch in Florida, have created new composites, as most know. A response to market demands for better meat quality and quantity, plus more polled.
In both cases, half their new composites were the old composites that were and are fitted to extreme environments—very hot, basically. As an aside, I find it interesting that both with the Santa Gertrudis and the Braford, the two ranches picked red Angus and Gelbvieh to form the other half of the new breeds. Probably the Adams advisers were influenced by what the King Ranch and its experts picked. But, anyway, each decided what their old breed needed to meet market conditions was better carcass, more polled, and the touch of Continental for milk and growth.
Since I grew up near Adams Ranch, I'd be really interested in knowing how their new Abeef composite holds up to the brutal heat and humidity, insects, and low quality forage. Their Brafords were small cows by today's standards, and tough. They started with Cracker cattle, scrawny survivors, and graded them up with Brahman. then they blended in Hereford to make the Braford. So a lot is folded in there.
Maybe in your environment, winter and ability to winter is a bigger factor. But let's hear it.
There are really smart people who comment on this board who are apparently successful with very different systems. What I learned with sheep? Buy stock from someone who is raising what you want to raise and how you want to do it. Buy from a similar environment if possible. The best thing probably is to buy from someone who's successful in your own region and do exactly what he does. Plus, that way, there'll be more service after the sale.
That's not exactly what I did, because the Katahdin was up and coming, still a bit odd, when I started. It is now the American sheep world's most popular breed—based on registrations, not yet numbers. And maybe will never displace the big western flocks and shouldn't. Those are composites, for the most part, adapted to their environments.
