While I have owned a few registered Angus cows and worked for a couple of outfits that DID breed registered Anguses, I have never registered Angus cattle as such and I am not a member of their association and never have been. I also have repeatedly said that I believe that Angus has in the past used outcrosses to make their breed more marketable. Dr Harlan Ritchie (one of the top "gurus" of the American cattle industry) has PUBLICLY come out and stated the same thing. HELLO!!!! everybody already knew THAT and there was no market reaction. Nobody CARES if the breed is "pure" or not as long as they get the job done. Angus has been pushing their tenderness, eating experience, quality grade, and market acceptance for more than a generation. Can I breed Herefords who will put as good a steak on the table as CAB or any other ************* product? Absolutely. However can I even buy Certified Hereford Beef at any retail establishment in the 10 county Birmingham Metro Area (where 24% of the state lives)? Absolutely not!! They sell Certified Angus Beef at the new Foodworld store, Angus pride at the Food Giant, Wal-mart has their own Angus product
http://www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/certprog/beef/Walmart.htm
All right here in my home town. What if I want too buy Nolan Ryan's beef and support my Beefmaster friends?
http://www.nolanryanbeef.com/where_to_buy.php
Nope not in this state. So you rightfully point out that most Angus cattle don't qualify for Angus premiums. THIS is true! What other breed pays ANY premiums??? If it is not black it is just commodity beef and even a lot of that is both black and Angus.
What are your allegations? That Angus breeders and the Angus Association have conspired to downplay their faults, exaggerated their strengths, exaggerated the weaknesses of the other breeds, downplayed the strengths of the other breeds, pushed Angus on cattlemen who could have been better served by another breed, and created a nationwide legend that Angus beef is better beef? They probably ARE guilty of all of that....so?!?!.....isn't THAT their job??
I don't have any cows right now and if the loggers don't hurry up on that clear cut so I can plant this spring I won't have any this YEAR!! but I probably will be buying a set of white face heifers; but I can not in all honesty say that I could NOT find Angus heifers that I would NOT like. True there are Angus out there that are too big, too small, too heavy milking, too lite muscled, too high strung, etc for my taste; but with 400,000 some calves being registered, I probably could pretty easily find a set of good Angus heifers and probably without a lot of work.