Aubrac cattle breed

[SCRUBS620]

Thanks to all for the warm welcomes. I think some of you mis-took what I was writing about. I agree that the diversity of breeds is a plus and that each breed serves someone needs. I was pointing out my objection to the supposed need to become like the chicken and pork business. They produce pounds above all else and sacrifice flavor for profits. To anyone already involved heavily in these industries I am not trying to anger you. I am sure that you do not have a choice. It is either grow what is competative with the other producers or get out. I just dont want to see the beef industry head down the same road. I know this is off the subject of the original post but thanks for letting me vent. ;-)

 

[Caustic Burno]

If the breed brought as much to the pasture as you claim you would think Angus would be out of business. Did they just invent this breed? Or you are just more exceptional than thousands of cattlemen and are going to lead us out of the wilderness.
Welcome to the board Shanghi.

Come on CB, don;t you find it even moderatly interesting to see these breeds that folks pitch on here? How else are we going to know which breeds are going to be the saviour of the US beef industry.

dun

It is the used car salesmen pitch.

 

[VanC]

If the breed brought as much to the pasture as you claim you would think Angus would be out of business. Did they just invent this breed? Or you are just more exceptional than thousands of cattlemen and are going to lead us out of the wilderness.
Welcome to the board Shanghi.

Come on CB, don;t you find it even moderatly interesting to see these breeds that folks pitch on here? How else are we going to know which breeds are going to be the saviour of the US beef industry.

dun

It is the used car salesmen pitch.

Not all used cars are lemons, and not all used car salesmen are crooks.

 

[redfornow]

Van

You have to remember Dun is from the "show me" state...

MD

 

[Crystalized]

Hello Everyone,

I've enjoyed the "chat" the last few days. This mail is comming from the "Badlands" of Eastern Montana.
The "old timers" around here will tell you to prepare for 6 weeks of 30below(not including wind-chill) in the winter and the same can be said for days over 100 degrees in the summer. We love it here, brisk, if you will.

We have had Aubrac genetics here since 1996...first as a cross with our Angus commercial cows. Because of there performance we have added a growing group of Purebred females. I would invite anyone to view these cattle...we would also view other cattle in the same environment.

The pictures...very typical of a young calf and a mature bull. Also a good example of what defines efficiency in this environment....proper hormone function and fleshing ability. These cattle have it...40 years breeding cattle in a tough place...these cattle have it.

Happy Thanksgivinig to everyone and "God Bless America".

 

[dun]

Van

You have to remember Dun is from the "show me" state...

MD

Whenever I hear about one of the neew wonder breeds, I wonder why they were overlooked when the big push to import continenetal genetics was on.
I don;t doubt that a lot of the breeds have something to offer. But what do they offer that isn;t available in breeds with a much larger established gene pool? Seems kind of funny that they've never caught on. Of the continentals the only ones that really took off were Simmenthal, Charolais and to a lesser degree limousin, but the stalwarts of Angus (both colors), Hereford and to a small degree Shorthorns still pretty much rule the roost.

dun

 

[Aubracusa]

Happy thanksgiving, Dun.

Aubracs were overlooked for two reasons.

First, they're small-framed cattle. Not many people wanted small-framed cattle in the late 60s and 70s.

Second, the region where they're produced is relatively isolated and hard to get to. The producers there didn't have the clout in Paris that the breeders of Charolais, Simmental, Salers and Limousin did at the time.

Eric

 

[VanC]

I'm not saying anything that everone doesn't already know, but a lot of any breeds popularity stems from promotion. Take Angus, for example. Anyone who is honest with themselves, including Angus breeders, knows that there are other breeds that can do what Angus does just as well. But the Angus people got ahead of the game with promotion, took some risks other breed associations weren't willing to, and now it's paying off in a big way. More power to them, I say. Others may be slowly catching up, but they've got a long row to hoe.

Kind of like politics, in a way. The incumbents have a huge advantage over the challengers in money, name recognition and many other perks. Once they're in, it takes quite a bit to get them out.

As for Aubracs, they have a lot to offer, but, as others have said, probably no more than some other more well established breeds. It will be very difficult for them to become real popular, but I have to admire those that try.

As for Aubracusa, I, for one, appreciate the manner that he has explained his position. He has shown himself to be knowledgable, patient, and friendly. He has not bashed any other breeds or picked fights with any other posters. We need more like him. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

 

[Aubracusa]

Thank you, Van C.

We don't seek mass-promotion for Aubrac cattle. We never have seeked it. As I've mentioned in earlier postings, in the early 1990s, we simply identified about a group of innovative and progressive breeders across the country to use them. We wanted to build this quietly, and behind the scenes. We realized the difficulties in doing something different, and have quietly gone about out business of raising good cattle, and not worrying too much about what others had to say.

I agree with you that most cattle breeds pretty much do the same things. But this is a business of percentages, and Aubracs do things that fit OUR production system better than other breeds of cattle do. That gives us competitive advantages over others who would seek to replicate what we've done through the use of a comparable business model or another breed.

Really, I could care less if our detractors see value or advantages in Aubracs above and beyond other breeds. To be frank, our detractors probably wouldn't fit the personality type that we need to raise these cattle anyway. We're interested in people with savvy business skills and cow experience, who are interested in building something that's unique, profitable and different. We don't want people who have invested themselves in "sameness," or have staked out their future in the past.

That's not what the Aubrac business is all about.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[Frankie]

As for Aubracusa, I, for one, appreciate the manner that he has explained his position. He has shown himself to be knowledgable, patient, and friendly. He has not bashed any other breeds or picked fights with any other posters. We need more like him. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

While I roll my eyes at some of your other comments, I agree with this one.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, especially our military both here in the US and abroad. Let the relatives hit the front door and the football games begin!

 

[Aubracusa]

Thanks, Frankie -- and thanks to everyone else who's taken part in the discussion.

I'd also like to say thanks to the troops -- and wish them and their families all the best during the holiday season.

Our freedom to assemble (ie., cattletoday.com) -- and to share our thoughts and ideas -- is secured by their sacrifice.

 

[Badlands]

Doc;

I disagree with your assertions in regards to the time scale in Angus popularity.

I haven't looked at the record for a while, but no one was following Angus anywhere in the 70's too much. If memory serves, it was in the late 60's that numbers started sliding, with a very perilous time in the late 70's. Maybe '78 or so was among the worst years in terms of registrations. It was at this time that breeders started over the edge on looking at frame which continued for a good number of years. Frame, so they could compete with the Continentals, growth so they could compete with the Continentals. Looks like Angus was the one doing the following in that deal, eh?

Normally, you are on top of this, but I wonder if you are romantically remembering this part of history? ;-)

Badlands

 

[Aubracusa]

I think you're right, Badlands.

I can remember well into the mid-1980s culling off the black calves from the rest of our calves to avoid getting docked at the sale barn.

I think Angus registrations bottomed out in the year 1980, and have steadily risen ever since.

 

[Wewild]

Of the continentals the only ones that really took off were Simmenthal, Charolais and to a lesser degree limousin, but the stalwarts of Angus (both colors), Hereford and to a small degree Shorthorns still pretty much rule the roost.

dun

I thought Lim's were the largest Continental breed registered in the United States.

You got a link?

 

[Caustic Burno]

Doc;

I disagree with your assertions in regards to the time scale in Angus popularity.

I haven't looked at the record for a while, but no one was following Angus anywhere in the 70's too much. If memory serves, it was in the late 60's that numbers started sliding, with a very perilous time in the late 70's. Maybe '78 or so was among the worst years in terms of registrations. It was at this time that breeders started over the edge on looking at frame which continued for a good number of years. Frame, so they could compete with the Continentals, growth so they could compete with the Continentals. Looks like Angus was the one doing the following in that deal, eh?

Normally, you are on top of this, but I wonder if you are romantically remembering this part of history? ;-)

Badlands

The problem with the 70's is the bottom fell out of the cattle market and Cattlemen were going under like flies. They were in hock up to there eyeballs. Just like a lot of them today. The ones that survived were looking for the cheapest cow they could find. I was there.

 

[DOC HARRIS]

Doc;

I disagree with your assertions in regards to the time scale in Angus popularity.

I haven't looked at the record for a while, but no one was following Angus anywhere in the 70's too much. If memory serves, it was in the late 60's that numbers started sliding, with a very perilous time in the late 70's. Maybe '78 or so was among the worst years in terms of registrations. It was at this time that breeders started over the edge on looking at frame which continued for a good number of years. Frame, so they could compete with the Continentals, growth so they could compete with the Continentals. Looks like Angus was the one doing the following in that deal, eh?

Normally, you are on top of this, but I wonder if you are romantically remembering this part of history? ;-)

Badlands

Badlands - You are right concerning the market going down in the 70's. My "assertion" was WHEN the realization hit the attention of cattlemen that the TYPE cattle they were breeding was disastrous - and the "slide" began. My subsequent recovery dates are probably skewed because I was not intimately engaged in the business at that time - BUT - it was not romantic memories!!

IN MY OPINION - some of our 'progressive' Angus breeders have taken a radical detour and need to get back on track to BEEF production. You are also right about the glitch in my time scale - - I think I just squinted my eyes shut for a few years - and when I dared to open them - - all I could see were "Funnel Butts!" And for some unfathomable reason - I STILL see too many Angus "Funnel Butts"! That is why I am impressed with some of these Aubrac cattle. Someone is doing something right.

The REFORMATION years of the Angus Breed were traumatic - but NOT romantic.

DOC HARRIS

 

[Aubracusa]

Doc -- I agree with you. What concerns me most about what I see in Angus and Angus crosses is that they are cattle that MUST receive a high-energy ration (re: corn) in order to develop any kind of marketable muscle at all. I see hundreds -- maybe thousands -- of Angus calves come off the mountain every fall. They have good skeletal development. They have deep guts. But they have no muscle. That Aubrac calf you asked me about yesterday was pictured at 90 days of age. No creep. No extra feed. Just dry, mountain rangeland. You put those genetics on an Angus mother, and you have a world beater.

 

[S.R.R.]

What kind of calving problems are we taking about here??

 

[Aubracusa]

Very little. The calves are born small and thrifty. About three weeks after birth, they muscle up. I wouldn't have hard-calving cattle on the place. In fact, calving ease is my first selection criterion. The Aubrac's calving ease was one of the things that appealed to me when I first began studying the cattle. In France, Salers cattle are considered the country's easiest calving beef breed. Aubracs are second, standing one percentage point behind them (93% unassisted versus 94% unassisted).

 

[Aubracusa]

Also, S.R.R. -- I can give you the phone number of a rancher in Canada that raises about 200 head of Aubracs and Aubrac crosses. They've been at it more many years. I think they could give you good information on the production attributes of these cattle, especially on their calving ease. You can email me at [email protected]. I think their number is also on the http://www.aubracusa.com website under Fox Creek Ranch (click "breeders").