Beef breeds from Dual Purpose Cattle

[hillsdown]

You can find many good milking cows in the pure beef breeds as well, so its certainly nothing I'd get myself all hung up on. Pick your breed and find some good stock. They exist in virtually every breed.

Rod

Well said Rod. The world is vast, thus so are the different breeds. What works for one may not be ideal for another. IE a Brahman herd where I live would not fair well in the winter unless they were given adequate shelter like indoor heated housing .Which would prove to be cost prohibitive as in the opposite scenario also.

I think you can find a " happy medium' with the majority breeds out there especially with the X'ing of breeds. Kind of like the best of both worlds..Find a breed that suits you (temperment and handling) and is right for your environment.

 

[ShuterSunset]

I have been raising Red Poll cattle all of my life and am probably a little biased. My grandfather started raising them in 1941. Anyway, there are quite a few qualities that I like in my Red Poll cattle besides the fact that it is a family tradition and the breeders around the country treat each other like family. I like the mothering ability of our cows. They drop a good healthy calf on the ground and do a good job of taking care of it. They are protective, yet not over agressive. I think that our F1 and Red Poll influenced commercial females will fit right in in the commercial industry, and I am hoping to develop a program targeting this opportunity in the future. The temperaments on our Red Poll cows are very good. All most all of them will stand in the pasture to let you scratch them. Granted, many of them have been on the show curcuit in the past, but even those that were never shown are quite a bit quieter than our clubby cows. We have been fortunate enough to do pretty well in the show ring over the last few years and I enjoy that side of the industry, even though the Red Poll's aren't often looked at during over all champions in interbreed competition. I grew up eating Red Poll beef and haven't found anything as tender and tasty, even our "angus" beef. We had a half blood steer that was reserve grand over all in a state wide commercial carcass contest a few years ago and our carcass data at the Indiana State Fair has been favorable when compared to many of the other breed champions. I understand that the Red Poll may not be as thick or as pretty as some breeds, but I think that the breed as a whole is making progress and we have always strived to be on the thicker, more moderately framed, easier keeping end of the spectrum. Anyway, just thought that I would share what I like about our Red Poll cows.

 

[Brandonm22]

The original French Simmentals definitely had more than a little dairy type influence in them. I am not all that well versed on their history; but I do believe that they do trace back to the do it all milk, beef, oxen European cow.

Of course it is hard to see that (or much breed character) in today's American Angusized Simmental herd.

 

[novatech]

Back when grandpa needed milk it did not make any difference what the breed was. Any cow that had extra milk would do.
One of his favorites was a freckled faced Hereford. Seemed like it was the same with most farmers. As time went on and more store bought products were becoming available they got out of the dual purpose type cattle. Today you find relatively few truly dual purpose type cattle.