Frankie":oni1md8c said:
CopeMan":oni1md8c said:
How many of you all out there like or are involved in cattle showing? If your in the seedstock buisness , is winning shows what really helps market your cattle? What makes all the AI bulls so famous? I never have understood this. In my opinion cattle showing is alright, its never something I got to excited about, Ive had opportunities to show cattle but turned it down. I love to look at cattle and see them, and watch them. really and truly for me I would rather go and sit at the cattle market all day and see cattle. Which I do quite frequently. Thats like I would rather go coonhunting with a bunch of ole' hounds instead of sittin around at a dog show watchin coonhounds. Just my opinion.
We run a small registered Angus operation and we are not involved in the show business at all. IMO, the show end and the performance end of the Angus business are barely related. I know some of my bull customers well enough to not even mention that the bull he's interested in is a half brother to the grand champion at Denver. They want to hear BW, EPDs, ADG, IMF, etc.
What makes AI bulls famous is advertising and production. Every year you'll see in the Angus Journal young bulls bought for thousands of $$, then advertised heavily for a year, then they disappear. But a good bull that produces all over the country will still be selling semen after he's dead. The Angus bull N Bar Emulation EXT didn't get popular until he was about eight years old and his semen is expensive if you can find it. But I could give you a list of yearling Angus bulls that were "hot" for a few months and then cooled off completely.
I know several people who have a few head of show stock for their kids or grandkids to play with. There's money to be made there and things for kids to learn, but sometimes the show stuff leaks over the their performance herds and that can be a problem. Some small producers claim showing gives them an opportunity to get their genetics before the public and that's fine. But I believe performance testing bulls at a major bull test station does the same thing and gets them before the people who are really interested in buying my bulls. And if I can produce bull test station winners, I must be doing something right with my cowherd, thus my cows or heifers sell well, too.
I think in the Angus business, you need to know which market you're aiming for, show business or commercial cattlemen. I'd be more interested in the Angus show business if they told you the breeding of the heifers as they walked into the showring, or posted EPDs.
Another opinion, for what it's worth.....[/quoteFrankie ], I am sure you know more than I do , but all the shows that I have been to in the last several years they listed the epd,s in the show program and handed a carcass sheet to the judge. I will admit however that I havn't sat and watched a black show all the way through. I have never have even picked up a show program. I would think however the way the breed promotes their epd's , that they would be in the show program. They will also usually anounce the class winners sire as well.Btw I would say that 878 calves that I think you said you use would make up a large part of the show strings. I also know ext calves were the deal for awhile till the stupid disposition got the best of them.