tapeworm,
You are the type of internet poster people love to dislike. You come on here without using your name, which is OK, but you choose something with a negative connotation like "tapeworm". Then you choose an avatar like the one you have. Then you won't put where you're from. Then all your posts are lectures from the stuff you've read on the net, telling us all how to improve our operations and your grandkids' futures. Heck, we can read, man. Why don't you speak from your experience in your area of the country, wherever that is? There might be someone on here that could use the information.
Like I told Alacowman, there is no argument here. Cattle below a certain latitude need Brahman blood to thrive, period. Of course there are seedstock operations that raise Hereford, Angus, Charolais, and others, but everyone can't run a seedstock operation. If
everyone did, they would all end up as commercial operations. Chew on that for a minute. When
everyone is raising bulls and females, who is going to buy them? They would all end up in the feedlot.
The commercial man has to be able to make a decent profit or he will do something else. That means having animals that thrive, not just survive. Hereford and Angus thrive in the upper three fourths of this country. They do not thrive in low input commercial systems in the lower 1/4. A commercial man cannot select for the adaptability you speak of and make money at it. You may get one in 3 or 4 Angus that can take the heat alone, not to mention the insects. So what's a cowman to do, buy 60 bred heifers and calve them out, then cull out the 40 or 45 that can't adapt? Then buy 50 more and do the same? Finally get a herd and realize that the adaptability is not passed on to all of the replacement heifers? And because of the stress of the environment, the cows wear out at 10 years of age.
Then the guy looks across the fence at the herd of F1 Brafords his neighbor bought at the same time and sees healthy cows in their prime and producing to 15 years of age. Not to mention the maximized hybrid vigor. Let's see, which guy has made more money over the years? It's a slam dunk. Your problem is that you think the cattlemen down here don't know any better, when in fact it is you who doesn't know any better.
I do want to clear up one thing. I was joking about the Midwest feeders. Hence the ;-) . You like to rib others a bit on the rough side, but you sure can't take it.
One more thing, you don't want me to call you a know-it-all yankee? Quit acting like one. Of course, with an avatar like yours, I don't think any further labels are necessary.