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What ever happen to breeding for quality? All you see is if it's black it must be good. It shouldn't matter if it's a black, red, or spotted calf. What should really matter is the quality of the calf and the quality of the carcass. I think everyone goes a little too far to breed for color and hair. What will happen to the beef industry if we keep breeding for the wrong reasons?
 
> Too late! even most cattlemen think you need to eat beef bloody in order to be able to chew it.
 
Everyone has an opinion and is entitled to breed whatever makes them happy. None of us is likely to get rich in the cattle business. So we should at least enjoy looking at what we're raising. I think the "other" breeds have shot themselves in the foot by turning themselves black. And I see more and more red Limousin cattle in my area again. So maybe that fad is over. "What will happen to the beef industry if we keep breeding for the wrong reasons?" The same thing that always happens, people will go broke, others will see their mistakes and breed for whatever makes them $$$. What one producer percives as "quality" cattle may not be what another is looking for. Lauras Lean beef pays very good premiums for lean animals that will yield. But today the premium for Average Choice or Better (CAB specs) is about $17 cwt over a Select grade. That's pretty serious money on a 700 lb. carcass. Don't worry too much about the beef industry, just figure out what works for you and go with it.
 
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