Iowa-angus
Well-known member
Hi. The other day I came across a design to build an insulated room in a barn and put in a window AC... Has anybody heard of this? does it work?
jkwilson":ndfub2lp said:Yes it works, but most people use something bigger than a window AC for it. Pretty embarassing for the cattle industry that we judge the quality of cattle on their hair coat though.
tom4018":hz772eo2 said:Been hearing a rumor around here the they were going to a quarter inch clip rule on some shows. That would level the field out.
CPL":273pyhzs said:Actually I'm going to disagree here.
People that show cattle, and show cattle seriously/professionally/(whatever you want to call it) have been showing cattle with hair for years. Clipping, Fitting, Feeding, Growing Hair, etc al. ---- That's all part of the game.
Now if you don't want to play their game that's fine. Quite whinning. Who are you to come in and tell them they should change what they're doing???
I'll be the first to tell you that show cattle, in alot of cases, are the furthest thing away from real functional practical cattle. However, that doesn't mean that someone else can't take pride in and enjoy the process of showing.
Oh and another thing, Three inches of hair is not going to turn a sale barn calf into a purple banner champion. Hair or no hair, the better calves will always sort their way to the top.
CRAZY ain't it!? I just don't get it and when did hair production take over meat production???Jovid":2668w1vy said:jkwilson":2668w1vy said:Yes it works, but most people use something bigger than a window AC for it. Pretty embarassing for the cattle industry that we judge the quality of cattle on their hair coat though.
Yep.....I still haven't found a market for cattle hair and bone
jkwilson":3ewdeuvr said:The key thing to remember here is that people are growing and grooming the hair to make the underlying structure of the animal look better than it is.
Kind of like the NFL drafting players who wear inflatable muscle suits to look big and strong, rather than drafting players based on careful measurements and observation of their performance. If we got rid of the hair dressing, then kids (and adult show people) could concentrate on genetics, feeding and management to make the animals look better.
3waycross":18ikecef said:jkwilson":18ikecef said:The key thing to remember here is that people are growing and grooming the hair to make the underlying structure of the animal look better than it is.
Kind of like the NFL drafting players who wear inflatable muscle suits to look big and strong, rather than drafting players based on careful measurements and observation of their performance. If we got rid of the hair dressing, then kids (and adult show people) could concentrate on genetics, feeding and management to make the animals look better.
WOW! not there's a novel concept!
VCC":2irn1u6e said:A good judge can tell if the animal has faults, hair or not, I think the real issue here is that years ago you could take a steer from your top 10 percent of your commercial herd and the could compete, now days if the show is competitive they wont win their class.
We showed commercial calves for the first 2 years of showing, then we started buying calves with club calve genetics. Had to if we wanted to compete, and it wasn't for the hair, most calves in our county do not have any hair, but they do not have any butt or natural width either.
The way you some of guys talk I would suggest you just stay out off the Show Board and you would be happier. Until they pull them out of the feed lot and just slap a # on their butt and run them out in the ring for the judge to pick the best animal. Calves will be prettied up to look their best.
VCC":2u6o1ny8 said:How is it not about the kids and the cattle? My kids steers had some hair but not much, (no cool box) See pictures in fair steers 2010. He still worked them every day rinsed twice trained the little hair they had so they looked their best. The hair, skin and over all appearance was clean and healthy looking. He also won showmanship, I contribute this to all the time he put into the animals prior to the fair.
The same kids who whine about "hair only wins" are the same ones who would sit in the same spot in the class if we went to slick shear show. You are not going to beat the kid who has worked with his animal when all they do is pour feed in the barrel and check their water. Feed them when they have time, not on a given schedule. Wash them for the first time just before you load them on the trailer to go to the fair. Have the halters on them from day one because they can't catch them with out one, adjust them only after the see they are starting to digging in their heads. I know that is on the worst case side and there are a lot of kids who fit in the middle some where. The more time you put into it the better the results should be.
We have one family in our county that has a cool box and they are always at the top end, but I can guaranty that even with out the cool box their calves would still look hairy, the last few months before the fair he puts 2 to 3 hours in to each calf he has, he won champion at our fair and FFA champion at state. The cool box helps but with out the work you would a calf with long nasty hair. I believe that the lesson they learned is the more time you put in the more you will get out of it.
If you want it to be a level playing ground this is what you would have to do:
Find a ranch with uniform calves of the same age and breed,
Have each kid draw a number for their turn to pick a calf,
They would take these calves home and feed them out for their fair,
The animals would be judged on ADG, appearance, handling, and yield grade.
What you should end up with a bunch of calves that all look the same grade the same and weigh the same.
They won't be. Some kids will buy cheep feed, some kids will not feed on a schedule, and some kids won't adjust the feed as the calf grows. They will keep them in a tiny pen and never take them out. Some kids will work with them everyday, feed them the best feed they can, rinse and blow out every day. In the End the same kids on average will still be at the top and the same kids will be at the bottom.
We had one of those families that you are referring to, dad spends tons of money on cattle, buys a cool box, hires someone to work with the cattle. We beat them with a calf that cost less than a quarter of what theirs did last year. We fed ours right, my kid knew his animals faults and how to best hide them in the ring. (Not cheating just walking at a pace that did not exaggerate any problems, setting him up where he looked his best)
The father lost it when their steer did not win, they did not come back this year, my guess is he embarrassed his kids so bad they did not want to come back.
iowa hawkeyes":g1813r5d said:thanks for taking all the heat VCC. I've been busy at our county fair (showing our hairy cattle :roll: ) the past while. I get irritated by posters griping about the show cattle industry. If you don't like it, don't come to this topic. I don't like horses so I never read the horse section. There will always be someone that pushes the envelope, even with slick sheared cattle. GET OVER IT.