Bright Raven
Well-known member
...got a great response. Most of the comments were related to observable traits or phenotype.
The biggest influence on me when I decided on Simmentals was the Rocking P folks near Maysville.
http://www.rockingplivestock.com
Chan Phillips has universal name recognition in the Simmental breed. He is a national livestock judge and has judged all of the top Simmental shows in North America.
Chan's father, Larry who was a life long friend of the late Charlie Boyd of the well known Boyd Cattle Company, bred Angus cattle for many years before Chan and his brother, Keith started taking the operation in the Simmental direction. When it comes to function, their emphasis is "easy keeping" cattle. Beginning with Larry, he wanted cows that could grow on Kentucky fescue and produce with a minimum of inputs.
My herd genetics has more influence from Rocking P than anyone else. TT likes to poke me about feeding grains but my cows are pampered by choice not because they require it. It occurred to me when reading Grit's thread that it was not focusing enough on performance. When in the company of the elite cattle breeders, they do not appear to me to get as bent out of shape over a small phenotype defect as they do over a function trait. NOTE: Don't construe this to mean that Rocking P cattle don't have good phenotype. Few Simmental breeders in the United States if any can match their accomplishments.
The thread Grit started seemed to me to omit the "unobservable" Performance traits:
1. Efficiency
2. Fertility
3. Disposition
4. Hardiness
5. Health
6. Performance
The biggest influence on me when I decided on Simmentals was the Rocking P folks near Maysville.
http://www.rockingplivestock.com
Chan Phillips has universal name recognition in the Simmental breed. He is a national livestock judge and has judged all of the top Simmental shows in North America.
Chan's father, Larry who was a life long friend of the late Charlie Boyd of the well known Boyd Cattle Company, bred Angus cattle for many years before Chan and his brother, Keith started taking the operation in the Simmental direction. When it comes to function, their emphasis is "easy keeping" cattle. Beginning with Larry, he wanted cows that could grow on Kentucky fescue and produce with a minimum of inputs.
My herd genetics has more influence from Rocking P than anyone else. TT likes to poke me about feeding grains but my cows are pampered by choice not because they require it. It occurred to me when reading Grit's thread that it was not focusing enough on performance. When in the company of the elite cattle breeders, they do not appear to me to get as bent out of shape over a small phenotype defect as they do over a function trait. NOTE: Don't construe this to mean that Rocking P cattle don't have good phenotype. Few Simmental breeders in the United States if any can match their accomplishments.
The thread Grit started seemed to me to omit the "unobservable" Performance traits:
1. Efficiency
2. Fertility
3. Disposition
4. Hardiness
5. Health
6. Performance