farmguy":3be60wm6 said:
A couple names always pop up to bash polled Herefords and that is their opinion. I respect that privilege. I do notice that AI catalogs have many more polled bulls than horned Herefords. What I cannot understand is why not bash other breeds as well? Are the only bad cattle polled Herefords? Also it would seem these individuals care about the Hereford breed so why attack what you care about? I have old farm magazines dating back to the 1920s and interestingly enough these same comments were made then and during the 30s as well. I suppose I will now receive a nasty message or two but I felt I should comment. Yes I do like a certain horned bull and hope to use some of his homo polled offspring. But I like many polled bulls as well. thank you farmguy
I notice the same thing too. Unfortunately I think there are some guys that are just always going to feel that horned Herefords are far superior to polled Herefords even if a good polled bull is staring them right in the face. I'll never quite understand it to be honest, I can appreciate a good horned Hereford as much as a polled we just don't care for horns in our own breeding program. It's kind of the same line thinking of how someone who breeds breed A and someone with breed B may never appreciate what each other's breed has to offer, especially in the commercial crossbred market. Regional markets also seem to dictate people's opinions too. In the south the horned Herefords seem to be more desirable but in my opinion the further north you travel in the US you'll gradually see more demand for polled Herefords.
I guess the way I look at it is if you are raising Herefords you make your breeding decisions based on the type of customer that is interested in your cattle. If your customers and potential customers want a certain type of bull or heifer then you make breeding decisions based on what is going to have the most demand and marketability and in our area polled cattle seems to be in more demand these days. There are some guys around here that won't even buy a Hereford bull with scurs because their worried about the possibility of horns with some of the breeds in the woodpile of their cows.
I am of the mentality that one man's opinion doesn't mean he is right or wrong. I'm not going to tell a guy a certain breed or certain type of cattle like say polled or horned Herefords that 1 is better than the other. It's all in the eye of the guy writing the check what he thinks fits his needs and if what we breed doesn't fit what he is looking for you don't take it personally and you wish him well in his search as every visit or inquiry is not a commitment to make a purchase. I don't believe in badmouthing another breeder or breed of animal as that is not going to get you the respect and reputation that you want as a seedstock breeder. It's OK to have difference of opinion but there is a fine line between that and attacking others that don't see things the same way you do.