"I AM ANGUS"

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DOC HARRIS

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In the business world, the degree of success one achieves is due primarily to the quality of the product they have to market, and the ability to get their "message" out to the buying public. That is a 'given'! It certainly is a critical element in merchandising beef cattle seedstock.

Recently I have observed a few Registered Angus sale catalogs which laud their sales Lots with glowing praise, verbage, and rhetoric eloquence which FAR surpasses the actual individual animals when displayed by their pictures which accompanies the Lot number! I know - I know, - I have waxed long and loud about not judging an animal by their picture, but a few of the pictures which represent the animals in question positively reveal such unacceptable phenotype that it is impossible to ignore the descrepancies in Phenotypic charactistics - if one has studied good quality seedstock to any degree at all. That is why it is so important to one's business that one underatands HOW to recognize acceptable cattle, and HOW to market them successfully. It is your BU$INE$$!

That being said, between now and the First of the Year the American Angus Association is going to be presenting several short (one minute) videos on RFD-TV Television prepared by Eric Grant, the new Director of Public Relations, and his Staff, titled "I AM ANGUS". They depict several different Angus Producers and their operations, and at the same time YOU may utilize that opportunity to publicize your Angus Beef Cattle and the advantages of using the seedstock and purchasing the Meat Market products.

It is my view that you Angus Producers may really benefit by doing some of your own advertising in conjunction with that being shown on RFD-TV. Utilize every opportunity possible to bring YOUR operation to the attention of as many people as you can by reminding them to watch for "I AM ANGUS" on RFD-TV.

DOC HARRIS
 
I believe your first paragraph is the way it should be in an ideal world. Unfortunately I find that as we have a major influx of people buying up farm and ranch property, hobby farmers, there are many uneducated cattle buyers purchasing cattle as depicted in your second paragraph. It seems like the lack of scruples is called good marketing.
I hope this "I Am Angus" show has some educational value and is not just more advertising/marketing. There are a lot of people out there that need to know what good cattle should look like.
 
DOC HARRIS":2neicxf4 said:
In the business world, the degree of success one achieves is due primarily to the quality of the product they have to market, and the ability to get their "message" out to the buying public. That is a 'given'! It certainly is a critical element in merchandising beef cattle seedstock.

Recently I have observed a few Registered Angus sale catalogs which laud their sales Lots with glowing praise, verbage, and rhetoric eloquence which FAR surpasses the actual individual animals when displayed by their pictures which accompanies the Lot number! I know - I know, - I have waxed long and loud about not judging an animal by their picture, but a few of the pictures which represent the animals in question positively reveal such unacceptable phenotype that it is impossible to ignore the descrepancies in Phenotypic charactistics - if one has studied good quality seedstock to any degree at all. That is why it is so important to one's business that one underatands HOW to recognize acceptable cattle, and HOW to market them successfully. It is your BU$INE$$!

That being said, between now and the First of the Year the American Angus Association is going to be presenting several short (one minute) videos on RFD-TV Television prepared by Eric Grant, the new Director of Public Relations, and his Staff, titled "I AM ANGUS". They depict several different Angus Producers and their operations, and at the same time YOU may utilize that opportunity to publicize your Angus Beef Cattle and the advantages of using the seedstock and purchasing the Meat Market products.

It is my view that you Angus Producers may really benefit by doing some of your own advertising in conjunction with that being shown on RFD-TV. Utilize every opportunity possible to bring YOUR operation to the attention of as many people as you can by reminding them to watch for "I AM ANGUS" on RFD-TV.

DOC HARRIS


Why so people can show off their funnell butt Angus? No thanks!
 
I think it is going to boil down to trust. Sure a new person to the industry, who may be uneducated, can purchase one of the phenotypically undesirable animals, that boasts big numbers, but when that animal doesn't return a profit I think people will figure it out real quick, and they probably aren't going to be back to that sale again.

The videos that you are going to see will be ones like this one below. Sure Clinton has Angus cattle, and because of that he was chosen. But I think Clinton represents all young people that want a future in agriculture, whether they continue to raise Angus cattle or another breed. We need the public to see this side of agriculture or none of us might not have a future.

[youtube]Q58U6kJHbMQ[/youtube]

I know this video has been posted before, but it is one of my favorites. If you want to see other you can go to http://www.youtube.com/apicreativemedia
 
In the interests of full disclosure I am an Angus breeder, but the concept, and the Clinton Laflin episode is a shining example, of not particularly 'what' breed we have but more 'who we are and why we do what we do' is easily transferable to any breed but most importantly creates a personal connection with our customers, the person who buys beef for their family at the store.

It should give them confidence in us and our ability as producers of beef and that we have families too, that we only want the very best for them and us, that although the numbers of people involved in production agriculture continue to shrink those that are left are not the 'corporate, factory farms' depicted by the likes of PETA and HSUS but are just families, working hard, sharing the American dream and holding dear the things that really matter, Just like them. If we all, no matter what breed we raise, can grasp that concept the portrayal put forward by those who oppose animal agriculture will be less likely to gain traction because it will not have credibility. Bear in mind that fewer people have a direct connection with ag, the person who left the farm behind to persue an urban lifestyle is more likely to be grandparents than parents.
 
DOC HARRIS":341lqp3f said:
In the business world, the degree of success one achieves is due primarily to the quality of the product they have to market, and the ability to get their "message" out to the buying public. That is a 'given'! It certainly is a critical element in merchandising beef cattle seedstock.

Recently I have observed a few Registered Angus sale catalogs which laud their sales Lots with glowing praise, verbage, and rhetoric eloquence which FAR surpasses the actual individual animals when displayed by their pictures which accompanies the Lot number! I know - I know, - I have waxed long and loud about not judging an animal by their picture, but a few of the pictures which represent the animals in question positively reveal such unacceptable phenotype that it is impossible to ignore the descrepancies in Phenotypic charactistics - if one has studied good quality seedstock to any degree at all. That is why it is so important to one's business that one underatands HOW to recognize acceptable cattle, and HOW to market them successfully. It is your BU$INE$$!

That being said, between now and the First of the Year the American Angus Association is going to be presenting several short (one minute) videos on RFD-TV Television prepared by Eric Grant, the new Director of Public Relations, and his Staff, titled "I AM ANGUS". They depict several different Angus Producers and their operations, and at the same time YOU may utilize that opportunity to publicize your Angus Beef Cattle and the advantages of using the seedstock and purchasing the Meat Market products.

It is my view that you Angus Producers may really benefit by doing some of your own advertising in conjunction with that being shown on RFD-TV. Utilize every opportunity possible to bring YOUR operation to the attention of as many people as you can by reminding them to watch for "I AM ANGUS" on RFD-TV.

DOC HARRIS

Doc, what is the solution to the problem of poor quality cattle? My experience so far has been that people either don't want to sell what I really want, or they are asking too much for it. Looks like the only solution I have come up with is to breed my own and try to improve the offspring. You can never find more than a couple of people that will agree that a certain cow is the best out of the group either. Are they misinformed or do they all have different ideas about what a good cow is?
 
RD-Sam":3n4mozk0 said:
My experience so far has been that people either don't want to sell what I really want, or they are asking too much for it.

Which is it? It seems they are willing to sell but you don't want to pay the price, that's the beauty of capitalism - a buyer and a seller, free to choose whether they do the deal or not. If you really want what they have and it fits with your program, buy it, it will save you years, decades sometimes, in creating the cattle you want from scratch. More than you're willing to pay is one thing, "too much" is very much a subjective view on your part.
 
robert":kfymckq7 said:
RD-Sam":kfymckq7 said:
My experience so far has been that people either don't want to sell what I really want, or they are asking too much for it.

Which is it? It seems they are willing to sell but you don't want to pay the price, that's the beauty of capitalism - a buyer and a seller, free to choose whether they do the deal or not. If you really want what they have and it fits with your program, buy it, it will save you years, decades sometimes, in creating the cattle you want from scratch. More than you're willing to pay is one thing, "too much" is very much a subjective view on your part.

Paying 10k or more for a heifer is a big risk, much more of a risk than I would be willing to take. Look at all the people that got burned with the high dollar cattle that came up with AM and NH, and we still have FC to go, plus the other problems. What if the heifer dies having a calf? What if she doesn't end up producing as good of offspring as the cattle I have that cost a fraction of that?

I personally think there is no easy solution to the current problems with quality cattle. Everybody wants to stick their hand in the til for their share of the money on a declining market, that is a problem. I think the quality will decline alot more before it even begins to get better. At least we have really good advertising with the angus breed. :lol2:
 
these are simply questions and small point of conversation...do not read anything into them that isnt there....regarding "good" phenotype vs. "good" epd's vs. "good" cattle (and I'll let each reader decide what is good to them) isn't the real value of seedstock to produce quality calves and quality beef ? and hasn't "good "phenotype changed over the years? can't a "funnel butt" sway back, knocked knee bull have the genetics to produce quality calves? I quess my real question is this...Isn't the only way to ultimately judge a bull by his calves ???
 
RD-Sam":2dmr6qiq said:
robert":2dmr6qiq said:
RD-Sam":2dmr6qiq said:
My experience so far has been that people either don't want to sell what I really want, or they are asking too much for it.

Which is it? It seems they are willing to sell but you don't want to pay the price, that's the beauty of capitalism - a buyer and a seller, free to choose whether they do the deal or not. If you really want what they have and it fits with your program, buy it, it will save you years, decades sometimes, in creating the cattle you want from scratch. More than you're willing to pay is one thing, "too much" is very much a subjective view on your part.

Paying 10k or more for a heifer is a big risk, much more of a risk than I would be willing to take. Look at all the people that got burned with the high dollar cattle that came up with AM and NH, and we still have FC to go, plus the other problems. What if the heifer dies having a calf? What if she doesn't end up producing as good of offspring as the cattle I have that cost a fraction of that?

I personally think there is no easy solution to the current problems with quality cattle. Everybody wants to stick their hand in the til for their share of the money on a declining market, that is a problem. I think the quality will decline alot more before it even begins to get better. At least we have really good advertising with the angus breed. :lol2:

You need to find an honest program that has the type you want and use it. Their are several producers who are commercially focused and do a good job at it. When a person chases all these fads or plays follow the leader, you will never really get to where you want to go. Stay in the middle and produce good cattle. That is what we do, we produce what we know works for us, our customers, and the feeders. If someone comes to our ranch and wants the most popular and promoted bull their is, we most likely won't have it unless it will work for us first.

Stay focused and you will get where you are trying to go!
 
RD-Sam":3u0kzpij said:
I personally think there is no easy solution to the current problems with quality cattle. Everybody wants to stick their hand in the til for their share of the money on a declining market, that is a problem. I think the quality will decline alot more before it even begins to get better. At least we have really good advertising with the angus breed. :lol2:

The easy solution is to know what you like and pursue it. Whether that is with your own cattle or ones you purchase.

The market may be declining and it may not, some of the ultra high prices have gone away but was the money ever there in the first place?

Personally I think quality still pays and sells, we promote and breed our own, we use some outside sires but will increasingly use our own because they most fit our ideal. Will they work for you? I don't know, but as you're in GA and I'm in NY I'd venture a guess and say 'no'. But they work for me and my customers here.

Advertizing without a worthwhile product behind it is worthless, one of the reasons I always challenge the assertion that CAB is 'a great marketing program' is because all CAB has done is highlight and differentiate a quality product where the people stand behind it. Breeding stock should be no different. A high market with high demand sees far more shite get peddled than a down market.
 
xbred":1ug76hpt said:
these are simply questions and small point of conversation...do not read anything into them that isnt there....regarding "good" phenotype vs. "good" epd's vs. "good" cattle (and I'll let each reader decide what is good to them) isn't the real value of seedstock to produce quality calves and quality beef ? and hasn't "good "phenotype changed over the years? can't a "funnel butt" sway back, knocked knee bull have the genetics to produce quality calves? I quess my real question is this...Isn't the only way to ultimately judge a bull by his calves ???

I think you make some good points that trump most of the talk about phenotype selection: "isn't the real value of seedstock to produce quality calves and quality beef ? and hasn't "good "phenotype changed over the years? can't a "funnel butt" sway back, knocked knee bull have the genetics to produce quality calves?" I think the real money that is made in the cattle business over the long term is by the people who concentrate on FUNCTIONAL TRAITS as opposed to phenotype. Sure it is best to have both, but the functional traits are a constant and the phenotype selection is like aiming at a moving target. By functional traits I mean fertility, soundness, pounds weaned on limited resources, maternal efficiency, etc. The functional traits will always be in demand and very important to the bottom line no matter what the cattle may look like. In my experience the functional traits are the least highly heritable and the phenotype traits are the most highly heritable. The most highly heritable traits are the easiest to change and the least highly heritable are the most difficult to change or fix and that makes them doubly important not to compromise on.
 
Well, let me comment from the standpoint that I raise Angus beef.

I am pleased with my Angus cows. They work for me. Are they better than many of the cows that I see here on the board? No.

The one thing that has made the largest difference in Angus vs. everything else has been the marketing. The CAB program and advertising has made it into the heart and soul of the American consumer.

If you don't believe that, why has McD's now came out with the Angus burger?

My cows are Angus, my cows are good, but the marketing behind them is what is so superior.
 
xbred":3hfcdh35 said:
these are simply questions and small point of conversation...do not read anything into them that isnt there....regarding "good" phenotype vs. "good" epd's vs. "good" cattle (and I'll let each reader decide what is good to them) isn't the real value of seedstock to produce quality calves and quality beef ? and hasn't "good "phenotype changed over the years? can't a "funnel butt" sway back, knocked knee bull have the genetics to produce quality calves? I quess my real question is this...Isn't the only way to ultimately judge a bull by his calves ???
he might have had em in him, but he missed out on expressing them. a swayback, knock knee shouldnt have made it that far intact, like so many do.
 
grannysoo":17go8hki said:
My cows are Angus, my cows are good, but the marketing behind them is what is so superior.

The marketing doesn't make them superior, it simply identifies them in the customers mind as superior and the product delivers.
Your cows are Angus, your cows are good, marketing tells everyone they are so and the product stands scrutiny.
 
robert":2cfqrijf said:
grannysoo":2cfqrijf said:
My cows are Angus, my cows are good, but the marketing behind them is what is so superior.

The marketing doesn't make them superior, it simply identifies them in the customers mind as superior and the product delivers.

It's all perception. I'm sure there are a lot of cows out there that are better than mine, but when people ask me about beef, just about every one of them wants to know if they are angus.

The marketing has made them superior in the mind of the customer....
 
alacattleman":2chrtu2z said:
i dont think the customer is that dam dumb,,,they aint led too the meat department with a blindfold

I'm not so sure that they're not that dumb. Most of the sheeple go home every night and sit for hours in front of the tv learning what to think.

The average American doesn't have a thought in his head that was not put there by television. :help:

Now if you want to talk about the decay of human society that has occurred as tv has become more widespread, that's a whole 'nuther subject that will get us locked up quick!
 
grannysoo":qf71ocr7 said:
alacattleman":qf71ocr7 said:
i dont think the customer is that dam dumb,,,they aint led too the meat department with a blindfold

I'm not so sure that they're not that dumb. Most of the sheeple go home every night and sit for hours in front of the tv learning what to think.

The average American doesn't have a thought in his head that was not put there by television. :help:

Now if you want to talk about the decay of human society that has occurred as tv has become more widespread, that's a whole 'nuther subject that will get us locked up quick!
well wont argue that,, but most house wives are picky. their not gonna buy the same product over and over with bad results
 
DOC HARRIS":1mi0jkut said:
In the business world, the degree of success one achieves is due primarily to the quality of the product they have to market, and the ability to get their "message" out to the buying public. That is a 'given'! It certainly is a critical element in merchandising beef cattle seedstock.

Recently I have observed a few Registered Angus sale catalogs which laud their sales Lots with glowing praise, verbage, and rhetoric eloquence which FAR surpasses the actual individual animals when displayed by their pictures which accompanies the Lot number! I know - I know, - I have waxed long and loud about not judging an animal by their picture, but a few of the pictures which represent the animals in question positively reveal such unacceptable phenotype that it is impossible to ignore the descrepancies in Phenotypic charactistics - if one has studied good quality seedstock to any degree at all. That is why it is so important to one's business that one underatands HOW to recognize acceptable cattle, and HOW to market them successfully. It is your BU$INE$$!

That being said, between now and the First of the Year the American Angus Association is going to be presenting several short (one minute) videos on RFD-TV Television prepared by Eric Grant, the new Director of Public Relations, and his Staff, titled "I AM ANGUS". They depict several different Angus Producers and their operations, and at the same time YOU may utilize that opportunity to publicize your Angus Beef Cattle and the advantages of using the seedstock and purchasing the Meat Market products.

It is my view that you Angus Producers may really benefit by doing some of your own advertising in conjunction with that being shown on RFD-TV. Utilize every opportunity possible to bring YOUR operation to the attention of as many people as you can by reminding them to watch for "I AM ANGUS" on RFD-TV.

DOC HARRIS

May be a good time for an Angus dispersal before the cattle markets really drop off.
 

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