Opinions on the South Poll Breed.

[LaurlaFarms]

I got what I asked for here. A lot of opinions. But really well thought out, intellectual and informative opinions. I really appreciate it.

My basic goal is not commercial or to make money as a breeder. If things work out that way that'll be great. But I just really want to produce some quality beef for personal/family/friends consumption and to sell the balance locally. I've had experience feeding out angus steers from 500 wt weaned and produced some really good beef. But I want to find a breed that has inherent quality of meat and from my reading the "lowline" does that. But the South Poll is touted as having that quality too.

So being 70years-old, small frame and well tempered animals get my attention. Add in good production on small acreage and my boxes are getting checked. Quality marbling of the meat tips the scales in favor of one of those two breeds.

Any other breeds I should be looking at?

 

[wobbie1775]

I got what I asked for here. A lot of opinions. But really well thought out, intellectual and informative opinions. I really appreciate it.

My basic goal is not commercial or to make money as a breeder. If things work out that way that'll be great. But I just really want to produce some quality beef for personal/family/friends consumption and to sell the balance locally. I've had experience feeding out angus steers from 500 wt weaned and produced some really good beef. But I want to find a breed that has inherent quality of meat and from my reading the "lowline" does that. But the South Poll is touted as having that quality too.

So being 70years-old, small frame and well tempered animals get my attention. Add in good production on small acreage and my boxes are getting checked. Quality marbling of the meat tips the scales in favor of one of those two breeds.

Any other breeds I should be looking at?

I would highly recommend looking at the South Poll breed association webpage and meeting up with producers in Florida/your area. I bet you can get your hands on the steers that they offload for a reasonable price, and if you raise a few you could sell some to offset the costs for your personal/family production

 

[MACVSOG]

being much older than you, i started messing with corriente. something smaller to be run over by. mine handle easily, dehorned if you prefer. good natural marbling. even with rising prices on all they would be cheaper than south poll that i priced. maybe a little longer to desired weight, but cheaper getting there. i need to mention include an angus bull in the mix. just my opinion.

 

[Travlr]

So being 70years-old, small frame and well tempered animals get my attention. Add in good production on small acreage and my boxes are getting checked. Quality marbling of the meat tips the scales in favor of one of those two breeds.

Any other breeds I should be looking at?

I've always loved shorthorns. They always seemed to be easy keepers and docile as a breed. Not popular lately but mainly due to the fascination for black hides.

 

[RDFF]

I'd agree with all that @Travlr said. Shorthorns are a good doing breed, somewhat limited availability. No black hide makes 'em take a hit in our area, except for the seed-stock guys that are showing.

 

[greybeard]

There are plenty of cattlemen/producers who have gone from black commercial herds to South Poll,

SACRILEDGE!! BLASPHEMY! Pitchforks--torches--meet at the windmill!!

 

[Logan52]

Breeding for the show ring and CAB have really hurt the Shorthorn. But
Back in the 1980s I purchased a Shorthorn bull. My cows were mostly Hereford X Holstein BWFs. The calves mashed the scales and the heifers I kept back made some of the best cows I ever owned, in fact most of the cows I own today trace back to those cows, only they have turned black due to my using black bulls for several generations now.
If you could find some some solid red shorthorns of commercial breeding and breed them to a Angus or SimAngus bull, it would be a hard cross to beat (outside the humid south) especially where feed was good and grazing plentiful.
I liked their disposition, easy calving and rapid growth.
(I realize my fascination for something different probably cost me a little money over the years)

 

[mwj]

There was a member here that was from Canada that had some very good red shorthorns! I think it was Coyote as the user name. He posted pictures of some great looking bulls.

North of the border sees a lot of very good red cattle but not a lot of shorthorns so the gene pool may be shallow. The other bad thing about the crossbred s is the roan is hard to conceal the breeding.

 

[Ky hills]

I can't contribute anything about South Polls cause never seen any that I'm aware of in person only pictures.
The Senepol breed that makes up part of them has always been a curiosity to me, again just like with South Poll never seen any of them in person either.
When I was a small child I remember an inch thick Drovers Journal magazine from the 70's. It was full of ads of registered cattle outfits and each breed of beef cattle in the US at the time had atleast a page or two ad.
There was an article for promoting Senepol being the next up and coming thing. It never happened. Hardly ever heard of the breed anymore.
Now looking at it, Brahman x cattle fill that need exceedingly well, They have unparalleled heat tolerance, they have exceptional hardiness and have the frame size and growth to complement any breed crossed with.
I liked the dark red color and look of the Senepols from that article,
At this point I think Santa Gertrudis or Beefmaster cattle or crosses would be my pick.

 

[gcreekrch]

I find it hard to believe people line up to buy them, but they do. The cows/heifers bring good money. The steers don't seem to bring much at all even on private treaty.

That should tell everyone all they need to know.

 

[clarkmorefarm]

That should tell everyone all they need to know.

I don't disagree.

I was after the maternal part of the breed. I think crossing them with terminal cross will get me what I want and more marketable calfs.

Of course there were many breeds out there that could have gotten the same result.

 

[LaurlaFarms]

being much older than you, i started messing with corriente. something smaller to be run over by. mine handle easily, dehorned if you prefer. good natural marbling. even with rising prices on all they would be cheaper than south poll that i priced. maybe a little longer to desired weight, but cheaper getting there. i need to mention include an angus bull in the mix. just my opinion.

Thanks. I am not familiar with the breed but will research.

 

[dave_shelby]

It's difficult to find fescue and heat tolerant cattle that working in a rotational grazing scheme. I tried a few South poll cows that I bought as part of a larger group. Most did not make it. I notice that there are is a large percentage of marginal cows in the breed because of the hobby folks and the fact that prices are very high. I did buy a southpoll bull and was very happy with calves, retained some heifers out of him, they have the gut and are happy on fescue. However one calf I sold looked very senepol and I did take a beating.

 

[clarkmorefarm]

It's difficult to find fescue and heat tolerant cattle that working in a rotational grazing scheme. I tried a few South poll cows that I bought as part of a larger group. Most did not make it. I notice that there are is a large percentage of marginal cows in the breed because of the hobby folks and the fact that prices are very high. I did buy a southpoll bull and was very happy with calves, retained some heifers out of him, they have the gut and are happy on fescue. However one calf I sold looked very senepol and I did take a beating.

Any details on the bull you bought and used?

Just curious what bloodline he might have been out of.

 

[dave_shelby]

Holiday ranch 1319 is one I'll have to check

 

[BFE]

If you like red, there's tons of good red angus out there that are fescue and heat tolerant. Lots of red angus around here, the solid reds don't take as much of a hit at the barn.

 

[Lucky_P]

Breeding for the show ring and CAB have really hurt the Shorthorn. But
Back in the 1980s I purchased a Shorthorn bull. My cows were mostly Hereford X Holstein BWFs. The calves mashed the scales and the heifers I kept back made some of the best cows I ever owned, in fact most of the cows I own today trace back to those cows, only they have turned black due to my using black bulls for several generations now.
If you could find some some solid red shorthorns of commercial breeding and breed them to a Angus or SimAngus bull, it would be a hard cross to beat (outside the humid south) especially where feed was good and grazing plentiful.
I liked their disposition, easy calving and rapid growth.
(I realize my fascination for something different probably cost me a little money over the years)

We dabbled in breeding SimAngus cows to sold red Shorthorn bulls for about 10 years. You have to be aware of the 'two worlds' of Shorthorns... the 'showring' stuff, bred for big bone and big hair and obscene birthweights, or the commercial-oriented cattle. We certainly concentrated on the commercially-oriented cattle, and I believe that a lot of people are missing out on a good thing by not incorporating some Shorthorn genetics into a crossbreeding program, especially if you have black cows to start with.

I believe 'Coyote' was either Saskvalley or Muridale Shorthorns, up in Canada; really good commercial-oriented cattle. I would have loved to have used Saskvalley Bonanza 219M, but the roan gene was a no-go for us.

We used a lot of Waukaru genetics; they've concentrated, for decades, on solid red, performance genetics. Wakaru GoldMine 2109 and Waukaru Coppertop 464 made really good females for us, and their steer counterparts were some of the best we ever raised. W.Goldmine 2109 was extreme calving ease, and I used him enough that I'd be comfortable breeding a well-grown heifer of any breed to him and expect an uncomplicated calving. No calving issues on mature cows, even when we used some of the Waukaru sires like Patent and Orion with higher birthweights and tremendous growth rates.

Rob Snead, at Sedalia MO (died 2018) had a great herd of (mostly) solid red commercially-oriented Shorthorns; sold his steers on the grid. I still have some semen in the tank from his '034' bull... made really nice daughters! Gary Kaper at Watseka IL (died 2022) had a great commercial herd; not sure if the family is still in the Shorthorn business. His 'Kaper 4508' was a bull that I'd wanted to use, but never got around to buying semen. Dover Ranch, at Billings MT, may be the biggest Shorthorn herd in the USA, and definitely commercial in focus. DRC 101VM (Dover) was another red Shorthorn sire that I wanted to use, but just never got around to him.

A lot of people don't realize that Tim Ohlde is/was a significant player in the Shorthorn world... Jake's Proud Jazz and a number of his sons brought those same thick-muscled, smaller frame score traits to the Shorthorns that the Ohlde Angus cattle brought.