pros: Angus cattle have done more for the beef industry than any other breed. Angus bred cattle have a better advantage than other breeds because there are people that breed and improve the breed more than any other breeds. Angus producers have compiled a datbase of information that proves they perform in any climate and situation. Angus cattle will outperform their competitors in all categories of what a cow should be to make money. Angus cattle are BLACK ( if you don't believe me look at what Simmental, Charolais, Gelbveih, Hereford, etc breeders have tried to copy.)
cons: There aren't enough people out there using the right Angus bulls to be satisfied. There are too many people raising Angus cattle for the glory and not for the right reasons. There are too many Angus breeders breeding to "The New Bull" in the Angus Journal. There are too many Angus breeders breeding for extremes, rather than breeding for the kind of people the customer wants; balanced trait cattle with a good spread from birth to yearling that still can produce phenotypically correct offspring that will remain in the herd as producers.
Hereford breeders, polled and horned, have done the same the Angus breeders have done, except that they have not created a market for the cattle. Certified Hereford Beef is a spin off of Cert. Angus Beef.
Really good, producing Herefords are hard to find any more folks. I would gladly go buy Hereford bulls, but the good ones are hard to really find.
I am not trying to say one breed is better than the other, because I raise both (registered and commercial) but Angus sourced cattle are king. It doesn't matter if they are half and half or 1/4 x 3/4 Angus, buyers can tell the difference between Angus, Simmental, and all the other black hided cattle.
Sorry if I raised the hairs on anybody's neck, but that is how it is right now, and it is going to be a while until it changes. QUALITY counts, and Angus cattle put the quality in.