Frankie":2h3v16ew said:
VanC":2h3v16ew said:
That being said, a breeder shouldn't automatically get a bad reputation for selling lower quality, lower priced bulls if that's what the buyer is looking for. As long as the breeder is honest about what the buyer is getting, the buyer should be happy with it.
Selling a sorry bull to a buyer who knows what he's getting is fine. He knows and you know. But the guy driving by on his way to work and seeing that bull, knowing where he was raised, developed and sold, doesn't know about the understanding. He just knows that bull came from your place and is a sorry looking bull and sires sorry calves. It can be a balancing act to maintain your reputation and make some money, especially since bull buyers are all looking for different traits in their bulls. I've asked many bull buyers why they like a particular bull and very few of them can tell me. They just know what they like when they see it.
You make some excellent points, and I can see where maintaining a reputation and making money might be a tough balance to maintain. I didn't mean to imply that a lower quality bull would automatically be a sorry looking thing that sires sorry looking calves, although that would be in the eye of the beholder, I suppose. Here's the scenario I sorta had in mind:
Joe has 25 cows. He wants an Angus bull, but can't afford to pay $3000 and up for a really good one and still make a little money. His neighbor is a top notch Angus breeder and gets top dollar for his better stuff. What's wrong with him keeping back a few lower quality, lower priced bulls for people like Joe? It could still be a decent bull, just not one of his better ones. Would his reputation suffer? Should it?