The Future Of Beef

[shortybreeder]

We sure saw some good looking shorthorns at the NWSS.

Gizmom

I put out a few straws myself but didn't get a live calf even out of my old standby's. I took that as an omen...

Try JSF Gauge. I hear Select Sires has done pretty well w/ him.

Gauge is a good choice if you are breeding for females. Waukaru Patent 8161 is a great choice if you are breeding for terminal calves. He has proven himself fully capable of producing quality feedlot cattle in the Tri-State Steer Carcass Futurity. From the Waukaru page: "Waukaru consigned 26 steers to the Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity Cooperative (TCSCFC) in western Iowa. Seventy-five head of Shorthorn steers from across the country were consigned to this test. Nearly half of the male calves Waukaru produces in a year are merchandised as herd bulls, so these 26 head of steers came off the bottom half of all male calves produced at Waukaru. The cattle performed amazingly, especially through one of the most challenging winters on record.

The progeny of Waukaru Patent 8161 excelled in the test. The highest profit steer of the entire test was a son of Patent 8161 and generated a check totaling $2,388.33 which computes to a profit of $683.89 after all expenses, including the feeder calf value. The entire set of Patent 8161 steers had an average of $492.56 profit per head compared to the entire test average of $216.61. All of the Patent 8161 steers gained a yield grade premium and all graded low choice or better. They had an average ribeye area of 14.13 square inches, compared to the test average of 12.5. Their hot carcass pay weight was 918 pounds compared to the test average of 754 pounds."

 

[UG]

Over the past 40+ years I have seen several breeds introduced to North America. Many of these have been promoted as the next great beef breed; the breed that is the answer to a beef producers problems; the breed that will take the beef industry by storm; etc. Today most of these breeds are rarely heard about in North America and have less than 200 animals still registered here.

One breed that I thought may be the next "flash in the pan" is Akaushi. Probably five years ago I visited with "Bubba" the executive director of the Akaushi association at a beef cattle trade show where he had a booth. He had a video that showed thick, deep bodied beef cattle that actually had more of a resemblance to red Simmentals than to the other Japanese breeds. The data that he showed was also impressive. However, I thought here is another breed that is hot today and gone five years later.

However, I have talked to several progressive cattle producers since then that have tried Akaushi, and I believe in all but one case they were impressed with the cattle and continue to raise them. I'm not sure if they will ever gain the popularity of Angus, Herefords, or Simmental, but they may have a solid niche that will allow them to continue to be a player in the US and Canada for many years to come.