YoungAngusCattle said:
Can you explain these a little more?
What is the benefit of selling line crosses vs just straight line bred stock?
Doesn't that seem like the producers that use the hot AI bulls, aren't they just trying to sell somebody elses genetics and not their own?
Why do linebred stock not sell as good as outcrossed stock, just public perception?
Why don't most seedstock guys use their own breeding?
I still am not sure when is a good time to use outside genetics, if I had animals that thrived in my environment wouldn't bringing in outside genetics increase the good and bad genes so I would just be starting over?
Why should you use bulls from other operations? Probably the most obvious answer is that if you are NOT producing the level of animal that SAV, Baldridge, Connealy, VAR and such produce, then you are probably behind them in genetics, but that can be remedied with a simple purchase of a straw of semen. With AI, I can get the best bull these operations can produce, operations with far more success than me, operations with far more branding than me, and operations with much smarter breeders than me. I virtually have bulls from all the top operations wandering my farm with AI.
This conversation is old, but following the advice of Ebenezer is like listening to someone tell you, "don't buy a smartphone, build your own from spare parts in the shed" or "don't buy a truck, when you can go to a salvage yard and build one from scratch" Yes, you may learn some things along the way doing that, but you will most likely be 100 years old before it happens.
Ford, Chevy, GMC, and Dodge make trucks, they have tons of experience building them, they have made tons of mistakes too, but they have a lot of years backing them up. Would you choose ABC truck company, founded in 2018, over a brand new truck from the four listed above if you truly needed reliability? Peterbilt and Deere aren't where they are because of sheer fluff. Of all the old tractors that I see in my county, I mean at least 30 years or older, most are John Deere, not too many other brands still starting up and working that I can see from the road.
The buyers of your seed stock will want to see names they can attach to for trust. If you seriously think you are going to start a seedstock operation using absolute no name bulls, then you may want to follow Ebenezer's plan, or even better use one of Ebenezer's line bred bulls if he would be so gracious to let you use one, or even better purchase him. I'm pretty sure the Ebenezer Plantation has a bull to spare.
When is a good time to use outside genetics? How about YESTERDAY, LAST WEEK, LAST YEAR.
I routinely use bulls from out west and up north in the Kentucky environment with ABSOLUTELY no issues whatsoever. I've been told "SAV will never work here, or what about the fescue" Blah, blah, blah. You see the SAV progeny I post, do they look like they are suffering here, I rest my case.
Would I buy a bull in Montana and drop him down in Kentucky during a month with freezing rain and tons of mud, probably not, but would I have any problem raising a bull from birth here in Kentucky that was from a Montana sire, no problem at all, they have plenty of time to adjust, and they always do.
When Ebenezer starts posting EPD information on not one, but several of his animals, and takes detailed video and photos, we can see if his breeding strategies are sound. Until then it's all theory. As they say, the proof is in the pudding.
Put up the efforts of your breeding on this forum, and let CT members roast you on a spit. That's a good way to learn as well.