Value of pedigree for cross-bred cattle.

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Pigmented skin - red or black - has no impact on the incidence of pinkeye. Ocular squamous cell carcinoma (cancer eye), yes...but not pinkeye.
 
Well, the reason I said superior, is that these heifers will always have black calves, whereas a traditional black baldy...Hereford x Angus.. can half a red calf, even bred to a registered Angus or Brangus, unless those bulls are tested homozygous for black. There may be some red angus in a black angus or Brangus bull. Many a breeder, who has had a high-dollar Angus( for instance) cow die, has just bought a grade angus cow, and kept on registering her calves as the dead cow's calves. Or same thing if a high-dollar bull died. That's how a calf out of a traditonal black baldy, by an Angus bull, might come out red. I dunno if any cattle breeds require DNA to register now days, but several horse breeds started doing this 20 years or so ago. If you got one of these Black Hereford x Brangus bull calves, and made it your BWF bull, then all of your calves would be black, even from your red cows.
I know Aberdeen do require DNA for full blood registry.
 
I guess I wonder if the goal is maximum heterosis or just a bunch of crosses?
Well, the goal for the BH x Br, would be the same as the goals of those who breed red Hereford to Brangus... a black baldy with a touch of ear. These calves are 1/2 Angus, 5/16ths Hereford, and 3/16ths Brahman. They will have the same heterosis as an Angus x Braford. ( also 1/2 Angus, 5/16ths Hereford, and 3/16ths Brahman) a very popular cross in Fla, south Ga and south Ala , only these heifers will throw black calves every time. And, black baldy steers here, sell as well as solid blacks do. The goal for the Brangus x Chi-angus, would be the same goal as the goal for Ultra Black breeders, only a bigger brood cow, and a bigger calf at weaning. The goal for the f1 Black Brafords, would be the same as the goal for f1 Brafords... a very good momma, and the steers will be black as a bonus.
 
Since we have the Composite Beef Cattle Registry, to each their own. For most commercial producers they don't care about pedigree or ancestry, they just want a cow that can produce a calf. But we have several breeders that double register their calves with us because the breed association will not document all of the ancestry. This is a failure of most all breed registries. "A registry is responsible for documenting all known ancestry of an animal (regardless of breed composition)"

As a registry, we are different. We document ALL known ancestry, while most associations and registries will only list their own breed on the papers. Producers should want to know what they are buying. What about knowing the genetics which can help in breeding. What about knowing if anything may be a carrier? And as some have said, if an animal is from a well known reputable breeder, then with a registration paper that should ad value. Verified information is of value. Even in an individuals own herd, knowing the ancestry can again be of importance.

On the flip side, to add value to the heifers, we have a "Certified Replacement Heifer Program". Heifers in this program will need to be calfhood vaccinated, bangs vaccinated along with other vaccinations that they need. Also they will need to be DNA tested with the Neogen Igenity Beef Profile + BVD. If they are horned they need to be dehorned. And the last thing they need is to have pelvic measurements. This, along with a registration paper stamped "Certified Replacement Heifer" would be valuable.
 
Well, the reason I said superior, is that these heifers will always have black calves, whereas a traditional black baldy...Hereford x Angus.. can half a red calf, even bred to a registered Angus or Brangus, unless those bulls are tested homozygous for black. There may be some red angus in a black angus or Brangus bull. Many a breeder, who has had a high-dollar Angus( for instance) cow die, has just bought a grade angus cow, and kept on registering her calves as the dead cow's calves. Or same thing if a high-dollar bull died. That's how a calf out of a traditonal black baldy, by an Angus bull, might come out red. I dunno if any cattle breeds require DNA to register now days, but several horse breeds started doing this 20 years or so ago. If you got one of these Black Hereford x Brangus bull calves, and made it your BWF bull, then all of your calves would be black, even from your red cows.
In Angus DNA Isn't required for registration. Although red is strongly avoided within most of those herds. If a breeder is real concerned about the possibility of red calves then a 2 or 3 generations and beyond should pretty well end red calves from those BWF females. Like I said I'm not opposed to the "black" Herefords, I'm experimenting with some home raised BWF bulls on our cows too. I don't think I would ever buy one or use them AI. I looked a while back at the "black" Hereford website and wasn't real impressed with what they were showing as far as AI sires. In my opinion there are a lot of common BWF calves over the years that are sold as steers that are better looking individuals than some of the bulls I see being marketed as black Herefords. The selection pool of Herefords or Angus is much deeper and diverse. It really doesn't bother me one way or the other what someone does with their breeding programs. It just seems from what we are told that they have a real good program, and a goal which I sincerely hope works well, I just personally feel like that for the stated quality of cows and effort put in that those bulls may not be maximizing the potential.
 

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