DOC HARRIS
Well-known member
I was involved in a rather lengthy discussion a few days ago with a Commercial Breeder (?) concerning many of the factors necessary for successful Beef Production. He was on his high horse about the "new developments and research discoveries" which have been brought forth in recent years in the effort to assist breeders make a profit and improve their thinking about breeding Beef Cattle. He was one of the "Old School" thinkers who, literally and actually said, " If my Daddy and Gran'daddy could make a livin' with cows, why do we need all of this modern baloney which just costs more money?"
Well, all of you can imagine that stirred up my juices to say the least, and in the process of being very calm and very soft-spoken, I attempted to make him realize how stupid he really was, and asked him about his herd's cow size, (mature weights) in comparison with their BCS (Body Conditioning Scores), along with their Frame Scores. He gave me the Jean Luc Picard's "Star Trek-The Next Generation" glazed-eye look, and I realized that he was not on the same page with me - of which fact I was already aware! After a few exchanges of opinions, he realized he had to be someplace else, and disappeared into the salebarn crowd.
This entire episode caused me to wonder how many of my friends on the Board actually related a cow's body weight with their accompanying Body Conditioning Score and Frame Score when thinking about the "Cow Size" of their herd. :shock: :???: It is common occurrances at the sale barn to see mature cows come through weighing 1600 - 1800 lbs with a Body Conditioning Score of 2-4 (thin, angular and bony). Of course, their Frame Scores run 7 - 9, big, old lanky, worn-out mixed-breed Holsteins. It just stresses the importance of knowing ALL the factors of analyzing cattle, and NOT concentrating on ONE or TWO traits or conditions.
Our ideal mature (open) BEEF cow body weight of 1100 - 1350 lbs. must be balanced with a Body Conditioning Score of 5-6 and a Frame Score of 4-5, taking into consideration a 'breed-skeleton' size factor. Common sense goes a long way, also!
As a lot of the breeders on these posts have said recently , "Balance is the key to being successful in Beef Breeding - NOT single-trait selection."
Some of you may wish to elaborate on these thoughts.
DOC HARRIS
Well, all of you can imagine that stirred up my juices to say the least, and in the process of being very calm and very soft-spoken, I attempted to make him realize how stupid he really was, and asked him about his herd's cow size, (mature weights) in comparison with their BCS (Body Conditioning Scores), along with their Frame Scores. He gave me the Jean Luc Picard's "Star Trek-The Next Generation" glazed-eye look, and I realized that he was not on the same page with me - of which fact I was already aware! After a few exchanges of opinions, he realized he had to be someplace else, and disappeared into the salebarn crowd.
This entire episode caused me to wonder how many of my friends on the Board actually related a cow's body weight with their accompanying Body Conditioning Score and Frame Score when thinking about the "Cow Size" of their herd. :shock: :???: It is common occurrances at the sale barn to see mature cows come through weighing 1600 - 1800 lbs with a Body Conditioning Score of 2-4 (thin, angular and bony). Of course, their Frame Scores run 7 - 9, big, old lanky, worn-out mixed-breed Holsteins. It just stresses the importance of knowing ALL the factors of analyzing cattle, and NOT concentrating on ONE or TWO traits or conditions.
Our ideal mature (open) BEEF cow body weight of 1100 - 1350 lbs. must be balanced with a Body Conditioning Score of 5-6 and a Frame Score of 4-5, taking into consideration a 'breed-skeleton' size factor. Common sense goes a long way, also!
As a lot of the breeders on these posts have said recently , "Balance is the key to being successful in Beef Breeding - NOT single-trait selection."
Some of you may wish to elaborate on these thoughts.
DOC HARRIS