KMacGinley":2kpsfc4c said:As to the point about british cattle being big wayy wayy back...
I was given two copies of the Hereford breed magazine from I believe 1920 and 1954. The earlier one was full of pictures of great cattle, probably 5 or 6 frame, they would be outstanding or at least just right today. In 1954 they were all ponies.
In 1985-86 fresh out of old Purdue, I worked near Warrenton VA, for a ET outfit and down the road was a place that raised Angus cattle. Their cattle were big. The owner started the herd in the 60's with canadian cattle. They were never small and they were running a closed herd I believe.
I agree, the herefords in the USA had, in my opinion anyway, reached its peak at around 1930, after that they got carried away with showing and bred smaller and smaller till they just about bred all functionality out of them. Then the change to the racehorses also got carried away and the breed ended up no more functional than the ponies of the 1950's.
Some of the herefords of 100 years ago would still be as functional today. Don Carlos, a son of Anxiety 4th, is still the model of the bull I want to breed, and he was born about 120 years ago.