Despite what some enthusiasts believe, Herefords are not perfect for every situation. They do, however, offer much to the cattle industry. Four of the situations where the Hereford really excels are: Grass-Fed Beef and/or Natural Beef operations; Large scale commercial cow/calf and feeder operations; Small family owned, part-time or beginning farms; For youth FFA, 4H or Junior youth project.

 

Grass-Fed Beef and/or Natural Beef

As they say, "When the West was YOUNG", it was the Hereford that was introduced to improve the quality of the meat produced on the western ranges. The same is still true today, especially if you do not want to use tons of $4 corn.

A number of recent university and other studies have documented the efficiency of the Hereford both in the pasture and in the feedlot. The simple truth is that the Hereford is a superior animal at taking lower quality forages and converting it into tasty, desirable protein. (To read more about the efficiency of the Hereford and the benefits of heterosis, read the documents attached at the end of this section.)

While the Hereford breed has not been known traditionally as a high marbling breed, it has been demonstrated repeatedly that Herefords do excel at tenderness, taste and general palatability as perceived by the consumer.

In a market where consumers still want the taste, the juiciness, the flavor and the tenderness, but do not want the "fat" they see in highly marbled beef, Herefords excel.

Since many grass-fed or natural beef operations are also family-run smaller operations, all of the other benefits of the Hereford mentioned above are also important for this group.

Differences exist, of course, in the genetics within the Hereford breed. Here is where the extensive data available from the American Hereford Association and Total Performance and Gold Total Performance Breeders becomes important. The grass-fed operator can use custom designed genetics to suit their operation. For instance, we believe that the moderate frame, high calving ease, high marbling and exceptional tenderness of our senior herd sire, Felton's MO 612, is extremely well suited to meet the needs of many grass-fed operations.

 

Large scale commercial cow/calf and Feeder Operations

The decision of which breed to utilize is important for all of the groups discussed above, but in none of them do the pure, simple economics of the meat industry come home as directly as they do here. And here, Herefords can clearly mean more profits.

When I started in the beef industry there were, for all practical purposes, 3 breeds of cattle in the northern United States - Angus, Herefords and Shorthorn. At that time, beef was the "King of Meats", tender, juicy and full of flavor. Heterosis, or the cross-breeding of cattle and the benefits to be derived there from, including that "extra" 15% gain, was a relatively new concept. The black-baldie (Hereford/Angus cross) was universally recognized as the best there was in the pasture, in the feedlot, in the packing plant and on the plate.

What went wrong in the last thirty five years? We cross-bred like crazy and the percentage of choice and prime carcasses have shrunk dramatically and consumers, purveyors and restaurateurs are all complaining of tough, tasteless beef. Not surprisingly, the market share of beef in the meat industry has suffered a corresponding loss.

We forgot what mattered. A black hide substituted for a much more difficult set of decisions. The mindless mongrelization of the American beef herd replaced the discipline required by the art of cross-breeding. The benefits of heterosis were lost, but so was the quality of beef we knew back then.

So, OK, we need to return to an effective cross-breeding program. Why Herefords? The answer is a number of reasons.

  • Herefords are efficient. They are unsurpassed at feed efficiency - in the pasture and at the bunk. Moderate framed Herefords mean more animal units on the same number of acres and a whole lot less corn in the finishing.
  • Herefords mean performance. There are cattle that grow bigger than moderate framed Herefords, but they sure mean less profit for the commercial cow calf operation or feeder that uses them. The moderate framed Hereford is simply the most efficient converter of low quality forage to protein that there is in the beef industry.
  • Herefords mean growth-through-slaughter. We now know that you don't need large framed cattle to get efficient growth through slaughter weights. Why provide the feed for those larger cows when the efficient Hereford does it better?
  • Herefords mean longevity and the longevity of the cow means lower costs and higher profits.
  • Carcass Quality - We simply MUST improve the carcass quality of American beef. Herefords have for centuries been known for tender, juicy, flavorful and delicious beef. Recent research has consistently found that Herefords are as good as they come at producing exactly that. Today, the Hereford breed offers bulls like Feltons Mo 612, our senior herd sire, who excel at both Marbling and Ribeye and is a 4 Star bull for Tenderness under the Bovigen GeneSTAR© protocol.
  • Calm, docile Disposition - It turns out that that easy going Hereford is not just safer, but also more likely to produce more pounds of higher quality meat than that more "assertive" sire you may have been using. Research has found a direct correlation between "high strung" and toughness.
  • Fertility of the Hereford has been their hallmark for 3 or 4 centuries. They breed and bring in that calf when the grass is almost non-existent as well as when it is lush.
  • Maternal traits and instincts - No cow beats the Hereford in the Momma of the Year competition. It turns out that how much a cow snorts or threatens the cowman is NOT an indicator of maternal instincts or abilities -- just bad temper and threat of injury.
  • Problem free cattle - Old issues like prolapse, cancer eye and poor wheels have been addressed and eliminated by serious Hereford breeders.
  • Additional opportunities at the time to market - Both the Certified Hereford beef and Hereford Verified programs provide real opportunities for extra profits. The breeder of black baldies (Hereford/Angus cross), have the option of going either way, Hereford or Angus programs.
  • The completeness of the package. Most breeds offer an advantage. Herefords deliver a pretty complete package. Especially for breeders who now have a black cow herd, isn't it time take advantage of what the Hereford can bring to your cross-breeding program?

 

Smaller, Family Owned Operations

When I first started into cattle I was going to start with another breed of cattle. Fortunately, I had a conversation with an experienced and very wise cattleman. After learning that I had no farm background, he suggested I change my plans. His advice, which proved to be invaluable, was, "Find yourself some good old whiteface cows, then let them teach you the business for a few years. If you want to change breeds after that, fine." I could hardly hear his muttered, "But I bet you won't!"

Simply put, Herefords make do. They tolerate an amazing number of mistakes by humans. Our national association touts how versatile Herefords are. That is true, but where that really means something is when the newly minted farmer messes up and the cow can handle the situation anyway.

Couple this adaptability and hardiness with the calm, quiet, docile temperament for which the Herefords are famous, and the fundamentals are in place.

But the efficiency of the Hereford, the longevity of the Hereford, the fertility of the Hereford and the performance of the Hereford are no less important on the small, part-time or beginning farm than they are on the large-scale commercial operation. All of these factors affect the financial viability of the operation and on this count, the smaller scale family farm needs all the help they can get.

To read more about the efficiency of the Hereford and the benefits of heterosis, read the documents attached at the end of this section.

 

Youth Projects

Two attributes in particular make Herefords the ideal animal for youth projects -- their naturally calm, docile disposition and the extensive programming that exists nearly everywhere for youth exhibiting Hereford cattle.

If that calm docile temperament is important in large commercial operations (and it is), just imagine how much more important it is when our children are involved in working with those cattle. I know I am also much more comfortable showing Herefords where "city-folk" might get real close than if I were showing animals from a number of other breeds. Even our insurance agent agrees with that point.

The opportunities for youth to show Hereford genetics as a part of an organized youth program are unsurpassed. Whether it is at the county, the state or the national level, youth with Herefords as projects find support and assistance as well as the opportunity to be recognized for their efforts and accomplishments. In addition, participation in the Hereford Junior Associations which exist in every state give our youth opportunities to develop and express leadership skills in a very "real world" environment.

 

Additional Information

For more on the efficiency of the Hereford and the benefits of heterosis using Herefords, read the following documents:

Think Hyrbid Kick, Think Efficiency  Adobe Acrobat File
The Whiteface - August 2006 Edition  Adobe Acrobat File
The Whiteface - November 2006 Edition  Adobe Acrobat File

Taking Efficiency to the Next Level  Microsoft Word Document

 

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