IEREFORDS & BEEF-MAKING

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 12, 9 October 1918, Page 8

IEREFORDS & BEEF-MAKING

[The .-.question arises, writes Mr. 'J. I' Imboden, / in the' "Breeders' Gazte" (Chicago), "why. is the Hereford ; popular , to-day for the range, tho rm, the feedlot and'the block?" - The ultimate object'of the beef-bred iriial. is the .production, of beef, and 'e value of a beef-bred animal dejids on its ability under existing condons and "• environment to develop to -a desirable product at the miniira cost of production. ,The value of Herefords on the range !s been abundantly demonstrated, and bir adaptability to ran#e conditions ■;. no longer an unknown quantity. jririK tho boom bull trade- in the rly '80's ranchniPii were greatly imjsed on by breeders, and especially aders in so-called Hen-ford and Shortirn cattle, but ranchmen were- not iw to learn that while every Hcrefd badn white face, not every whiteced bull was a Hereford: neither is ever}' red a Shorthorn. They soon irned that what they needed, and : w demand, was the best-boned and ickest-fleshed bulls. JJet us get clearly in mind the value I, thick flesh, not fat. in breeding ttle; that is essential in all beef jimals. Flesh, lean meat is muscle, think it unfortunate for our beef inrests that the popular demand in e show and sale ring should require ■»,t breeders of beef cattle present ?ir cattle in a form which tends to rink rather than expand, and thicken eir muscle. In the report of a sale : show how often we read that Mr. i's cafrfle were tho equals of any "breeding, but were not in condition; at is, they were not loaded with fat, I. ' ' •■•■- .

when we well know that they were in fino Breeding form, and any more fat would have been a detriment rather than a beneiit for the purpose for which they were intended —tho production of good, thick-fleshed beef animals. These arc facts that we all know, yet what breeder dare enter a show or sale ring if he hopes to make a mark with his cattle unless ho puts them in n form that is too popular today? Of course, bulls that have been fitted for exhibition and the salo ring are not suited for rahge'iise until they have been conditioned for such service.

• The superiority of tho Hereford over any of the beef breeds for the average range and short-grass country cannot 1)9 successfully contradicted. I know there are many good Shorthorns and Angus rango herds, but they aro greatly in the minority, and rarely does one find a ranchman discarding Herefords and taking up some other breed for the range. Practically all experienced feeders will concedethat when early maturity, combined with" economy of production and the value of the product, is considered, there is no beef animal that will surnass the well-bred Hereford.

The American people aro great meateaters, but they want a choice quality of beef in sninll quantities without much fot; especially is this true at present, when prime beef to the consumer is high in price. Whenever the consumer bnys prime beef at a low figure it .will be at the expense of the producer.

Probably the hardest-fought battles in Hereford competitions in U.S.A. were fought on the Illinois and Indiana State Fair . grounds. Breeders _ and feeders of no State have championed the cause of Herefords to a greater degree than have the Hereford men of Indiana. Kentucky has always been a stronghold for Shorthorns, and Hereford breeders had rather a hard time getting a footing there, but Kentucky 'has produced, and is now producing, some of the best representatives of the breed. The same can bo said of Missouri and the States farther west; also of Texas and Mississippi to the south. , ; '

Sixty-two Herefords for £46,700. This is the crux of the story of the sale by Colonnl E. H. Taylor at Hereford Farms, Frankfort, Ky. Records for auction prices for cows wero broken in the sale of the English and American champion Clive Iris 3rd. She wont for £3460. Among the bulls Howard Dalo by Paragon 12th went for £1500, and a son of Woodford, Woodford 7th, at £750.