One suggestion to the admins of this site:
REMOVE THIS FORUM TOPIC!
We shouldn't be promoting show cattle. They are the one of biggest problems the industry has. It's just a bunch of counterfeit cattle made to look better than they are by a bunch of crooks who don't care if the cattle actually work in the real world.
Interesting topic. I grew up in a purebred cattle family and did all the junior shows and other shows and such through until my early 20's.
I ended up living in Australia for several years and their cattle industry opened my eyes to what the business is really about. I lived on feedlots during this time and had the opporunity to visit Japan and learn a lot about the Asian meat market. I now work for Alberta Beef Producers, which represents all 30,000 producers in the province.
What I am getting at is this...the purebred game is very small potatoes in the scheme of the meat industry. I think that purebred guys at shows are promoting their genetics to other purebred guys. Commercial cattlemen as a whole don't care a lot about a calf out of such and such a mother who is a full sister to the Edmonton Farmfair champion. They care about service, if a bull is going to last three seasons without breaking down, and if the gains on the calves are going to give them a few extra dollars in their pockets.
But with this in mind, showing cattle is fun and it is a good way for some people to market their product. Some cattlemen are better than others at it. I would't nessesarily say it's more important than ever to take cattle on the road - but it does have it's place. The costs of taking cattle on the road are higher and higher (fuel, feed and labour costs along with other incidentals) - and one has to justify these costs with the benefits of taking home a few nylon ribbons and buying an ad in the breed magazine to let other purebred guys that were at the show know that you won. I think shows will continue on in Canada and there is nothing wrong with that. It's always a good place to have a beer and catch up with friends.
Interesting thoughts , Lorie. We use shows as a means of meeting people and showing them what our program is about. We have met some of our best commercial customers at these functions and will continue to promote our breed and program this way.I find it interesting that in your new possition that you would call the " Purebred Game " small potatoes in the meat industry.Through the purebred industry has come one of the biggest meat marketing programs ever and other programs are under way.These programs benifit all people in the livestock industry and are just another way of promoting beef as are shows.The days of a good place to have a beer are long over and anyone going there for such a reason really is missing an oportunity.Another aspect that has shown up more in the last couple years has been the interaction with consumers of beef that walk through the barns.We have met hundreds of people that are so far removed from were their food comes from . Most of them once you talk to them,leave with a new respect for where their food comes from and they feel confident that it is healthy and well taken care of.Showing cattle is no different than any other thing we as producers do,some will use it and a few will abuse it !
To WIHD: You are right show cattle have immeasurable effects on the industry. Immeasuably BAD. As the latest show fad gets pushed through to the commercial industry, producers end up spending years correcting the damage caused by the genetics of the last "champion." Remember the big-frame craze of the 80's? The polar opposite dwarfs of the 90's? Or the problem that stays true -- poor feet. All these show cattle get their feet trimmed regularly to correct hoof and structure problems -- which become evident a generation or two later in a crop of granddaughters that don't make their 5th birthdays in the real world.
To show12win: First of all, your name says it all. Show to win? You might win a ribbon, but you won't win my business. But back to your comments. Have you ever met a big rancher who needs more than 20 bulls every year at a show? I doubt it. The serious BEEF producers don't see anything serious about fluffling and cutting hair, parading around a showring and standing in a picture with a banner. That has nothing to do with the BEEF business.
When shows reward cattle for functional longevity, production and end product, I'll make time to attend one. When they focus on helping cattlemen make more money by producing a better product for the consumer, I'll come and listen. Until then I'll be staying home and flipping past all the ads for "champion" cattle.