Ultimate Cow?

[countryguy]

I was wondering if you were to start a new herd what breed or combination of breeds would you build with and why?I am hoping this does not become a breed bashing match,I am just interested what people like about particular breeds and why.Here in Manitoba (good guess Cowman) with the harsher winters I have chosen to build a Galloway based herd.I like the haircoat,feed efficiency,and calving ease.

[cowman]

I'd go with a red angus/simmental cross. I think about 3/8 sim and 5/8 angus. The angus gives you a tough cow and the simmental milk and some size. I'd go red because when crossed with a char bull you get a yellow calf. The market still discriminates against a grey calf although it's getting better.
What I've seen of Galloways I like. I guess my concern with them is there aren't enough around, which limits your selection.

[cowman]

The letter to Jean C. in rural issues. Sure got a laugh out of it.
Like your "stock" comment. So true!

[pandiana]

I am somewhat reluctant to enter this discussion as I am a purebred breeder and as such have a vested interest ( I don't want to be accussed of spamming). This said, however,another option you might consider is Angus/Gelbvieh. This is proving to be a very popular and useful cross, very similar to Angus/Simmental. Gelbvieh are a maternal breed like Simmental. They are noted for the gentle disposition, excellent milk and mothering ability, excellent rate of gain and good carcass quality. They are solid red or black and somewhat smaller framed than Simmental. Continental on British breeds would appear to give the type of animal that markets are looking for.

[cowman]

Gelviehs are a good cross on a British cow. I Had some half bloods from A.I. You are certainly right about them being quiet...probably the only continental breed that is as quiet as a hereford! Or that has been my experience. The only problem I had with them was they milked too heavy and they tended to have a fine hair coat. But they raise some terrific calves!

[Muttley]

Well I to am a purbred breeder of Gelbvieh and of Angus cattle. But one cross that I love is Black Angus and Charolais. You get those smokey cows but when we breed them back black we most often get a black calf. The steers this year off this cross on our farm weaned at a average 660 lbs. in Oct. from March calving. We do get some smokey calves but have found that the price for them is not as bad as many people tend to beleive.
All of the cows we have are from Angus dams and sired by the Charolais.

[nakodo]

Another alternative is to go with a breed the consumer recognizes and wants to purchase ie Certified Angus, Gorgeous Gelbvieghs, Happy Herefords :-)

[pandiana]

Its' a funny thing, but I am not sure what this haircoat thing is all about. Like most purebreds, variation within any breed is often as much as between breeds. The hair on my cows ranges from very long to very short. But as with most animals, the length of hair does not necessarily dictate the quality. I have a heifer calf that has very long hair, but it would appear to be mostly guard hair, with the undercoat almost absent. On the other hand some short haired cows have a coat like felt, you can't get a comb through it in winter. I could not pick out any particular cow that has trouble keeping warm. Has anybody done any real research to determine if long or short haired cattle require more or less feed? Is quality of coat considered?

[countryguy]

Good question Pandiana.I assumed from what I have read and heard that a thicker coat equals less feed.I will have to do some digging to see if I can find any hard evidence to back up these claims.

[cowman]

I don't know pandiana. I guess I just prefer a curly hair coat. Probably a bias I learned at my fathers knee.
I do know certain breeds of cattle have a heavier hide which may affect warmth. Hereford cattle have a thicker hide and I think Charlais.

[jmillang]

Yes hair coat thickness and hide thickness do have an impact on energy requirements. I went hunting to find the National research council's research on hair coat and found this [URL="http://books.nap.edu/books/0309069343/html/9.html#page_bottom"]web page[/URL] this is actually the NRC's nutrient requirements for beef cattle book, that they have published online. At the bottom of the page it talks about hair coat and the formula (based on research) that hair coat and hide thickness is plugged into. The web page has a great search tool to find key words in the entire book. Just type in your key word and click on the button search this book. You can find all the references to hair coat you want.

Like cowman mentioned hair coat is something that history has taught us partially from experience, but often bias and ways to discriminate rather than always being based on logic and science. In this case the old ranchers were onto something.

[countryguy]

This is not the hard evidence I wanted to find but it is a little story I thought I'd share.Last spring when I was cow shopping I visited a ranch with a long haired herd of around 280 cows.He had said that the previous year he had a guy working for him helping with chores and stuff.This hired hand was also helping out another rancher who had approximately the same number of short haired cows.He told the long haired breeder that the short haired cows were eating about double the feed of the long haired ones.True or not I cannot say.This was not a sales pitch either as it was discussed over a cup of coffee AFTER my deal was made.