Foraging ability

[grassfarmer]

I saw an interesting thing this morning that I thought I would pass on. Going to feed my cows in a white out with -30C windchill I came on a small bunch of cows that had escaped into the wrong field by stepping over an electric wire probably when the wind started up. Unfortunately they had moved into an area with no shelter and were pretty miserable waiting behind the gate back into their own enclosure. Apart from one cow - a 19 year old Luing who was happily grazing through the snow, totally white up one side from the blizzard. She looked like an old buffalo. Now this is not just a shameless plug for my breed, I really think this is an important point. Apart from having a heavier duty winter coat due to her hair this cow has foraging ability(which I would define as the ability to harvest the maximum amount of forage under all conditions)Many people today don't consider foraging ability - I had this conversation with Alberta Ag people last winter when I pointed out that selecting cattle that are feed efficient by monitoring intake of youngstock on a high grain ration in a feedlot bears little relevance to selecting efficient cows for a forage based system. They didn't agree with me but personally I think they test them the way they do because it's easier. Foraging ability is one of those important traits that gets overlooked by the scientific community because they can't measure or quantify it easily, like the value of longevity.