Today’s Fun Fact Friday is a tribute to one of my favorite groups of people, ranchers!
Did you know? America’s beef producers are producing more pounds of beef with fewer resources than at any time in history. If 1950s beef production practices were used to produce the amount of beef raised today, 165 million more acres of land would be needed. That’s about the size of my home state, Texas!
Happy Friday, everyone! I’ll leave you with a photo I took back in the winter. I love a good baldy cow, and this one’s photo now hangs in our house.
Are your Black Baldies just Hereford X Angus or do you add a 3rd cross of a hot weather breed to seal with your climate?
ReplyDeleteoops typo DEAL not SEAL
ReplyDeleteGreat question, Fiona! Actually, this isn't my cow...just one of the many I've photographed on the job.
ReplyDeleteThis commercial cow is likely a traditional Hereford x Angus black baldy. Quite a few people in Texas do breed Hereford x Brangus baldies or other more traditionally heat tolerant variations, but you still see lots of Hereford x Angus crosses thriving, too. (That being said, in deep South Texas and along the coast, you're mostly going to see cattle with ear.)
After talking to so many producers across the state, though, I'm pretty convinced that breed preferences aside, the right kind of cattle will work in most places (with a few extreme exceptions). After all, no matter what kind of cattle you want to raise, easy-doing cattle with good feet and legs are needed wherever you are!
I brought bulls from Alberta, Canada to your Houston Stock show for a customer. They really suffered for the first two weeks we were in Texas....so did I! The bull all found new homes in your part of the world and the customers said they all adjusted well. Your so right about good feet, legs and easy doing working anywhere.
ReplyDeleteIt is an awesome photo!
I am very much enjoying your blog.
I'm sure it was an adjustment, but I'm so glad they adjusted well! I interviewed a Hereford breeder about a month ago for an upcoming feature story. He had, within the last few years, moved his primary operation from hot and frequently drought-stricken Eastern New Mexico to the much milder and wetter Eastern Oklahoma and says the same cattle work well in both places. I think good cattle, selected for the right traits, will adapt in most cases!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the kind words! You're so sweet. I am really enjoying writing the blog and interacting with its readers!
By the way, if you're on Facebook you should definitely "like" Make Mine Beef if you haven't already. I've already given away one prize and will give another one away when we hit 200 likes. :)