A REVOLUTION IN KANSAS CITY
By Jonathan Wiechmann
Sons of Liberty Meet
You didn’t hear it on the national news, but there was an historic meeting held in Kansas City on August 24th and 25th. This get-to-gether, loosely called the “First annual Linebreeders Conference”, attracted over sixty breeders representing most major cattle breeds from all over the Nation. There were even cattlemen from Canada and the country of Panama.
The “Jacob Alliance”, which is made up of four men, Gearld Fry, Matt Cravey, Doug Hufstedler, and Allen Williams sponsored the event. These men work as consultants in every aspect of the cattle business, from genetics to nutrition. Their objective in Kansas City was to introduce what was called a “New Beef industry Paradigm” which could very well revolutionize the entire beef industry in America.
The old Paradigm
Now the word “paradigm” means a certain pattern, or way of thinking, and it was pointed out by the speakers that for the last fifty years or so, the paradigm has been for the cattle producer to consider the infrastructure of the beef industry as their consumer. In other words, the cattleman produced an animal to suit the best interests of the stocker operators, commercial feedlots and the big three packers.
It was stated that this infrastructure thrives on large, inefficient animals, which are just the type of bulls the Seedstock sector, through out-crossing and crossbreeding, has been turning out. The commercial producer continues to buy these very heterozygous bulls, along with the allusion that they will produce the right kind of market animal, that is, one with lots of pounds. This has led to the pursuit of maximums and extremes, as cattlemen focus mainly on gross production, while often ignoring overhead costs.
It was pointed out that these bulls, sprung from ever increasing gene pools, sire offspring that are unpredictable and inconsistent, because genetically, they are mules, and unable to reproduce themselves. What’s more, by them, attempting to maximize the all alluring heterosis through crossbreeding again and again, the producer finally destroys his cowherd’s genetic integrity, and any hope of uniformity and consistency in future generations.
What about the meat? Well, all of this finally results in a mere commodity grade product, which is very inconsistent, and often of poor quality. Americans are finding it very hard to buy a good steak these days because by following the old industry paradigm, our Nations vast cattle herds have been turned into mongrels. The industry is infrastructure centered and economically, the producer is at their mercy. Signals from the consumer are blocked and competition is dead. It’s no wonder the chicken people are winning.
The New Paradigm
Mr. Jim Lents from Indiahoma, Oklahoma, explained that in the new industry paradigm all producers must strive to build and maintain a great herd of maternal cows that are both low maintenance and highly reproductive. This requires animals that are in correct balance to be efficient and fertile. It also requires longevity to reduce economic depreciation in the herd. These animals must be of moderate frame, with thickness and depth of body, and smooth thick flesh.
But most importantly, all of these correct and desirable traits must be homozygous (dominant). This means the cow must be able to predictably reproduce the characteristics of proper type, size and body composition in her offspring. Without this, nothing is gained.
Mr. Lents explained that to bring this all about, cattle producers must only use bulls that are very homozygous for the specific characteristics mentioned above. It takes linebreeding to create this homozygosity.
The work of linebreeding is simply to reinforce the entire desirable genetic combinations in any given animal or herd of animals, and make them dominant. According to Jim Lents, linebred gene pools and not breeds hold the eye to the industry’s future.
Man Must Measure
Linebreeding has been around for thousands of years, but many have swallowed the myth that it only produces freaks and dwarfs. The truth is that by linebreeding, you can produce anything you want. It is very important then that by rigid selection, we reinforce only those characteristics, which are desirable in our herd animals.
Because of the fads and hype of the old paradigm most producers do not know that there actually is a standard for what a well-balanced, low maintenance, highly reproductive animal, ought to look like. Mr. Gearld Fry of Rosebud, Arkansas, is an expert at this standard. For many years now, he has shown cattlemen all over the country how to take a tape measure, and a few simple tools and successfully predict the efficiency, and productivity of their animals.
This knowledge is invaluable in deciding which bulls or replacement heifers will be an asset to your herd and which ones ought to go to market. Properly balanced, linebred homozygous animals will consistently produce a high quality beef product, which is uniform, flavorful and palatable. This is what the American consumer is looking for.
Battle plans
Towards the end of the meeting, a group of men were elected to come up with ideas for implementing and promoting this new paradigm. They will discuss such things as breeder alliances, education of breeders, branded programs, identifying consumers, etc.
It will be interesting in the coming months to see the implementation of some of these ideas. The exciting part is to be able to deliver a superior product to an eager consumer. Jim Lents reported that there are over 33 million head of cattle in this country and it’s likely that there are less than 2500 properly built, prepotent true seedstock animals in North America. There’s plenty of room at the top.
British White Cattle Association of America
I think we, who run British Whites, should take notice of this new paradigm. We have good animals that produce beef, which is superior to most other breeds because our animals are already very homozygous. Our gene pools are still very tight. When you cross them with anything, the result is a white calf.
There were many good things said about our cattle in Kansas City. In fact Gerald Fry uses a picture of a British White Bull to show his clients the ultimate of what a good bull ought to look like.
After sitting through this meeting, I think it is well worth our while to maintain the genetic integrity of this breed that was handed down to us from the many wise and careful breeders of the past. I also came to realize that it is just plain good business sense to be ably to identify the proper type, size and body composition needed for our animals to produce the excellent meat, which this breed is known for.
Right now, the field is wide open, and I believe the British White can be a leader in this new beef industry paradigm. By maintaining our high standards, this breed has the potential for becoming a byword for the best, the Cadillac of cattle.
Information:
Jim Lents has written a little-big book called “The Basis Of Linebreeding”, and is very worthwhile reading. Also, Gearld Fry has much information on cattle measuring and evaluation, which is a must for anyone that raises livestock.
Jonathan Wiechmann