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That is not a Simmental

 

A recent post on social media showed a picture of only a show steer. The caption read, “This is not a Simmental”. That person was exactly right. It was not, it was a crossbred steer. A lot of animals are crossbred animals. Especially in the stock show world. 

Growing up in the Polled Hereford world. I have seen a fair number of cattle that were most likely not pure. There was a heifer that ran all across Texas years ago winning everything in sight. One look from any breeder and we all knew she wasn’t purebred. A family finally had enough and protested that heifer and she was kicked out. Papers not matching the calf and bloodlines were not pure. 

A good friend of mine calls some of the cattle these days, dirty blooded cattle. These are cattle that have so many crosses in their genetic backgrounds, they are actually genetic mutations if you will. Cattle that once had heat tolerance are losing that trait. Birth weights are so high and so unpredictable, pulling 100 to 150 pound calves is not unusual. You have to shave these calves if born in the summer because they will die of heat strokes. This is not normal.

Show cattle and predominantly junior steer competitions have become so skewed, that you don’t know what breed is what anymore. The other problem is, it has drifted into heifers as well. If you take the champion Chinana, champion Main, and champion ORB, you could swap the titles between the 3 and still have no distinction between breeds. Their breed character is almost lost. 

Purebred cattle have had to change over time. Less extreme, more sound, and functional type cattle. That does not mean you have to lose your breed character. 

Sometimes in life, all we have is our own individual character. That is what sets us apart from others. Cattle are the same way. There are certain aspects of breeds of cattle that are needed in the industry. Once you lose your individual character and become just part of the crowd, you lose your self worth. You lose what makes you a great person. 

Next time you are at a show and see something that is not right, call it out. Next time you are judging a show and see something not right, call it out. You can tell a person they have the worst calf in the barn, and make them leave the ring feeling good about the experience. Trlling someone, no that is not a Simmental,  that is a crossbred. The words are not mean or hateful. It is the truth. Words do matter. 

“Stand firm in your character, whether it is your beliefs or cattle. That might be the only thing that saves you at the end of the day.” – Jeremy Workman 

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