Colour is only a surface characteristic and shouldn't be how Simmental cattle are judged, according to the executive vice president of the American Simmental Association, in Australia for Beef Australia.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
The vision of Dr Wade Shafer is described in US media as being the key to positioning the association there at the forefront of the beef industry, along with his commitment to International Genetic Solutions testing, which the ASA founded.
That need for testing and collecting data is what he spoke to onlookers about at the Simmental judging ring last week, telling them that Simmental cattle and various hybrids were probably the hottest commodity in the US cattle scene, where 130,000 new animals are added to the herd book each year.
"The key to success is great cattle that make commercial cattlemen money," he said. "One of the keys has been a willingness to put industry above breed."
His vision is to bring in all breed combinations, saying it had been known for years that cross-breeding was one of the big keys to profitability.
"That's what's at the core of IGS, the need to provide the best genetic evaluation, and it's arguably the best in the world," Dr Shafer said.
He's known for saying that data is the breed's lifeblood and he reiterated it in Rockhampton, saying IGS was vital to allowing independent beef producers access to the genetic tools needed to ensure success.
"The Australian scene is like it was many years ago in the US," he said.
"It's transitioning to more commercial relevance. It was assumed the colour black was about relevance. No, it's about having acceptance.
"We've made Simmentals more functional, and the cloak of black is to make them more marketable."
Dr Shafer went on to explain how it was helping the breed in the US, where certified Angus beef had been the most successful marketing endeavour ever.
He said it didn't require cattle to be Angus, just to be black and with a high level of marbling.
While changes narrowed the pool, all breeds developed a black version, because it was a single gene to change.
"I would like to believe that science and fact will rule the day over time," he said. "Colour is a surface characteristic, although there is some merit to the heat tolerance argument."
The Simmental and Red Angus breeds are the founding members of IGS, which Dr Shafer said was evaluating all breeds and breed combinations, within one genetic evaluation.
It's grown into 22 million animals and there are 600 genotypes in the evaluation.
Dr Shafer said he'd grown up in Minnesota with Simmental, Charolais and Angus cattle and coming to work with Simmental cattle was 'happenstance'.
"I had a doctorate in animal genetics and called my old boss to spend the winter with him, and he convinced me to take his job," he said.
Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
