Association Outlook

Value & Responsibility

March is here already – it seems like just yesterday, we were celebrating the 2023 New Year. Time flies when you are busy. Looking back, the staff covered three National Shows in January alone, resulting in a lot of time for them to be out of the office. Tremendous, is a term to define those National Shows in 2023. In OKC, Cattlemen’s Congress was a great success with the pen show and The Summit National Shorthorn Sale. Denver followed with numbers significantly up from the previous year. At Fort Worth, the Shorthorn Show was the largest breed show. The Shorthorn numbers were up by close to 30%. Then, changing gears, February 1, we make the trek to New Orleans for the NCBA Convention and Trade Show. The ASA sported a new booth which was popular with tons of positive comments and the most dynamic NCBA I have attended for Shorthorn related activities. The Grant Company was there filming; we had them shoot several interviews and future video-type podcasts we will be launching called “The Bull Pen.” One very interesting interview was with Shorthorn breeder, Frank Stoltzfus, who was just elected to the NCBA Board as Vice President of the Northeast region. We also had a very informative conversation on video with Wade Shafer and Chip Kemp of IGS, who run our genetic evaluation. This conversation may help ranchers and farmers better understand the multi-breed genetic evaluation in which Shorthorn is partnering. I also had Patrick Wall, as a guest in The Bull Pen; Patrick is the executive of the Ultrasound Guidelines Council (UGC). He discussed the process and accreditations that ultrasound technicians and the labs that read the ultrasound data must meet. The staff was then off to the final National Show for this 2022-2023 show season - the Dixie National, in Mississippi, where entries

Montie D. Soules asa executive secretary/CEO

are up again. The activity in the breed is continuing to grow as we start the bull sale season. Interest and early signs that this should be another strong year to sell Shorthorn bulls. The demand for Shorthorn genetics is strong as we see new memberships in the ASA office daily.

The ASA Staff and Board continue to follow up with initiatives discussed and prioritized from last year’s Strategic Planning Session; Shorthorn podcasts is just one area that was identified as an initiative. The ASA is organizing a major educational forum for next year. The staff and Board are still planning this event and will announce the dates and location at a later time. Other initiatives from the strategic plan are in the works and some have already been implemented. I feel like the increased demand for our breed comes from multiple areas. One of those contributions is a result of the Board and staff actively addressing issues that were identified as initiatives last June during the strategic planning session.

As we prepare for spring and spring breeding season, I’d like to address the value of the pedigree, specifically the Shorthorn pedigree. Cattle breeders look at pedigrees for many different reasons. Regardless of the individual breeder’s purpose, there is tremendous value to it, especially when we have over 150 years of the ASA administering the names and heritage on these documents. Then look back 200 years from today to the origin of the Coates Herd Book for Shorthorn Cattle. The lineage of these generations is a testimony to their heritage in the breed. Some feel Shorthorns may not be as pure as they would prefer because we have an open herd book, but if you look at the percentage of the cattle when they reach 127/128, the Asterisk (*) goes away, signifying a very pure product of Shorthorn genes. Attached to this legacy of genetic heritage is the performance information. The stacked performance data gives even more value to the pedigree document. When generations of performance data are attached to each generations’ names, the value of this information really cannot be put in dollars and cents. The pedigree has the added value of years of genetic tracing along with the performance of those genetics passed to the individual that we can evaluate today, because of the dedication of our forefather’s passion for this breed and caring for the genetic transitions from generation to generation.

The open herd book allows us to bring in some new genetics to improve the breed, especially from another breed, with their own documentation of performance records attached. This is one big advantage of being part of a multibreed genetic evaluation. Yes, it may take time to get these new genetics to a pure state, but after seven generations, you are there. During that time, the performance selections will dictate the genetic impact those animals make on the breed.

Pull up a pedigree in Digital Beef sometime and take note of how much information is at your fingertips – plenty of data on the genetic inheritance for you to use and on which to base future decisions - everything you need to know from percentages on the ShorthornPlus and Purebreds to generations of performance documentation. The strengths and weaknesses are displayed and if you study the data, decisions can be based on the parentage and/or the performance documentation attached.

The value of a breed’s heritage (displayed on a pedigree) gives a huge value to every Shorthorn breeder. They have the tools to make their mating decisions which, in turn, become part of this heritage and contribute to the breed’s makeup for future generations. Every person breeding Shorthorn cattle is responsible for continuing this 200-yearold tradition with integrity and passion for our great breed!