The cattle sector has always been one willing to change and adapt, at least since I was a youngster and paid attention to such things.
In my case, while not in the cattle business, I did attend many livestock shows from the time I was old enough to carry a show cane until the present day when I still attend a few in my role as a reporter.
What that means is I grew up through the ‘exotic’ breeds invasion which forever changed the cattle sector.
The arrival of Charolais were the first I recall. The big white cattle being dramatically different from the existing British breeds in Canada; Hereford, Aberdeen Angus and Shorthorn.
British breeds were just emerging from an era of belt buckle-tall cattle. I can remember pictures of champion animals that barely came to the waists of the showmen in the late 1950s and into the 60s. They were cattle suited to an era that was gone.
There was a recognition cattle should be bigger, and exotic breeds such as Charolais arrived to ‘grow’ cattle.
The early arrivals caught attention and the stage was set for a long list of breed arrivals; Simmental, Limousin, Maine Anjou, Saler, Chianina, Meuse-Rhine-Issel, and Pinzgauer among many.
Each year a new breed seemed to be the buzz at shows such as Canadian Western Agribition. I recall one year stickers all over the barn are with “Chianina Can”, even before the breed arrived in the scene.
Some of the breeds on the list above may notseem familiar that is because while in general exotics caught on and changed the sector, not all breeds found favour, some arriving with a moderate splash and disappearing quite quickly.
While the exotic influence was dramatic, it is not the only development which has had its effect on cattle.
Efforts through the years have also been placed on creating what are in their simplest terms traceable hybrids, with some becoming ‘official breeds’.
The Hays Converter is a breed of cattle native specifically to Alberta, Canada. Named for Harry Hays, the agriculturalist and politician who developed the breed, it was the first pure breed of cattle created in Canada. Work on breeding the Hays Converter began in 1959, and it was officially recognized by the Canadian beef industry under the Canada Livestock Pedigree Act in December of 1975. Senator Hays wished to create a cattle breed that would be based solely on production, and as such would mature to market weight as fast as possible, detailed Wikipedia.
“Hays chose three particular breeds of cattle in order to achieve the optimal breed of cattle. He achieved this by combination crosses of Holstein cattle on Hereford cattle and Brown Swiss cattle …
“Once the crosses began, Hays selected for the traits he wanted, and any offspring that did not make the cut in one way or another would have their tails docked and were shipped off to a processing plant. Once all desired traits were achieved in the offspring, the breed was closed off to mating with any outside breeds. By the time the breed achieved pedigree status in 1975, it had achieved all of the traits Hays had hoped it would. These traits included high growth rate, sturdy build, good carcass quality, easy calving and excellent milk production.”
Bringing different breeds together to create a new one is not new. It was the way Lacombe pigs were developed in Canada, as well as Canadian and Rideau Arcott and Outaouais Arcott sheep.
And again in terms of cattle “The Canadian Speckle Park is a breed of cattle native to the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is one of only a few beef cattle breeds developed in Canada. The latter half of the breed’s name derives from the characteristic white, black and grey spots and patches of color that it’s known for,” noted Wikipedia.
“The Canadian Speckle Park is one of the newest cattle breeds, having been officially recognized by the Canadian government in 2006. A breed association was formed in 1985, and exports of Canadian Speckle Park to the U.S. and Australia have occurred.
“Work on breeding the Canadian Speckle Park began in the 1950s with the crossing of a roan Shorthorn heifer to a Black Angus bull. The spotting became a dominant trait in the offspring, and the beginnings of a new breed emerged. Descended solely from British beef breeds, it is naturally polled and inherits many of the characteristics of popular cattle like the Angus.”
Similarly, the Brangus breed was developed to utilize the superior traits of Angus and Brahman cattle. Their genetics are stabilized at 3/8 Brahman and 5/8 Angus.
“A review of the development of the Brangus breed would take us back beyond the founding of the American Brangus Breeders Association in 1949; however, registered Brangus descends from the foundation animals recorded that year or registered Brahman and Angus cattle enrolled since then. Much of the early work in crossing Brahman and Angus cattle was done at the USDA Experiment Station in Jeanerette, Louisiana. According to the USDA 1935 Yearbook in Agriculture the research with these crossed started about 1932,” noted www.ansi.okstate.edu
And now similar work appears to be taking place in creating what is being called the Durham Red.
The American Shorthorn Association introduced the first 100 per cent British breed composite when it allowed the registration of Shorthorns crossed with Red Angus.
So far only a few hundred Red Durhams have been registered through the American Association, but again it shows a willingness to work on creating genetics which are felt to take the cattle sector forward.
It is not likely that Durham Reds will have near the impact of the importation of exotics, any more than has Hays Convertors or Speckle Park, but they do show the sector being active in looking for new genetic packages to improve the industry.
Calvin Daniels is Assistant Editor with Yorkton This Week.
