The first North American Simmental breeders in the late 1960’s began their programs committed to breed improvement. After a period of distraction by some (see yesterday’s post), the focus, once again, seems to be returning to performance testing, evaluation, and breed improvement.
From Simmental Country, March 2007:
“The Progeny Testing and SMARTag Program” by Alana Lunn, p. 10: The CSA has initiated two new, exciting programs for our members that will help you providing information and service to your customers. These are the progeny Testing Program and the SMARTag Program. …”This appears to be a 21st Century “New Dawn for the Cowman”—not one that Travers anticipated when he wrote an article entitled “New Dawn for the Cowman” in the Commercial West magazine, August 12, 1972 (pp. 49-50). He acknowledged those who had prepared the way for the 1960’s cattle revolution, but he never imagined that the pendulum trend he thought had been overcome would swing backward once again for a time. He wrote:
“Progeny Test Program” by Sean McGrath, p. 16: “… Increasingly in beef production, value is being determined by differentiation and the ability to identify those differences. … / The Canadian Simmental Association is currently ramping up their 2007 progeny testing program to obtain commercial calving, growth, and carcass data on Simmental sired calves. This effort, in addition to breeder efforts to collect carcass data, and overall efforts to obtain ultrasound data on seedstock represent a significant commitment to ensuring the future profitability of the commercial beef industry by identification of end product attributes and the genetics that produce them. …”
“A Look Back” by Bill Macleod, pp. 34-35: The Canadian Simmental Association has experienced a number of very significant changes over the period of time that I have been associated with the Board. The first one that comes to mind is the work of the Promotions and Marketing Committee which has changed the focus of the industry from issuing registration papers to promoting Simmental cattle as having a greater role in the commercial beef industry. This emphasis has led, in part, to the dramatic increase in the sale of Simmental cattle to commercial cattle breeders and to a far greater influence on the genetics of the commercial beef industry. This dramatic shift, from emphasizing the purebred industry as an end unto itself to that as a seed stock industry, to a much more inclusive role in the beef industry as a whole has been a turning point for the Simmental breed. This emphasis has led to the significant increase of Simmental genetics as seed stock providers. …
“A second significant change which has come about in the operation and role of the CSA is the focus on data collection introduced by the Breed Improvement Committee. Increased emphasis has been placed on the role of EPDs [Expected Progeny Difference] in the evaluation of cattle and the number of traits being collected. These traits now include, not only a number [of] convenience traits such as calving ease, docility and body condition scores, but economic traits such as weaning weights, yearling weights, rib eye and back fat scores and scrotal measurements. The more information that can be collected on an individual animal, the greater the potential for making better breeding and selection decisions.”
“Through the years, a few persistent and dedicated men in the land searched, selected and developed more profitable cattle, but very little progress was made in profitable beef production until around 1960-61. When a very faint light of change appeared lit by a very few scattered ranchers, researchers, geneticists and businessmen, and by 1968 this small” light had grown to be a steady flame until now in 1972 it is referred to as a prairie fire lighting this whole continent. This change has been wrought in all sections of the industry and in every breed and beef improvement association. A most intense and dramatic improvement has come from the introduction of the continental or so called “exotic” breeds into our crossbreeding. …Travers’ enduring dream would probably be: 1) no more pendulum swings; 2) forward movement for centuries to come in breed improvement; and 3) that we would pass on to those who come after an inheritance better than we received.
“Production Efficiency: In America, while the pendulum had swung one way and started back, stockman in other countries had continued on from centuries back improving production efficiency. Switzerland held the lead with two dual purpose breeds, delivering seed stock to many parts of the world. …
“Men can, through their co-operative management blend together all the resources at hand into a formula to bring about a profitable economic agricultural structure, and also a better balanced ecology. …
“There is still lots of room for improvement in our economy, not alone towards profit, but for building a better land that our inheritance might be passed on to those after us better than we received. ...”
