Another interesting breed found at the Cattlemen’s Congress is the Shorthorn. Montie Soules, Executive Director of the American Shorthorn Association, was happy to talk with our own Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays about his favorite breed and what the Cattlemen’s Congress is doing for it.
Of the fifth annual event, Soules said, “A lot of us kind of forgot what COVID was, but we are here because nobody else would have a cow show except for the state of Oklahoma and its Cattlemen’s Congress. It has developed into one of the major stock shows in the country.”
Soules says that Oklahoma is a good location for A.S.A. because the membership has a strong presence here and in Texas. Many of the association’s junior development events have been hosted in Oklahoma as well.
“We are the oldest beef breed association in the United States as we were established in 1872,” Soules shared. A few years ago, they celebrated 150 years of Shorthorn cattle registries.
For four consecutive years, the A.S.A. has registered more than 15,000 head, a height they haven’t seen for over twenty years. Currently at 2,200 members, new applications continue to roll in each year, in fact, 1,200 in the past three years.
“When you look at that and think about what is going on within our breed, we are looking at a complete generational turnover, which is really advantageous to the growth and longevity of what is going on in the Shorthorn breed,” Soules stated.
One of the original British breeds, Shorthorns are advertised as and proven to be a family-friendly breed of cattle. In addition to ease of handling, this docility factor keeps them at the bunk eating longer because they are less flighty than other breeds.
“We have found some research in our latter years here about all breeds that says docility is a huge issue,” Soules said. “It is a God-given gift to our breed.”
Shorthorn cows also make good mothers and are sound and fertile, making them assets to commercial herds. “When you want to talk heterosis or hybrid vigor, you are going to get a kick that you’ve never seen before with a Shorthorn, simply because those commercial herds don’t have any Shorthorn base back in there for the most part,” Soules commented, but then noted that Angus cattle were derived from Shorthorns.
Going forward, Soules feels good about the momentum gained by pushing Shorthorns on the docility trait but is wary of the constant pressures on the cattle industry such as methane gas environmental issues. According to Soules, Shorthorns are poised to excel against those pressures because of their ability to put marbling on before they put fat on their backs. Coming research projects will show how the cattle perform from a methane gas standpoint.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR at the top of the story for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
