Hereford cows

Gleanerk2 · Dec 21, 2015

Why does it seem at one time hereford beef cows were the cow to have! Now its angus I always liked the looks of herefords like seeing them out grazing but know looks dont make you money! Anybody still raise herefords and make a profit?

rrlund · Dec 21, 2015

I just got rid of the last two that I had. I never bred them to a Hereford bull to get any more of them. Interesting thing,about five years ago,the top performing bull on the Michigan State University/Michigan Cattlemen's Tested Bull Sale was a Hereford. He went to a buyer in Iowa if memory serves me right. Then they had a full brother to him that came through the sale later in the day and a guy right out east of town with about 20 "hobby" cows bought him for a song.

Raymond Rauch · Dec 21, 2015

I raise Herfords on the farm but I breed them with an Angus bull. Makes nice bald face babies. I love the Herford cows as they are easy to handle and seem to be more gentle. Price is good for the calves as well.

notjustair · Dec 21, 2015

That's what we did when I was young - registered Polled Herefords. Angus seem to have an easier temperament in general and good meat quality. All I have is angus - some registered, most not. I honestly don't recall us ever having a really crazy cow or bull in Hereford but we were out walking in them everyday and were pretty selective about breeding. I will tell you that's long before bulls were identified by birth weight and we had some monster bulls and pulled 75% of our calves. Sure they came out a foot taller, but the feed you put into that big old bull and cow don't pencil out. Neither does 100 trips to get the pullers in February and March.

I just had a surprise calf yesterday in the pasture. No troubles - up and running today. That's a LOT easier.

I remember the early 90's when the switch over started in the smaller producers in west central Kansas. It pained me to check cattle and see angus ones mixed in with our nice registered Herefords. Times change. My grandfather would just sit silently to himself if he were to check my cattle with me. I can hear him now - "Them there aren't real cattle!"

Mike M · Dec 21, 2015

Are the pure breeds more prone to troubles as opposed to the cross breeds ? I think I remember someone who was having a lot more problems when he went purebred than he had with the mixed ones ?

The Certified Angus people have been very good at promotion it seems. They employ many people in my area and pay them well and work out of fancy buildings too.

M Nut · Dec 21, 2015

We sometimes buy Hereford cows when they are young, because of the cheaper price. Breed them with Angus bulls (red or black) to get baldy calves, and the price is just as good as any solid color calf at sale time. Purebred Herefords, less money for sure. By crossbreeding, I think a person is going to make as good of money as anything else with commercial cows.

ed will · Dec 21, 2015

Hi, when we had a dairy farm we always bred heifers to Hereford bull. Smaller calves, very healthy. Ed will

brutus49DC · Dec 21, 2015

Herefords are good hardy cows that winter easier than other breeds due to their thicker hide. They are usually also more docile (t
hough I had a few wild ones once that came from out west) and they flesh easily. The downside is the feeders crucify the growers when selling feeder calves and the fats often bring $5.00 cwt less because they don't yield quite as well. They have also had problems with pink/cancer eye because the white around their eye. prolapsing and lower milking ability has also been issues though some of that has been bred out. I use a Hereford bull on my black/bwf cows. F1 (Hereford/angus)feeder calves bring as much as any.

GeneMO · Dec 21, 2015

My dumb butt, city boy, brother in laws were all gung ho about grilling "Black Angus beef" back when it started getting popular and was being hyped in all the media and advertising.

They wouldn't have known an Angus from a donkey.

Gene

Pair-a-dice farm · Dec 21, 2015

(quoted from post at 10:50:23 12/21/15) Why does it seem at one time hereford beef cows were the cow to have! Now its angus I always liked the looks of herefords like seeing them out grazing but know looks dont make you money! Anybody still raise herefords and make a profit?

Years ago when Polled Herefords started being popular, Polled Herefords got a bad reputation of low milk production and cancer eye. I don't believe that to be the case now days. I've raised mostly Angus, Brangus and Shorthorn. I have had a few Herefords and like them fine but they take a little bit of an unjustified hit at the local sale barn. Personally I like a 1/4 Brangus x 1/4 Shorthorn x 1/2 Angus cross. The Angus breed did an outstanding job of marketing when it came to Angus beef. You gotta give them credit for that. However once the hide is pealed off there is little, if any, difference in any of the English breeds beef.

01gentdc · Dec 21, 2015

agreed on all counts ,,, especially the yuppies not knowing a angus steak from a herford or a donkey or a alligator or kangaroo ,,.. all makes good meat at the TACO BELL ... it is horrible how blacvk is king ,,. and herfords arejunlk,,, very false discrimination

LAA · Dec 21, 2015

My oldest Son raises purebred Herefords for the heifer market in our part of the country because Herefords bred to bramhas are a highly sought after cross and so the Hereford heifers bring a premium, same with the good bulls. The bulls that get culled in calfhood or as yearlings are sold in Oklahoma where the discount is not near as bad.

donjr · Dec 21, 2015

I have been breeding Angus for over thirty years. The primary reason that I went to Angus over Hereford or Charlais, however, isn't as much about meat quality or animal size. It's about a little thing called simply 'calving ease'. I worked away from home for the phone company as the farm got bigger. And, being away, I couldn't keep an eye out for problems. Angus cattle have a rather weak hyman band which breaks easily when a heifer calves. So, there was less calving trouble over the years. Most years I don't have to pull any calves, and I've only pulled about a dozen over the past twenty years. The calves are also a bit smaller, which makes for a more reliable birth rate. And the cows are great mommas for the most part. Those are the main reasons I have Angus...

Part Time Pete · Dec 21, 2015

I've had both Hereford and Angus. The Herefords seem to be easier to work with, and better able to handle variations in diet. I have more pasture than I need, and when the grass starts really coming on, it goes right through the Angus, whereas it doesn't seem to have much effect on the Herefords.
As far as the meat, I can't tell the difference, but the Angus folks have done a great job of marketing, which helps them at the sale barn
Pete

cool hand · Dec 21, 2015

When I was a boy my dad was proudly a registered shorthorn breeder. As years progressed the markets were decidedly less favorable to shorthorn and more favorable to Hereford, so he reluctantly switched. Then, when I took over the farm, because of obvious market constraints, I bought a black angus bull. Although we still have remnants of Herefords (still a few black baldy cows) we are now predominantly black angus. Our fat cattle buyer says, "They want'em big and black, and now, fat." That's what we strive to produce, and we usually get top of the market returns.

da.bees · Dec 21, 2015

Angus and angus cross beef grade's better than Herford,makeing for higer price on the hoof. Those saying it's only hype and you can't tell the difference once the hide is off simply can't understand why all calves don't sell for same price per pound. There are consumers in the same boat. Locally,Kroger and Brookshire's sell select and standard beef for same price that Tom Thumb and Albertson sell prime and choice. That might explain why dumb butt city slickers and good ol country boys shop at different stores.

jacksun65 · Dec 21, 2015

Is it true that herefords have yellow fat not white. I was told once that was why they bring less

JRSutton · Dec 21, 2015

This same topic came up here a few weeks ago - and I'l give the same answer. I believe it's due to big food chain marketing.

I think it was burger king that started promoting their "black angus burger". After that - the american consumer started to believe "black angus" was something special - the gold standard of beef - I mean it MUST be if burger king says so...

I've seen a few blind taste tests where hereford comes out ahead - but - even though that supports what I'm saying, it's really hard to compare to beef cows without knowing how they were raised.

People start demanding black angus - demand goes up - prices go up - and the beef guys fill the void. I really think it's as easy as that.

So to say black angus is "more profitable" isn't the full picture. It's more profitable while it's in demand.

Who knows, mcdonald's might come out with a "genuine hereford" burger and turn the tides. But honestly "black angus" just SOUNDS beefier to the unknowning.

Point is - it's not as simple as which animal produces more or tasts better. Supply and demand are huge factors.

Tx Jim · Dec 21, 2015

JRSutton
If you ever get those 2 roaming Scottish Highlanders caught just take them,2 Herefords & 2 Black Angus of same weight to auction and post back which breed brought more per #.

Donald Lehman · Dec 21, 2015

I asked a Micky-D gal if their Angus Burger was from red or black angus. The look I got told me she hadn't the slightest idea what an angus was in the first place, not to mention red or black. Actually, the look I got was x-rated. She not only hadn't the slightest idea what an angus was, red or black, she was not amused that I dared to waste her time asking a question in the first place. Gee, I thought it was a legitimate question. Lol!

JayinNY · Dec 21, 2015

I have herfords and like them, the meat taste fine. I think they are easier to work with, some can be nutty, mine are also very good on the fence, there's been times iv forgot to plug in the charger, or a deer or something broke and insulater and the wire was laying on the ground. I really think it's marketing, you keep promoting something enough and you will have the followers believing! Now, if you could put Herford raised the same way as a black angus in a wrapper labeled black angus, do you think anyone would know the differance at the supermarket? There's prolly some that will tell you they can, same with grass fed, I hear so many people knock it, I think it tast fine.

JRSutton · Dec 21, 2015

just to confuse things - the calves are a highland/hereford cross and a highland/shorthorn cross

Pair-a-dice farm · Dec 21, 2015

(quoted from post at 13:55:18 12/21/15) Angus and angus cross beef grade's better than Herford,makeing for higer price on the hoof. Those saying it's only hype and you can't tell the difference once the hide is off simply can't understand why all calves don't sell for same price per pound. There are consumers in the same boat. Locally,Kroger and Brookshire's sell select and standard beef for same price that Tom Thumb and Albertson sell prime and choice. That might explain why dumb butt city slickers and good ol country boys shop at different stores.

I have a hard time believing that. When we were showing steers we always had shorthorn. Our steers didn't do as well in the show ring but they were always at or near the top of the carcass class. Ahead of all breeds, angus included. In my opinion the best beef I've personally had butchered was shorthorn. I like my angus too but there are so many variables that can enter into how a carcass, grades I don't believe there is a difference in the English breeds.

coshoo · Dec 21, 2015

Nope. Jerseys have yellow fat, Guernsey fat is almost orange, and all other breeds (as far as I know, but definitely including Angus and Hereford) have white fat.

accumulator · Dec 21, 2015

Need to sell my Hereford calves and called my sales barn to see how things were going and what to expect. He said the buyers are refusing to buy Hereford calves. However he told me I have excellent stock, so maybe he can get me a decent price. I truly think there is little difference in the quality of meat if finished all the same. Angus has done an excellent job of educating people that their cattle are far superior, guess it's just something us Hereford people will have to live with.

NEKS · Dec 21, 2015

Herd has always been a mix of Herefords and Angus cows and use a Angus bull Seemed to me the sale barn buyers didn't back away when there was black white face mixed in with the blacks. I always thought the Herefords were easier to handle. Herefords sure makes a pretty picture on the sale barn calendar every year.

2x4 · Dec 21, 2015

friend of mine was a butcher; always claimed he could tell which meat was which by the feel. Angus was firmer; Hereford more movable when handled.

CenTex Farmall · Dec 22, 2015

All mine have yellow/orange fat that varies some with time of year they go to the butcher....Brangus/angus mutts that are 100% on grass. The Beta-Carotine in the grass give the fat that color.

Frank41 · Dec 22, 2015

My grand dad raised shorthorn and my dad raised hereford. I liked the looks of a cross of the two.

The most tender meat we ever had was a heifer from a guernsey milk cow and a brahma bull, the neighbor's rodeo stock. Never could her her corralled and shot her in the field with other stock. You could cut that meat with your fork.

Hereford cows

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