World-wide breed

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33067, 7 November 1972, Page 32

World-wide breed

In many of the 45 countries throughout the world where Herefords are found they outnumber other breeds, and in some cases are in greater numbers than ail other beef breeds combined. Why is this so?

When we set about critically examining the reasons for this, we find that they are factual, sound, and vouched for by capable, progressive cattlemen, who are members of what is really a world brotherhood of whiteface breeders. Before elaborating on this, let us ask ourselves what we want in this animated machine that we use to convert grass and fodder into protein. We want an efficient machine that will do this job economically in the widest possible environment. We want the female to calve regularly unaided, and to feed her calf generously, but not to the point of debilitating herself. We want her to withstand the rigours of winter, and bounce back in the spring. We want her to forage the hills and valleys, and to lay on a little fat in times of plenty, so that she has insulation against the cold and a storehouse of energy when the nutritional level is low. Also, oi course, we want her meat and that of her progeny to be flavourful, tender and succulent—that is part oi the purpose of fat cover. We want her to have a good temperament because we know that a placid nature means efficient feed conversion. We want her tc be fundamentally sound in the jaw, and also in the feet and legs so as to give a high degree of mobility —this is basic. We want The writer of the accompanying article, which has been abridged, is Mr W. I. Matthews, a member of the council of the New Zealand Hereford Cattle Breeders' Association. Mr Matthews, who comes from Waipukurau, has been president of the association three times. her to have a naturally strong resistance to disease and be free of genetic abnormalities. This has largely been achieved for us in New Zealand by 10C years of natural culling and

selection. And when she has weaned about two and a half tons of valuable protein and her working life is over, we want her to satisfy some of the growing shortfall of the preferred protein. A pretty tall order and a demanding role for the female. What of the male? The bull must be masculine, muscular and mobile. He must also be virile and

prepotent. The steer, of course, must satisfy a discerning consumer with sue- 1 culent, tender beef, at the age which is most profitable; for the cattleman. To get back to the Herefords that fulfil these demanding specifications so admirably, and to the original question as to why we find the whitefaces in every comer of the globe; the answer is fairly simple. They have measured up to the exacting criteria laid down for them, they have done all that we wanted them to do, and they have been economically profitable and aesthetically satisfying in every climate and environment.