After Dr Alex Ball, CEO Hereford Australia, recently tendered his resignation, after only taking on the position less than twelve months ago, numerous people have asked me, will the Hereford breed survive into the future?
My short answer to this is, of course they will.
More importantly though, is will the society remain in tack? It would appear there has been a certain amount of infighting in the board, given Dr Ball’s resignation letter that was presented to the media last week.
I certainly don’t have the answers, but let’s look at it from a visual perspective.
At the Leongatha store sale, last Thursday, there were only about six pens of Hereford cattle offered, among a sea of Angus steers and heifers.
The next day, at Bairnsdale, many pens of Herefords were offered, this being a traditional breeding area.
I attend many sales covering a large area, and in all of the main breeding areas, there is still a good percentage of dedicated Hereford breeders.
I believe everyone knows that the Angus society has done a fantastic job of self promotion, and has lifted the breed to great heights over the years. Following many of the physical sales, one may see Hereford bullocks making a few cents less than Angus bullocks. It is also fair to say that there are some grid prices out there specifically for Angus steers and bullocks.
However, selling direct to processors for a given price can be irrespective of breed, but more for weight and fat cover. In these circumstances, there is no difference for any of the major breeds. It was only a short time ago, when the Charolais breed was dominant in most store cattle markets. However this has now changed, and they have come back to the field.
As meat producers, adding weight to cattle is the main objective, and as all beef meat is red, when the hide is off, then concentrating on weight gain is the objective.
Many of the older producers, who have fattened steers into prime bullocks, will tell you how they prefer Herefords over other breeds.
At the end of the day, it gets down to personal preferences. This was very evident at Bairnsdale store market, Friday, where Herefords made as much, if not more than other breeds, in liveweight terms. The annual calf sales, held in January-April, have a very significant number of Hereford cattle, and in some, more than any other breed.