This week’s the start of Texas major show season so I’m posting the breed summary for those up north who have never dealt with it.
I’ve posted this before but enough has changed to post it again. Nobody is going to pick a breed based on this list. It’s just a summary of the Texas major show breed systems for Midwesterners who have never dealt with it.
Why does a person need a summary of breeds? Because it’s convoluted as hell.
The only two shows that use the same breed format are San Antonio and Houston. Well, unless you have a Polled Hereford, in which case you’d show as a Hereford at San Antonio. Of course, the Polled Herefords have their own breed in Fort Worth like all British breeds, well, other than Red Angus which shows with the exotics.
Take that Red Angus calf that would actually class Red Angus as another example.
In Fort Worth it’s a European Crossbred. The next Monday in San Angelo it’s an English. In San Antonio and Houston it’s a Red Angus. In Austin it’s a British. In reality, Red Angus steers just skip the other three and go to San Antonio or Houston.
Shorthorn is one of only two breeds to have their own breed at Austin in large part because they're really not British anymore and they're not actually European either but they still show with the English cattle at San Angelo.
And most of us love it.
It’s odd and confusing if you’ve never been exposed to it but the net effect is positive. There’s a spot in a show for just about any type of steer you can think of.
Where does each type of animal show?
Breed |
Odessa |
Fort Worth |
San Angelo |
San Antonio |
Houston |
Austin |
Angus |
Does not show. |
Angus |
English |
Angus |
Angus |
British |
Red Angus |
Exotic |
Red Angus |
Red Angus |
Hereford |
Hereford |
Hereford |
Hereford |
Hereford |
Polled Hereford |
Polled Hereford |
Polled Hereford |
Hereford |
Polled Hereford |
Shorthorn |
Does not show. |
Shorthorn |
Shorthorn |
Shorthorn |
Shorthorn |
Brahman Cross |
American Breeds |
American Breeds |
Brahman |
Brahman |
Brahman |
Black Polled American |
Brangus |
Brangus |
American Breeds |
All Other Americans |
Gert Simbrah ABC |
Gert Simbrah ABC |
Red Crossbred |
European |
Other European |
Red Cross Limousin Simmental Maine-Anjou |
Red Cross Limousin Simmental Maine-Anjou |
AOB - Other |
Black Crossbred |
Black European |
Black Cross Limousin Simmental Maine-Anjou |
Black Cross Limousin Simmental Maine-Anjou |
Smokes |
Other European |
Other Cross Charolais ?Limousin? ?Simmental? |
Other Cross Charolais ?Limousin? ?Simmental? |
Top individual sale lots of the past week...
- $28,000 - Bred Heifer sired by W/C Loaded Up
- $21,000 - Bred Heifer sired by Snowball
- $20,000 - Bred Heifer sired by I-80
- $20,000 - Bred Heifer sired by Irish Whiskey
- $18,250 - Bred Heifer sired by Maternal Made
- $17,000 - Bred Heifer sired by Maternal Made
- $16,000 - Bred Heifer sired by Irish Whiskey son
- $15,000 - Bred Heifer sired by Maternal Made
- $14,750 - Bred Heifer sired by Made to Order
- $13,000 - Bred Heifer sired by Maternal Made
I’ll keep saying it, there’s nothing wrong with making a bad decision as long as you correct it.
The TJLA did that last week by reversing their policy of requiring members to attend one of their three big shows and they’re very straight forward and honest as to why…
“After this year’s review, the Board unanimously voted to terminate the rule beginning with this year’s awards program. There will be no requirement for winning a Top Ten jacket in the TJLA other than having gamed enough points to be in the Top Ten." [Mrs. Bright] said."
In theory, it looked good on paper but theories go out the window when you are dealing with people," Mrs. Bright said. When we had time to actually look at it closely we realized that it violated the spirit of the reason that the TJLA was formed. It was formed so that young people who worked ay in and day out can be recognized for their achievements based upon a year of competition. This is what we wanted to recapture,” she continued.
The rule hurt those in West Texas and South Texas much more than anywhere else,” Bright remarked. “There are many people in those areas who are farmers, and they have to live with weather and other unpredictable situations that farmers have dealt with since time began. We hope repealing this rule will help them.”
It’s the right decision. Speaking purely from the outside looking in, if that decision weren’t reversed the impacts were going to start becoming irreversible.
For those not in Texas, two years ago the TJLA added a requirement that kids attend one of three shows held in Waco and Bryan/College Station if they wanted to be eligible for end of year points awards. While not great, it’s at least a palatable requirement for kids that live in central Texas. The problem is Texas is BIG and while those are relatively prestigious shows, they’re also a 3-4 hours away for a lot of exhibitors.
Last year kids that didn’t make it to one of those shows realized there wasn’t much of a reason to join the TJLA instead of just buying a Showbox subscription. Shows were starting to realize that too and it made a very direct impact on several of the shows that chose to drop their sanctioning.
Changing back to the old system was a much needed course correction, kudos to the TJLA for doing it before it was too late.
...to be thankful cell phone cameras weren't as popular when you were showing.
Top individual sale lots of the past week...
- $10,500 - Heifer sired by BR Copper 124Y
- $7,500 - Heifer sired by Man Among Boys
- $7,500 - Heifer sired by Heat Wave
- $7,000 - Heifer sired by BK Unlimited Power
- $6,000 - Steer sired by Monopoly
- $5,600 - Heifer sired by Hook’s Black Hawk 50B
- $5,100 - Heifer sired by ASR Longevity Y184
- $4,750 - Steer sired by I Believe
- $4,250 - Heifer sired by BBS True Justice B10
- $4,250 - Steer sired by Monopoly
I didn’t vote for Trump.
I’ve had this long-standing policy that I refuse to vote for a candidate who makes thinly veiled comments about the size of his or her penis during a presidential debate. Surprisingly I never had to use it until last spring when I used it twice.
No, I didn’t vote for Hillary, you can put the pitch forks down.
I also didn’t vote for Gary Johnson. A president needs to know at least as much about geopolitical issues as I'm able to keep up with by reading The Economist each morning while I take a dump.
I voted for Evan McMullin because he seemed like a good enough guy to throw my vote away on. Of course, if he had been vetted like the others I would probably turn my nose up at him too.
Regardless, I live in Texas.
It doesn’t matter.
Really.
If any republican POTUS candidate is in danger in Texas it’s a waste of time to vote anyway because the democrat already won.
The only reason I voted is there wasn't a line and I’m in the
Texas 23rd, a district that was supposed to be a competitive race between Will Hurd and Pete Gallego. The 23rd is a district that was created because those of us in the suburbs of both San Antonio and El Paso need to be represented by the same person since we’re just a short eight hour drive away from each other.
Gallego’s main attack on Hurd in that campaign was that Hurd wasn’t vocal enough in his opposition to Trump. Little did he know that not quite vocal enough in opposition of Trump was exactly what a bunch of us were looking for in a candidate.
Because of where we are, "the wall" was a big issue in that campaign. Both candidates in the district that would encompass more of "the wall" than any other district in the country were against it but hey, you boys up north know better, go ahead and build it. Just let those guys finish building my new house before you do, okay?
(Hurd won 48.5% to 46.8% if you're wondering)
I don’t think Trump voters are stupid, racist, or bad people. Most of my friends and people I respect voted for him. I just didn’t vote for him myself. My only regret is that we won't get to watch the media hypocritically demonizing us conservatives as hateful if we held riots against Hillary like the left is doing against Trump.
No, I’m not upset he won. I’m tempering expectations and hoping for the best. Hopefully he’ll come up with something that works to reign healthcare costs back in. There’s not much hope for that when doctors just look at you with a blank stare when you ask what a procedure costs.
What would I have preferred in a president?
An actual conservative that wouldn’t absolutely embarrass his ag teacher in one of the FFA leadership development events like chapter conducting or ag issues. That’s something we haven’t had in the Oval Office for a quarter century.
Well, also one that realizes Mexicans who risk their lives to come work hard labor for near minimum wage aren’t the problem with this country.
The problem is the lack of Americans who would do the same.
The sale is so large and has been going on for so long that it's a good benchmark of value for upper end embryos in general.
These are unofficial averages. The averages we pull can be different than official sale reports for several reasons including things like PO'd lots and size of lots.
Top individual sale lots of the past week...
- $240,000 - Bull sired by Remington Lock N Load 54U
- $240,000 - Bull sired by Remington Lock N Load
- $240,000 - Bull sired by Remington Lock N Load
- $240,000 - Bull sired by Remington Lock N Load
- $240,000 - Bull sired by Remington Lock N Load
- $170,000 - Heifer sired by WR Journey-1X74
- $150,000 - Bull sired by Silveiras Style 9303
- $120,000 - Bull sired by HA OUTSIDE 3008
- $120,000 - Bull sired by HA OUTSIDE 3008
- $110,000 - Heifer sired by Buyer's Choice
Can you guys just tell bull owners that you don’t really care what the birthweight was on display bulls?
Let’s talk about taking birthweights for a second.
What else do you do that is more likely to get you injured than taking birthweights? You’re lifting live weight while under the watch of a protective and hormonal mother.
For some stupid reason, one year I tried taking birthweights for like half a calf crop. I loved the excitement of it but even I was smart enough to stop by the time the Americans started calving consistently.
I’ve heard ranchers talk about ten million things they need to do, none of them have said “I need to go check calves and get birthweights” even though that would be one of their sole focuses for several months a year if they actually did it.
Back to the point, we all understand why they put a birthweight on the banners, they have to.
There are plenty of extremely naive people who think every breeding bull has to have a birthweight and think something is up when one isn’t listed. Their money cashes just as well as, and most of the time better than, money from steer jocks that realize clubby birth weights are bull ****.
It’s not the bull owner’s fault for making up birth weights for their bulls, it’s your fault for expecting them to.
It was ten years ago that I first went out to Denver with a little camera to shoot videos of bulls on display. It was the first time I had been to the National Western and it was that year that the temperatures didn’t get much above ten degrees the entire time.
I don’t pretend to be an old time bur for the young’ns, here’s a snapshot of what was different just that short time ago…
Manchild
There hasn’t been a bull in The yards talked about as much as that bull was. Monopoly? Not even close. The hype around what he looked like in The Yards is 90% of the reason I decided to go. Haven’t heard of Manchild? There’s a lesson in that.
Internet Forums
The age of show steer forums has somewhat passed although Steerplanet is still moving along just fine. Back then Breedersworld wasn’t one of the big boys in online sales, online sales didn’t even exist, it was a directory and forum. Showsteers.com banned the term “cattle.com” from their forum because back in those days people thought they could eliminate competition that way.
Facebook
It might as well have not existed back then. It did exist but it was only college kids. Parents hadn’t started moving to it and it didn’t even come close to resembling the marketing goliath it is now.
Oh, and a business could actually get something shared without spending money back then too.
Anything Goes Photography
Picturing bulls in The Yards used the be the norm. Any photographer could shoot whatever they wanted anywhere they wanted. They all had their favorite spots but unfortunately some of them thought that those spots belonged to them because they had shot there for so long. That led to the currently understandable but restrictive policies on professional photography.
The Yards Were Empty
Until a change in leadership at the National Western took place a few years later, the rights to individual spots in Herd Bull Alley were reserved by people as long as they kept paying their lease. Those people were then able to rent out their spots to others from year to year. The wait list to actually get the rights to a spot were 15 year long if the rumors I heard were true.
That led to close to 40% of the spots being empty because somebody didn’t find a renter that year. They didn’t just let their spot go, they knew it had value, they just paid the fee and let it sit empty.
That changed, the people who ‘owned’ the rights to a spot lost them if they didn’t actually use them, and it brought about a MUCH more vibrant experience in The Yards.
A little tid bit of advice for rookie camerawomen and/or those of you who are shooting with that nice DSLR you bought your wife for Christmas.
If you step out of the truck and think to yourself that it’s extremely humid outside, leave the camera alone. Do not turn it on. Those cameras are not made for humid environments and you can pay a hefty price for it. I’ve learned that lesson twice now.
The first time was several years back when we were shooting a judging contest about three hours away. In order to make it to the show in time, we got a hotel the night before and I spent several hundred as a sponsor for the event. We started shooting about 7:00 AM and decided to go to the hog barn and get some of the hog classes.
It was a hog barn that had relatively poor ventilation and you could smell the ammonia in the air because it had gotten so humid over the course of the show. We immediately started sweating as soon as we walked in the door.
We turned the camera on, shot for three seconds, watched some lines come across the screen, and were then just plain old screwed. The camera wouldn’t even turn on again. Luckily that camera would start working again a week later after I left it in a dry spot.
The second time, and the costly one, was last October.
Same story.
Get to the contest, notice that it’s extremely humid (it was as humid as it gets without raining), turned the camera on, and oops, it shut down, never to be heard from again. That camera, a Cannon D something, was shot for good.
While searching for solutions, it became clear I was far from alone in my problem. Almost all of the advice is about shooting in the tropics, which I assume is the same thing as Texas on an extremely humid day.
It’s a lesson that might save you several thousand some day though.
Last fall I forgot to create the summary page for the midwest steer sale season and finally got around to doing it...
We've also posted the 2017 southern steer sale summary that will update throughout the spring...
If it’s below twenty degrees in Texas and nobody posted on Facebook that they were feeding in this weather……did any steers actually get fed?
I don’t think we’ll ever know.
Top individual sale lots of the past week...
- $56,000 - Bull sired by TJSC Vindication 152A
- $26,250 - Steer sired by Fu man Chu
- $20,000 - Bull sired by BIEBER ROLLIN DEEP Y118
- $18,750 - Bull sired by Buyer's Choice
- $18,000 - Embryo sired by BABR SECRET BRAND 2100Z ET
- $17,000 - Bred Cow sired by BADLANDS NET WORTH 23U
- $16,500 - Steer sired by Man Among Boys
- $15,500 - Bred Heifer sired by TR MR Fire Water
- $12,500 - Bull sired by RED SSS SOLDIER 365W
- $12,000 - Bred Heifer sired by Southern Comfort
Based on over a decade experience in having customer service chat boxes available on ag and non-ag sites, here is an accurate chart of what types of chat requests you get when you provide easy access to chat based customer support on agricultural sites...
2015
You - Hi, I need a room for two nights, I'm coming in to help at a county show and we'll need to be there late at nig....
Hotel - Ahem, let me stop you right there. You can't stay here. I doubt you ag people can even afford it. Our rooms go for $250 a night and we're booked up FOREVER.
2017
Hotels - DEALS DEALS DEALS, OUR ROOMS ARE ONLY $75 A NIGHT. EVERY ROOM AVAILABLE. PLEASE STAY WITH US. WE'LL DO ANYTHING!!!!! PLEASE...really, please, there are a dozen empty hotels in this city of 3,000, we're begging you.......
MLC's bulls heading to Denver next week...
It’s an extremely common situation to be in. You’re at a stock show, you don’t have access to a PC, and you need to check something on the show website.
Did the show pay attention to enough detail to make sure their site is mobile friendly?
I ran about a dozen of the larger stock shows in the country through the Google mobile tool to see if they do and the results are below.
Any web designer that a major stock show should hire should know how to setup to display properly on mobile devices. Check any decent designer and they'll easily pass.
This site (cattle.com) doesn't pass mainly because I'm lazy and really need to get around to updating the layout.
The table below includes the results for shows after I ran their sites through the Google mobile tool.
The result? The vast majority of major shows ARE up to speed...
Show |
Mobile Friendly? |
Issues |
Viewport |
Text Size |
Clickable Elements |
Content Width |
Houston |
Yes |
0 |
|
|
|
|
National Western |
Yes |
0 |
|
|
|
|
Austin |
Yes |
0 |
|
|
|
|
San Angelo |
Yes |
0 |
|
|
|
|
Iowa State Fair |
Yes |
0 |
|
|
|
|
Oklahoma Youth Expo |
Yes |
0 |
|
|
|
|
Arizona State Fair |
Yes |
0 |
|
|
|
|
Iowa Beef Expo |
Yes |
0 |
|
|
|
|
American Royal |
No |
2 |
|
|
X |
X |
Fort Worth |
No |
4 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
The Google tools can’t check San Antonio or the NAILE because
those shows block certain bot traffic for various reasons.
Monopoly sired the most calves out of the 600+ bulls that sired the 3,942 steers sold online in the fall of 2016 that we counted.
2010 - Heat Wave
2011 - Heat Wave
2012 - Monopoly
2013 - Monopoly
2014 - Man Among Boys
2015 - Man Among Boys
2016 - Monopoly
This charge shows what percentage of calves sold online in the fall were sired by specific sires...
Originally there was a reason I took a two week break. Then I lost momentum and just stopped.
What have I been doing instead?
Baseball
I managed a Little League baseball team. It took a whopping two games before I got into a rivalry because I’m still too stupid to realize you don’t correct certain people even when they’re completely wrong. We finished in second with five wins, two ties, and one loss to the league champs.
No, I don’t drive Uber anymore.
I drove for Uber a total of about five nights last year. What did I learn from it? It’s possible to make user interfaces a lot more seamless than I though. Also, I tip my Uber driver when I use them now because that’s the only actual money they’re actually making.
We launched apps.
I had been asked perhaps a dozen times if we had an app version of our judging score calculator. Then I had one made, told people, and found out nobody has room on their phones.
Went to Disney
First time, probably only time. When we went to dinner on the last night and I thought “hey, it’s only $130 for dinner tonight, that’s cheap” I realized it was time to get out of there.
Not Much Chess
I'm fairly certain we're done with the intense chess stuff. The kiddos reached the point where the law of diminishing returns really kicks in and a good way to lose a client is to forget to show up to a lesson they're paying your $100 for.
Regardless, the point is the blog will have one post every day of the week this year. I promise that and I just might keep that promise this time.