South Carolina Hereford Association
News
A note from SCHA’s President, Deryl Keese:
Highlights of 2007 South Carolina Cattlemen's Convention
Plan to attend 2008 South Carolina Cattlemen's Association Convention
Deryl Keese, right, president of the South Carolina Hereford Association (SCHA), presents Ed Hutton a plaque honoring him for his many years of service to the association. Mr. Hutton has served in the positions of president and secretary/treasurer.
South Carolina Cattlemen Hold Annual Meeting
The South Carolina Cattlemen held its annual convention at Clemson University's Edisto Research and Education center in Blackville, S.C. A large crowd was on han to learn about the new beef cattle breeding project at Edisto Station that will utilize Hereford genetics.
Several speakers talked about the "forage-finished beef" initiative that is underway at Clemson. Dr. John Andrae, forage agronomist, discussed the development of forage systems to meet the nutritional needs of the cow herd. Dr. Susan Ducket presented information that highlighted her research on the nutritional attributes of forage finished beef and discussed the many added health benefits that it offered.
The keynote speaker of the day was Teddy Gentry of Bent Tree Farms, Ft. Payne, Ala. His presentation focused on efficient production as it related to cow size and finishing qualities of the genetics available at Bent Tree. The presentation was extremely thought provoking and sparked great discussion among the crowd.
Of special interest to many people were the genetics that were on display and were being used for the project. Dr. Steve Meadows, beef cattle geneticist at Edisto, discussed the type of Hereford cattle that were being used in the project. The project will focus on using cattle that are moderate in size and scale.
The frame score of cattle being used today averages around frame 4 on the cows and will include sires that are of 3 to 4 frame size. Bloodlines being evaluated are those that were developed under a grass-based environment for many years.
The cow herd is mainly linebred cattle that were developed by the late master breeder, Neil W. Trask of Calhoun Falls, S.C. These cattle are strong in the blood of Plato Rupert, Repeater Plato, Hazford Rupert, Beau Blanchard and Plato Domino, all bloodlines that excelled for more than 70 years on a straight grass system.
The base cow herd is not being built through embryo transfer and all cattle will be screened for relevant DNA markers to evaluate the correlation between eating quality, marker presence and overall body type. There is also a complimentary herd of Angus cattle being put together that mirrors the Hereford cow herd. Once developed with ample numbers, additional research will be done with the Hereford x Angus crosses.
With the increase in production cost, it is our opinion that cattle of moderate type that are deep-ribbed with outstanding fleshing ability will be the cattle of the future. These cattle lend themselves to efficient production and will produce a very high quality forage-finished product that is under great demand by health conscious consumers. The Edisto Research and Education Center is greatly appreciative of the breeders who have worked with us in developing this unique gene pool. We feel extremely fortunate to be working on this very unique beef cattle research project and are planning to expand in coming years.
If you would like to discuss this project more, please contact Dr. Steve Meadows at Clemson University Edisto Research and Education Center, Blackville, S.C.
South Carolina Cattlemen's Annual Convention
April 25-28, 2008
Madren Center, Clemson, S.C.
Click here to download schedule and registration information.
For more information, contact Peter Wilkins at (877) 859-9121 or (864) 812-1837.
