Opinion: Beef breeding must aim for profitability

I was reading a blog post by Doug Ferguson of Beef Magazine recently when I stumbled upon a statement that will likely offend some friends of mine.

Ferguson wrote, “seed stock are cattle the industry needs; registered cattle chase the fads and show banners.”

This brings me to my question: are you investing in a seed stock operation and adding value to the cattle industry? Or are you investing in a registered cattle operation? We often get wrapped up in the fads created and desired in the show ring, but we are hurting the overall well-being of the industry by continuing to breed traits that either have no added benefit to our businesses’ annual profit or severely hinder that profit — not to mention if profit is even present in the business.