In the early 1980s, producers who raised Herefords and other breeds with red hides were hit with a significant discount at feedyards and sale barns. This deduction made it difficult for ranchers to earn a profit and stay in the business they loved.
Developing the Black Hereford
“There was more money in Angus cattle, although their temperaments and feed efficiency weren’t as good,” rancher Joe Hoagland reports. “If you were in business to make money off your cows, you switched to a breed that brought more premiums at sales.”
Hoagland recalls his friend, John Gage, a Kansas City attorney, also raised cattle. He decided to develop Black Herefords with Angus genetics, establishing the American Black Hereford Association (ABHA). Other breed associations also introduced Angus traits into their herds to earn more for black hides.
In 1999, Gage sold the ABHA to Hoagland and his wife Norma, plus all the cattle he had bred to launch Black Herefords. Hoagland, who ranches near Leavenworth, Kansas, established the Black Hereford registry at his J&N Ranch barn office. He immediately registered a Black Hereford bull and a heifer. Norma Hoagland maintained the pedigree and performance records, which she computerized in 2000.
The Hoaglands sold their first registered Black Herefords in 2003, opening the ABHA to other breeders by selling memberships. The ABHA, under the Hoaglands’ leadership, played a crucial role in promoting the breed and providing resources to other breeders. By 2005, the ABHA published its first expected progeny differences (EPDs). In 2011, the Hoaglands hired an executive director and moved the ABHA headquarters from their ranch to Kansas City, Missouri. They published the first issue of the Black Hereford Journal and hosted the first national Black Hereford sale in 2012.
Developing the breed association was difficult and time-consuming, although conducting business online saved time. Hoagland arranged for performance and genetic evaluations when they had enough animals, concentrating on developing Black Herefords with terrific genetics. “We were fortunate to have a genetics expert from Kansas State with a database to run basic EPDs,” Hoagland explains. “That helped tremendously.”
Mark Ipsen moves his cattle and finds that Black Herefords are docile and able to travel long distances. Photo courtesy of Ipsen Cattle Company.
At first, hobby and novelty breeders purchased Black Herefords. “It took a while to attract breeders with enough cattle to develop their EPDs,” Hoagland explains. “In 2015, our ranch utilized International Genetic Solutions (IGS), a multibreed genetic evaluation system for our EPDs. A few years later, ABHA members joined IGS.”
Calving Ease is a desired trait that Angus breeders developed. Hoagland did the same thing with Black Herefords. A calf in utero rapidly increases weight during the last 30 days of gestation. If gestation is shortened by five days, that takes pounds off of birth weights, allowing for smaller calves and easier calving.
Hoagland says the registered Hereford breeder needs to use a homozygous black bull, which is a Black Hereford carrying two dominant black genes for hair color, on his red Herefords to consistently produce a black calf with a white face.
“In order to convince ranchers to use Black Hereford bulls, we had to prove they would have good conception rates and live calves at the end of calving season,” Hoagland concludes. “That’s how they evaluate bulls.”
For more information, visit the American Black Hereford Association online.
Making the switch
Mark Ipsen owns the Ipsen Cattle Company near Dingle, Idaho. He recalls his dad was a fanatic Hereford rancher the way some folks drive only Ford F-150s. He says, laughing, “We had black white-faced cattle before we knew they were Black Herefords.
“We were Hereford breeders, but I knew my buyers also wanted Angus and Hereford bulls,” Ipsen shares. “I brought Angus into the Hereford operation in 1982 when our buyers complained about discounted red hides. When Black Herefords had upgraded genetics, I knew I could add those traits, like heterosis, to my customers’ calves. That’s when I saw profitability with the Black Hereford.”
Ipsen raises Black Hereford cattle for his seedstock operation. His favorite Black Hereford traits include homozygous black and homozygous polled cattle. “We bring the best of the Angus and Hereford to [our bulls]. By upgrading selections, our Black Hereford cows and heifers are docile and have good teats, udders and legs. They have great doability, taking less hay in winter. We have fall calving; raising a calf through the winter takes a toll. Those cows stay in good condition, milk well and have big calves.” Although Ipsen’s ranch is in the higher elevations, his cows have excellent pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) scores and are less susceptible to high-elevation disease.
For producers who want to go into the Black Hereford seedstock business, Ipsen advises they start with quality stock and get advice from other breeders. There are excellent Black Hereford producers across the U.S. Buy cattle from nearby breeders so animals stay in similar environments, and pay attention to details.
“Most importantly, treat your customers like you want to be treated,” Ipsen recommends. “They’re important to you. Put their needs first. If you have an animal you’re not proud of and a customer still wants to buy it, bring everything you don’t like to the buyer’s attention so he can make an informed decision. It may cost you [at the time], but it’ll pay you back down the road.”
These Black Hereford cattle have great genetics, which gives them easy calving and feed efficiency. Photo courtesy of the J&N Ranch.
More data is better
Chip Kemp, director of commercial and industry operations at IGS, says the genetic evaluation has 21 member organizations, recognizing over 100 individual breeds. This is due to the commitment of breed association members and serious commercial clients. “That’s genetic records for roughly 23 million animals,” Kemp reports. “If you’re a commercial producer trying to compare Black Herefords, Red Angus or Simmental bulls [or other breeds], you can look at our records.”
An extensive database gives producers an edge. “If you have a large number of breeders aggressively seeking genetic progress, [that larger database] provides more gene pools to tap into for your seedstock program,” Kemp explains. “Gene variation is key to moving and advancing genetic progress. More is better in that situation.”
The IGS database also benefits the commercial producer. The producer can ask, “Does my seedstock provider have access to these assorted genetic tools? Does he have multibreed tools that allow me to compare my Angus bull to a Black Hereford bull or my Red Angus composite bull? Does he have access to these tools so I can figure out how to responsibly use heterosis in my herd to ensure my kids have a chance to be profitable and have a future in this business?”
While IGS works with some of the largest breed organizations, it also helps small associations improve genetics quickly. Smaller organizations have access to some tools only by collaborating with others. Even large-scale breed associations working alone will not have the resources to improve genetics as fast as members would like.
“By collaborating and working together, we all benefit,” Kemp concludes. “Each of our databases has cattle from other breed sources, so we magnify the available knowledge. For example, the Simmental population is the second-largest breed association. Their database is in the IGS system. Many cattle from Red Angus, Limousin or Shorthorn populations have animals with Simmental influence. Producers working together, even in a population as large as the Simmental, give us twice as much data to work with to improve their knowledge.”
For more information, visit IGS online.
