Black Angus beef ( opinions please)

[cowboydoc]

Red Angus don't have the genetic typing and registration like the black angus do. As you probably know much of the really good breeding these days is all AI and surrogate mothers. I can AI to the best bull in the country and get eggs from the best cows in the country to raise in a surrogate cow. The genetics, weights, carcass #'s, etc. are all there. Thus you know exactly what you are getting. That isn't necessarily the case with the red angus organization. And black is money in the cattle industry. You can take a grade black angus and a grade red angus and 99% of the time the black angus is going to bring better money. Nothing right about it just the way the market is right now.

 

[TBrown]

I’m certainly not one to speak on the business of raising beef, since I only worked as a hired hand on dairy farms in my youth and haven’t worked on any farm in decades, but I can speak as a member of the unwashed masses.

The public perception is that Angus is the best beef money can buy. It is widely marketed as such… you can buy “Angus Burgers” in sports bars and it’s not uncommon to find a blurb stating “We only serve USDA prime Black Angus beef” or somesuch on the menus of the finest of restaurants. People expect to and are willing to pay more for Angus, and whether or not John Q. Public could notice an appreciable difference between an Angus burger or a Limousin burger is really irrelevant at this point. It would be nigh on to impossible to elevate Limousin or Hereford or Charolais to the same level in the public conciousness without a massive advertising campaign, and even then it would probably fail.

I liken it to the difference between Vermont Maple Syrup and that produced elsewhere. There are a lot of sugar shacks around me here in upstate NY and they produce some fine syrup, but Vermont Maple Syrup is perceived to be the very best.

It’s pretty much set in stone.

 

[cowboydoc]

TBrown don't take it the wrong way and I'm not trying to be brash about this but it's not perception, opinion, or any other form of subjectivity. Angus beef is proven to be the best. It didn't get it's reputation just by a slick advertising campaign. It has been through pain staking scientific studies, continuing studies, hard work and objective documentation of the stats on different types of beef. Could another breed elevate itself to the standards of quality angus beef. With years of research, breeding, testing, etc. they probably could come up with a good breed that would compete. But right now there aren't any that compare with angus.

 

[hudr]

yep, marketing. Look at Microsoft, VHS, Coca-Cola.
Although I am w/ cowboydoc on the $$$ aspect. Its like they say in the ads, they're worth more if they're black. But... I don't have the time for the overhead of a registered herd. We just use the bulls since the genetics are so easy to track as far as birth/weaning weights. Our Longhorns are pretty much low to no maintenance and the calves still sell good when crossed w/ Angus.

 

[RidgeRunnerWVa]

It seems like the black baldies do pretty well..why just because of the suspect Angus cross ?? I have heard that people that show cattle like the darker color because it is harder to see the defects on black from the show ring ...
Doc,
How do you think the Red Angus compare to the Black Angus on the dinner plate ??

 

[cowboydoc]

I have heard that people that show cattle like the darker color because it is harder to see the defects on black from the show ring ...

LOL that's a good one RidgeRunner. Actually not alot of truth to it. Ever own a black vehicle?? LOL they show dirt like no other. As far as black angus to red angus from a non-registered standpoint I don't think there's much difference. But when you get into the certified beef I do think there is a difference.

 

[Bird]

I don't know anything about showing livestock now-a-days, but I think when I was a kid in the 4-H club, the kids showing cattle just washed and brushed them a lot. I was showing registered Berkshire hogs that were black. And everyone back then used hair oil on the red and black hogs and baby powder on the white ones before going into the show ring. The kids who had the most work were the ones with the Hampshires. It's tough to apply hair oil to the black and baby powder to the white stripe over the shoulder without getting them mixed and having a mess. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[RidgeRunnerWVa]

<font color="blue"> LOL that's a good one RidgeRunner. Actually not alot of truth to it. Ever own a black vehicle?? LOL they show dirt like no other. </font>

Doc,
Where I heard this is from a guy that preps/grooms cattle for other people showing cattle etc.He does this for hire as a part time business.Back here in the east a lot of people like the Maine/Anjous/Black Angus.
I asked him again and he told me it is like IE: showing a Charolais in a dark ring,they stand out more because of the darker background or like putting a dark cow in a very light colored ring,just the opposite. He said a lighter colored cow in the show ring it easier for him to see defects,the way the cow is groomed ,the contour, shape etc. That is the reason a lot more people have dark colored show calves etc. He is was not talking about dirt.
I am not trying to argue,just saying what I was told. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif


I

 

[kensfarm]

"Angus beef is proven to be the best."

All Beef Breed Society's claim the same thing..

Murray Grey Cattle

"Over the past decade, Murray Grey steers and carcases have won every major commercial competition in Australia."

Limousin Cattle

"The Limousin breed is being compared with Angus, Red Angus, Hereford, Charolais, Simmental, Gelbvieh at the Meat Animal Research Centre in Nebraska, USA.

Wagyu Cattle

Wagyu carcasses scooped the pool at the Casino Beef Week Paddocks to Palates competition which shows that Wagyu beef is a definitely a cut above the rest.


Cowboydoc.. I def. agree that Black Angus has great genetics.. and brings a premium price. But some would say it depends on how the animals are cared for.. what they are fed.. and some say it all comes down to how the meat is aged(Wet vs. Dry).

"Red Angus don't have the genetic typing and registration like the black angus do"

CowboyDoc.. I think you need to brush up on your cattle knowledge & history..

"The first Aberdeen Angus herdbook, published in 1862 in Scotland, entered both reds and blacks without distinction. This practice is continued in Britain today, as is the case throughout most of the world. Aberdeen Angus was introduced into America in the 1870s"

Red Angus

 

[EastTexFrank]

I hate to admit this but I was born in Aberdeen and grew up in the N. E. of Scotland and I had never seen a Red Angus until I came to the States. They must be there but it's just that they can't be too common. At first I thought that they were some genetic variation bred in the States for some reason.

I'd agree with everything Cowboydoc said about them though. We've raised Angus crosses for many years. The only thing I have some reservation about is "temperment". Some of those bull calves can be pretty "spirited" when young although they do calm down as the get older and get used to being handled and worked.