IMPROVING performance recording would both increase the rate of genetic improvement within the Red Poll breed, and allow the breed to better market itself in the beef industry.
This was a common sentiment shared with the 14th International Red Poll Congress conference, held in Albury, NSW, last week.
Eurimbla Red Poll principal Ian Coghlan, Gerogery, told the 60 conference attendees the Red Poll breed has a good product, but need to up the ante when it comes to marketing
"It doesn't matter how good our product is, it doesn't matter how hard you work, unless we understand the market and get the marketing of our product right, it isn't going to happen for us," he said.
"We need to be focused on what commercial breeders want, and fundamentally they want money in their pockets.
"If our markets primary motivation is profit, then we need to breed cattle that will achieve that."
Red Poll cattle do have the traits to help farmers increase their profit, Mr Coghlan said, but the breed needed to provide more evidence of the quality.
"We should identify excellence through performance recording, and then look at the animal and learn to like that animal - we have it the wrong way around.
"If you look at the high performing animals, they are invariably the best looking animals anyway - the reason being is that they are high performing because they have those foundation traits of structure and temperament."
Lawson's Angus principal and beef industry stalwart Don Lawson, Yea, Victoria, also spoke on the need for more evidence of the breeds traits, telling conference attendees they were in both the food business and information business.
"The whole integrity of our business relies on being able to keep accurate records," he said, while giving an address on 'the beef industry in perspective'.
"Our business uses estimated breeding values and multiplies up large numbers of proven genetics…As a beef industry we haven't multiplied up proven genetics," he said.
"We have to start identifying and multiplying up our superior stock, because the number of inferior cattle going into feedlots that run at a loss is pretty high.
Victorian beef producer John Buxton, Gippsland, supported the need for more performance data, and said he will not buy cattle without it.
"Kilograms of beef per hectare drives the profit in beef production," he said.
"Estimated breeding values (EBVs) relate to dollars I can make in my business.
"So if you haven't got the records on your cattle, and you haven't got them on the Red Poll data base with their breeding values there, I am not looking at them - this is how you get your bull at the front of the shop window."
Full report and more from the International Red Poll Congress in The Land November 13 edition
