August 2022 News

Visit the “Calf of the Month” Page to see the newest post. One purpose of the “Calf of the Month” Page is to highlight the expanding use of less common Heritage Shorthorn bulls by today’s breeders of Heritage or Heritage-Influenced Shorthorns to broaden the available genetic base. Only a handful of calves have been born out of the sire of the Calf of the Month in the past 30+ years.

HSS has a new option for our members with regard to the online Members/Breeders Page. There are now 3 options:

1. Full Listing with Names, Farm/Ranch Name, appropriate contact information, list of what you typically have for sale, and if desired a sentence about your herd purpose/cattle type/philosophy or ?.

2. Supporting Member Listing with only Name(s) and City/State where you are located (additional information can be included if you want it). This option is primarily to recognize those who provide support to HSS, but who do not currently have Heritage or Heritage-Influenced Shorthorns for sale, and who do not want to be contacted by potential buyers.

3. No public listing, where your contact is kept in the HSS office but nothing (not even your Name, etc.) is posted on the HSS website or publicly available—i.e. visitors to the HSS website would have no way to know about you.

For those members who have not previously been listed, please send a short note to the HSS office if you now want to be listed as a Supporting Member. For everyone else, please take a few minutes to look at your Members/Breeders listing and let us know if anything needs to be changed.

There is increasing interest among Canadian Shorthorn breeders who are taking another look at the qualities that Heritage offspring have to offer. Several of our members have recently sold Heritage Shorthorns to Canadian Shorthorn breeders due to this renewed interest. A large number of very influential old Heritage Shorthorn bulls were Canadian bred in the 1950s-1980s and there has always been some cross-border sharing of good genetics, however there seems to be an uptick in purchasing desirable Heritage Shorthorns to add to the current Canadian Shorthorn genetic base. HSS has run ads previously in the Canadian Shorthorn Report, and will be running new ads later this year to help spark further interest in Canadian breeders about purchasing additional Heritage cattle for the Canadian Shorthorn market.

The Livestock Conservancy (LC) Facebook special postings for June—Heritage Cattle Month got off to a very slow start, but after the middle of June they posted quite a number of highlights and pictures, many of which featured Heritage Shorthorns and HSS members. Their online visitor count indicated that over 48,000 people looked at the LC facebook page and as a result were exposed to lots of great “PR” about Heritage Shorthorns. If you have not seen the various Heritage Shorthorn postings, you can access the LC facebook page and scroll down to the postings from the latter part of June (down past all of the horse postings). www.facebook.com/livestockconservancy

July 2022 News

Check out the HSS Home Page which now has a more attractive logo and a photo banner heading.

If you happened to look at the Livestock Conservancy Facebook website in early June, they did not have much posted regarding “June is Cattle Month”. In the past couple of weeks they have added multiple articles featuring a write up on Heritage Shorthorns, and also articles & pictures featuring some Heritage Shorthorn breeders. This has stimulated a huge uptick in the number of people going to the HSS website for more information.

By now most of you have 2022 spring calves, so take your camera or phone out to the barn or pasture and get some photos of your Heritage or Heritage-Influenced calves. We want to highlight the variety of genetics being used by members and are always looking for calves to feature on the “Calf of the Month” Page. Email your photos to our office (office@heritageshorthorn.org) with a short note giving the calf’s name, sire & dam, birth date, and age when photo was taken, +/- birth weight. (We can crop and clean up the photos here as long as the calf is in a good pose.)

It’s not too early to think about having brochures about Heritage Shorthorns with your farm information on the back to hand out at fairs & other venues or to give to visitors. The brochures now come with the Heritage Shorthorn Certified Beef insert added. These can be ordered online via the HSS store page. (It comes already folded and ready to hand out after you put your farm/ranch info. on the back.)

Speaking of the Heritage Shorthorn Certified Beef Program (HSCB), as a member your farm/ranch can be added at any time to the contact page on the designated HSCB website—www.heritageshorthornbeef.com. Just let the HSS office know if you are interested.

Outside of tri-fold brochure

Inside of tri-fold brochure

June 2022 News

A new Spotlight on Members article is posted and features Lisa Carpenter with the Kline Creek Historical Farm. Lisa is unique among HSS members because of her special utilization of Heritage Shorthorns in a very traditional farm setting—read this interesting Spotlight article in the Heritage Breeders/Membership Folder on the HSS website.

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In May the first ever regional social gathering of HSS members occurred at Firefox Farm in Defuniak Springs, Florida. Zane & Elaine Sunday created and hosted this event so that members could meet in person and exchange ideas about raising and marketing Heritage Shorthorns. Look under the Heritage Breeders/Membership Folder for pictures and information about this event.

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The Livestock Conservancy (LC) periodically highlights one type of heritage livestock on their social media platforms for an entire month (pigs, chickens, sheep, etc.). This June 2022 is their Heritage Cattle Month. HSS has furnished LC with a large amount of information about Heritage Shorthorns, about the Heritage Shorthorn Society, and also profiles on a variety of HSS members who represent different aspects of raising and marketing Heritage Shorthorns. It’s our understanding that they will be intermittently posting articles & profiles about many breeds of heritage cattle all during the entire month, so you should plan to check their social media sites (https://www.facebook.com/livestockconservancy, Instagram, and Twitter) periodically during June to see what is posted about Heritage Shorthorns and the Heritage Shorthorn Society. This national exposure is free to HSS members through our ongoing financial support of LC.

The Spring Issue of The Livestock Conservancy featured a Heritage Shorthorn and HSS member Martha Hoffman-Kerestes on the cover. It also included an article regarding the notable upgrade of Heritage Shorthorns from their Critically Endangered list to the Threatened list for heritage cattle breeds. All HSS members can take credit for this further indication of heightened interest in raising Heritage Shorthorns and the expansion of the Heritage Shorthorn breed.

On a related note, we expect that the Livestock Conservancy postings will trigger a number of new visitors to the Heritage Shorthorn Society website, so make sure that your contact information is up to date on the Members/Breeders Page. Putting a standard or large ranch/farm ad on the HSS website is an inexpensive way to create more interest in your cattle with potential buyers of Heritage or Heritage Influenced Shorthorns. Contact the HSS office for help in creating and posting an ad.

A new Calf of the Month is posted for June/July on the HSS website.

The Heritage Shorthorn Society has paid for a half page ad to run twice this year in “The Angle” magazine. “The Angle” is the relatively new publication from the American Milking Shorthorn Assoc. (AMSS) and is primarily promoting composite cattle, but the HSS ad targets people who may be interested in the small diary &/or family cow side of Heritage Shorthorns. The HSS ad in the May/June edition includes a photo of HSS member Stanley Ward.

May 2022 News

Livestock Conservancy 2022 Directory Ad

HSS (thank you to our members) has paid for a full page ad for Heritage Shorthorns in the 2022 Livestock Conservancy Annual Directory (see copy of ad on right, and check out the QR code). We’ll keep you posted as additional purchased ads are in various magazines/journals throughout this year.

HSS would like to help you promote your Heritage or Heritage Influenced Shorthorns through advertising either on the HSS website or in your local/regional farm media. Contact the HSS office and we can create an ad for you to advertise your cattle.

The weather certainly has been adverse in many areas so far this spring—hopefully everyone is managing OK with their livestock.

April 2022 News

HSS has designed and paid for an ad for Heritage Shorthorns in the April issue of “Shorthorn Country”. There will be additional ads in national journals throughout 2022. HSS’s ability to publish more ads promoting Heritage Shorthorns in different venues is the result of the increasing support HSS is receiving from many different HSS members. Thank you to all of our members—“a rising tide floats all boats”.

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A well-written article on Johne’s Disease and its potential impact on cattle breeders was recently published in the Beef Magazine. It’s crucial to know the basics about Johne’s Disease when evaluating your own herd, and before you purchase new livestock. The article link is: https://www.beefmagazine.com/beef/johnes-disease-how-keep-it-farm?

There is a new Calf of the Month posted for April/May on the HSS website.

A new article has been posted in the Cattle Viewpoints section, titled “Heritage Dairy Shorthorns or Heritage Milking Shorthorns”. This article, written by Dr. Joseph Schallberger, gives historical perspective & thoughts on how to refer to those Heritage Shorthorns which are valued for their milk production.

The Livestock Conservancy has moved Heritage Shorthorns from their “Critically Endangered List” to the less severe “Threatened List”. This is a testament to the efforts of all HSS Breeders in expanding the availability of Heritage Shorthorn cattle with their increasingly diversified genetics.

HSS would like to offer our condolences to the Hendrickson Family of Nile Valley Shorthorns for the recent death of Doyle Hendrickson, and also to the Cavanaugh Family of JLC Cattle Company on the loss of Lawson Cavanaugh. Doyle and Lawson were both charter members of HSS.

March 2022 News

Alan & Sara Leap

A new “Spotlight on Members” article is now posted on the HSS website featuring Alan & Sara Leap with XL Shorthorns. Alan is a long-time cattle breeder who is committed to the qualities of traditional Shorthorns.

In honor of the 200th anniversary of the Coates (Shorthorn) Herdbook, the British Beef Shorthorn Cattle Society has an extensive article on Shorthorn history which can be accessed via the following link to their Journal: https://www.beefshorthorn.org/journals. After clicking on the website link, open the 2022 online journal, and the Historical article starts on page #188. (There are also a number of other interesting articles in their Journal. If you’re wondering about “suckler” herds, they are basically cow/calf operations.)

More Heritage Shorthorn bulls have been added to the HSS online reference list of Bulls Free of Genetic Defects Page.

The HSS “Calf of the Month” Page is highlighting a new calf every other month, so there are plenty of opportunities to get a good photo of one of your calves this spring (or fall) to send to the HSS office, to potentially be featured. The guidelines now allow either a fully Heritage Shorthorn calf, or a Shorthorn calf out of a Heritage bull (Heritage-Influenced).

While you have your camera (or smart phone) in hand, be sure to get some good photos of your cattle to use on your own website or facebook page, or for creating an ad for the HSS Breeder’s Ads Page. Our office is happy to help design an ad for you to post—just send us an email.

February 2022 News

Dr. Bert Moore has written an informative and enjoyable new article on “The Coates Herdbook”, explaining how it came into existence. The Coates Herdbook of 1822, with its documentation of original Shorthorn registrations, is the reason that Heritage Shorthorn pedigrees trace back 200 years. The article is posted in the Cattle Viewpoints section and it compliments a previous Viewpoints article written by Dr. Moore called “Heritage Shorthorns Impact On World Cattle Breeds”. Together the two articles demonstrate the importance of Heritage Shorthorns and the dominant role they have played in improving cattle breeds worldwide.

There is a new posting on the Calf of the Month Page for Feb./March.

Have you ever wondered how to use ampules or Magic Wands of old semen? Today’s cattle breeders and AI technicians are quite familiar with using straws of semen to breed cattle however, bull semen that was frozen prior to the mid 1970’s was mostly in ampules, and some was in Magic Wands. Dr. Joe Schallberger has written a practical article explaining how to use this older semen. Here is a link to that article: https://shorthornselectgenetics.com/semen/using-amps-or-wands .

A quick note: The presence of HSS on the internet, and consequently the visibility of Heritage and Heritage-Influenced Shorthorns and their breeders is steadily increasing. The number of visits to the HSS website for last year (2021) was approximately 23,000, while the number of page views was approximately 47,000. A large percentage of the page views involved people looking at the Breeders/Members Page and the Ranch Ads and Cattle for Sale Ads pages.

Sadly we have to report the recent passing of Gary Kaper who was a strong supporter of Heritage Shorthorns. He had authored two articles for HSS Cattle Viewpoints. Gary was a friend and as knowledgeable about Shorthorns as anyone. He owned Kaper Cattle in Watseka, Illinois. He started with one Milking Shorthorn cow at the age of 12 and eventually developed a nationally known Shorthorn herd. Gary was a special person who will be missed by everyone who ever knew him.

January 2022 News

HSS wants to thank all of our members for their support during the last year. Thanks to some generous donations by several HSS members the HSS advertising/outreach campaign will be expanding in 2022. HSS is continuing its National Sponsorship of the Livestock Conservancy, along with a 1/4 page ad in their quarterly newsletter and a full page color ad in their directory promoting Heritage Shorthorns. Watch for information on additional ads HSS will be running in a variety of cattle magazines during 2022.

Recently HSS has received several inquires by people looking for horned heifers. Buyers are also asking about A2 status, free of the F94L myostatin gene, horned versus polled, dairy versus beef, and health status. If you have anything you would like to sell it is important to post ads on the website &/or to let the HSS office know so we can forward buyers to you. Heritage Shorthorn growth is being held back by the fact there are not enough quality Heritage Shorthorn heifers for sale. The “Cattle For Sale” page is still the most viewed page on the HSS website while the “Breeders Ads” page continues to be second.

As we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the “Coates Herd Book” all Heritage Shorthorn breeders should be proud of their dedication to maintaining what was started 200 years ago. No other group of cattle breeders in the world have the history that Heritage Shorthorn breeders have. The growth of HSS has been phenomenal over the last 3 years both in the USA and worldwide. It is amazing the wide variety of requests the HSS office now receives from different parts of the world about Heritage Shorthorns.

Additional reference Semen Codes for Heritage Shorthorn bulls have been added to the list on the HSS website under the Heritage Bulls/Semen Codes section.

Last summer (we just recently found out about it), there was an article about the Heritage Shorthorn Society in the Australian Beef Shorthorn 2021 Annual Newsletter. If you want to take a look at the article, here is the link. https://www.beefshorthorn.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/BSSANLAug21.pdf

Throughout 2022 HSS will gradually be upgrading different aspects of the HSS website. This will add some new information to the website and improve the user’s experience. Hopefully this will benefit HSS members by strengthening our promotion of Heritage Shorthorns. Check out the upgraded “Opportunities” page. We are always open to suggestions so please do not hesitate to contact us with your ideas.

December 2021 News

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Thanks to everyone who submitted a photo for our 2021 Photo Contest, and also for those who took the time to send their votes for picking a winner. The theme for this year was “Shorthorns—Why We Love ‘Em”. The 1st Place Winning Photo is #2. “Polly Want a Cracker?” from Dr. Marcie Logsdon. The 2nd Place Winner is #4. “Beautiful Colors” from Irene Reinhardt.

Check out the new Cattle Viewpoints article entitled “Twinning in Cattle” authored by Dr. Martin Lee. It is now posted on the HSS website and it provides a wide-ranging discussion about twin births in cattle and their potential complications.

“Shorthorn and the American Cattle Industry” is an impressive new book by Dr. Bob Hough and Dr. Bert Moore. It details the history of the Shorthorn breed in the USA from its early days until modern times, with interesting commentary and extensive photographs & illustrations. Dr. Bert Moore is one of the original charter members of HSS and he has provided extensive content to our website over the years. All HSS members should be proud that HSS has garnered a mention in this book about preserving the integrity/purity of the Shorthorn breed. HSS strongly recommends this book because of the vast amount of historical information that it provides about famous breeders, marketing trends, show winners, controversial decisions, and much more. It can be ordered through the American Shorthorn Association, finding it under the Member Services Section. It is our understanding that only a limited numbers of copies are being printed.

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A new Calf of the Month has been posted on the HSS website.

Watch for announcements after the first of this coming year about advertising. The Heritage Shorthorn Society is planning to do additional paid national advertising in a variety of venues to promote Heritage Shorthorns in different areas of cattle raising & marketing. You will want to make sure that your listing information reflects what you have to offer for 2022, and also consider posting your own farm/ranch ads on the HSS website.

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November 2021 News

Ralph Larson and his daughter Miriam

A new “Spotlight on Members” article is posted. It features Ralph Larson who has been raising cattle for many years in Montana. His cattle thrive on range conditions—they are definitely not pampered or raised in an artificial show setting.

We have some great photos entered in this year’s HSS Photo Contest. It’s time for all HSS members to vote on their favorite pictures to choose the 1st and 2nd place winners. Please take a few minutes to look at the photos on the 2021 Photo Contest Page, and then send a quick email to office@heritageshorthorn.com noting which 2 pictures you like the best (just note the picture # which is below each photo). The winners will be announced in our next Monthly Newsletter.

Everyone should have received a letter last month about the revamped Registration system for Heritage and Heritage-Influenced Shorthorns. We have a new Registrar and a sleek modernized registration paper set up which ties directly into our continually updated online searchable database. Applications for an inexpensive registration of both Heritage and Heritage-Influenced Shorthorns can be made either online or by mail. We encourage you to explore the new HSS Registry and see how it can both simplify and reduce costs while documenting the heritage bloodlines in your cattle.

October 2021 News

A new “Calf of the Month” has been posted for October/November 2021. This is an ongoing feature, so your calf photo & info. submissions are always welcome for consideration for featuring in subsequent months. The guidelines for submitting a calf are listed on the lower part of the “Calf of the Month” Page.

Additional photos have been submitted and posted on the 2021 Photo Contest Page. The deadline for submitting photos for the contest is Oct. 15th, which is fast approaching, so plan to send in your Shorthorn photos within the next couple of weeks for a chance to be the contest winner.

September 2021 News

The HSS Photo Contest for this year is now “up and running”. The theme for this 4th Annual Photo Contest is “Shorthorns: Why we love ‘em”. Everyone who loves Shorthorns is invited to submit up to 5 photos which show something positive about Shorthorns. Photos can be submitted from now until Oct. 15, 2021. All photos will be displayed on the HSS website on the contest page, with credit given to who sent the photo. You don’t have to be a member of HSS to submit photos. Please look on the HSS website under the Interesting Photos—2021 Contest for the guidelines for submitting photos.

Do you have a photo of a good looking Heritage Shorthorn calf? Send the photo and information about the calf to the HSS office to potentially be featured on the new “Calf of the Month” Page. (See the Calf of the Month Page on the HSS website for guidelines on sending one or more photos.)

If you still have Heritage or Heritage-Influenced Shorthorns to sell for this year, the basic Cattle for Sale classifieds are free for HSS members, and they can be as descriptive as you want to help sell your cattle.

HSS has paid for 4 quarterly ads in the Canadian Shorthorn Report, and the 3rd one has just come out in their August issue. The 4th HSS ad will be in the October issue.

A ¼ page HSS ad is also in the most recent issue of The Small Farmer’s Journal (Vol. 45, Number 1.)

HSS 1/4 page Ad in current Small Farmer’s Journal

August 2021 News

A new Spotlight on Members is now posted featuring Bud and Becky McLean with Airline Farms in Connecticut. They have been involved with Heritage Shorthorns for a number of years and are always happy to discuss their cattle with interested Shorthorn breeders. Check the Spotlight on Members Page under the Heritage Members section.

Several members of HSS are involved in dairy activities with their Heritage Shorthorns, and a request was made to provide a logo similar to the Heritage Shorthorn Certified Beef logo that could be used with their milk production. This is the new Heritage Shorthorn Milk logo, which is available for our members to use by contacting the HSS office.

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HSS has paid for 4 quarterly ads to run in the print version of The Small Farmers Journal, and this allows HSS to also have an ad posted in their online magazine. The Small Farmers Journal is focused on family farms and traditional rural lifestyles with both their print and online versions. Take a look at the HSS online ad which is already posted on their website on the right, part way down their home page. The first HSS print ad (which is larger and more comprehensive) will be in their next “paper” issue.

New HSS website feature: “Calf of the Month”

The purpose of this new page is to showcase calves that demonstrate the increasing quality and diversity of Heritage Shorthorn Genetics currently being produced. The Heritage Shorthorn Society is committed to encouraging expansion of the genetic base of Heritage Shorthorns by utilization of semen from quality older Heritage Shorthorn bulls. A new calf will be featured every other month (6/year) on the Calf of the Month Page. You are encouraged to submit one or more photos for the “HSS Calf of the Month”—the guidelines for eligible calf photos are at the bottom of the Calf of the Month Page. A prize will be given to each member breeder/owner of a featured calf.

The first calf, for August/Sept. 2021, is already posted on this new page.

July 2021 News

There are some individuals who have been involved with breeding/raising Shorthorns for many years who are now retired or for other reasons they are no longer able to maintain a Shorthorn herd. These individuals can be valuable sources of information about the older genetics, and they often have insight into practical positive (or negative) traits of various older Heritage (Native) bulls and bloodlines. The Heritage Shorthorn Society would like to provide current breeders with access to their valuable information.
If you are, or know of someone who is, a retired Shorthorn breeder who would like to share your knowledge with newer Heritage Shorthorn breeders—i.e. be open to having people call you to discuss older Heritage/Native bulls &/or breeding strategies, etc., HSS would like to offer complimentary membership. A complimentary Honorary HSS membership is available to anyone who is retired from raising Shorthorns and who is willing to be listed as a contact resource.

Have Heritage or Heritage-Influenced Shorthorns to sell? Send a note to the HSS office with the information you would like posted on the Cattle for Sale Page.

The Livestock Conservancy will be publishing an article on the Heritage Shorthorn Certified Beef program and it will also be promoted through their social media accounts which generate tremendous viewership. Anyone who is a participant in the HSCB program will receive considerable exposure as a result of the article. If you are considering joining the HSCB program it may be beneficial to do so before the Livestock Conservancy article comes out later this summer.

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Colorful flyers to advertise your farm/ranch beef have been sent to those members who have signed up for the free Heritage Shorthorn Certified Beef (HSCB) Program. These flyers can be given to your customers or potential customers to emphasize the quality of beef that you are selling under the HSCB label. HSS members can sign up for the HSCB Program at any time by sending a note to the HSS office. The public website for the HSCB Beef is: www.heritageshorthornbeef.com

June 2021 News

A new article written by Gary Kaper is featured in the Cattle Viewpoints Section. This article “From One Inn to Another” is an entertaining snapshot of 3 historical characters involved with Shorthorns, who were inducted into the renowned Saddle and Sirloin Gallery, and with additional comments by Gary.

The new Heritage Shorthorn Certified Beef Program (HSCB) is now “up and running” with its own dedicated website. Check it out at: www.heritageshorthornbeef.com. This promotional program to market your steers and freezer/locker beef is available free of charge to anyone who is a current HSS member. If you have Shorthorn steers that are either Heritage or Heritage Influenced (25% or more Heritage parentage), they would qualify to be marketed under this program—i.e. using a Heritage Sire or son of a Heritage sire on modern Shorthorn cows would produce Heritage Influenced offspring. It’s not too late to have your contact information added to the HSCB list of producers—just send a note to the HSS office. Even if you are sold out of locker beef for 2021, become a participant now and start a list of potential purchasers for 2022.

Besides exposure to potential new customers for your beef via the HSCB website, all HSS members who are participating in this new program will have access to free promotional materials and marketing ideas. These will be made available as they are developed over the next couple of months. A huge thanks again to those HSS members who have already made significant donations earmarked for this program.

May 2021 News

The new “Spotlight on Members” article features Bobby Halcomb in Tennessee who is a Charter Member of HSS. He has a passion for preserving the genetics of traditional Heritage/Native Shorthorns.

The Heritage Shorthorn Certified Beef program, its new website, and marketing ideas are being finalized and intended to be fully activated by the first of June. Any comments or suggestions that you have about the latest information which was recently sent to all members should be sent to our office. For those who would like to participate for this year and for 2022, it is a free program, but we need you to send us contact and promotional information even if you don’t currently have locker meat & steers available. No one is automatically added to the program, so be sure to “officially sign up” to be listed by sending a note with the information that you want included. This new program can be a benefit to all Heritage Shorthorn breeders by raising the desirability of Heritage Shorthorns with new breeders, but HSS needs your help in making this a success.

With the work involved with the new HSCB program, our volunteer staff has decided to reschedule the annual HSS Photo Contest from spring until late summer. Keep your camera or smart phone handy so you can capture some great snapshots. If you have an idea for the theme of this year’s contest, send us a note.

Some of you may have already observed that the Canadian members of HSS are being “relocated” from the International Members page to the main Breeders/Members Page on the website.

April 2021 News

For the past 2 years the Heritage Shorthorn Society has been working on a new marketing opportunity for our members who sell locker beef. We designed and now have successfully obtained a Registered Trademark from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The eye catching logo highlights Heritage Shorthorn Beef. (The trademark process was started long before the ASA locally raised meat program was initiated, and it took 18 months to complete. We could not disclose this program until the official Trademark Registration was finalized.) The use of this Trademark and listing will be free to all current members of HSS. (HSS will be seeking donations to cover the cost of maintaining the Heritage Shorthorn Certified Beef website from members using the logo &/or site to market their Premium Heritage Shorthorn Certified Beef.)

A separate dedicated website, which is currently being constructed, will be used to advertise and spotlight the advantages of Heritage Shorthorn Certified Beef (HSCB) for consumers who are looking for locally raised beef from heritage type sources. If you sell locker beef in the U.S. or Canada, this will be a tremendous way to boost visibility & value of your beef. The marketing emphasis will be on beef from both Heritage and Heritage-Influenced Shorthorns, so that all HSS members can utilize the promotional information and logo in selling their locker beef at a premium price.

After construction, the website will be made live once there are 6 or more members who have signed up to have their farm/ranch promotional & contact information listed on this new website. HSS is seeking feedback from you on what pages & info you believe should be on the new (HSCB) website, and on what specific promotional materials you want to have available from HSS: i.e. stickers to attach to meat packages, 1 page information sheets that you print off your computer to hand to potential buyers, folded glossy brochures (purchased at cost from HSS) to hand out, or ??.. HSS wants your help in making this a success for all members as we continue to promote your cattle—send us an email to let us know that you are interested, or if you have ideas for the HSCB website, and/or to get more information about this opportunity.

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Additional News: Since spring and summer are good times to take pictures of your cattle and especially of the ones that you would like to sell, there is a new Cattle Viewpoints article titled “Do Your Photos Sell Your Cattle?”. This article by Sue Schallberger provides tips and reminders on taking better photos to promote your cattle.

March 2021 News

In just the first 2 months of 2021, there have been over 5,500 online visits to the HSS website, which is a 26% increase from the first 2 months of 2020. While all of the different pages on the website are looked at, the highest number of visitors are looking at the Cattle for Sale Page, Cattle Viewpoints, the Breeders/Members Page, and the Breeder’s Ads Page.

It’s that time again—time to implement plans for marketing your cattle this year. Here are some ideas to consider:

—Update your farm/ranch website or Facebook page with current pictures and information to highlight your cattle &/or locker beef.

—Link your website or Facebook page to the Heritage Shorthorn Society website so potential buyers can read about Heritage and Heritage-influenced Shorthorn advantages and marketing opportunities.

—Place a free classified ad on the HSS “Cattle for Sale” Page, &/or a more extensive promotional ad for your ranch/farm on the HSS “Breeder’s Ads” Page. Both of these pages offer maximum exposure to potential buyers.

—Talk to one or more Heritage Shorthorn breeders in your state or in a neighboring state about sharing the cost of placing an ad about your herds in a local/regional ag oriented magazine. The HSS office can help you design a ¼ page, ½ page or larger ad which you can use wherever you want.

—Order Heritage Shorthorn brochures (which you can personalize with your own contact information on the back of the brochure) to hand out to visitors to your farm or to interested potential buyers at fairs and sales. (See HSS Store page for a picture of the inside & outside of the full-color brochure).

February 2021 News

There is a new article in the “Cattle Viewpoints” section— Raising Shorthorns for Working Oxen, a Growing Niche Market. This article by Gregory Mitchell highlights this important market, especially if you are producing horned calves.

The “Spotlight on Members” features a different HSS member each quarter. Check out the latest article about Wally Klose of Diamond K Shorthorns in Montana. Many of you may already know Wally, because he is a long time Shorthorn breeder. He always enjoys discussions with other Shorthorn breeders about bulls that have been popular over the last 40-50 years.

If any of you have previously contacted the heritage-cattle.com website about adding your ranch/farm to their listing for Heritage Shorthorns and received a discouraging reply, please try again. I have discussed with Donna Grace, who started that website, how she decides who to list under the various heritage breed categories. In the interest of providing more information to the viewers on her website who are looking for various heritage cattle, she is willing to list all Heritage Shorthorn breeders who contact her with their information.

Due to an increase in questions coming to the HSS office about health and genetic issues, we feel it’s appropriate to help clarify two previously discussed, potential issues in Shorthorn cattle:

1. Growing interest in Heritage Shorthorn family milk cows has resulted in more testing for specific diseases. While Johne’s Disease was previously seen mainly as a diary cattle problem, it currently is an expanding problem in all cattle. Unfortunately Heritage Shorthorns are no exception. There is confusion about testing, so HSS put the question to an expert at johnes.org. Dr. Michael T. Collins, veterinarian and Johne’s expert, sent the following reply “There is limited value in testing cattle under 2 years old. A positive test is meaningful but the rate of false-negative tests is high because the disease is so chronic and slowly progressive that young animals have not had time for the infection to advance to a stage that is detectable by today’s diagnostic tests.” Heritage Shorthorn buyers need to ask sellers if they have a Johne’s testing program in place and whether they have ever had a positive test. Negative tests in young animals under 2 years of age do not mean much, so it’s advisable to do repeat testing of cattle, even after an initial negative test result. Please note that cows shedding the Johne’s organism in their feces may contaminate your property, and therefore put all your young cattle at risk for gradually contracting this disease.

2. The second issue that HSS has been fielding questions on is Myostatin (double muscling). A recent post on a major cattle forum indicated the presence of the F94L double muscling gene in at least one Heritage Shorthorn bull and his offspring. On the “Purchase Guidelines” Page, HSS has always recommended Myostatin testing. While some beef operations consider the F94L gene to be positive in the heterozygous condition, it is always best to know the status of this gene up front, rather than be shocked when it starts popping up in the homozygous state as dystocias and other serious issues. Unfortunately not all Heritage Shorthorn breeders are testing their herds.

January 2021 News

HSS now has Canadian members (see the International Members Page), reflecting the growing interest in Canada for finding and utilizing Heritage Shorthorn genetics. HSS has purchased ad space for 2021 in The Canadian Shorthorn Report. The first ad (see ad below) will be in the January issue.

If it’s been a while since you looked at the “Pictures from the Past” Page on the website, check out the latest additions. The most recent postings are at the top of the page.

A new article is posted in the “Cattle Viewpoints” Section. This article, contributed by Ralph Larson, was from a lecture given by Roy Beeby on the importance of selecting for maternal traits in your cow herd. It is an entertaining and thought-provoking read.

There is an online site (www.heritage-cattle.com) which highlights various heritage cattle breeds and allows posting of resource farm/ranch contact information. You may want to consider posting your information on their website under the Shorthorn section, by contacting their site.

HSS has looked into creating an online quarterly magazine which would feature an interesting mix of new articles, interesting articles from the 1940’s to 1980’s, links to cattle historical & modern resource information, advertising opportunities, and a variety of additional content. While the online magazine concept is very appealing as a way to widen the exposure of Heritage Shorthorns, it was concluded that HSS, by being an all volunteer effort, does not currently have the staff to produce a high quality quarterly magazine. For those members and non-members who had agreed to send articles, thank you so much for your willingness to contribute. The articles which would have been in the new magazine will instead be featured during this year and the coming years, either in a new or an already existing section of the HSS website.

For those of you who are interested in “facts & figures”: Since its founding in January 2018, the HSS website has continued to add more information, both about Heritage Shorthorn history and about the utilization of these cattle in today’s environments, which is attracting world-wide attention. In 2019 the total number of visitors to the website was 7,900 and the number of pages looked at was 24,000, which was a 25% increase over 2018. For 2020 the total number of visitors was 20,000 (150% increase from 2019), and the number of pages viewed was almost 46,000 (90% increase from 2019). The 8 most popular pages visited were: Home Page, Cattle for Sale, Cattle Viewpoints section, Breeders/Members Page, Heritage Shorthorn’s Impact on World Cattle Breeds, Breeder’s Ads, Semen for Sale, and the Classic Bulls Section.