World Shorthorn Conference Meeting

July 2025

The Heritage Shorthorn Society was present at the World Shorthorn Conference in Branson, Manitoba, Canada July 13th and 14th and participated in the meeting activities including making the keynote speech. Shorthorn breeders from many parts of the world were present including Scotland, England, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.

The full tour sponsored by the Canadian Shorthorn Breeders lasted 2 1/2 weeks and featured visits to Shorthorn breeders across Canada as well as multiple sightseeing excursions. HSS attended just the 2 days in Manitoba in order to give the keynote presentation.

The morning of the 13th we visited the historic Manitoba bull test station where bulls started being tested for rate of gain in 1964 and have continued to be tested each year. The inside sale ring had a worn, classical look to it. A sale there in the 1970’s would have been something to behold. There were multiple large, very sturdy, outside feeding areas for the bulls that were used for the rate of gain studies.

An exhibition by several Manitoba breeders was held at the test station. On average the Shorthorns available for inspection were larger than what a person typically sees in the USA and included several quality animals.

Later in the day we traveled outside Branson to Mosside Shorthorns owned by Jeff Ross and Dr. Grayson Ross who is a Veterinarian. Mosside hosted everyone in style. We were greeted at the entrance by teams of Clydesdales pulling wagons that we rode to the main farm site. Before dinner we toured the Mosside herd which included several Canadian champions. During the cocktail hour we were entertained by a Scottish Bagpipe band that Dr. Grayson is a member of. This was followed by a sumptuous dinner highlighting Manitoba Pickerel (a delicious fresh water fish), and then the dinner was followed by more “piping”. It was quite the evening.

Several general cattle presentations were made at the Conference the afternoon of July 14th with the keynote address “Heritage Shorthorns in the Modern World” given by Dr. Joe Schallberger. The history of the Shorthorn breed over the last 75 years, the importance of preserving Heritage Shorthorn genetics, and the functions of the Heritage Shorthorn Society were all discussed. All Conference attendees were given copies of the Heritage Shorthorn Society handout, the Heritage Shorthorn Certified Beef handout, and an outline of the presentation. The presentation included pictures of many famous old Heritage Shorthorn bulls as well as examples of present day Heritage Shorthorns. The talk generated many interesting questions about Heritage Shorthorns after the meeting. There is no question that the presence of HSS at the World Shorthorn Conference was a milestone in exposing Shorthorn breeders to the importance of Heritage Shorthorns and the role that they can play in moving Modern Shorthorns in a positive direction.

PS: For anyone who is interested in seeing a copy of the talk (with pictures), “Heritage Shorthorns in the Modern World” will be posted in the Cattle Viewpoints section of the HSS website in late September or early October.

(As an additional note, Joe & Sue Schallberger paid all of their own travel & lodging expenses, so no HSS funds were used to participate in the World Shorthorn Conference.)