EDMONTON – If Lyle Bignell had a $1 for every time he heard a story about that good old Shorthorn still in the herd left over from Dad or Grandpa, he’d be rich.
Many producers taking a second look at Shorthorn cattle now realize their grandfather may have known a thing or two about cattle.
“They make a very good base cow herd,” said Bignell of Stettler, Alta., while attending Farmfair International with his string of Shorthorn cattle and another of Charolais.
Buyers coming to the farm look for the Shorthorns to cross with an exotic animal for their commercial herd.
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“They’re a good cross for a lot of guys with exotics,” said Bignell, who added that his Shorthorn bulls are sold out early every year.
Bignell used to buy Shorthorn heifer calves as they came through the auction ring, breed them and resell them as bred heifers. The demand was always larger than he could fill. Even though he hasn’t sold bred heifers for three years, he still gets calls every week from producers looking for good Shorthorn cross heifers.
The Shorthorn breed was introduced to Canada in 1825. Along with the Hereford and Angus, it was the main breed in Canada until the 1960s when exotic cattle, such as Simmental, Charolais and Gelbvieh, were introduced.
While many producers don’t want to raise an entire herd of Shorthorn cattle, they’re looking for the good maternal traits the cattle offer.
“They’re nice to handle and a lot of guys like quiet cattle,” said Bignell, who added he sells several Shorthorn calves to young people for 4-H animals.
He has about 50 purebred Shorthorn, 50 purebred Charolais and 150 commercial cows. He brought in the purebred Charolais cattle as a way to raise bulls for his commercial herd and expand his purebred market.
