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.