SIRES

                     SIRES FOR THE
                          FUTURE!!                                

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           KING DAVID

King David will be the man of the hour in 2008!

We purchased King David at the 2008 National Sale
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The following was written by Kit Pharo, Pharo Cattle Company.  Used by permission
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A BULL SHOULD LOOK LIKE A BULL...
     In my travels, I have the opportunity to see a lot of bulls of various breeds on a lot of different ranches.  I think my most disturbing observation has been the large number of bulls tha don't possess the masculine characteristics you wuold expect to see in a bull.  A bull should look like a bull.  It should be obvious.  You should never have to take a second look.  Apparently, the status quo beef industry has forgotton that fertility will ALWAYS be our most important economic trait.
     A highly fertile bull will appear quite massive about his shoulders, head and neck.  He will have a very pronounced crest on top of his neck.  the hair on his head, face and neck will be courser and curlier than the hair on the rest of his body.  The hair on his head and neck should also appear darker in color, even on an Angus Bull.
     When looking at a young bull with a very massive and masculine-looking front end, I've heard people say, "There's a bull that won't work on heifers."  In our program that statement would be absolutely false most of the time.  I usually follow-up by saying, "He didn't look that way the day he was born."  His masculine appearance is simply the natural result of testosterone.  If you select for cow-headed bulls to use on your heifers, you will be inadvertently selelcting for low fertility.
     A highly fertile bull will show good muscle expression and definition.  He will look as though he's been working out.  In my travels I often hear people use the terrn "smooth" to describe a favorite bull.  After looking at a few of these so-called "smooth" bulls I would describe them as being overly fat with no muscle expression.  Once they loose the fat, there won't be much left to look at.
     The late Jan Bonsma said, "In most breeds, the show standards for bulls and heifers are based on the conformation of the ideal prizewinnng fat stock steer.  No wonder that so many prizewinning bulls are feminine in appearane, while so many females are sterile or subfertile."  I believe Bonsma's statement is just as true today as it was 40 years ago.  The showring has never helped us select for a higher level of fertility in our cattle.
     We shouldn't place all the blame on the show ring, though.  I believe the beef industry's relentless pursuit for more frame, more growth, more milk and more carcass traits is also to blame for the type of bulls seen on most ranches.  As time goes on, our beef bulls are starting to look more and more like solid colored Holstein steers.

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We know that Mr. Pharo is talking about bulls and not rams, but the same things he says here can and, should be, applied when purchasing, selling, or retaining rams                  

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