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The American Black Hereford Association was established as a non-profit corporation in 1994, by the late John Gage. Gage was an attorney in the Kansas City firm of Lathrop and Gage, which dates itself back to 1875. Gage was a West Point graduate who practiced almost exclusively in agriculture law. His
clients included many of the cattle breed associations based in and around the Kansas City area. The Gage family owned Blue Jacket Farm near Lawrence, Kansas, where they raised Hereford cattle. Gage was past president of the American Royal Livestock Show and served on the boards of severalpolled and horned Hereford associations. He was also named Kansas
Hereford Breeder of the Year. When John Gage founded the Black Hereford Association in 1994 he relied heavily on his friend Hereford Hall of Fame
breeder, Frank Felton, to design the genetic basis for the new breed. |
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The late Frank Felton of Maryville, Missouri, was an internationally acclaimed Hereford breeder and pioneer in the use of performance and genetics. He traveled extensively speaking on livestock issues and was known for his precise record keeping. In 1962, he was one of the first to begin collecting weaning
weights. In the mid 60’s Felton was one of the first to take scrotal circumference measurements on yearling bulls. Birth weight measurements began in 1965, followed by pelvic measures in 1970. During a 10-year period of AHA sire evaluation summaries, Felton bred bulls were trait leaders 28 times. Half of the top 18 bulls for scrotal circumference EPDs were Felton
bred. Since Felton first started taking scrotal circumference measures research has clearely shown that scrotal circumference is highly correlated to total sperm output and is positively correlated to heifer age of puberty. Selecting bulls with large testes will improve both bull and female fertility. |
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