68 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN March 2026 FORAGE EVERY EVERY SEASON Alfalfa & AlfaGrass Broadleaves & Legumes Perennial & Annual Forages 605.627.1901 millbornseeds.com CHANGES IN CATTLE TYPE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 66 CONTINUED ON PAGE 70 ing than the traditional British breeds that comprised the U.S. beef herd. In terms of a type change, the watershed event occurred when Dr. Don Good of Kansas State University selected the 1,250-pound Charolais/Angus crossbred steer named Conoco at Chicago’s International Exposition in 1969. Like Dot before him, Conoco represented a clear change in type and hung a USDA Choice, Yield Grade 2 carcass, considered ideal at the time. As is common throughout the history of the cattle industry, if a little is good, then a lot more must be even better. Thus by 1980, the industry entered what became known as the “Frame Race,” where single-trait selection was practiced for larger mature size. Generally, these cattle had major problems with calving difficulty and grew slowly in an extremely extended growth pattern, resulting in unacceptably large carcasses for the time and mature cow size too big for a profitable commercial operation. While the frame race was roaring along, primarily aimed at the investor market, another group of breeders had adopted performance testing and the new objective genetic predictions that were coming online in the mid-1980s. They were breeding more moderate-framed performance bulls, which were particularly being championed by the bull studs. In general, they had good calving ease combined with explosive early growth and would stop growing at a reasonable mature weight. N Bar Emulation EXT is perhaps the best bull to represent this type of cattle, and he still holds the record for the most progeny registered in the American Angus Association. Although the frame race ended by the early to mid-1990s, from that point on, the show ring and performance-type cattle have largely continued down separate paths. This is particularly true with show steers vs. production cattle that will make profitable feeder cattle and perform in the feedyard. Club calves Frame 10, 1986 Champion Angus Bull at the National Western Stock Show.
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