Breed and Sales Promotion – Individuality

'Financial success in the purebred cattle business depends nearly or quite as much upon business ability and sales promotion as it does upon the breeders ability to produce superior livestock. Nobody else is going to sell your cattle for you. Local, state, and national breed organizations form the frame work through which you can operate. All are important, but all must serve all breeders impartially and cannot generally be expected to make sales for an individual, although they may sometimes in special cases.

The purebred cattle business, like any other business, is that of producing something of value and this value must be presented and proved to the prospective customer. There is one important difference between the product of the livestock breeder and the product of a manufacturer. This difference is that of individuality. All of the products of a given type or class in factory operations are alike. One Ford sedan of a certain date of manufacture is identical with another except, perhaps, in color. No two animals are identical and this individuality affords both opportunity and difficulty. The difficulty arises from the fact that each animal must be sold not only on its merit as a representative of a class but also upon its exceptional features as an individual. The opportunity arises from the fact that people like to have the things which they own reflect their personal preferences, and this is possible in livestock to a greater degree than it is in the products of any factory.

To sell something it is necessary to have something to sell, and to prove its value to a prospective purchaser. In the case of registered dual-purpose cattle there are three general criteria of value. Type, production, and pedigree. Type is evidenced by show records and by classification. Production is proved by records. The presumption of breeding superiority is based upon pedigrees which show the possession of values which may be inherited. All registered cattle have pedigrees, but if you want to prove your particular cattle for type and/or production it will be necessary for you either to classify or show, and to test. All have been discussed and evaluated in so far as one man’s opinion goes. The time is past in which it is possible to sell at prices which afford a fair profit to the breeder of purebred cattle simply because they are registered. It is necessary to prove individual superiority.'

--Claude H. Hinman, “Dual-Purpose Cattle”.