By Jack Mauldin
2000

Most of the emails and calls we get concerning our animals for sale are asking if the animal has two teats and if it is 100% South African. Apparently that is considered the silver bullet to ensure a breeder will be a success in this industry. One thing we have always believed is we have to offer what the customer is wanting. The other thing we have always believed is we have to consider what the demands will be in the future. We do not believe that the "perceived" silver bullets of today will necessarily lead to the "real" solutions for tomorrow.

 A few years ago the main US boer breeders would not have a red or paint boer on their place because it was considered a "cull" by the South Africans and the US fell right in line with that belief. Now, some of these same breeders are scrambling to get into the red and paint market because some of the "customers" (buyers) did not see the "cull" factor valid and bought what they wanted for their long term goals. It is good to see that some buyers are questioning certain recommendations being made by breeders. What is the question they are asking? WHY????? Why is red bad? Why is a paint bad? Why is an all white body better? Breeders did not have good answers to these questions? They just say the South African breeders told us so.

A husband watches his wife preparing to cook a roast. She cuts off each end of the roast before putting it into a pan. He asks her why she did that. She responds that if you want a roast to be tender, you have to cut off the ends and her mother had taught her that. At thanksgiving, the husband asks his wife's mother why she cuts the ends off a roast before cooking it. She replies the same as her daughter and says her mother always did it that way. At Christmas  the husband asks his wife's grandmother why she always cut off the ends of roasts before cooking it. She responded "My pan was too small for the roasts".

Two generations followed a tradition without knowing the REAL reason why. Don't be a generation of breeders following anything you hear without questioning WHY.

The question of "two teats" and "100% South African" must be broken down and look at each one separately.  We will look at each on separate pages. In each review, we will take a logical approach to how we look at each question. This will include the following steps:

• What is your ultimate goal?
• Why would the original statement have been made?
• Is it the best answer today?
• It is the best answer tomorrow?