ABSTRACT
The grand champion steer was a coup for the breed, and the International Grand Champion bull of the breed set the trend. The sale of surplus bulls from research projects helped demonstrate the principles. Central bull testing began in Texas in 1941 as a demonstration using breeder stock. The central bull tests expanded in numbers during the early 1950s, appearing in West Texas, Montana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, and other states. Several breeders of bull studs began buying and testing beef bulls from reputation performance herds. The growth in registrations after World War II actually preceded the expansion of beef-cow numbers in the national herd. The typical purebred breeder had a cow herd of some 10 to 50 cows purchased from the offerings of other breeds. Performance recording is now incorporated into the fabric of the giant, highly segmented, beef industry of the US Over the last 20 yr, there truly has been a reformation of the bull.
