HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Rural Voice, 1988-08, Page 24THE
FRANCHISE
KING
OF THE
BEEF
INDUSTRY
by Dee Kramer
L
ook at any Tuesday issue of
the Globe and Mail and you
will see 50 to 60 proposals
for franchise opportunities, but you
will not see too many offers to be a
franchisee for a breed of beef cattle.
McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken,
muffins, donuts, even an organic
carrot juice concession — but who
ever heard of becoming the franchised
distributor for the genetic explosion of
the commercial beef industry?
Yet so far, ten distributors in
countries as diverse as Hungary,
Australia, Guatemala, Pakistan, and
Kenya have jumped at the opportunity
to become franchisees of Shaver Beef
Blend cattle.
It all started in Newton, Ontario.
This is the middle of old -order
Mennonite country where little
children in long skirts and bonnets
ride in horse-drawn buggies. But on
an unmarked farm, revolutionary
genetic research into beef production
is taking place. Donald Shaver has
spent the past 20 years perfecting a
synthetic breed of cattle which he
calls Shaver Beef Blend.
The Shaver Beef Blend cattle are
rather plain -looking, with long, horse-
like faces. They also appear to be
very solid, with their thick cherry -red
coats molting in the heat of the
summer. The calves are small and
show a delicacy which is lost in the
adults. The cows also seem smallish
when compared to exotic breeds, but
1t all began in Newton, Ontario ...
there is nothing small about the bulls:
Shaver Adam at 2,500 pounds is an
awesome sight, as are the two younger
bulls that stare into the camera. There
is a lot of meat on these animals, and
the idea of a large Sunday roast on
short stubby legs comes immediately
to mind.
These economical animals are the
product of crossbreeding 11 different
breeds. The program began with 100
Lincoln Reds, 35 Red Devons, and 96
Maine Anjou. Females were selected
for traits that best represented their
breed, and they were crossed with se-
men from the leading bulls of another
8 breeds. The idea was not to choose
genetic stock from the more common
breeds like Holstein or Hereford. The
22 THE RURAL VOICE