I read in a recent article that the top trait that ranchers consider first in culling their herds, even more important than fertility, is disposition. In other words, ranchers don't care if a cow is open, just as long as she's a gentle barren cow.

That's why the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) has developed a scorecard so you can rank your cattle's dispositions. It's a tool you can use to get rid of the bad actors in your herd, but I'm against that because if we all prevented the wrecks that occur around a cow outfit, then Baxter Black and I wouldn't have much left to write about.

The BIF's scoring system starts off with a "number one" animal who is docile, calm in the squeeze chute, and when released, he or she exits calmly. Personally, I have never owned such an animal, but I respect the BIF so I'll take their word that such a beast does exist.

A "number two" struggles, shakes, quivers and froths at the mouth when cattle are worked, which describes me to a "T." So I must be a two. The system goes on up to a six, an animal that has pronounced attack behavior. The problem, as I see it, is that BIF's system does not go high enough for my cattle.

To read the entire article, link here.