2yo Bull in Paddock
The Belmont has come in for harsh criticism about its appearance from the highly traditional Cattle Industry. The criticism has mainly centred on its perceived poor conformation, specifically that it was light in the hind quarter and generally lacked in beef conformation. Other common remarks are that it is light boned, and that it had an ugly head. Characteristics that have absolutely nothing to do with production!
Somehow, all the facts contradict this perception. The Belmont has enjoyed unprecedented success at all the carcase trials, and evaluations, both commercially and scientifically against all breeds, including the traditional British breeds renown for their carcase and meat qualities.
In South Africa analyses of conformation and type scores given to Belmont and Bonsmara bulls by the Bonsmara breed association Inspectors showed that
- The most important factors affecting conformation was body condition (degree of fatness) and age. (It is often said; “the best conformation is FAT” and this confirms this observation.)
- There were large differences between the Inspectors. That is, the score given is highly dependant on who was doing the judging.
- Breed was the least important factor in determining the conformation score. That is, Belmonts and Bonsmaras were, in general, very similar.
Possible reasons for this perception are that the main showcase for Breeds are at the Agricultural Shows. Cattle are prepared for these events from birth in a totally artificial environment on extremely high energy and protein diets. The cattle are therefore very large and obese
