In my view this is a positive attribute compared to the competition. Examples would be the high lean products and the high quality, white tablecloth products. The ability of our industry to produce a spectrum of products is a plus but blurs the focus of breeders on end product goal. Furthermore, the market has not sent clear price signals to producers. Future alliances, contracts and other arrangements may help to bring some order to this chaos but the independent nature of producers may slow the process as a method of improvement.
Breeders can however make improvements independently by following certain steps.
Define End Product Specifications - Identify Yield and Quality grade targets as well as carcass weight, ribeye area and age at slaughter. Analyze Genetic Material Available and Design a Plan to Utilize a Few Breeds to Accomplish Your Goals - Heterosis, or hybrid vigor, can be maximized with three breeds. Using more breeds increases heterozygosity and leads to greater variation. Evaluate Trait Areas - Almost all economically important traits fall into one of three categories. While these traits are generally lowly heritable they are high in their response to heterosis.