New cattle breeds don’t come around often, but when they do, the first question that will be asked is “what value does the breed offer to an already competitive beef genetics environment”? That’s a question that traditional Hereford breeders Frank Felton and John Gage set out to answer when they began the process of creating a Black Hereford bull in 1994. In that same year, the American Black Hereford Association was born, and in 2003, after several attempts, Joe Hoagland received an international breed designation, officially establishing Black Herefords as a distinct breed. Black Herefords are not Black Baldy’s and answering the question of how Black Herefords bring value to the beef industry is what this episode is all about.