Genetic History
Nelthropp's son, Bromley, wanted to develop
a strain of cattle that would combine the traits needed for good productions
in the tropical Virgin Island environment.
In 1918, while visiting the island of Trinidad,
Bromley purchased a Red Poll bull to improve the milking ability,
fertility and remove the horns of the N'Dama.
That bull and other Red Poll genetics were
added over the next several years as Nelthropp selected for:
1) early maturity and maternal efficiency,
2) no horns and solid red color,
3) definite heat tolerance, and
4) gentle disposition.
By the mid forties the desired genetic combination
of Red Poll and N'Dama was achieved and the Senepol breed has been
bred as fullblood ever since.
The Nelthropp herd was dispersed to local breeders
and the Senepol breed grew into four primary island herds. Ward Cannaday
and Fritz E. Lawaetz maintained genetic records and eventually trademarked
the Senepol name in 1954.
Having established a herd book, the breed adopted
an on-farm performance testing program through the USDA and the College
of the Virgin Islands Extension Service in 1976. In 1977 the first
plane load of cattle left for the U.S. mainland; 17 years later the
Senepol influence has spread across the southern United States.
Breed Development
The isolation sheltered the cattle from the
fads and fancies that have assaulted the purebred seedstock industry.
Nor were they participants in the frame race.
While other breeds made giant leaps in one
direction, only to turn and make equally large strides in the opposite
direction, the Senepol made a series of small, multiple-trait steps
toward animals whose production met the demand of their breeders.
St. Croix provided a unique situation where
ranchers practice selection for the traits they desired and mother
nature provided natural selection for cattle that could produce at
superior levels under the harsh St. Croix environment.
Until Senepol cattle came stateside in 1977,
there was a very limited seedstock market. The purpose of the cattle
was to provide native beef for the island population of St. Croix;
only the progeny from top females ever went back into the herd for
replacements.
To this day, there is still not even a "Stockyard"
on St. Croix, the cattle were destined to become seedstock or go to
a butcher shop. This limited market got the "heads cut off" of average
and below average cattle and allowed the breed to be built on the
cattle that worked and had an ancestral history of cattle that worked.
The cumulative St. Croix herd is closed, with
no outside influence. The Senepol breed has had a limited genetic
base and selection for superior performance has led to cattle that
can take substantial levels of inbreeding. This accounts for the "true
breeding" ability of the Senepol and the high degree of heterosis
that they provide in crossbreeding systems.
Reference:
Senepol Cattle Breeders Assn., PO Box 808;
Statham, GA 30666-0808, Office:1-800-SENEPOL; Fax:770.725.5281
Photographs:
Senepol Cattle Breeders Assn.
