Kevin
Blair, Barb & Bud McBride, Dave and Dyce Bolduc, Val & George Buttimer
and myself were the Canadian representatives.
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After
flying into Kansas City, Kevin and I drove to Wichita for the first day of the
conference. This event is well attended
with over 600 people on the tour and conference. Jarold Callahan, president of the AAA board
gave his welcome and then we were entertained by a number of guest
speakers. Matt Caldwell, regional
manager (AAA) spoke on setting the stage, followed by Bob Weaber (Kansas state)
and Daryl Strohbehn (Iowa state) who spoke on the impact of production
systems. This was followed up by Sally
Northcutt, director of genetic research, and Brian Brigham, of Angus Genetics
Inc. Tonya Amen of Angus Genetics spoke
about Genomics – Old, Now and New. Megan
Rolf (Oklahoma State) and Mark McCully along with Jude Capper enlightened us on
Global food production. Bryce Schumann
(CEO, AAA) wrapped up the technical session.
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Then
we were off touring for two days, kicking it off at McCurry Bros. The next day was touring in the famous Flint
Hills of Kansas at Sankey’s 6N Ranch, Fink Beef Genetics, Lyons Ranch, and
historic Cottonwood Falls. The next day
led us to Pratt Feeders, Gardiner Angus Ranch, Giles Ranch and Stucky
Ranch. This was a long tour, covering
the state from one end to the other. We
saw some interesting ranches and some interesting ways of raising cattle on
facilities, that did differ in areas of the state.
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Kent McCune
toured Kevin and I to the Wildcat Creek red Angus Ranch. They have purchased numerous cattle in Canada
and owner Klee Watchous was extremely pleased we stopped by to see his good
herd and beautiful ranch and handling facility.
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The
next day we attended the “Under the Influence” Red Angus sale in Emporia,
Kansas. This event is co-managed by
Brian Mackenzie and Gilchrist Auction Co.
Great sale, averaging $4300 plus on 64 lots plus the frozen section that
was outstanding. They were pleased to
have us in the audience.
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Overall,
a good trip, especially well received from our American friends, more behind
the scenes. You can always learn a lot
on these types of venues that is very beneficial to Canadian beef production.
Posted by Brian Good Feedback: cdnangus@cdnangus.ca
