The National Show and Royal Winter Fair

On November 4th I boarded a plane which would lead to a whirlwind adventure with Rob Smith and David Bolduc. First stop was Winnipeg to meet up with my Alberta counterparts and rent a car to travel to the National Show in Brandon. I was proud to Show off Brandon’s Keystone Center to Rob and David. Barns, show rings, restaurants, convention halls, the Wheat Kings, and our hotel all under one roof. I remember David saying I wish we could pick this up and take it to Calgary.

We attended the Manitoba Beef Producers supper that night had a delicious Certified Angus beef supper. The next morning I awoke early to help tie cattle in and got to tour the barns and visit with breeders. I helped out at the show by handing out banners to the champions. Congratulations to 6 mile for winning Grand Champion Female in the Red and Black Angus show. We had to leave early and I did not see who won Grand Champion Bull.There were some tense moments as we were driving back to Winnipeg to make our flight when a detour took us right through the middle of Portage Le Prairie.

We arrived in Toronto to our Beautiful Hotel in the shadow of the CN tower. This was my first time being outside of the Toronto airport and I was excited to see the city. The next morning I got on to the wrong shuttle bus to go to the Toronto Royal but ended up getting there in good time all the same. The show was spectacular, with competitors from Indiana to the Maritimes, Quebec and Ontario. The 4-H junior show was going on all afternoon in the next ring which was very entertaining. That evening I met George Earley from Ontario who toured me around the Hall of Fame before I met up with David and Rob in the Angus Barn.

The next morning we got up early and boarded our planes back to the frozen prairies that had been engulfed in winter since we left. In two hours I will be boarding a plane for Edmonton and Farmfair international. Hope to see you there.


Posted by Austen Anderson, Robert C. McHaffie Junior Ambassador
Feedback: cdnangus@cdnangus.ca

May 8 & May 10 deadlines

There are three significant deadlines for Canadian Angus Association members in the next few days:

Sunday, May 8 is the last day that rooms are being held at the Elkhorn Resort & Spa for the Canadian Angus Association annual general meeting. The room rate is $130 per night and the group code is CDNANG. To reserve a room, call 1-866-355-4676. There is still time to register to attend the meeting, tours and banquet, but we recommend you register as soon as possible as space is limited.

The deadline for performance data to be included in the Fall 2011 National Cattle Evaluation is May 10. If you need worksheets or have questions about the deadline or the Canadian Angus Performance Program, please contact Kajal at 1-888-571-3580.

May 10 is also the deadline for Canadian Junior Angus Association members to apply for the Red Angus Association of America and American Angus Association exchange programs. The application forms are available on the Canadian Junior Angus Association website.Keep up with all of our deadlines and upcoming events by subscribing to our electronic newsletter and visiting our Events Calendar.


Posted by Tina Zakowsky
Feedback: tina1@cdnangus.ca

Incoming CEO Joins the Baldy Fundraiser

Rob Smith, who will take over as CEO of the Canadian Angus Association on July 1, has decided to risk his hair and join the Baldy Fundraiser. Rob has some serious catching up to do as our totals have increased thanks to two generous donations this week.

Our current Robert C. McHaffie Junior Ambassador and Canadian Junior Angus Association President Erika Easton sold a heifer at her family's recent bull sale and donated the money to the fundraiser. She raised over $5,000. At the Towaw bull sale, the Wildman family sold raffle tickets on a heifer and raised over $7,000. Well done Erika and the Wildman family!

Our current totals stand at:

Kirk Wildman - $8,225
Michael Latimer - $7,100
Rob Smith - $0

Remember, the individual who raises the most money in this fundraiser will have his head shaved at the annual meeting on June 11 in Clear Lake, Manitoba. The individual who donates the largest amount gets the honour of shaving the hair.

Let's all pitch in to help Rob get a "clean start" when he takes over CEO responsibilities from Doug Fee on July 1.

All money raised through this project will be equally split between the Canadian Angus Foundation and the Kids with Cancer Society. Click here to donate online, and specify if you are supporting Michael, Kirk or Rob in the comments field.

Posted by Tina Zakowsky
Feedback: tina1@cdnangus.ca

Report on January Industry Events

Thank you to everyone who has come out and visited with Julia or myself at recent industry events across the county. Tag sales have been fantastic these last few weeks, and we have received a great response at all the events we have been to. New dates are still being added for March and will be posted very soon, but the Calgary Bull Sale, March 2 and 3, 2011, is confirmed.

In addition to attending Ag Days in Brandon and the Feeder Association of Alberta’s annual Convention in Red Deer, I had the privilege to speak at this year’s Ottawa Valley Annual General Meeting. I was delighted to see the turn out and to hear the positive comments not only about the industry but what the Association is doing. I am very grateful for the opportunity and the invitation to attend.

Ag Days in Brandon is a wonderful event and I am sorry that I have never had the chance to attend until this year. With a huge showcase of everything agricultural related, I was pleased to be able to add Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Tags to that list. The people that I spoke with over those two days were from diverse backgrounds and very interesting; from producers to consumers every step along the way was represented. Thanks to the Manitoba Angus Association for working with me and helping make that event a success.

Julia made the trip to Camrose, Alberta this year for the Bull Congress and we had fantastic tag sales there. Alberta producers have embraced the Angus Tag Program and are taking full advantage of the Alberta Government’s Age Verification Incentive Program. AVIP is in year two now and producers who applied last year are eligible to apply again. Anyone who didn’t apply last year can still maximize their returns on a 2011 tag purchase.

Expect to see us out and about in March and again this fall. And as always you can mail or fax in your tag order, complete it online or call us at the office. Remember it takes a couple of days to ship tags, so order early.

Posted by Cheryl Hazenberg
Feedback: cheryl1@cdnangus.ca

Manitoba Angus Annual General Meeting

I had the pleasure of attending the Manitoba Angus Association’s General Annual Meeting last weekend, and although the attendance was low, the spirits were high and the welcome that I received was, as usual, very warm.

The members that did come out discussed the Keystone Classic and details of other shows and sales planned for this upcoming year. Each committee presented a report to summarize 2010 and members had the opportunity to ask questions and voice their opinions on what worked well and how the association might serve them better.

Manitoba will be hosting the Canadian Angus Association Annual General Meeting this year. There is much planning and prep work involved in hosting an event like this and Arlene has called upon members that might wish to volunteer.

The election process resulted in the following members placed to lead the association in the next few years:

• President: Shawn Birmingham for another 3-year term
• Vice President: Dallas Johnston
• Canadian Director: Lois McRae by acclamation
• Remaining Directors:
  - Kent Topham for a 1-year term
  - Doug Stamler
  - Dan VanSteelandt
  - Allan Nykoliation for a 3-year term
  - Ron Batho
  - Larissa Hamilton for a 1-year term (new board member)
• Arlene Kirkpatrick: Secretary/Treasurer
• Honorary President: Vaughan Greenslade

It was a little sad that no juniors attended the meeting and none had voiced their interest to run for Junior Director to a board member. This position remains open and I encourage all juniors in Manitoba to contact Arlene and get involved with their Association.

Arlene did a fantastic job of organizing the entire event. And, dinner with 5 different beef breeds was a great opportunity to network and keep an eye on the competition.

It is clear to me that Angus is still a word that people say with pride in Manitoba. Manitoba breeders remain passionate about their cattle and their lifestyle, and it was wonderful to be home for the weekend.

Posted by Kajal Devani
Feedback: kajal1@cdnangus.ca

Canadian Angus Staff on the Road

Canadian Angus Association staff will be out and about at upcoming industry events. Cheryl or Julia will be at the Angus booth taking tag orders and answering your questions. They will have limited quantities of tags available for pick up at each location. They will be at the following locations:

January 18 & 19

Ag Days

Brandon, MB

January 21 & 22

Camrose Bull Congress

Camrose, AB

January 28

Feeder’s Association of Alberta Conference

Red Deer, AB

March 2 & 3

Calgary Bull Sale

Calgary, AB

If you can't make it to one of these events, you can order tags online, fax your order form to (403) 571-3580, call the office at 1-888-571-3580 or call the automated tag order line at 1-866-571-8093. We are experiencing a very high volume of phone orders and appreciate your patience.

Posted by Tina Zakowsky
Feedback: cdnangus@cdnangus.ca

EPD 101 Workshop in Manitoba

I travelled out to Brandon, Manitoba last Wednesday riveted by the beautiful fall colors and gorgeous scenery. I was welcomed by 11 Angus breeders and 2 commercial producers who took the time out of their very busy harvesting to attend a workshop on EPDs.

We discussed what EPDs are, how they are calculated and how they should best be used. This is the first of a series of workshops on EPDs that will be offered by the Association. The next workshop will describe the paperwork involved in participating on the Canadian Angus Performance Program. We will go through the paperwork that members receive and how to complete the worksheets. And, we will discuss the reports provided back to member explaining how to read and use these.

I’d like to thank Arlene Kirkpatrick for organizing the evening, and all the members who took the time to be there last Wednesday. It was a pleasure for me to meet so many enthusiastic breeders in person, and for me to be able to discuss genetic evaluations with them. In addition, it was greatly beneficial for us to have had the commercial customers’ perspective as well.

Everybody came away from the workshop having learnt something new and I encourage all breeders to take the time to come to the workshops as they are available in your area, or contact me to do it online.

EPDs are great selection tools that describe the additive genetics within our animals helping Angus breeders reach their breeding goals in a shorter time frame. I welcome you to contact me with any questions or comments that you might have.

Posted by Kajal Devani
Feedback: kajal1@cdnangus.ca

Information Meetings in Manitoba

Last week, I was a guest speaker at some producer information meetings the Manitoba Angus Association hosted about our Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed program. Both went great with 46 people at Brandon and 22 at Ashern. I was joined by Hamiota Feeders who gave a presentation about how to get your calves ready for this fall's auctions.

People in Manitoba are hungry for information about our programs. If you missed my presentation about the Canadian Angus Association and Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed, go to our website to learn more. Our website has lots of great information on it about Angus tags, help with your registration questions, and of course the Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed program. You can also call our office at 1-888-571-3580.

Lois McRae, Canadian Angus director for Manitoba, and Arlene Kirckpatrick, Manitoba Angus Association secretary, both deserve a big pat on the back for doing a really good job putting on these meetings.

If you use Angus cattle in your breeding program, whether you raise purebred or commercial cattle, use Angus tags to qualify your cattle for Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed. The participating beef programs need more Angus tagged cattle to meet demand. It's not too late to get your tags. Tag your calves now to get ready for the Canadian Angus sponsored feeder sales this fall.

Til next time,
Brian Good

Feedback: cdnangus@cdnangus.ca

Provincial Annual Meetings

We have a few notes to share about the recent annual meetings in Manitoba and Alberta. CEO Doug Fee attended both and reports on positive meetings and two gung-ho groups of people.

The Manitoba meeting was well attended. "Hats off to the Manitoba Angus Association for running a meeting with four other breed associations. It's great for everyone to meet in one place like this," Doug said upon his return. He also reports that the roundtable discussions were excellent and provided some great ideas.

Doug, Assistant General Manager Michael Latimer, and four of the five Alberta directors attended Sunday's Alberta Angus annual meeting. Gary Latimer and Cecilie Fleming, the Canadian Angus Association directors for Alberta were re-elected by acclamation. Congratulations to Doug Reid, recipient of the Cecilie Fleming Spirit of Angus Award and Emily Pugh, recipient of the Dorothy Banks scholarship. The new directors of the Alberta board are Richard Latimer, Ricki Fleming, Carolyn Congdon, Laurie Hunter and Blake MacMillan.

Doug reports that the big challenge for Angus producers in 2010 is to get Angus tags into qualified commercial animals. Visit our website for information on the Angus tag program.

The next meeting is the Saskatchewan annual meeting on Saturday. Michael will attend on behalf of the Canadian Angus Association.

Posted by Tina Zakowsky
Feedback: cdnangus@cdnangus.ca