Whirlwind of a July!

As I finally take a moment to sit down and reflect on July, I am quickly realizing what a busy month it was. Since I was out of province for almost three weeks of the month, I am getting very accustomed to living out of a suitcase. I had a chance to talk to thousands of people and visit with folks from all across the globe throughout the duration of my travels. I enjoyed this month immensely, and to say it was a blast would be quite an understatement. 

It all started on July 3^rd when I grabbed a flight to Calgary. This was the start of an 11-day trip, most of which was spent at the 101^st Calgary Stampede. Since the Stampede didn’t officially open until the 5^th of July, my first couple days were spent primarily in the office, plus setting up our booth in the Cattle Trail. If you didn’t already know, The Cattle Trail is a “pasture to plate” display in the barns at the Stampede where consumers can walk through to see how exactly how beef is raised. We worked specifically at the Canadian Beef Breeds Council booth in the Cattle Trail where consumers could come to learn about all of the different breeds of beef cattle in Canada. Since Karla and I worked the booth almost every day, we had a chance to talk to thousands of consumers throughout the week of Stampede. Although the booth represented all of the beef breeds in Canada, Angus is easily the most consumer-recognized brand. This made it easy for us to give out lots of Angus swag such as silly bands, colouring books, recipe cards and pins. It was amazing to see how many of the people walking through Cattle Trail immediately recognized the word "Angus" and knew that it was a breed of cattle and represented a quality product. We also answered lots of questions for consumers who didn’t know what Angus was or simply thought it was just a grade of beef. 

Since there were beef cows on display in the Cattle Trail, we had lots of questions surrounding the animals themselves as well: what they eat and how much they weigh were common questions. Also since many of the people through Cattle Trail were not very familiar with the production side of the beef industry, many of them mistakenly thought the beef cows were actually dairy cows because they had udders. We explained to them that even beef cows have udders so they can feed their calves until weaning.  

We also took photos of people walking through the Cattle Trail for the Ag More Than Ever program. Willing individuals chose one of the eight talk bubbles to have in the picture with them. These varied from “100% farm raised” to “Kiss me I’m a farmer” to “AgProud”. We posted these photos on Facebook every few days so everyone could go online and tag themselves in the photos. This was fun for us to do and it was nice to be able to support positive agricultural initiatives such as the Ag More Than Ever program.  

Although most of my time was spent in the Cattle Trail, I did get to see more than just Calgary while I was in Alberta. Midway through the week, I took a trip to Olds for Summer Synergy. I caught a ride up there with Brian Good, the Canadian Angus Director of Field Services. We stopped to see the progress of the Angus Central building along the way. We snapped a few pictures while we were there and sent them back to the office. Last time I was there in April, the building site was just a bunch of dirt piles, and now the office is fully closed in. It’s hard to believe how fast it’s going up! It won’t be long before the grand opening of Angus Central on December 11^th. Let's just say that it will be a “don’t miss event” for any and all Angus enthusiasts.

Once we got to Olds, I watched the jackpot heifer show at Summer Synergy and then toured the aisles to see some very good cattle. That night I also had an awesome tour of Olds College thanks to Ciara. In the morning I judged the junior division of the team judging competition. There were some very competitive juniors to say the least, and some excellent judging teams. Afterwards, Brian Good, Gary Latimer, and I headed back to Calgary, but not before Gary gave us a tour of his pride and joy… Remitall Farms.

That night we went to the International Livestock Reception at the Calgary Stampede grounds where we had a chance to mingle with international agriculture and livestock specialists. This was an excellent networking opportunity for all. 

Later that week, I also had a chance to travel to High River with Cheryl to watch the International Livestock Auctioneer Championship at Highwood Auction Market. This was a lot of fun to watch, and what a beautiful sale facility it is! There were definitely some professional auctioneers there… I’m not sure how you would choose a winner. I was also impressed with how many of the stockers were Angus tagged… and they sold well to say the least.

Highwood Auction Market

After returning to Calgary once again, I worked Cattle Trail for a few more days, before hopping on a plane and heading home. As someone who had never before been to Stampede, it was an awesome experience, and I’m so grateful that I finally had the opportunity to go.

My time at home after Stampede was short-lived as it wasn’t long before I turned around and headed west again. I spent one of these days at a judge-it competition for region 3 at the Orono fairgrounds. It was great to see how many Juniors were in attendance and full of excitement for the day. There was a mix of both beef and dairy kids there so it was interesting to talk with the kids who all come from different backgrounds.

Stampede Grandstand

After this short time at home I hopped on a plane yet again and headed to Armstrong, BC for Showdown 2013. After having attended Showdown 2012 in Lindsay, Ontario, I have been anxiously awaiting this year’s event for quite a while. I think Showdown has to be one of the best Junior Angus functions across the country, and no doubt every Junior who has attended looks forward to it coming to their province. The best part of all was that I also got to participate while I was there!

For the duration of Showdown I essentially took on the role of being a director. Basically whatever was required of us we got it done, whether it was bedding the barn down or marshalling, or announcing or setting up competitions. Because of the extreme heat throughout the week, I think everyone’s highlight may have been the trip to the waterslides. It was certainly refreshing after spending a few days in those hot barns.

The water slides were very nice after some hot days at Showdown!

The directors and I cleaned out the barn and
headed for home

Another highlight of my trip would have to be seeing the mountains in B.C. Let's just say B.C. has some pretty rugged countryside, and it definitely gives you a whole new appreciation for the importance of good feet and legs on cattle. This is another trip that flew right by, and before I knew it, I was saying my goodbyes and flying back home. 

It has definitely been a busy month, but I sure wouldn’t want it to be any other way! It's hard to believe this incredible summer journey is soon coming to an end. With all the contacts I’ve made, and friends I’ve met, it’s safe to say its been one heck of a ride! I hope to see you all on the road in these next few weeks! Thanks for reading our blogs and keeping up to date with our travels! 

Posted by Matt Bates
Feedback: mbates@cdnangus.ca

The Roaring Success of Showdown 2013

Given that the summer is wrapping up, so are Karla, Matt and my internships. I am still recovering from the Canadian Junior Angus Showdown in Armstrong, British Columbia last week.


Showdown was another great exhibition of our fabulous Juniors and all that they are capable of. My crew and I headed out on Wednesday in a convoy of two trucks with trailers full of cattle and two trucks with hay, luggage and tack. The 10-hour drive was through beautiful country and allowed ample time for napping to prepare for the next couple days of competitions.


Upon arrival, we uploaded our string leaving them to finally rest their weary legs and get out of the sun and began setting up our stall. That night was fairly laid back but it all sped up from there.


Thursday was the grooming and individual judging competitions and friendly competition was had by all. The board had arranged for a bus to take us to the waterslides which was much appreciated given the heat most of us were not accustomed to.  This was a great opportunity for all participants to bond and cool off! I know our crew was definitely not designed to function in the heat of Armstrong.

Kasey Adams and Lexi Dietrich in our stall cooling off after a long day in the barn.

Friday was the showmanship competition. In the afternoon we had sales talk, print marketing and the much-awaited show team judging competition. The show team judging teams are decided by the top six individuals of each category (after the individual judging competition) who are then drawn out of a hat and paired together. I managed to crack the top six for the senior division and my partner was Allison Speller. I hadn’t given reasons on a mic for quite some time but I managed to get through it with my partner's support. We found out at awards that we won our category and I would gladly take the opportunity to team judge with Allison any time! That evening was the prestigious Angus Cook-Off competition. My team picked a very unique theme of Alberta Dynasty.

Team Alberta Dynasty: We each dressed up as a character
and Si, Jace and Willie grilled up some Certified Angus beef
with a special marinade, salad and garlic toast on the side.
We were awarded the best dressed team!

After the conformation show Saturday, there was a banquet and dance. The little girls at our table had the longest night of being patient as they requested Taylor Swift’s “22” to be played four times before they had even finished their meals. The awards ceremony was well hosted by Erin Toner and Michael Hargrave congratulating all our hard-working Juniors. A personal highlight for me was Erin’s heartfelt speeches about a program and association that have given her so much. There may have been a few sympathy tears as I am nearing the end of my show career as well and I want to thank Erin once again for her never-ending enthusiasm and passion for the CJAA. She has done so much for Juniors such as me during her involvement, not to mention setting a wonderful example for all of us growing up in the Angus breed. Congrats to her on the much deserved Spirit of Youth award. Some other awards highlights include Keely Adams of Forestburg, AB receiving the Junior Aggregate, Meghan McGillivray of Kamloops, BC the Intermediate Aggregate and Allison Speller of Monte Lake, BC the Senior Aggregate.

Grand Champion Female in the Open Division was won by
Allison Speller on the halter of Summit Angus Eline 80Y.

The dance was also a great way to wind down the show as all participants showed their moves off on the dance floor and got to meet new people. From T Swift to Gangnam Style to some Shania Twain, everyone got to hear what they liked to hear and we all got to spend a couple more hours together.

All the Alberta participants at CJAA Showdown 2013 in their banquet best.

The drive home seemed to go much faster than the trip out and although Laurie Hunter may say that is thanks to the 10-hour nap we all seemed to get excluding the drivers, I think that speaks to the roaring success of Showdown.
 
As one of our delegates forgot their keys in BC, the prizes for the Alberta Junior Angus Show are all now purchased and sitting in my garage! I am once again quite looking forward to some Junior Angus collaboration and all the excitement that comes along with such events. I have now returned to the office for a couple weeks before the Alberta Junior Angus Show and the All Breeds Show. If you are not entered yet there is still time but you may not receive show apparel. I look forward to seeing many of our junior members out competing!

Posted by Katelyn Dietrich
Feedback: kdietrich@cdnangus.ca