July 27
I travelled to Neepawa, MB to attend their summer Gold Show. The show was
well attended by both spectators and cattle. A total of
77 head were shown before a three-man judging format. This was a pen
show so it was a little hard to take pictures as winners did not come back after
announcements. The committee told
me they went to a pen show to try and boost entries or they felt the summer
show may fail.
I stayed overnight
with some friends and then Sunday toured Garbald Farms which is a
purebred-commercial operation mid-way between Gladstone and Austin. This is a
350+ cow herd. The owner, Jan
Garbald, came from Switzerland and started in Angus but thought that they did
not have enough size so he began using Charolais bulls. When this wasn’t working,
he switched to Simmental bulls and now he is back to Angus. He claims the other
two breeds just couldn’t cut the wet ground and high moisture grass. So after a
trip around the block he seems to be satisfied with his herd now.
August 1
I attended the Saskatchewan Gold Show in Prince Albert. It
was a beautiful day, just a slight breeze and not too hot. There was a good
crowd in attendance with many good cattle. I think the numbers may have been
down a bit but the quality was sure there. I was able to have a little visit
with Mel Sisson and Dr. Byrne Rothwell, both long-time Angus breeders.
August 29-30
These were the
dates of the Sask Angus/CRAPS summer tour. This tour was held in the Wawota to
Peebles area.
We toured six herds in total, three red and
three black. They were as follows: Bridgway (R), WRAZ(R), Eastondale (BK), T Bar
K (R), GBT (BK) and Johnson Livestock (BK). At T Bar K, some breeders had cattle on display: Kenosee Park Angus, JJL Livestock, BBQ Red
Angus, Right Cross Ranch, Kennray Angus, Smart Farms, Diamond R Stock Farms and
Diamond C Liberty Angus. Our hats are
off to Dale Easton and his able crew for organizing such a wonderful tour.
There were about
150 to 200 people that took part in looking at the cattle, socializing and the
excellent meals that were provided. There were breeders there from Swift
Current into Manitoba and north as far as Meadow Lake.
At the breakfast
hosted by GBT Angus on the second morning, we had a presentation by Dr. Kim
McLean, Livestock Specialist with the Saskatchewan government. Kim is the
daughter of Dave Mclean of DM Angus at Arcola.
Her topic
was: "Getting The Most From Your Cow
Herd: Tools To Learn And Utilize".
The thrust of
the presentation was on EPDs and Genomics. Most people were interested and
there were some questions asked.
This was a great
opportunity to spread the word about the Angus Tag Sale at Yorkton this fall. Watch for me at Angus sales across Saskatchewan this fall. Be sure to say hello if you're there.
Posted by Laird Senft
Feedback: cdnangus@cdnangus.ca
