Report on 2011 Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Sales

The Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Fall Sales are now over. The last sale was held yesterday, although we do have two spring sales coming up in 2012.

Canadian Angus Association commercial field staff put on a lot of miles this fall; we only missed attending 3 locations.

Our field staff report that sales have been good right across Canada. The demand has been strong for Angus cattle in every weight division, both heifers and steers. Prices have also been strong. When good quality cattle were identified with Angus tags, they sold at the top of the sale. Demand for Angus tagged cattle was strong across the country throughout the fall run. Demand for Angus tagged cattle has increased over last year and commercial field staff received lots of questions from customers and feedlot staff about the tag program.

There is also lots of demand for red and black bred Angus cattle. People have even been willing to pay a little more for solid coloured cattle this fall.

This year was the first year for our Feedlot of the Year Awards. Wherever I went in Western Canada, people had heard about the awards and commented about them. I also talked to a lot of people about our Auction Market of the Year Award. Once again, I'd like to congratulate Ferme d'Anjou et Fils, winner of our Eastern Canada Feedlot of the Year Award; High Ridge Feeders and Shannondale Farm, winner of our Western Canada Feedlot of the Year Award; and to Assiniboia Livestock Auction, winner of our Auction Market of the Year Award.

Angus breeders should be very happy. This is the best fall I've ever seen in the beef cattle industry. Several of the old timers I've talked to have had the same thing. The best part is that there's enough of a shortage of cattle that prices should remain strong into next year.



Posted by Brian Good
Feedback: cdnangus@cdnangus.ca

Alberta Age Verification Incentive Program Milestone

This morning we hit a milestone. The Angus Association has given away over $300,000 worth of free tags under the Government of Alberta’s Age Verification Incentive Program. That equates to producers receiving 102,908 free Angus tags. This phase of the program began in July 2010 and will continue until December 31, 2012.

Any Alberta producers who paid full price for their tags or who have not yet returned their signed 2011 AVIP application form to the office, need to do so as soon as possible. Those forms must be processed by us before the end of the year to qualify for this year’s incentive. Please fax them to (403) 571-3599 or email them to chazenberg@cdnangus.ca if you have any questions about this program please feel free to contact me anytime.

We offer free third-party age verification services to Angus tag customers. We can only accept information that is sent by fax, mail or e-mail. Be sure to include the tags used and first day of calving season or individual birthdates (including year) cross referenced to tag numbers. We require a few days to complete the work before your calves are sold. Please forward the information as early as possible. Birth certificates will be returned by mail unless otherwise instructed.

Posted by Cheryl Hazenberger
Feedback: chazenberg@cdnangus.ca

2011 Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Sale at Mankota

What an event! Everyone in the Angus business should have the opportunity to attend an outstanding sale like this one. There were 3,500 head on offer, all of them were Angus-tagged and age-verified black Angus steers and heifers. There is no sale like this anywhere else in the world.

The sale attracted buyers from all over Canada, including Harry and Ed Dalke who recently won our Western Canada Feedlot of the Year Award. They were so impressed with the cattle on offer that between them, they bought about one-third of the cattle.

Prices were as high as any we've seen across Canada this fall. The quality and uniformity of the cattle are so good that they barely have to be sorted. The sorts were into groups of over 200 for tri-axle loading.

If you missed this sale, there are still lots of Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed sales left. Look at our Events Calendar or Fall Sale Listing to find a sale near you. Make sure you watch for our field reps and say hello.

I look forward to seeing you at a sale soon.

Posted by Brian Good
Feedback: cdnangus@cdnangus.ca

Fall Sales Look Good So Far

Our 13th Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Fall Feeder Sale of the 2011 run takes place today in Olds. So far, things are good and there is lots of optimism as the market has picked up this week. People are very happy at the auction marts and producers are feeling good. Many are finding that they are receiving more money than they did at the same time last year for comparable quality calves.

Supply and demand are a big factor, and this year that is driving prices up. The Canadian dollar has gone down a bit and that doesn't hurt either. Cattle prices have gone up while other commodities have gone down.

Guys are a bit slow in bringing their cattle to town, but that is typical for this time of year. The numbers will pick up after the Thanksgiving holiday and we'll see high numbers of cattle going through the auction rings through the end of October.

Have a great Thanksgiving, and watch for our commercial field reps at Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Feeder sales near you. We will also have a booth and representation at both Red Roundup on October 21-22 and at Agribition November 23-26. A limited number of Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Tags will be available for pick-up at each location.

Posted by Brian Good
Feedback: cdnangus@cdnangus.ca

The Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Feeder Calf Listing Has Launched

Last week we told you about an exciting new initiative, the Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Feeder Calf Listing. Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Tag customers can list upcoming lots of animals on offer by private sale, through an auction market or internet auction, and we will post the list on our website and send it to anyone interested in purchasing Angus influenced calves. The service is free for those using Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Tags.

The listing can be viewed on our website at www.cdnangus.ca/commercial/Angus_for_sale.htm. It is also sent by e-mail. Please help us spread the word about this new service. To subscribe to the e-mail, send an e-mail to chazenberg@cdnangus.ca.

To have your calves included, complete the Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Feeder Calf Listing Information form and return it to the Association office. Please include as much information as possible, however, not including some information will not exclude you from participating.

Posted by Cheryl Hazenberg
Feedback: chazenberg@cdnangus.ca

New Service: Canadian Angus Feeder Calf Listing

The Canadian Angus Association has created a new free service that will be available on September 16 to help you market your Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed tagged feeder calves. The Feeder Calf Listing will list upcoming lots of animals on offer by private sale, through an auction market or internet auction and will be distributed to anyone interested in purchasing Angus influenced calves. List with us and let buyers know when and where your Angus-tagged calves will be sold!

An email will be distributed each Friday listing new groups of available cattle. A complete list will be maintained on the Canadian Angus Association website. To have your calves included, complete the Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Feeder Calf Listing Information form and return it to the Association office. Please include as much information as possible, however; not including some information will not exclude you from participating. Listings will be posted online within 1 business day and included in the next weekly email. This free service starts on September 16, but you can send us the information now to be included in the first distribution.

I encourage you to sell your calves through a Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Feeder Sale and calves selling at sales can still use this listing. This year there are 169 sales across the country at 67 different auction markets and a complete list of the 2011 sales dates is also available online. Contact your local auction market or any one of the Canadian Angus Association field staff for further information.

Posted by Cheryl Hazenberg
Feedback: chazenberg@cdnangus.ca

Greek Burger Recipe for the Labour Day Weekend

What are your plans for this last long weekend of summer? We've talked to members who will be fishing, camping, soaking up the sun, playing in ball tournaments and barbecuing. Lots of Angus breeders will be trying to squeeze in a little bit of R&R between haying and silaging. A few will be showing cattle this weekend.

For many of us, a summer long weekend is a great excuse to gather friends for a back yard barbecue featuring Angus beef. If such a gathering is on your agenda for the weekend, consider trying these Greek burgers. The recipe comes to us from Chef Dez at Lepp Farm Market (a Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed licensed participant) in Abbotsford, BC.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 large egg
• 7 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Preparation:

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and divide equally into four portions. Shape each portion into a hamburger patty.
2. Grill on a preheated barbecue, medium flame, until cooked through. (Burger temperature will be 160 degrees Fahrenheit when fully cooked.)
3. Serve with tzatziki sauce, lettuce and tomato on a hamburger bun. For a gluten-free or lower calorie option, wrap hamburger patty in a large lettuce leaf instead of using a bun.

The recipe is easily doubled, tripled, etc. if you are expecting a crowd.

Whatever you do this long weekend, enjoy the sunshine and drive safely. Our office will be closed on Monday to recognize Labour Day, but we'll reopen at 7:30 a.m. MDT on Tuesday.

Posted by Tina Zakowsky

Feedback: tina1@cdnangus.ca

Canadian Angus Association Presents Eastern Canada Feedlot of the Year Award to Ferme d’Anjou et Fils

Left to right: Jerome Richard, Canadian Angus Association Director for Quebec; Wayne Gallup, Canadian Angus Association Fieldman; Jean Francois D'Anjou, Ferme d'Anjou et Fils; Guy D'Anjou, Ferme d’Anjou et Fils; John Donaldson, 2009 President Canadian Angus Association

Ferme d’Anjou et Fils of Quebec received the Canadian Angus Association’s Eastern Canada Feedlot of the Year award in recognition of their work feeding and promoting Angus and Angus cross cattle. Commercial Fieldman Brian Good presented the award at the Quebec Feedlot Society’s field day.

Ferme d’Anjou et Fils is located in Saint-Agapit, Quebec and is managed by Guy D’Anjou and his son Jean-François. The feedlot annually finishes between 4,000 and 5,000 head of mostly Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed tagged Angus and Angus-influence cattle for shipment to Ontario and American markets. Guy believes it is critical that the cattle he purchases are identified with an Angus tag that certifies the animal has at least 50% Angus genetics.

Ferme d’Anjou et Fils is a comprehensive enterprise. In addition to the feedlot, Guy operates a cattle transport company in cooperation with one of his sons, and operates Angus Zone restaurant and Les Viandes Chez Nous butcher shop with his family. Angus Zone and Les Viandes Chez Nous both offer Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed beef supplied by the Ferme d’Anjou et Fils feedlot.

The Canadian Angus Association introduced the Feedlot the Year award this year to recognize feedlots that promote Angus to their customers and that feed Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed tagged cattle. The award for Western Canada was presented to High Ridge Feeders and Shannondale Farm of Manitoba at our annual general meeting in June.


Posted by Tina Zakowsky
Feedback: tina1@cdnangus.ca

Canadian Angus Beef in the Netherlands

On a recent trip through the Netherlands and Belgium, I had the opportunity to meet with the owners of the Mondani Restaurant in Lochem, Netherlands. The Mondani Restaurant is a Canadian themed restaurant approximately 1 hour east of Amsterdam. The restaurant encompasses all things Canadian. From the West Coast Native American art and the murals of the Rocky Mountains to the menu which features Canadian beef, bison and salmon as well as Moosehead beer.

Currently they are purchasing Heritage Angus Beef and they are thrilled with the product. They told me a wonderful story about a Canadian that was dining at the restaurant just the week prior to my visit. This gentleman was talking with the owners after the meal and said that the steak he had was better than what he ever had at home.

With the import regulations imposed by the European Union, it is hard to get Canadian beef into the Netherlands. The EU is a huge potential market that Canadian producers and export companies are not taking advantage of. Recognizing that Heritage Angus Beef and a few of our other Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Participants are currently shipping into the EU, I don’t want to take away from what they are doing by any means. However, I truly believe there is a much larger market there that would welcome Canadian Angus Beef with open arms.

Consider as a producer taking the time to do some research into specialty programs which may or may not serve the EU market. Raising cattle includes marketing them; you cannot be successful in the cattle business unless you sell your animals. One rule of marketing is to differentiate your product from the others available. What better way to do that then to meet certain niche market criteria such as the markets that our Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed participants meet. While there will always be a outlet for traditionally raised beef in Canada, niche markets are not going away either. Diversify, Diversify and Diversify. Now is the perfect time to find out what programs are available through the Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Program and to find out which criteria you meet now and which ones you may meet in the future. Some of our participants also need traditionally raised beef but now is the time to find out not the day before you plan to sell your calves in the fall.

Posted by Cheryl Hazenberg
Feedback: chazenberg@cdnangus.ca

Canadian Angus Breeder Handbook

Are you up to date with the artificial insemination regulations? Do you know what the requirements are to register an embryo transplant calf? Do you know which genetic defects the Canadian Angus has addressed in the genetic defect policy? Would you like to learn more about the Canadian Angus Performance Program and how to analyze EPD reports? Do you want tips on marketing your purebred Angus animals, and would you like to learn how the Canadian Angus Association can assist your commercial customers with the marketing of their animals if they are 50% Angus and have purchased Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed tags?

The staff of the Canadian Angus Association released the revised Breeder Handbook in January. It is available on our website. We encourage you to use this resource, and to provide us with feedback. It is a valuable tool for all members.

Feedback: cdnangus@cdnangus.ca

Information Seminars in Ontario and Quebec

I had the most rewarding opportunity to spend some time in Ontario and Quebec last week, participating in some information seminars. I began at the Carson’s Sale Arena in Listowel where I had the opportunity to speak to some people before the sale. We discussed how EPDs are calculated and how they should be used in the industry for genetic improvement towards more successful operations. I’d like to thank Dunford Royal Cattle Company for allowing me this time to connect with the breeders in that area before their sale. The sale itself was a wonderful experience for me. I got to see the end result of all the work that we do in the office including: registering these animals, recording their performance information, providing pedigree extracts for the sales catalogues. I spent a day with John and Pat Duivenvoorden touring breeders around the Innisfil area the previous day and would like to thank them for their hospitality.

I travelled to Guelph next and visited with BIO. We discussed ways in which we could work together so that breeders in Ontario and Quebec that use both the evaluation program from BIO and participate on the Canadian Angus Performance Program don’t have to submit their performance data twice over. I invite members in the east to contact me if there is ever an issue with getting performance data back and forth between the two programs.

The afternoon was spent with Dr Steve Miller who graciously toured us through the Elora research facility. Dr Miller is conducting research on feed efficiency, methane production, and tenderness. Because these traits are so difficult and expensive to measure, his aim is to identify genes or markers that account for variation in these traits so that animals with superior genetics for these traits can be easily identified. It was encouraging to see research designed with the producer in mind.

The next information seminars were in Smiths Falls Ontario and Sherbrooke Quebec where I was joined by Paul Mastine from Triara Genetics who spoke about implementing new technology for a more profitable operation, and by Phil Trowbridge from Trowbridge Farms New York who spoke about marketing our product. Both seminars explored the concept of branding and marketing a product that has a story and your name behind it. We also discussed EPDs at length, putting to rest some old misconceptions about EPDs. I believe that at the end of the seminars the 100 or so breeders and commercial producers that attended had a better understanding of how EPDs are calculated and how they should be used towards specific goals of genetic improvement. Breeders commented at how they would be more comfortable marketing their genetics now that they understood how the EPDs describe their genetics.

I concluded my trip with a visit to our Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed participant Angus Zone in Saint Agapit, Quebec. Guy D’Anjou buys Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed tagged animals for his feed lots which supply his bustling meat shop and restaurant. His enthusiasm for the Angus breed and his pride in the product that he sells was infectious.

I would like to thank the people who hosted me as I travelled through Ontario and Quebec, and those who helped me organize these information seminars. I really appreciate the time that breeders spent traveling to spend the evening discussing these topics with myself, Paul Mastine and Phil Trowbridge. The positive comments that I received about the effort makes me hope that more breeders will take the time to take the EPD 101 workshop which I do online once a month. The next workshop is scheduled for April 15^th, 9:00 am MDT and can be accessed by emailing me.

Posted by Kajal Devani
Feedback: kajal1@cdnangus.ca