Saturday at Agribition

Saturday at Agribition brings excitement for everyone. The commercial sale is underway and going well. There are a lot of fantastic Angus influenced animals on offer here in the Stockman’s arena. Later today the Supreme Champion will be named, that show get underway at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon. Good luck to all participants and we will see if an Angus animal takes the prize this year. Our breed is very well represented. There have been many comments this week about the quality of all the Angus cattle in the barns this year.

Angus tags have been selling like hotcakes over the past couple of days but there is still time to pick up some from me or place your order. The weather is beautiful, the crowds are great and there is lots to see on the last day of the show.

Posted by Cheryl Hazenberg
Feedback: chazenberg@cdnangus.ca

Agribition Report November 25

The Angus show yesterday was a great success. Congratulations to all the exhibitors. Congratulations to TNF Red Angus of Riviere Qui Barre, AB, exhibitor of the Grand Champion Female Red TNF Young Kassie 3Y and to Ter-Ron Farms of Forestburg, AB, exhibitor of the Grand Champion Bull Red Ter-Ron Real Deal 01W. Congratulations also to Soo Line Cattle Co. of Midale, SK, exhibitor of the Grand Champion Female Soo Line Annie K 1008 and to BAR-E-L Angus of Stettler, AB, exhibitor of the Grand Champion Bull Southland Two Fitty 250T.

A great crowd came out to view the show and was not disappointed. There is still lots to see at Agribition through the weekend. The Commercial Show is underway now and the sale will run tomorrow morning. The Power & Perfection Angus Sale is tonight at 7:00 p.m. and there is the Canadian Angus Association sponsored commercial appreciation dinner tonight at 5:00 p.m. The fog has rolled in but the weather is still wonderful.

I can be found in the Blairs.Ag booth in the Stockman’s Arena. I will be here tomorrow as well. There are still some Angus tags available but they are going quickly and you can place an order and have them shipped home.


Posted by Cheryl Hazenberg
Feedback: chazenberg@cdnangus.ca

Agribition Report

Our second full day at Agribiton has kicked off with both the red and black shows underway. There is a great turnout of cattle, exhibitors and spectators. Good luck to everyone participating.

Yesterday saw the Masterpiece sale being a success with a great turnout and lots of interest in the cattle on offer. We attended the International Reception last night and met with visitors from all over the world. Sixty different countries have representatives at Agribition this year.

We are lucky to have great weather this year with temperatures staying around the freezing mark. More updates to come as we move to the commercial show tomorrow. Look for me at the Blairs.Ag booth in the commercial barn Friday and Saturday.

Posted by Cheryl Hazenberg
Feedback: chazenberg@cdnangus.ca

Farmfair 2011

This year's edition of Farmfair International was quite an event. Along with CEO Rob Smith and President David Bolduc, I attended the reception for Alberta's new Agriculture Minister, Evan Berger. This was one of the first public appearances by Minister Berger since his appointment. The event also featured a number of representatives from agricultural organizations and government officials.

The Angus show featured one of the largest crowds in recent Farmfair history. The Angus breeders exhibited a high quality group of cattle from top to bottom. It was mentioned by more than one bystander that although the number of entries was lower than in the "old days of the Winter Classic", the quality of cattle was better. The Red Angus section was judged by Riley and Jill Mader while the Black section was judged by Jim Henderson.

There was a somewhat unprecedented but will deserved result in the Alberta Supreme Show. Both supreme Champions were exhibited by Miller Wilson Angus of Bashaw. The winning bull was DMM Creed 75W, co-owned by Miller Wilson Angus and Harold Reich. The winning female was DMM Miss Essence 37T, owned by Jaelayne Wilson. This is quite an accomplishment given the fact that this was the first Supreme show featuring winners from other major shows across Alberta. I will be interested to see which one(s) of the Miller Wilson clan will be driving the two new Dodge trucks!


Posted by Michael Latimer
Feedback: cdnangus@cdnangus.ca

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

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

2011 World Angus Secretariat in Argentina

Every two years Angus Associations from around the world gather to share ideas and build relationships and form a united Angus front on a global scale. This year the World Angus Secretariat, now a conglomerate of 20 different Angus Associations, met in Argentina. Official delegates from Canada included Canadian Angus Association President David Bolduc, Past President Kirk Wildman, CEO Rob Smith, Junior Ambassador Austen Anderson, and Breed Development Specialist Kajal Devani. The official delegates attend the World Angus Secretariat Technical meeting where all the Associations share their technical challenges, and together the secretariat makes recommendations for adopting technology. At this year’s technical meeting we discussed SNP-based parentage verification, using genomic information in genetic evaluations and the benefits of data sharing between the Associations.

Also from Canada were 30 participants, the largest group of participants present in Argentina. The next numerous group of participants was from the Czech Republic who had 17 participants from their country. I really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know the 30 participants from Canada. You get to know people quite well if you have the chance to travel at length with them.

All Canadian participants would agree that this trip to Argentina was an incredible opportunity to witness Argentinean hospitality, to meet Angus enthusiasts from all over the world, to network and promote Canadian Angus genetics, and to establish strong working relationships. The trip gave me the opportunity to compare notes with breed development staff from 20 other Angus Associations. I recognize that most of them face the same challenges that we do, and I learned some new ways to approach different challenges.

While we were in Argentina, our Junior Ambassador, Austen Anderson, was an exemplary representative for Canadian Angus and Canadian juniors. He is creating a collection of all the photographs that were taken in Argentina so that they can be shared with all our members. So, keep an eye out for these!

Our hosts introduced us to Argentinean beef, wine, culture, Tango, heritage and people. The Canadian participants came back with a better understanding of how things are done all over the world, and in Argentina especially. Argentina is very heavily influenced by Europe, especially by the Spanish and Italians. Their Creole horses are beautiful, and they relish their gaucho traditions. 98% of Argentineans eat beef every day of the week, and their beef preparation methods were very tasty! Argentina is a very diverse country with arid mountain regions as well as more tropical southern regions. They struggle with infrastructure for roads and trade barriers that we can empathize with. And yet, they have huge operations with up to several thousand purebred Angus in their operations. Argentinean Angus breeders utilize a lot of American and Canadian genetics, and enjoy good relationships with many Canadian Angus breeders.

We look forward to the next Secretariat meeting which will be held with the 2013 World Angus Forum in New Zealand. The New Zealand Angus Association has designed a very fun Forum challenge for youth participants. You can read more about this by clicking on the following link: http://www.worldangus.com/.


Posted by Kajal Devani
Feedback: kajal1@cdnangus.ca