Katie's Busy Week of Promotion

When you embark on a new experience, whether that is a new job, event or even buying a new pair of shoes, there are always feelings of anxiety and caution. Beginning my internship with the Canadian Angus Association was no different. There is a quote which always offers me encouragement by A. G. Phillips: “It is not what we know that scares us, it is what we do not,” and now there is no doubt in my mind that this was an opportunity I could not have denied myself. 

My advocating began very quickly as we finished training on Friday, April 26^th and my first event was on the following Monday! Given that I did not have much time to reflect before going out and promoting, my natural instincts really took over. Being a Junior exhibiting at so many shows as a 4-H member and a Canadian Junior Angus member in the past, I really enjoy being at all the shows and talking to children about their calves and show year. I feel we can all agree there is nothing that compares to the utter joy in nine-year–olds’ eyes as they get handed that first ribbon as their doting grandparents are snapping pictures. The Angus breed must be proud of these life skills they provide for their Juniors, such as me, through programming and support thanks to vast volunteers and perseverance of numerous committees.

This week has been unbelievably busy as achievement day season begins and the school year is wrapping up. I began my week out at Ponoka District Achievement Day judging grooming. This was a great event with around 50 members who were all keen to exhibit their projects. Achievement day was always a lot like Christmas for me, leaving events not as work but more like a gift. 

Moving on from my day spent with 4-H members, I stepped into the classroom. This has always been one of my favourite places to be. I had the opportunity to visit Donalda and Forestburg schools in the last couple days, reaching over 100 students ranging from ages 8 to 12, educating them on their impact on the agriculture industry as consumers as well as the benefits of eating beef. These pasture-to-plate presentations really encouraged the children to reflect on where their food comes from and all the steps of production it takes before that hamburger lands on their bun. It was so enlightening to see children talking and asking questions about Canadian Angus, Angus beef and agriculture in general. 

In addition to being out in the field and visiting classrooms, I have been in the Calgary office right in the middle of all the action that is the Angus breed. Through my time in the office I have been busy keeping an eye on social media and scouting out future ideas for promotion. Based on the archives I have had the chance to explore and develop, I want to congratulate the Canadian Angus members on their exceptional campaigns through this last year in the various Angus publications as well as the overwhelming support of those in agriculture (producers included) of the breed and the benefits of the industry as a whole.

On behalf of Matt, Karla and myself, I would like to offer thanks to the outstanding support staff in the Angus offices in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario as well as the constructive field work the two interns (Stacey Domolewski and Erin Toner) provided last year for leaving such a great legacy for the Angus breed and the intern program along with the encouragement of the Canadian Angus Association members.

I’ve only been on the job three weeks, but I sure feel like I have accomplished a great deal! Be sure to keep your eyes open for Karla, Matt and me, as still ahead are Summer Synergy (Olds, AB), Calgary Stampede Cattle Trail (Calgary, AB), Canadian Junior Angus Showdown (Armstrong, BC) and various events that may be in your area! As well feel free to contact us if we could be assistance or advantage at any events in your area!

 


Posted by Katie Dietrich
Feedback: kdietrich@cdnangus.ca

Summer Interns Week One

After a productive training week in Calgary it was time for us three to part ways and begin planning our summers in each of our provinces. For me, my trek to land of the living skies began on April 28^th. I left a breezy Calgary around noon and my Envoy was packed to the max. The next stop for me was Regina! I began driving and soon realized that the drive was going to be full of three things: flat land, no trees and bumpy roads. However, that did not stop my excitement of moving to a new city and experiencing something brand new for the summer. After 793 km and a few stops at local gas stations, I made it safely to Regina. On the drive I stopped to take a few pictures of how much water there is in the fields out here. I don’t think that the farmers will be in the fields anytime soon. In fact, places in Saskatchewan have declared a state of emergency with high amounts of water causing flooding. I am sure glad I brought my rubber boots!

Some of the flooding

After driving through the heart of Regina, I finally found the place that I will be staying in this summer. After numerous trips into the house and up the flight of stairs I had all my bags in my room. I met the lady whose house I am living in and had a great visit with her and her daughter. They told me what I should do or see in the city while I am here. I was tired from the trip so we said goodbye and I had my first sleep in Regina. When I woke up, I thought I was in a nightmare. I looked outside and it was a winter storm. I couldn’t believe it, but that is Canadian weather I suppose.

Wednesday was my first day in the office in Regina. I met Belinda Wagner and she showed me where the office is that I will be working in and around the grounds. Then I was able to dive into my planning for the summer. Over the last three days I have been getting pretty good responses from schools. I currently have 11 school presentations confirmed in May and early June. I have worked on various projects that are for the school presentations. The biggest project that I have completed is a postcard for a takeaway for the school kids. The main aim of the postcard is for the students to take home and show their parents what they learned through our presentation. I am very excited to see the final printed copy.

Learning how to judge

Over the weekend I was able to attend a judging clinic in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. A fun fact I learned about Weyburn is that it is the home town of one of the greatest Canadians — Tommy Douglas. This was the first judging clinic that the region had put on for the kids. There was a great turnout and 80 kids were registered. There was a variety of ages in attendance; from clever buds to older senior members. The members judged dairy heifers, light horses, beef heifers and market steers. I helped with registration, helped the younger kids with filling out their judging cards and taking reasons. A judge first went through what to look for when judging a certain class and good terms to use. The kids were then given 15 minutes to judge the class. Then they had to give their reasons to the judge, a leader or me. I got to interact with most members there and met Erica Easton. Erica is going to New Zealand as a team lead for the World Angus Forum in October so it was really nice to meet her. I had a great time in Weyburn and it was so good to see so many young energetic 4-Hers that wanted to learn.

Even though we interns are spread throughout the country we keep in constant communication with daily emails. We are all working on different projects each day and getting prepared for presentations, so our days are never dull! Finally, spring is here in Regina and I cannot wait to see what the rest of this internship has in store for us.

Posted by Karla Ness
Feedback: kness@cdnangus.ca

CAA Summer Interns Have Arrived

 Matt, Karla and Katie

If I were to say it has been a busy week at the Canadian Angus headquarters here in Calgary, Alberta, that would be an understatement. Intern training started Monday morning where I met Karla and Katie, the summer interns for Saskatchewan and Alberta respectively. We’ve had a jam-packed week full of staff overviews, summer planning, and development of workshops and promotional material that we will use throughout the summer. We worked in the conference room for most of the week, which I think we are going to rename “The Arctic” because it had to be at least 15 degrees colder than the rest of the office building. Despite Tina’s many attempts to fix this, it didn't seem to change much.

I flew into Calgary from Toronto on Sunday afternoon. Starting Monday morning we had a tour of the office, learned where everything could be found, and we were introduced to the office staff along the way. Once we finished going through some logistics, we each set some goals that we hope to accomplish through our internship this summer. We then had an overview from Stacy in the Registry Department and Joanelle who is the Office Administrator.

Tuesday morning brought more brainstorming about how we could increase the interest in all of our Canadian Junior Angus programs. We worked alongside the CJAA coordinator Belinda who flew in from Regina to be with us. We also discussed social media and how each of us could assist with updating these pages over the summer.

On Wednesday we began developing our workshops for the summer, particularly those that we are going to be using when visiting schools. We also discussed radio and print interviews which we may encounter this summer. We also had a very in-depth meeting with Kajal about breed development and with Cheryl about the Angus tag program.

Thursday morning we talked a lot about Cassie and Tina’s jobs in marketing and communications respectively. Michael also talked to us about the Rancher Endorsed program and the Canadian Angus Foundation. Additionally we had a two-hour online webinar which outlined some simple strategies for better event marketing.

Friday was a particularly busy day. Ciara met with us to discuss her responsibilities in the office, and then we had some time to work on our schedules for the summer. Next we spoke with representatives from Canada Beef, Canada Beef Research Council, Canadian Beef Breeds Council and Alberta Beef. To finish the day we spoke with Rob for a while and then wished everyone farewell.

The office staff at the Canadian Angus Association are truly second to none. I think all of us interns agree that they treated us unbelievably well this week, and we can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store for us. We want to put a special thank you to Rob and Michael for treating us to lunch throughout the week and also Cassie and Tina for working alongside us all week and passing so much of their knowledge on to us. Us interns are now parting ways; however, we will keep in close contact over the summer. We look forward to seeing all of our many Angus friends and youth throughout the summer at events throughout our respective provinces We hope you get a chance to read our weekly blog posts, and keep up with our exciting happenings throughout the summer.

Posted by Matt Bates
Feedback: mbates@cdnangus.ca

Frequently Asked Questions about Changes to the Parentage Verification Policy

Do I have to DNA test all of the dams in my herd?

No, you only need to parentage test those dams that produce bull calves born on or after January 1, 2015 that will go on to sire registered Angus calves. The policy change will affect less than 2,000 females annually. However, a lot of our members are taking advantage of the $5 Female Permanent Genotyping project or the $12 SNP parentage verification offer to genotype their entire cow herd.

What’s the difference between the $5 Female Permanent Genotyping project and the $12 SNP parentage verification offer?

The Female Permanent Genotyping project ($5 per test) will read the DNA for producing females and create a reference point to allow parentage verification of their future bull calves.

The SNP parentage verification test ($12 per test) reads the DNA for producing females and places them on file so that their bull calves can be verified to them in the future AND it also uses the dam’s genotype to verify her to her dam and sire. SNP parentage verification testing is available at $12 per test until March 31^st, 2014.

If I want to register my bull calves now, do I have to DNA test all my dams first?

No, the parentage verification policy applies to bull calves born on or after January 1^st, 2015. Any bull calf born on or after that date that will go on to sire registered Angus calves will need to be parentage verified to both his sire and his dam.

What if I buy a bull to sire registered Angus calves and he is not parentage verified?

Currently, a bull calf needs to be sire verified in order for the CAA to register his progeny. In cases where members apply to register calves from a sire that is not sire verified, the Association works with the member to get the sire verification.

The policy change means that all sires born on or after January 1^st, 2015, including those approved for AI use, must have a DNA parentage genotype on record with the CAA and be parent verified before their offspring can be registered. If you buy a sire that is not parent verified the Association will work with you to get the parent verification.

If either parent is lost before a DNA sample can be taken, the Association will work with our members on a case-by-case basis to find a resolution.

The implementation date for the policy change was set to allow our members more than two years to prepare. The Association has several initiatives to help our members prepare for this policy change.

What’s the best way to prepare for the changes to the Parentage Verification Policy?

Pull hair samples (30–60 hairs including the hair root bulbs) on any dams that may produce bull calves born on or after January 1, 2015 that will go on to sire registered Angus calves.

Place each dam’s hair sample in a clean, well-labelled envelope.

The hair samples can be stored at the CAA office or at your home until a parentage test is required.

For members who prefer to verify their female’s parentage and have their reference genotype on file so future calves can be verified, we are offering the following tests at reduced rates:

1.      Female Permanent Genotype for $5 per test (for the first 15,000 kits ordered and submitted to the lab before December 1^st, 2013)

2.  SNP parentage verification for $12 per test (‘2-for-1’ pricing through March 31, 2014)

Posted by Kajal Devani Feedback: cdnangus@cdnangus.ca

Passing of Roberta Frazer of Six Mile Red Angus

It is with great personal sadness and equal industry gratitude that we pay respect to an important part of our Canadian Angus fraternity who has been called Home.

We lost one of our true breed pioneers this week: Roberta (Birdie) Frazer of Six Mile Red
Angus passed away last Tuesday morning, February 19^th, joining the ‘love of her life’, Ken, to raise the best Red Angus in Heaven. I suspect Birdie is elated to rejoin Ken and work together with other breed stalwarts like Rod Mackenzie in populating God’s acres and paddocks with ‘divine’ Red Angus genetics.

To access the Tribute to this Canadian Angus Legend, please see: http://www.pichehawkinsgrondinfuneralchapels.ca/book-of-memories/1501771/FRAZER-Roberta-/obituary.php

The funeral service will be at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 23, 2013 at the Hall on Main Street in Fir Mountain, Saskatchewan.

Please join our thoughts and prayers with and for Birdie’s family, Clayton and Corinne Gibson and their children – Callie, Cade and Coy – as well as Birdie’s granddaughter, Sandi Gray and husband Michael, through this transitional period when they will hopefully be able to celebrate a purposeful life, well-lived and served to a ‘greater good’. What would our nation’s Red Angus world look like if not for Ken & Birdie? I cannot even imagine…

It feels as though we had Ken & Birdie for such a brief interlude, and yet their impact and influence on our national Angus family will endure for time everlasting. Thank you, Gibson family, for sharing them with us…

God Called You Home

by Lindsey Zacher

God looked around his garden
And found an empty space;
He then looked down upon this earth
And saw your tired face.
He put His arms around you
And lifted you to rest;
God's garden must be beautiful,
He only takes the best.
He knew you were in pain,
He knew you might never
Get well upon this earth again.
He saw the road was getting rough
And the hills were hard to climb,
so He closed your weary eyelids
and whispered 'Peace be thine.'
It broke our hearts to lose you,
But you never went alone,
For part of us went with you
The day God called you Home

 
Posted by Rob Smith Feedback: cdnangus@cdnangus.ca