Canadian Cattle Young Leaders
Raelynn Blumhagen was born and raised in Jaffray, B.C., where her family has been running a cow-calf operation for five generations. Blumhagen briefly left the ranch to attend college, majoring in business finance. She now lives on the ranch with her husband Dale and her two daughters, working alongside her parents and siblings. Blumhagen also holds the brand inspector position for the area, a position that was held by her uncle before her and her grandfather before him. She also serves on multiple boards in her community. Blumhagen’s mentor is Brad Osadczuk, a third-generation rancher from Jenner, Alta. Osadczuk has been involved with his local community pastures, served as a councillor for the Special Areas Board, sat on the Agricultural Service Board and been involved with the Alberta Beef Producers and Canadian Cattle Association (CCA).
Carling Matejka grew up on an Angus seedstock operation just outside of Ponoka, Alta., where she dreamed about becoming a mixed animal veterinarian. While working on her bachelor of science in agriculture at the University of Alberta, she was accepted into the University of Calgary veterinary medicine program. After graduating in 2018, she moved back to her family farm and worked in a mixed animal practice for three years. In 2021, Matejka moved to Calgary where she now works at Fen Vet as a mixed animal veterinarian, mentor and student externship co-ordinator. Matejka was also selected by the Canadian agriculture minister to be a part of the inaugural Canadian Agriculture Youth Council. Her mentor is Amie Peck, who leads the public and stakeholder engagement team at the CCA, which aims to boost public trust in the beef industry.
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Siddika Mithani stepped down from her post as president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in late January, transitioning into retirement. Prior to her 2019 appointment to the helm of the CFIA, Mithani served as president of the Public Health Agency of Canada, as well as in high-level positions within Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Health Canada, and Environment and Climate Change. Jean-Guy Forgeron, the CFIA’s executive vice-president, will steer the CFIA until the prime minister appoints a new president.
Keith Day of Kyle, Sask., has been elected as the new chair of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association. Day replaces Arnold Balicki of Shellbrook, who now moves into the past chair seat. Rounding out the executive are Chad Ross of Estevan (vice-chair), Kyle Hebert of Wawota (finance chair) and Garret Poletz of Biggar (member-at-large). New to the board is Wade Beck of Milestone, who replaces Leigh Rosengren of Midale. Leon Lueke of Humboldt was also previously voted in as director for District 8.
Alberta’s Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) recently elected three directors to its board. New to the board is Josie Van Lent, dean of agriculture technology and applied research at Lakeland College in Vermilion. Dr. David Chalack and Jason Lenz were re-elected to the board. Chalack has been elected as chair, and farmer and VBP+ provincial co-ordinator Melissa Downing vice-chair. John Kolk, a farmer from Picture Butte, Alta., stepped down from the board. Kolk served as chair of the finance and audit committee, and as a member of the governance committee.
Dr. Calvin Booker of Okotoks, Alta., is the recipient of the 2023 Veterinarian of the Year Award presented by the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners (WCABP) and Boehringer Ingelheim Canada. Booker is the general manager of services and research with Feedlot Health Management Services. He is also an adjunct professor at Texas A&M University. Some of his significant accomplishments include the development of a data recording system for day-to-day feedlot operations and the use of applied epidemiology to control disease in feedlot operations. He is named on four patents for his innovative work in developing a method and system for monitoring animals. He has also made extraordinary contributions to bovine health through his research projects, including identify- ing and documenting Histophilus somni as a major disease, developing prevention and treatment regimes for the control of undifferentiated fever/bovine respiratory disease in feedlot production and defining the role of bovine viral diarrhea virus in feedlot disease.
Congratulations to all the people slated for induction into the Ontario Agriculture Hall of Fame this year. Among them are Dr. David Biesenthal, a veterinarian and beef and grain farmer. Biesenthal’s cattle operation was initially blamed for the Walkerton water crisis in 2000, but the family’s record-keeping and participation in environmental farm and nutrient management planning helped exonerate them. Since then, he’s continued advocating for agriculture’s role in protecting water quality and speaking publicly. Ray Robertson, who helped establish the Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association, and has promoted growing forages as a way to boost soil health, is also listed as an inductee. Also up for induction are Robert James Scott, Carolynne Griffith, Doug Wagner, Tarlok Singh Sahota, Peter Gould, Brian Gilroy, Dr. Richard Frank, Carleton Emiry and Dale Cowan.
To mark its 90th anniversary, the Canadian Cattle Association has released several videos celebrating historical moments ranging from the founding of the association to the history of cattle marketing. You can find the videos on the CCA’s YouTube channel.
