Alberta’s Carling Matejka is the inaugural recipient of the Reg Schellenberg Next Generation Legacy Award presented at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference in Calgary, Alta., last month. The award was created after Schellenberg’s sudden death last December, when he was the president of the Canadian Cattle Association. In lieu of flowers, his family asked for donations to the Canadian Cattle Young Leaders Program. Each year, a committee will select a graduate of the program who exemplifies the same calibre of leadership and dedication to the beef sector that Schellenberg displayed. Candidates for the award are nominated by their peers in the program. Matejka grew up on an Angus seedstock operation near Ponoka, Alta., and graduated from the University of Calgary’s veterinary medicine program. Today she is a practicing mixed animal veterinarian at Fen Vet. Matejka remains involved with the family farm, is a 4-H volunteer, and was also selected by former Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau to be part of the inaugural Canadian Agriculture Youth Council. As the award recipient, Matejka received a belt buckle donated by the Schellenberg family and a travel bursary to attend the 2024 Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference.
Dr. Kim Ominski received the Canadian Beef Industry Award for Outstanding Research and Innovation at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference. Ominski is a researcher, professor and acting department head at the University of Manitoba’s department of animal science. She focuses on ruminant nutrition in her research, but she’s also examined the environmental, human health and broader sustainability elements of the Canadian beef industry. She has co-led research that proved Canada’s beef industry has improved water use efficiency, shrunk its carbon footprint and reduced ammonia emissions per kg of produced beef. That research was used in policy and program development by industry and government. Ominski has mentored 35 graduate and doctoral students, six research associates and post-docs, and several undergraduate students. She’s also served as a mentor of the Canadian Cattle Young Leaders program, and has been part of several industry committees and boards.
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The Canadian Beef CheckOff Agency elected its board at the agency’s AGM last month. Producer board members include Andrea Van Iterson of B.C., Jeff Smith and Sheila Hilmer of Alta., Chad Ross of Sask., Mary Paziuk of Man., Jack Chaffe of Ont., Sylvain Bourque of Que., Trevor Welch of N.B., Larry Weatherby of N.S., David Francis of P.E.I. and Julie Mortenson of Sask. (Canadian Cattle Youth Council). The executive includes Smith (chair), Welch (vice-chair), Weatherby (governance chair) and Hilmer (finance chair). Chaffe, Ross and Ontario’s Jim Clark were also elected to the agency’s marketing committee, and Chaffe is finance chair of that committee. Notably, after serving for 10 years with the agency, Quebec’s Kirk Jackson completed his term at the AGM.
Connie Patterson of Dawson Creek, B.C., is retiring from her seat on B.C.’s Cattle Industry Development Council. Patterson is the longest current-serving member of the council, having represented the B.C. Breeders and Feeders Association since 2004. The council administers the checkoff, the Horn Levy Fund and the Beef Cattle Industry Development Fund in B.C.
The B.C. Cattlemen’s Association held its annual meeting earlier this year. Brian Thomas of Okanagan Falls is now the president, and Werner Stump of Malakwa the vice-president. Renee Ardill of Fort St. John moves into the past president chair. Rounding out the board are Derek Bovee and Judy Madden (Zone 1), Alex Kulchar and Wilf Larsen (Zone 2), Jon Solecki (Zone 3), Ken Ilnicki and Cheryl Monical (Zone 4), John Greenall and John Parkes (Zone 5), Brett Squair (Zone 6), Larry Rast (Zone 7) and Brad Chappell (Zone 8). Retirees from the board include John Anderson (Merritt) and Cody Johnson (Charlie Lake). Following a special resolution at the AGM, the association also established a new zone — Zone 8-Island — which will have one board director and one rep on each standing committee, elected in even-numbered years for a two-year term.
The Canadian Cattle Youth Council elected a new board at its AGM last month. Scott Gerbrandt of Swift Current, Sask., takes the helm as president, and Kimberly Landsall of Hodgeville, Sask., is vice-president. New to the council are Ontario’s Danika Mayer (member-at-large), B.C. delegate Rylonn Elliott, Ontario delegate Emily Bromley and Quebec delegate Syméon Couture.
Caitlyn Spratt of Melfort, Sask., was the grand-prize recipient of Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Student Scholarship this summer. Spratt grew up on a grain and cattle operation and is attending the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources. Her essay on sustainable agricultural practices such as zero till, GPS and the environmental benefits of grazing cattle on native rangelands helped her land the $4,000 scholarship. Spratt also received a $3,000 4-H scholarship this summer, as did Devyn Tomolak of Aberdeen, Sask. Runners-up for the Agriculture Student Scholarship include Danielle Dyok of Saskatoon, Katherine Andree of Val Marie and Emery Cholin of Kerrobert, Sask.
Masterfeeds awarded two Future Masterfeeder Scholarships to agriculture students this year. Kira Wigness of Viscont, Sask., and Reegan Charlton of Brantford, Ont., each received a scholarship. Both are attending the University of Saskatchewan, with Wigness studying agriculture and bioresources, and Reegan animal sciences. Masterfeeds awards scholarships to students studying agriculture in Canada each year who demonstrate a passion for agriculture and for what they hope to achieve in food production or other ag-gelated fields.
