The Man-Sask Gelbvieh Association is pleased to award the 2020 Purebred Breeders of the Year to Thackeray Land and Cattle of Weyburn, Sask. Ian and Sheila Thackeray, along with their family, have been raising Gelbvieh cattle for years. They have promoted the Gelbvieh breed with enthusiasm in their community, their province and beyond.

Ian has served on the Man-Sask Gelbvieh Association board as well as the Canadian Gelbvieh Association board, having been president for each organization at different times. The Thackerays have made the effort to show at many livestock exhibitions including Canadian Western Agribition, Farmfair International, Weyburn, Brandon, Moose Jaw and many others. This year would have been the Thackeray family’s 50th year of exhibiting at Agribition, something not many can claim. They were also founding partners of the PGA Sale Group, a successful sale that has been running for 20 years now.

The entire family has participated in promoting Gelbvieh cattle, through 4-H as well as provincial and national junior programs.

The family is active in all aspects of their livestock and cattle farm, well beyond the show ring. Congratulations to the Thack­eray family!

Danny and Treena Blake of Glentworth, Sask., were awarded the 2020 Commercial Breeders of the Year by the Man-Sask Gelbvieh Association. Danny and Treena, along with their three kids Braylen, Aspen and Kohan, have been using Gelbvieh bulls on their commercial cow herd since 2002. They appreciate the breed’s ability to add power while leaving birth weights reasonably low, and improve milk while adding extra rib-eye.

The Blake family has been selling commercial Gelbvieh-cross steers each fall, and also sell some heifers in the spring, keeping top-end replacements for their own herd. They have also marketed Gelbvieh-cross bred heifers.

More recently, the family has been choosing high-quality 4-H steers from the commercial Gelbvieh herd. With the recent addition of Angus genetics to complement their Gelbvieh cattle, they have been pleased with the resulting Balancer cross. The kids are active junior Gelbvieh enthusiasts, and the entire family is active in their community.

Congratulations to the Blake family!