• Read more: Updating the risk budget for newborn calves

“The extra funds provided by the ARTP grant will go a long way to supporting our research teams,” says Tanya McDonald, Lakeland’s interim vice president of academic and research. “We are so appreciative that the federal government recognizes the importance of our research division, both in researching efficient and sustainable agricultural practices to enhance the industry, and providing students with real-world opportunities to develop the skills they will need to graduate job-ready.” 

At Lakeland, the funds will support a research project examining the effectiveness of a supplement in calves to improve neonatal health, immunity and hopefully reduce the need for antibiotics later in life. Vitaferst will provide calves with iron, selenium, and vitamins A, D3, E and B12 at one to three days of age. Milk is a poor source of iron, and the levels of vitamins A, E and selenium supplied in colostrum may be very low so Vitaferst looks to increase these levels in calves. This project is being conducted collaboratively with industry partners: Alberta Veterinary Laboratories/Solvet, Chinook Contract Research and Vermilion area cow-calf producers. 

“We are investigating whether an oral neonatal supplement will address the deficiencies proactively and lessen the need for antibiotics,” says Dr. Brenda Ralston, livestock research scientist at Lakeland and recent recipient of the Alberta Farm Animal Care 2022 Award of Distinction. “Depending on the results of our trials, we are hoping to offer producers information on the best management practices to increase profitability, animal health and welfare by increasing the neonatal health of their calves. Members of our research team and students studying agricultural sciences at Lakeland are involved in the research project.” 

Lakeland has received previous grants from NSERC, including $1.8 million over three years in support of commercial agricultural research, which began in 2020 and runs until March 31, 2023. In 2019, funds provided by NSERC supported the purchase of new SmartFeed-Pro systems. 

Lakeland supports applied research to enhance the agriculture industry’s productivity, profitability and competitiveness, support student learning outcomes, and enhance social, environmental and economic outcomes in Alberta and beyond. Areas of focus include key commercial crop and livestock species, as well as agriculture technology. There are currently 39 active projects and 78 unique research partnerships at Lakeland.

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No matter where you are in your career, there’s always value in learning something new.

When the Maritime Beef Council created the Atlantic Beef School, the goal was to provide the region’s cow-calf and feedlot producers with opportunities for applicable professional development, and in a few short years the program has done just that.

“We have had new entrants, established producers, extension staff and industry salespeople all give positive feedback from sessions that they attended, so the scope of who would benefit is quite wide,” says Amy Higgins with the Maritime Beef Council.

The program started in 2017 with a feedlot school module focused on health management, followed by another on dairy-beef production. In 2019, eight cow-calf modules were created to “cover all aspects of the beef production cycle,” Higgins explains, to be spread out over two to three years.

The cow-calf modules are on pasture management systems, herd health management, feeding and nutrition management, cattle handling systems, reproductive systems management, herd procurement and replenishment, marketing strategies/value chain and farm business management.

“The development of the Maritime Beef Sector Development and Growth Strategy identified these modules as high-impact areas to profitability,” she says. “The feedlot school is designed to be a bit more fluid with no set curriculum but offering certain topics with an ability to respond to that sector’s need.”

The courses are open to everyone, even participants outside the Maritimes. Originally, the Atlantic Beef School was an in-person program, but currently the modules are being offered online.

“Since moving entirely to virtual delivery, the future of the Beef School may involve some sort of hybrid delivery, as there are people who would prefer an in-person learning experience, and there are others who prefer the flexibility of taking the training from their own office,” says Higgins.

The Atlantic Beef School is just one of the options available to Canadian beef producers who want to improve their practical skills. Here, we’ve highlighted a selection of resources and programs for anyone seeking to expand their knowledge of production practices.

Beef Cattle Research Council

In addition to its research priorities, the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) has developed a wide range of resources for beef producers as part of its extension activities. Throughout the year, producers can take part in BCRC’s monthly webinars and receive e-newsletters with recent blog posts.

BCRC has developed a producer-focused website, BeefResearch.ca, to share news related to beef cattle research in Canada and resources on production practices. Producers can access videos and fact sheets. The decision-making tools section features a host of tools and calculators created by BCRC to help producers make decisions related to a variety of aspects of beef production. This includes winter feed cost comparison, evaluating feed test results, vaccination cost/benefits and the impact of body condition on cow productivity and profitability, among many other decision-making tools available.

Thompson Rivers University Applied Sustainable Ranching diploma

The Williams Lake, B.C. campus of Thompson Rivers University offers an applied sustainable ranching diploma, which can be taken in-class or online, making it a flexible option for those who are already ranching. This hands-on, interdisciplinary program is focused on developing practical beef production skills through real-life experience, either on your operation or on a home-stay ranch for your practicum.The program also focuses on giving students the knowledge and skills to build and manage a profitable beef operation through courses on business, land management, natural resources and marketing.

Continuing education at agriculture schools

Several post-secondary institutions across Canada offer continuing education courses in agriculture. Olds College at Olds, Alta., has a beef production certificate for non-students, as well as hands-on courses in artificial insemination, agribusiness finance and field-to-plate direct marketing. The college also offers a program on veterinary medicine geared towards teenagers.

Continuing education at Vermilion, Alta.’s Lakeland College includes workshops on calving, artificial insemination and using the feed management app CowBytes.

Many Canadian universities and colleges open their regular in-person and online courses to non-students. For example, Dalhousie University’s faculty of agriculture in Truro, Nova Scotia, has online courses open to those not enrolled at the university. The past semester saw courses offered in principles of animal welfare and husbandry, animal feed and nutrient management, forages and cover crops, soil fertility, and introduction to animal health science.

Provincial extension programs

If your province has an agriculture extension program, you can contact extension specialists with production-related questions or browse online resource directories. For example, Saskatchewan Agriculture’s Sask Ag Now website features a livestock and feed section with articles on a range of related topics and posts on upcoming events and programs. You can also sign up for a monthly e-newsletter with Sask Ag Now’s top stories.

The post Building foundational skills appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

The Olds College Smart Farm will lead the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network, which will also include Glacier FarmMedia Discovery Farm at Langham, Sask. and the Lakeland College Student-Managed Farm – Powered by New Holland at Vermilion, Alta.

The new network’s first joint project will evaluate the “functionality, connectivity and value of data” from a common suite of sensors measuring soil, climate and crop conditions.

Each of the project sites has installed Metos Canada’s wireless sensors and other data-gathering devices such as for field monitoring, weather monitoring and forecasting, water management, disease modelling, insect monitoring and crop nutrition management.

The data will go to make on-farm management decisions — timing fungicide applications, for example — and the farms will “evaluate the benefit of using data to manage those decisions.”

Some funding for the new network’s activities will come from the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN), a separate network of over 60 technology and agrifood companies and organizations backed with funding from the federal innovation, science and economic development ministry. Both Olds and Lakeland are among CAAIN’s core partners.

A specific focus for CAAIN, when that network was launched in 2019, was to “create and implement a smart farm platform that integrates partners and creates the context for testing, demonstrating and scaling technologies.”

In all, the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network will pay for network-approved activities with a $2.9 million funding envelope including $1.1 million over three years from CAAIN, about $570,000 from other public-sector agencies and the balance from private-sector partners.

The Pan-Canadian network was one of nine winners of funding through CAAIN’s 2020 Closed Competition, in which other recipients include a project to develop a non-invasive approach to determine the gender and fertility of pre-incubated chicken eggs. In a separate release Thursday, CAAIN said it will announce the seven other recipients “over the coming weeks.”

On a call Wednesday with editors from Glacier FarmMedia — whose media assets include this website — Dr. Joy Agnew, Olds College’s associate vice-president of applied research and principal investigator for the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network project, said the new network has “ambitious” plans to expand to additional sites in the near future.

The initial collaboration — taking place across different agriculture zones and land bases — is expected to bring more depth to the results of the evaluation, she said in a joint release Thursday.

“Independent validation of ag technologies is critical and so is ensuring that validation is done using more than a single smart farm,” she said. “By joining with other partners, we’ll be providing farmers with information that will meaningfully inform their decisions about how and where to use sensor technology.”

The new network, she said on the GFM call, is “truly an example of a situation where one plus one plus one equals five.”

Blake Weiseth, applied research lead for the GFM Discovery Farm and agriculture research chair for Saskatchewan Polytechnic, noted the farm has been using Metos sensor data in field-scale projects and “having access in real time to similar data from other sites in Canada will expand our understanding of its value.”

Work is already underway to find more smart farm network members across Canada, the partners said, adding they expect to have opportunities to link the Pan-Canadian network with other smart farms internationally.

Glacier FarmMedia’s other Discovery Farm site, at Woodstock, Ont., is an example of a farm that could be added to the Pan-Canadian network if sufficient funding is made available, Weiseth said.

Josie Van Lent, Lakeland’s dean of agriculture technology and applied research, said Wednesday the network will also provide real value on the education side as “living labs” for the colleges’ students.

At Lakeland, the Pan-Canadian network’s activities are expected to be integrated into the college’s crop technology, animal science technology and bachelor of agriculture technology programs.

“When Olds College submitted this project for consideration, we were immediately intrigued,” CAAIN CEO Kerry Wright said in Thursday’s release. “Smart farms validate and demonstrate the use of innovative agricultural technology in a specific environment, and they provide opportunities to train students enrolled in post-secondary agriculture programs on the latest trends in ag tech.”

Another advantage for the Pan-Canadian network, she said, lies in “its opportunity to link smart farms across the country, thereby multiplying learnings and increasing the value of any data generated.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Bloder grew up on a mixed farm near Unity, Sask., with a focus on Simmental cattle. Biederstadt came from Edmonton and although she did not grow up on the farm, had a connection to agriculture through her grandparents.

The couple both say the learning opportunities they had on the Vermilion campus’s Student Managed Farm (SMF) and the incredible number of people they met, with whom they are still connected as both friends and business resources, had a major impact on where they are today. Their exposure to management strategies of fellow classmates was also significant.

They both attended Lakeland College in 2014 in the two-year animal science technology program. Biederstadt stayed on an extra year to complete her ag business diploma, as a combined degree. Both were in the purebred unit of the Student Managed Farm and Bloder was the general manager.

A couple of areas stand out for Bloder in what he brought back to their own operation. One was the nutrition feeding component and the other was embryo transfer. They feed test and analyze the nutrition aspects of what the cows are getting using Alberta Agriculture’s CowBytes program, which they used at school. Biederstadt says the way they run their on-farm bull sale now was influenced greatly by their learnings at Lakeland. The direct involvement they had with Lakeland’s Vermilion Bull Sale helped them decide to transition their own sale to their farm. Their sale on March 12, 2021, will mark the fifth year they have had the sale at home, offering 40 bulls and 10 to 15 purebred heifers.

In addition to the 250 purebred cow herd and growing feed, they also grain farm. The feed includes hay, corn and, more recently, annual forages. They try to match the varieties of the forages with the differing soil types. Bloder likes turnips, forage canola and the rye grass species in their mix. He says the costs are about one-third of the corn and they get more grazing days.

One factor affecting corn growth in their area is the heat units. Whether they silaged, baled or swath-grazed the annual forages, they have been impressed with the regrowth for grazing and how it can fit into their crop rotations. Other benefits include the cleanup of the plants, feed quality and distribution of manure by the cattle. The cows also like the annual forages.

One of their former classmates works at Bow Valley Genetics, where they are currently flushing their best cows in an embryo transfer program. This year they hope to implant 40 to 50 embryos. They also use AI on the cows and usually try to AI about half on the first cycle. It does depend on the year and what the weather conditions are like. The AI course at Lakeland was another learning element for Bloder. He and his dad do the AI’ing.

The couple are farming with Bloder’s parents and Biederstadt also has an off-farm job with Cargill, which she is currently mostly doing from home. Biederstadt says her Lakeland experience helped to get the Cargill job.

One of Bloder’s highlights at Lakeland was “going to college and getting to be able to go to cattle shows for a month straight.” Bloder had always been involved in the showing aspect and was glad to be able to continue, as well as share his knowledge with the other members of their SMF purebred unit. Members came from across the country with a wide array of background and experiences. Leading that group was also a valuable experience for Bloder in the area of managing people.

Biederstadt adds the experience of showing also pushed many of the students out of their comfort zone, but that was a good thing. The element of working with a mixed group of individuals and how to communicate effectively are also tools that they have found beneficial. Bringing new ideas back home to the farm and his parents is due in large part to the college experience.

The couple stress the great, close relationships they have with former classmates as friends but also business associates. They appreciate learning what some of those friends are doing on their dairy and sheep operations, as well as other experiences they are having as next-gen farmers.

“The learning does not stop after graduation,” says Biederstadt. An important highlight for her was being able to have her horse with her at school.

Lakeland instructor, and dean of agriculture and environmental sciences, Geoff Brown has stayed in touch with the couple and is impressed with how they are developing their operation.

“Both Corey and Maxi were great students for us and they added a lot to our program and the purebred unit of the SMF. They are great representatives for youth in agriculture.”

As with many in agriculture, life on the farm goes on despite the COVID-19 pandemic. At time of writing, they were preparing to start calving in January and working on the March 12 bull sale. The sale had already been online with DLMS, so they will continue with that strategy.

“We wanted to plan ahead and be resilient,” Bloder says. “We try to be innovative and grow the operation.”

In fact, Biederstadt just bought her own set of bred heifers to add to the Blushrose Simmental Farm herd. The enthusiasm they bring as young people in the ag industry bodes well for their operation and future.

Kelly Sidoryk ranches with her family just west of Lloydminster, Alta. She consults in a number of areas including succession planning and holistic management.

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The program, announced Wednesday, will consist of full-time studies at Lakeland’s campus at Vermilion, about 180 km east of Edmonton, plus “experiential learning practicums” off campus, en route to a bachelor of agriculture technology degree.

The program, Lakeland said, is meant to “bridge the gap between emerging technologies and agricultural management and production systems.”

“There’s a lot of technology already available and in use in the agricultural industry,” Michael Crowe, Lakeland’s vice-president of academic and research, said in Wednesday’s release.

“However, few people have an in-depth understanding of how to use it and the information it collects, or how to integrate that information into their commercial farm operations and agriculture businesses.”

Those enrolled in the program are to study smart agriculture as a management system, including data collection and analysis as well as interpretative tools and programs such as robotics, geospatial tools and artificial intelligence, as well as how to analyze and troubleshoot industry-leading hardware, software and data platforms.

Students on campus are to work on the college’s student-managed farm and at a new 8,000-square foot ag technology centre — an “on-farm lab” that’s expected to be open later this year, Lakeland said.

Students’ practicums, meanwhile, are to be done at ag data companies, technology and equipment manufacturers, dealerships, crop input service providers, agronomist service companies, crop and livestock service centres, farms, breeding and genomic companies, among other operations, the college said.

It’s expected that graduates of the program will be able to find work in assorted ag-related fields, such as in data services, development, management, precision technology, production, research or sales with ag tech companies, research organizations or equipment dealerships.

“Industry feedback indicated there is a shortage of agricultural professionals who can interface between the two disciplines — our degree program will fill that gap,” Josie Van Lent, dean of Lakeland’s school of agriculture technology and applied research, said in the same release.

Since the degree program is new, there’s no direct pathway yet set up for a master’s degree program, Lakeland said, but the college “will work with you and any receiving institution if you are interested in a graduate degree.”

In the future, the ag tech program may also offer opportunities for professional-development courses related to new tech and equipment, the college said. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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“Alberta’s Recovery Plan is a bold, ambitious long-term strategy to build, diversify, and create tens of thousands of jobs, now. We are committed to developing world-class post-secondary institutions, and today’s announcement of over $17 million to redevelop the Vermilion campus at Lakeland College, will help us meet students’ evolving needs in the region,” says Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Advanced Education.

The funds will enable Lakeland to expand the facility to ensure students continue to have modern spaces for learning and innovation, as well as accommodate new programs and increasing enrolment.

“On behalf of Lakeland College, thank you to the Alberta government for investing in our students – our province’s up-and-coming leaders – as well as our campus community. The 100 jobs this project will create is welcome news for our local region. This support opens another chapter of innovation and investment for Lakeland’s award-winning programs,” says Dr. Alice Wainwright-Stewart, president and CEO of Lakeland College. “Over the last four years, Lakeland has celebrated the expansion of the Vermilion campus farm and the upcoming addition of a bison operation, as well as the official opening of both a new Animal Health Clinic and Dairy Learning Centre, plus the modernization of our G.N. Sweet Livestock Research Facility and Academic Link. We’re excited to see our growth continue with the government’s investment in this teaching facility. This, combined with future farm upgrades and our new Centre for Ag Technology, will ensure Lakeland remains a global leader in agricultural education.”

Accessed by 550-plus agricultural sciences students annually, the WHT Mead Animal Science Centre features labs, classrooms and faculty offices. It’s also an academic hub for hundreds of students in our environmental sciences and human services programs. With energy efficiency plans, collaborative student spaces and the addition of new classrooms, the renovated WHT Mead Animal Science Centre will provide a state-of-the-art hub for work-integrated learning.

“Lakeland College is a great asset for Vermilion and the surrounding region. The institution provides students the opportunity to live, learn and work in rural Alberta. Students today, like the ones at Lakeland College, are the workforce of Alberta’s tomorrow. Lakeland College has shown exceptional community leadership, and with the modernizing of the Mead Building, will continue to do so well into the future. I look forward to visiting with students and staff while enjoying the comfortable and productive space this revitalization provides,” says Garth Rowswell, MLA for Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright.

Enrolment in agricultural sciences has grown 100 per cent since 2010 at Lakeland. As a modern, efficient and dynamic learning facility, the WHT Mead Animal Science Centre will continue to help Lakeland maximize enrolment opportunities.

Innovation and investment at Lakeland

Lakeland has been proactive in investing in capital projects that align with the Government of Alberta’s goals of accessibility, affordability, quality, coordination and accountability.

In 2016-17, Lakeland opened the modernized G.N. Sweet Livestock Research Facility, which features state- of-the-art technology for livestock research and development. In the following year, Lakeland officially opened the college’s 46,600 sq. ft. Dairy Learning Centre. That grand opening was followed by another in 2018-19 with the new Animal Health Clinic, as well as the completion of the Trades Centre exterior and roofing repair project. The generous support of donors enabled Lakeland to expand the campus farm with 309 acres of quality cropland in 2019. A historic gift in 2020 will allow Lakeland to further expand the campus farm and establish a bison herd at the college.

Phase 1 of the Vermilion Campus Revitalization plan was also completed in 2019-20 with renovations done in Alumni Hall’s Student Services and Learning Commons Information Technology areas, as well as in the Academic Link student labs.

“When you add it all up, it’s a staggering investment for Lakeland over the last few years that has provided the college with some world-class facilities, and students with world-class opportunities,” says Wainwright- Stewart. “Preparing students to be job ready requires the appropriate spaces to support exceptional teaching methods in classrooms and labs. We are honoured to have the support of our donors, industry partners and the government, and we’re proud to play a large role in rural sustainability and economic development.”

The WHT Mead Animal Science Centre project is part of an overall capital plan to optimize the resources required for building infrastructure and services, by coordinating rehabilitation with revitalization. Staff, students, program advisory committees and elected officials were consulted on this project. Work on the project will begin immediately.

Established in 1913, Lakeland College is a place of possibility that serves more than 6,400 students every year at its campuses in Vermilion, Alta., and Lloydminster, Alta./Sask., and through online and off-site programs and courses. Lakeland offers programming in the areas of agricultural sciences, business, energy, environmental sciences, fire and emergency services, health and wellness, human services, interior design technology, trades and technology, and university transfer and foundational learning.

With career- relevant, industry-driven programming and student-managed learning opportunities, Lakeland students are leaders who help steer their own educational course. For more information visit lakelandcollege.ca.

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Melissa Van Sickle’s interest in cattle started early and grew with her participation in 4-H. Van Sickle earned a bachelor of science in animal science from the University of Saskatchewan and then visited Australia. She then returned home to work for her family’s business, Genetic Ventures, which specializes in artificial insemination and synchronization of cattle. Van Sickle currently lives near Pigeon Lake, Alta., with her significant other. They own a herd of Red Angus/Simmental cross, and recently bought a provincially inspected poultry processing facility. Van Sickle’s mentor is John Crowley.

Raina Syrnyk was born on a mixed farm near Ethelbert, Man. While in the 4-H program, Syrnyk began building a herd of purebred Black and Red Angus females. Today the herd is approximately 100 females. Syrnyk also served four years as the Manitoba director and two years as president in the Canadian Junior Angus program. Syrnyk intends to establish a career in the financial industry, with a focus on agriculture. Farrah Williams is her mentor.

Manitoba Beef Producers has hired Carson Callum as the organization’s general manager. Callum grew up on a mixed grain and beef cattle farm south of Miami, Man. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in agriculture and a master’s of science from the University of Manitoba where he majored in animal science. Most recently he was the market manager of grains and oils with Corteva Agriscience (formerly Dow AgroSciences).

The Canadian Agri-Business Education Foundation has awarded six $2,500 scholarships to students entering or currently pursuing an agricultural or agri-food-related program at a Canadian college, university or technical institution. The scholarship recipients include: Marcus Grymonpre, Chilliwack, B.C.; Emily Gross, Bow Island, Alta.; Shaylyn Novak, St. Walburg, Sask.; Alice Rooke, Alexander, Man.; Faith Emiry, Massey, Ont.; and Isaac Ayer, Sackville, N.B.

Congratulations to Caylee Dorval (photo at top), winner of the 2019 Saskatchewan Agriculture Student Scholarship. Dorval hails from a beef operation near Glaslyn, Sask. The $4,000 scholarship will go towards her tuition at Lakeland College, where she will study animal science technology.

Congratulations as well to the runners-up, including Kaitlyn Sauser of Churchbridge, Madison McNeil of Alameda and Morgan Davey of Deslile.

Congratulations to the most recently announced winners of the regional Environmental Stewardship Awards (TESA). The national winner will be announced at the Beef Industry Conference in Calgary this month.

Randy and Terry Stokke of Willow Creek Ranch from Govenlock, Sask., received the Saskatchewan Environmental Stew­­ardship Award at the Saskatchewan Stock Growers’ Association AGM in Moose Jaw this spring. The Stokkes are long-time advocates for prairie conservation and preservation of species at risk. They have implemented far-sighted conservation practices to preserve their native grass pastures.

Clifton Ranch is the 2019 Ranch Sustainability Award recipient for the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association. The Clifton family ranches in Similkameen Valley, where they practice rotational pasture grazing, facilitated by about 100 water troughs, range fencing and thousands of feet of pipe. The Clifton family includes Wade, his wife Sandra and their children Cassie, Trisha and Megan; Wade’s sister-in-law Dianne Clifton and her late husband Brad, and their children John Ross and Maria; and Brad’s and Wade’s parents, Wilson and June.

Congratulations to the winners of the Alberta Beef Producers’ Young Guns contest. Youth aged eight to 21 who are involved in Alberta’s beef industry are eligible to enter. Participants explain how beef production has affected their lives and their futures.

First place went to Paytten Fankhanel of New Norway, Alta. Fankhanel is working towards a degree in animal science. Shanea Sinke from Picture Butte, Alta. took second place, and Addison Nolette from Longview, Alta., placed third.

Fankhanel was awarded $1,000, Sinke $500 and Nolette $250.

The Saskatchewan Forage Council recognized Aaron Ivey with its Forage Industry Innovation Award in June. As a former director and president of the council, Ivey has helped increase the profile of forage production in the province. He also helped create the Saskatchewan Forage Network and the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence.

The Manitoba Beef and Forages Initiative has announced its 2019-20 board of directors: Tracy Gilson (chair), University of Manitoba; Larry Wegner (vice-chair), Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) board member; Tyler Fulton (treasurer), MBP board member; Mary-Jane Orr (secretary), MBFI general manager (ex-officio); Kristine Tapley (appointee), Ducks Unlimited Canada; Darren Chapman (appointee), Manitoba Forage and Grasslands Association; Lawrence Knockaert, beef producer-at-large; and Don McIntyre, beef producer-at-large.

Congratulations to Tom and Margaret Towers of Tamara Ranch in Red Deer County, Alta. Tamara Ranch received the 2019 Dave Reid Award from ALUS Canada, which recognizes farms and ranches for innovation in ecosystem services. Runners-up were Jerremie and Rita Clyde, of Little Loaves Farm. Darren and Maria Smith, of Good Land Farms received an honourable mention.

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The Lloydminster Exhibition hosted its 100th Pride of the Prairies Bull Show and Sale this year. On March 3, exhibitors showed 39 heifers and 33 steers at the Progress Steer and Heifer Junior Show, sponsored by Justamere. Meanwhile, the Progress Steer and Heifer Open, sponsored by GMACK and Weaver Order Buying, saw 49 heifers and 31 steers.The bull show, sponsored by RBC and Canadian Natural Resources, included halter bulls and pens of one and two. Judges were Kurt and Matthew Trefiak.

The show, held on March 3, concluded with a short program and the traditional steak fry. Show organizers honoured area beef producers Wayne and Lucie Sampson of Thunderbird Ranch and Bernie Payne and family for their longtime support. Close to 175 people attended the steak fry. (see photo at top)

On March 4, a total of 90 bulls sold for a gross of $380,700. The sale average was $4,230.

Canadian Western Agribition (CWA) is looking for a full-time marketing and communications manager who has a passion for marketing and thrives on working in a fun, fast-paced, event-driven environment.

You will get to experience all elements of marketing including media management, strategy, design, promotions and communications. Canadian Western Agribition hosts over 1,200 international guests from over 86 countries, making it a world-renowned event responsible for exporting leading Canadian genetics around the world.

To apply, send your resume to careers@agribition.com.

If you are a cattle producer around Calgary in mid-July, take in the 73rd Annual International Livestock Identification Association (ILIA) conference. Hosted by Livestock Identification Services (LIS) of Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C., the event will take place at Spruce Meadows July 15 to 17. This event, last held in Canada in 2010, was started in 1947 in South Dakota with the membership consisting of livestock inspection programs, livestock ID programs and agencies, livestock theft and agriculture investigators, animal health agencies, brand recording agencies plus ranchers and ranches from across North America.

At the Alberta Beef Industry Conference, Cam Camden, manager of LIS Alberta, confirmed some of the guest speakers. They include:

• Joe Leathers, general manager of the 6666 Ranch in Guthrie, Texas, a ranch that runs over 18,000 mother cows.
• Justin Oldfield, vice-president with the California Cattlemen’s Association.
• Dave Haywood-Farmer, CCA president.
• Jennifer Houston, the newly appointed president of the NCBA from Tennessee.
• Glen Kathler from the applied Research and Lab from SAIT in Calgary.
• Three American and three western Canadian ranchers as part of an industry discussion panel.
• Adrienne Herron of the Alberta Ministry of Agriculture, speaking on their new microchip ID for the equine industry along with a live demonstration.
• Two speakers from New Zealand, talking about their national ID traceability program and how it’s working there.

Hotels will be at a premium and as they expect 200 delegates from across North America to attend, register early. For more information give Cam a call at 403-225-6308 or email him at Cam.Camden@lisalberta.com.

Canadian Western Agribition has selected the mentees for its new Next Gen Agriculture Program. The mentorship program offers “industry-wide mentorship” and aims to cultivate a deeper understanding of agriculture, business, community, leadership and industry advocacy in its alumni, a release states. The mentees, all based in Saskatchewan, include:

• Brandt Carter of Lacadena.
• Chelsie Christison of Bethune.
• Coralee Fisk of Balcarres.
• Lesley Kelly of Watrous.
• Jennifer Mainil of Weyburn.
• Codie Nagy of Ogema.
• Derek Oleksyn of Prince Albert.
• Kaleigh Sorensen of Regina.

The Canadian Angus Association awarded scholarships to five finalists at its annual Guiding Outstanding Angus Leaders conference in February. They include:

• Matthew McGillivray of Kamloops, B.C., placed first and received a $5,000 scholarship. He is a second-year student at the University of Alberta in Edmonton working toward a degree in animal science.
• Jarrett Hargrave of Proton Station, Ont., placed second and received a $3,000 scholarship. Hargrave is a second-year student enrolled in animal science technology at Lakeland College in Vermilion, Alta.
• Naomi Best of Harding, Man., placed third and received a $2,000 scholarship. She is a second-year student at the University of Saskatchewan working toward a degree in animal science.
• Charlene Elliott of Kenilworth, Ont., and Tyra Fox of Lloydminster, Sask., each received $500 as runners-up. Elliott is a second-year student at the University of Guelph working on an animal science degree. Fox is a second-year student at Lakeland College in Lloydminster working in the pre-veterinarian program.

At the same conference, Jasmine Broeder of Assiniboia, Sask., won a $3,000 heifer voucher in a draw. Broeder will use the funds toward the purchase of an Angus female in 2019.

AgSights recently announced several leadership changes. As of May 1, Betty-Jo Almond will step into the general manager position. Almond has eight years of experience with AgSights. As well, Jasper Munro is taking over as manager of research and innovation with the company, a move the company calls “a natural evolution of his career in livestock genetic improvement and research.” Mike McMorris, who has served as general manager for 11 years, plans to move on to other challenges. However, he will be staying on for several months to ensure a smooth transition.

AgSights is a member-owned co-operative that provides data systems and services including Go360 bioTrack, bioLinks, bull and heifer evaluations, and carcass prediction.

Congratulations to Gavelin Ranch, located in B.C.’s lower Nicola Valley, celebrating over 100 years of ranching history and receiving a Century Farm Award from the provincial Ministry of Agriculture. In 1911, Eric Gavelin and his brother-in-law purchased the land, and Eric worked to turn it into a working ranch. Eric passed away in 1923, and his widow, Henrietta, retained ownership. Henrietta operated the ranch as a single mother of five children until she remarried Axel Ellison. Over the years, the ranch remained in the family, and today is managed by Lloyd and Sybil Gavelin. Lloyd and Sybil dispersed the cattle herd in 2016, but continue to run it as a hay operation.

These days Lloyd is working to re-establish the ranch after river flooding in 2018, Beef in B.C. reported. “I have spent the better part of 70 years watching the land change as I worked to improve it one day at a time,” he said.

The Canadian Angus Association will be taking bids on three donated items at their Building the Legacy auction in Drumheller on June 8. Ron and Laurie Hunter of Lauron Red Angus are offering three 2019 heifer calves, to be picked from the herd by the successful bidder. Belvin Angus is donating two packages of Montana Octane 6121 semen, each of which contains 10 straws. And finally Eby Trailers and T-Down Trailers are donating a one-year lease on an Eby gooseneck trailer, valued at $5,000.

The Building the Legacy auction is the Canadian Angus Foundation’s main fundraiser. The Canadian Angus Foundation, which is the charitable arm of the Canadian Angus Association, provides opportunities for youth, young breeders and members in leadership, marketing, animal husbandry and genetic improvement. It also gives them the chance to learn tools to enhance Angus production. The foundation also preserves Angus history. The Building the Legacy auction is held in conjunction with the Canadian Angus National Convention in Drumheller, June 6 to 9.

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The Canadian Maine-Anjou Association awarded Bronwynn Frenzel of Magrath, Alta., a $500 scholarship during Agribition. She’s pursuing an animal science diploma at Lakeland College in Vermilion and is an active junior in showing her cattle at jackpots and junior shows.

Miss Rusylvia Elite, owned by Riley Pashulka of Derwent, Alta., won the Canadian Maine-Anjou Association’s Champion High Point Junior Female. The Reserve High Point Junior Show Female was awarded to Miss Rusylvia Dream, owned by Taylor Pashulka of Derwent, Alta.

The 2018 Charolais Show Bull of the Year is Sharodon Double Vision 1D (photo above) owned by Elder Charolais, Coronach, Sask., Kay-R Land & Cattle, Waskatenau, Alta. and Sharodon Farms, Omemee, Ont.

The 2018 Charolais Show Female of the Year is CRG Princess Valentine 42D (photo below) owned by Oattes Cattle Co., Cobden, Ont.

The Canadian Junior Hereford Association’s Bonanza 2019 is slated for July 31 to August 3 in Weyburn, Sask. The association auctioned the chance to win a heifer calf that was donated by the Nicholas Family of McCoy Cattle Company from Milestone, Sask., during the National Hereford Sale at Canadian Western Agribition. Over $18,100 was raised for the association and Bonanza 2019. The lucky winner of the heifer was Bill and Sherry Creech of Hill 70 Quantock Ranch.

Genex Beef has released a new smart phone app to sort and search the latest EPDs, bull pictures and videos of their 2019 Angus, Red Angus, Simmental and SimAngus, Hereford and Charolais bull lineup. Check it out on Google Play, the Apple App store as well as Microsoft.

The Canadian Simmental Association is offering a reduced price on the basic SNP parentage panel on heifers enrolled in the Total Herd Enrolment (THE) program. The association will subsidize $10 off of a basic SNP panel for first-calf heifers enrolled in 2019. This is on a first-come first-served basis so take advantage of the program before funding runs out. Email cansim@simmental.com for details.

Nelson Hirsche Purebreds 2nd Annual Production Sale in Del Bonita, Alta., took place November 29. The sale grossed $1,197,980. The high-selling bull calf, at $82,000, was GH Rambo Fire POWER; buyer was HDI. The high-selling bred heifer, at $7,500, was GH Overdrive Ann, bought by Oakridge Farm. High-selling heifer calf, at $17,000, was GH Rugers Gem, bought by Jason Doll Livestock.

Bar Pipe Hereford Ranch’s Production Sale was November 27 in Okotoks, Alta. The sale grossed $180,900. Long yearling bulls averaged $5,600 and bred heifers averaged $2,400. The high-selling long yearling bull, at $12,750, was BP 247 Kootenay 14E, bought by JoNomn Hereford Ranch. The high-selling bred heifer was BP Standard Lady, sold for $6,000 to Church Ranch.

Fenton Hereford Ranch 54th Fall Hereford Sale was held November 15 in Irma, Alta. Long yearling bulls averaged $5,800, bred heifers $3,350 and commercial heifers $2,120. High-selling long yearling bulls at $15,000 was ZZB 200B Red Dandy 99E, bought by Parkview Farms and ZZB 200B Super Rib 100E, bought by Shane Truly. High-selling bred heifer at $5,200 was FE 77B Turin Sunrise 230E, bought by LO Here­fords.

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, April 3 as Canadian Beef Breeds Council is having their Annual General Meeting at the Best Western Plus Port O’Call Hotel in Calgary. Event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more details check out canadianbeefbreeds.com or if attending, get in touch with Michael Latimer at mlatimer@beefbreeds.ca to reserve a spot.

The 2019 Maritime Beef Conference is being held March 15 and 16 at the Delta Beausejour in Moncton, N.B, with the theme “Healthy Forage, Healthy Cattle, Healthy Profit.” This year’s conference will prove interesting with a wide variety of topics including keynote speakers Lee Irvine from BIXSCo, speaking about building consumer confidence, and Duane Ellard of Canada Beef with his message “Selling to the World.” Both days will include technical sessions with topics including forage management principles, the economics of traceability and optimal nutrition for the growing bull, among others. There will also be a trade show. Rounding off the evening is the Taste of Beef reception. To register go to maritimebeef.ca for more information.

The 2018-19 Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program is off to a great start this year. The mentees have begun developing their relationships with their mentors and are now planning how they will use their dollars from the program. The mentees and their respective mentors are as follows:

Melissa Downing (Kim McConnell), Raina Syrnyk (Farrah Williams), Allana Minchau (Cheri Copithorne Barnes), Annessa Good (Dr. Jude Capper), Tyler Fewings (Scott Dickson), Megan Clifton (Rick Porter), Travis Page (Dr. Holt Trip), Melissa van Sickle (Dr. John Crowley), Bree Patterson (Sandy Russell), Amy Higgins (Kerry Wright), Dean Sentes (Doug and Judy Finseth), Leonard Retzlaff (George Graham), Jaqueline Toews (Aaron Grant), Jessica Giles (Dianne Finstad) and Jordan Dahmer (Tom Teichrobe).

The young leaders have a few events on their agendas this year, including the National Western Stock Show. Last fall, young leader Travis Page was honoured to judge the Legends of the Fall class at FarmFair International.

And young leaders Bree Patterson and Jaqueline Toews took in the fall session of the Beef Value Chain Roundtable in Calgary and presented their perspectives at the table.

We’ll be running brief bios of some of the mentees each issue in the Newsmaker section of Canadian Cattlemen.

The story below was originally posted to the Miller Wilson Angus Facebook page by Ty Wilson of Bashaw, Alta. It’s been edited lightly. Thanks, Ty, for sharing.

As a calf, we all kind of thought DMM International 54D had something special. We took him to a few shows and he was generating buzz, but buzz doesn’t mean a thing until they can prove themselves. There were four or five parties who were deliberating on buying a partnership in him, and as kids we were watching like hawks because that can make or break a show career. After all, a bull’s most important job is to go and service the herd. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve watched a calf go out into the world never to see a show ring again because he’s putting calves on the ground.

We get the phone call from our folks, “Good news!”

Here it was, at least we’d be released from the suspense that was killing us.

“Glen Gabel Angus bought him!”

“What?! Glen wasn’t even one of the names in the hat!” We thought, “Doesn’t he live in Saskatchewan? That’s so far away!”

He just walked up, looked at him and made it happen — the cowboy way! The Glen Gabel way!

Five days later the bull calf and his mother won Supreme Champion at one of the largest shows in the world — Agribition. We were elated that year, but it was bittersweet because we assumed that was probably it for him. It was a good run!

Boy, were we wrong. I wish somebody would’ve told us who Glen Gabel was because that’s a man of determination, and he was determined to see International reach his full potential. He took the big guy for a month during breeding season to service a pile of cows and then got him back here to Bashaw, ready and in beautiful condition. He would go on to become the most decorated show bull we’ve ever raised.

However, that’s not how I know Glen’s a Cowboy.

In March 2018 he left his farm to welcome a new daughter-in-law at a wedding in Mexico and he hasn’t been home since. Glen was airlifted back to Canada after he lost feeling in his arms. He was showing signs of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a terrifying disorder that makes the immune system attack its own nerves. Nobody knows exactly how it’s caused and if it makes it into your respiratory system it can kill you. He fought it out of his lungs, but it left him paralyzed from the neck down.

Glen told me the disorder made him appreciate what’s important in life. He’s not concerned by little stuff anymore. He just wants a chance to make memories.

The other day while shooting the breeze about our favourite NFL franchises, Gabel let it slip that he’s learning to walk again.

He’s up to crawling fifty feet at a time and taking his first steps with an apparatus, which was astonishing because he’d just finished telling me that they had to feed him like a baby for the first three months. He didn’t know what he’d have done without his family.

Gabel told me he’s going to spend time with his granddaughter. He’s going to take mom to their favourite restaurant. He’s going to get out to Bashaw to golf with my old man when he gets out of there. He still loves cows, but it’s people that a person can’t live without, he said.

And that, ladies and gentleman, is how I know Glen Gabel is a true Cowboy. It’s the perseverance, toughness, and most importantly, those values.

On Saturday, November 24, as International walked into the Agribition Supreme Championship for the last time, two years from the week Glen walked into our lives, we said a prayer for this magnificent individual’s miraculous recovery and thanked the universe for bringing him into our lives.

God Bless You, Cowboy, you’re an inspiration to us all.

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Ellen Crane is the new extension co-ordinator for the Beef Cattle Research Council. In her new role she helps co-ordinate the development, maintenance and utilization of various extension resources, including the BCRC’s webinars, blog articles, and other content on BeefResearch.ca. She started with BCRC last month after spending six weeks in Japan as part of her Nuffield Scholarship study. She graduated with a master’s of science in animal science at Dalhousie University and worked at the Maritime Beef Council on a new growth strategy for beef production in the region. She is a local 4-H leader, a graduate of the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders Program, and a 2018 Nuffield Scholar. Her family raises cattle on Prince Edward Island.

Whitney de Decker of Roslin, Ont., is the new business manager of the Canadian Speckle Park Association. She replaces Rod Remin who installed a new performance program for the breed during his eight years as manager. de Decker and her husband raise Speckle Park and Simmental cattle on their farm in Roslin, Ont.

Starting in January Laura Ecklund, who has been running the registry/membership duties at the Canadian Limousin Association will step up as interim general manager for a year while general manager Tessa Verbeek is on maternity leave. Ecklund also acts as the co-ordinator for the junior Limousin Association so it’s no surprise the breed is seeking an office manager on a one-year contract who will also take on the role of registry/member assistant. Ecklund grew up on a Limousin operation in Ontario and was a member of the Ontario Junior Limousin Association before moving to Alberta 10 years ago to pursue an agribusiness degree at Olds College. She and her husband and daughter now reside in Olds.

Elanco Canada honoured Dr. Gordon Atkins last month with the first-ever Dr. Brian MacNaughton Memorial Award in recognition of his many contributions to veterinary medicine in Canada. Raised on a dairy farm in Alberta, Dr. Atkins received his doctor of veterinary medicine degree from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon in 1973. Since graduation he has been practising and teaching veterinary medicine in the Calgary area, with a primary focus on dairy cattle.

Dr. Atkins served on the founding committee of the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners and was named a Life Member in 2016.

This award is in memory of Dr. Brian MacNaughton, a bovine veterinarian from Ontario, who had the vision of a national bovine veterinary organization that would represent the interests of bovine veterinarians in matters of a national scope.

Aaron Fowler is the new director general of the Trade Agreements and Negotiations Directorate (TAND) and chief agriculture negotiator. Before joining Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Fowler was a member of the executive team at Global Affairs Canada, where he notably served as the co-lead in the NAFTA negotiations on goods and led on energy negotiations.

Emily Jenkins, a veterinary microbiologist in the University of Saskatchewan Western College of Veterinary Medicine was awarded a Discovery grant of $200,000 (and a northern research supplement of $105,000) over five years from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) to investigate the spread of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite within wildlife in Northern Canada. In addition to addressing community concerns about food safety, wildlife conservation and management, Jenkins aims to better understand and predict the effects of climate change on the parasite. Toxoplasma can cause neurological, reproductive, and eye disease in humans.

Graduate student Jacqueline Toews in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources received a grant of $17,500 to research the efficacy of grazing cattle on mixed crop (polycrop) swaths to mitigate greenhouse gases (GHG) produced by the livestock industry.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada will provide up to $5 million for a Wildfires Recovery Initiative in British Columbia. The money is available to reimburse some of what ranchers spent to provide feed, shelter or transporting cattle to safer areas, actions taken to ensure the health of their herd and steps taken to re-establish perennial crop and pasture lost to the fires.

Lakeland College became the first post-secondary institution in Alberta to attain Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) certification last month. “This certification proves to our consumer that what we are doing is right and in the best interest of the animals,” said Bevin Hamilton, instructor and staff adviser to the commercial beef unit. The certification also opens Lakeland’s access to markets for all of the beef sold off the farm. Approximately 220 student-managed beef cattle fall under the VBP+ certification.

University of Saskatchewan (U of S) Distinguished Research Chair Dr. Jim Dosman — the “father of agricultural medicine in Canada” — was among six Canadians named today to the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame last month for his contributions to protecting the health of agricultural workers and farmers.

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