During the association’s AGM, attendees and viewers received reporting on another very successful year for the Simmental breed and the association. The association showed its appreciation to retiring director Byron Johnson for his commitment and dedication. Newly elected to the board were: 

• Leanna Mitchell, Barriere, B.C. 
• Kyle Lewis, Spruce Grove, Alta. 
• Jennie Mutch, Vernon, P.E.I., was elected as president.
• Randy Noble, Lloydminster, Sask., was elected first vice-president. 
• Ben Farrant, Lousana, Alta., was elected second vice-president. 

Continuing directors include: 

• Shane Williams, East Garafraxa, Ont. 
• Barclay Smith, Cherhill, Alta.
• Blair McIntosh, Maymont, Sask.
• Neil Carson, Rossburn, Man.
• Scott Matthews, Cookshire-Eaton, Que. 

The Canadian Simmental Association continues to see growth in the breed and the association through increased registrations and memberships, which is a result of increased interest in Simmental genetics across Canada. This contributed to another profitable year for the association while continuing to provide services without increasing fees to its members.

“It’s an exciting time to be part of the Simmental breed as we continue to celebrate the success and growth of the breed,” said Jennie Mutch, association president. “We look forward to continued growth as we work at supplying superior genetics to beef producers both in Canada and worldwide.” 

The association will move back to an in-person event for its 2025 AGM, when the Saskatchewan Simmental Association will host the Canadian Simmental Association Convention and AGM in Weyburn, Sask., July 24-27, 2025. 

A full 2024 AGM report is available at simmental.com. 

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“There’s a number of loud voices that tend to dominate the conversations,” says Ian McCreary, a grain and cattle farmer from Bladworth, Sask. McCreary is co-leading the Prairie Farmer and Rancher Forum with Gord Bacon, former CEO of Pulse Canada. Farmers for Climate Solutions is organizing the forum.

McCreary says many of the innovative farmers and ranchers aren’t talking to each other about what they’re doing to improve sustainability on their farms. The forum organizers plan to bring together 36 randomly selected producers for three meetings, held in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Each meeting will run over two-and-a-half days.

Some producers will have received invitations in the mail, but other producers from the three Prairie provinces are welcome to register as well. The more people who register, the more representative it will be of western Canadian viewpoints, McCreary says.

Producers do not need to hold any particular view on the environment or climate change to participate, but they must earn most of their income from farming or ranching, and be able to attend all three forums. Forum organizers expect to recruit people with diverse opinions.

McCreary’s wife, Mary Smiley, is facilitating the discussions, and her goal will be to set the tone “to make sure that everybody, regardless of how much their opinions differ, treat each other respectfully,” says McCreary.

Participating producers will also get a phone call before the first session to ask questions, so forum organizers can build the agenda around those questions, he adds.

“And then similarly, the agenda for the second set of meetings will be determined by the discussions and the questions that come out of the first set of meetings.”

McCreary says that to some extent they’ll be able to manage diverse views “by answering people’s questions, providing information and creating an environment where people who disagree with each other can have respectful conversations about ideas that have the potential to work for more than just individuals.”

McCreary sees a few potential outcomes from the forums. One is a report that outlines how to create a more sustainable future. Another is a network of farmers and ranchers who are trying new things, who can discuss what works and what doesn’t on their operations. He also hopes to find a practical way to measure gains in sustainability on the farm.

“You can’t measure nitrous oxide coming off your fields. You can’t measure methane coming off your cattle herd and it’s really difficult to know the volume of carbon dioxide that came from the nitrogen fertilizer that you used and that was produced.”

McCreary is no stranger to farm politics, having been a Canadian Wheat Board director for 10 years and having chaired a community pasture patrons association. Afte that, he decided to take a break from farm boards, unless it was focused on long-term sustainability or relations with First Nations.

While combining one day, he got a call from someone asking if he’d be interested in chairing a task force looking at climate solutions for the farm. At first he tried to deflect the request, but then looked into who else was involved.

The people involved weren’t interested in “screaming and sort of waving placards. They’re interested in trying to find solutions. And so I agreed to chair this task force.”

Farmers for Climate Solutions is a relatively young organization focused on the science around climate, as well as what’s practical for producers. Part of McCreary’s focus is keeping it as grounded as he could on Prairie issues, as it’s difficult for people from the Maritimes or Vancouver Island “to understand how vast the Prairies are.”

Interested producers can register online or by calling 1-833-537-1758. The registration deadline is Nov. 28. More information is available on the FCS website.

— Lisa Guenther is editor of Canadian Cattlemen.

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Fleming co-chaired the association’s in-person event at Red Deer, Alta, in early March, along with Howard Bekkering. She knows that open, honest discussion and considering the entire issue are key to making tough decisions, but it’s just as important to be fair to each other.

“When the decision is made, we move forward, and not every decision is perfect, either. We’re human. But we don’t need to be mad at the person who brings forth a different idea,” says Fleming, who runs Fleming Stock Farm with her family at Granum, Alta.

“Someone may be bringing an issue from a producer. It might not be their personal opinion, but they’ve done their due diligence by bringing it forward for their producers, and so we have to give the producer the respect,” she continues.

“It comes down to respect: respect our producers, respect each other as delegates.”

A past ABP delegate and board member, Fleming has chaired the association’s AGM several times as a third party, separate from the current delegates and staff.  

“I think of myself as Switzerland; you have to be neutral, but it’s good to have somebody who has industry knowledge and knows the team,” she says.

Fleming was among the many attendees excited to be gathering in person, and she notes that while virtual meeting options can be convenient and have their place, there’s something about connecting face-to-face that can’t be replicated online.

“You can feel somebody’s body language, you can look them eye-to-eye, you can have the side conversations, which (is where) a lot of work happens, during the break. You can pull somebody aside and say, ‘This is my perspective,’ or ‘Have you thought about this,’ or ‘We need your support on this.’”

The opportunity to get to know other stakeholders through in-person conversations allows for your passion on the issues to shine through, she says.

“It’s that human side, because you never know who’s connected to who,” says Fleming. “So if you’re having trouble getting through a door, sometimes a door can be opened just by having a conversation with somebody and getting a feel for who you are and how important it is, because maybe they don’t realize how important it is to our industry, so these side conversations are very important.”

Just as important is the opportunity for resolutions from ABP’s producer meetings to be brought to the AGM and debated. Fleming sees this as the organization’s key link to the producers, setting direction for the delegates and staff.

“The resolutions at the AGM are the connection to our grassroots,” she explains. “The directors or delegates are bringing back resolutions from the people on the ground, and so that is the stuff that is very important to get done.”

This level of communication with producers is what Fleming considers to be especially valuable about organizations such as ABP.

“We need to invest the time that it takes to run a democratic organization, and listening to our producers and connecting with our producers is vital,” she says.

This value extends to effective communication beyond the industry to advocate for beef production, something she believes is crucial to the future of the cattle business.

“If we do not get around as many tables as possible as beef producers, someone is going to be there…(filling that) void, and they’re going to make decisions on our behalf that impact us. So it is incumbent upon us to get to those tables, bring our perspective, because they don’t necessarily know our business.”

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