Canadian Angus Association Staff
Doug Fee
Chief Executive Officer
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Michael Latimer
Assistant General Manager
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Alan Yuen
Office Manager
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Joanelle Fuellbrandt
Receptionist
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Kajal Devani
Breed Development
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Cheryl Hazenberg
Canadian Angus Rancher Endorsed Tag Program
Co-ordinator
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Sharmayne Byrgesen
Registrar
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Shirley Anderson
Assistant Registrar
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Karen Hayes
Assistant Registrar
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Tina Zakowsky
Member Communications
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Brian Good
Commercial Fieldman
(403) 391-4037
Wayne Gallup
Eastern Fieldman
(Quebec & Maritimes)
(819) 826-3026
Wendy Newton
Educational Support
(403) 668-5251
Announcements
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All members in good standing were mailed five bylaw amendments to vote on. Your completed ballot must be returned by May 1.
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Congratulations to:
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Chelsey Carruthers, whose study of genetic variation within Angus animals from different countries has been published in the Canadian Journal of Animal Science. Chelsea first presented this at the World Angus Forum in 2009. She is now employed as a Livestock Specialist in Watrous, Saskatchewan.
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The schedule and registration form for the 2011 Annual General Meeting are now available. The rooms will be released after May 8, and space is limited for the banquet, so please register soon to avoid disappointment!
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Thanks to everyone who attended the recent information seminars in Ontario and Quebec, and to all those who showed Kajal such great hospitality. Read Kajal's summary on our blog.
We are running another online auction in support of the Canadian Angus Foundation. There is one package of four embryos available:
Donor dam: Black Princess 8796 Eraline
Service sire: Black Prince 10789 Argentino
Go to the auction now to sign up and place your bid. Bidding closes at 8:00 p.m. MDT on May 31.
Attention Canadian Angus Performance Program members! The deadline for performance data to be included in the Fall 2011 National Cattle Evaluation is May 10, 2011. If you need worksheets or have questions, please contact Kajal by email or at 1-888-571-3580.
Please remember that the fee schedule has changed but you can still register calves under 4 months of age at the old rate.
Registration costs:
0 – 4 months: $15
4 – 7 months: $25
7 – 12 months: $50
Over 12 months: $100
Electronic Registration Incentive
The Board of Directors is once again offering an incentive for members who register their animals online or use HerdMaster. Submit your registrations online or via HerdMaster for Spring 2011-born calves on or before July 15, 2011, and the price will be $15 per calf regardless of age. This incentive can offer a bit more time to get the animal records submitted.
To be set up as an authorized user, please complete form CAAFORM21-Electronic Registration Agreement and fax it to (403) 571-3599. To learn more about HerdMaster, the on-farm software program that is compatible with our registry, please contact HerdMaster Canada.
Are you in the Producer Database? For only $25 per year, Canadian Angus Association members can join the Angus Marketplace at www.angusmarket.com. It only takes a few minutes to sign up—just enter your contact information, an optional description of your operation, and choose the categories that describe you. Potential buyers will be able to find you by searching the database for the producers who can best meet their needs.
If you have questions or need help signing up, please contact Tina by email or at 1-888-571-3580.
The Canadian Angus Association offers free electronic storage of registration certificates. A registration certificate that is electronically stored is available to be printed at any time, and there are no fees applied to either store it electronically or to have it printed upon request.
If you wish to have registration certificates that you have in your possession electronically stored, please bundle them up and mail them to us with a request for electronic storage. This service will be provided free of charge until June 1, 2011.
To maximize retention and avoid extra costs associated with lost tags, consider the following:
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Always follow manufacturer’s instructions when applying tags
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Angus RFID and dangle tags are Allflex tags and require an Allflex red or green applicator for proper application
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Angus A-tags require an Allflex A-Tag applicator or a Zee-tag applicator
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Remember to remove the black clip from the Total Tagger when applying RFID tags and to reinsert it when applying management tags
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Avoid mixing components when tagging; both pieces of a tag should be removed from the same bag/box
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Ensure proper placement of the tag to allow for easier readability of the tags and improve retention
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Always cut twine off bales; this is the most common reason for poor tag retention
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Utilize proper parasite/lice head health treatments to prevent unnecessary scratching against fence posts and feeders
For further information, contact Cheryl by email or at 1-888-571-3580.
The Registry Department awards breeders who submit complete and legible paperwork with a Gold Star Award. Electronic users are also eligible to receive a Gold Star Award.
If you are on the Canadian Angus Performance Program, we are looking for complete accounting of the Herd Inventory as well as legible paperwork. If you are not on the Canadian Angus Performance Program, please provide disposal codes for any cows that are to be removed from future inventories, as well as provide records for each calf you want to register. If your paperwork is neat and tidy, you will be rewarded with a Gold Star.
So far, for April 2011 we have awarded the following herds a Gold Star:
C-Jay Ranch (Houston, BC)
Jordan Sies (Melville, SK)
Durward Land & Cattle Ltd. (Nanton, AB)
Gordon C Roger (Balgonie, SK)
Cam and Esther Morgan (Saltcoats, SK)
Ronald Storey (Rockwood, ON)
Congratulations, and thank you for providing error-free, legible paperwork.
Please contact the Registry Department if you require assistance with your Canadian Angus paperwork.
The following opportunities are available to Juniors:
The Robert C. McHaffie Junior Ambassador Competition recognizes an outstanding junior Angus member who can ably demonstrate an ability to promote the Angus breed on a national and international level.
Application deadline: April 29
US Exchange Program:
AJAA LEAD Conference August 4–7, St. Louis, Missouri
JRAAA Round-Up June 21–26, Kansas
Application deadline: May 10
Showdown 2011 July 21–23
Early entry deadline: June 1
Late entry deadline: June 20
Application deadline: June 15
Canadian Angus EPDs are calculated in conjunction with American EPDs, so they are directly comparable. Canadian Black Angus EPDs are comparable to American Black Angus EPDs, and the same for Red Angus in North America. This should be very useful for expanding your market into the US as there is much interest for Canadian genetics lately. Please contact Kajal if you have any questions.
If you sold bulls this spring, be sure to apply for the transfer as soon as possible after the sale to take advantage of the lowest rate:
Animal Transfers - <60 days after sale: $12
Animal Transfers - >60days after sale: $24
A number of electronic users also receive paper copies of reports. Please help us reduce paper waste and mailing costs by emailing us and asking us to stop sending you printed copies of reports. As a token of our appreciation, everyone who sends an email by May 15 will have their name entered into a draw for an Angus prize.
Q: How can you fairly compare animals that are raised in different conditions and fed differently?
A. Two Angus animals raised in different conditions, fed differently, at a different age on the date of weighing, cannot be fairly compared to each other using their raw yearling weights. EPDs are calculated from weights that are adjusted to 365 days of age. In addition, EPDs remove the environmental variables, like feed and weather, so that animals that are raised in different environments, with different opportunities to grow, can be fairly compared to each other.
For more information about how EPDs are calculated to remove the environmental effects and describe only the genetic potential of Angus animals, contact Kajal or register for the next free online EPD 101 workshop.
Group Benefit Program for Canadian Angus Association Members
The Canadian Angus Association is pleased to support a group insurance program for members and their families and dependents. For more information, visit the RanchPlan website.
Hello HerdMaster Users,
Busy, busy, busy time. Calves are on the ground, bull sales are winding up, and the process starts all over again. It is time to use your HerdMaster to assist you with your sire selection. Just a couple things you may want to consider:
NEED NEW SIRE INFORMATION: Have you purchased a new herd sire or chosen to use some exciting new semen? Email me the registration numbers and I will create the import files to bring the sire into your system.
SEMEN AND EMBRYO INVENTORY – use HerdMaster to keep your semen and embryo inventory.
MATING PREDICTION – Run the mating predictor to assist you in the sire selection. Estimated resulting EPDs are calculated by choosing a group of dams mating to different sires. Alternatively you may choose a group of sires mated to a dam.
RECORD YOUR MATINGS – Now is the time to put in the AI, Exposure, or Observed breeding. Enter all matings to each dam so that when the resulting calf hits the ground next spring you will have a record of all matings instead on a barn sheet, little book, piece of paper record keeping system.
For assistance on any one of these options, don’t hesitate to give me a call.
Wendy Newton
403-668-5251