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CSA website|
Contact Us |
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CSA ANNUAL GENERAL
MEETING |
The CSA Annual General Meeting will
be held in Sun Peaks, BC on August 1
- 2, 2009. Mark your calendar and plan to join the CSA for
two days of socializing with fellow breeders and celebrating
Simmental. Plans for these two days are underway, some
suggestions to consider are:
Friday July 31st
For those wanting to arrive early and take in a little
more, there are Kids Adventure camps happening Friday the
31st. We will also be at Sun Peaks during the Alpine Blossom
Season. Please check out the
Events Calendar for Sun Peaks, and have a look at the
photo gallery for the amazing sites.
Saturday August 1st
Golf and BBQ at Mitchell
Cattle Co. Golf registrations will be at 1:30 with golfing starting at 2:00pm.
To reserve a space for golf and/or BBQ please phone or email
Ian and Anja, tel: (250) 672-9309, email:
ian@mitchellcattle.com
Directions:
To
Sun Peaks from Kamloops:
Travel 20km north of
Kamloops on HWY #5 and take Sun Peaks Resort Exit at Heffley
Creek. Continue for 35km to Sun Peaks Resort.
To Mitchell Cattle Co. and Chinook Cove
Golf from Kamloops:
Travel 66km north of Kamloops on
HWY #5, stay on HWY #5 through Barriere, cross two Bridges and
1km after the 2nd bridge (North Thompson Bridge) on the right
side you will see our sign by the driveway. Chinook Cove
Golf is 1km further on the left.
It takes approx. 50 min to
get from Kamloops to Mitchell’s and the same from Mitchell’s
to Sun Peaks.
Sunday August
2nd
CSA AGM
BC Family Day Celebrations Continue
Blossom Season
Sun Peak Farmers Market happens today
There are more activities for those interested in hiking,
golfing, mountain biking and touring through the alpine by
chair lift on the website under
Events and Activities.
Please contact the
Delta Sun Peaks Resort to book your rooms.
Kasey Nishimura
(Tonn), Sales Manager
(604) 941-5852 direct phone
(604)
941-5292 fax
ktonn@deltahotels.com
www.deltasunpeaksresort.com
More details regarding the AGM will be
available soon. |
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CSA BOARD OF
DIRECTOR NOMINATIONS |
At this years CSA AGM the terms for three of our Board of
Directors are coming to an end. The CSA is looking for
nominations to fill these positions. By becoming a CSA Board
of Director, you will be working with other directors towards
the common goal of advancing the Simmental breed in Canada for
the benefit of us all. If you are interested, or know of
someone who would be interested, please forward your
nomination to the Chairman of the Nomination Committee, Dr.
Murray Jacobson. Any nominations should be sent to Box
5, Shaughnessy, AB T0K 2A0, Phone: 403-330-9666 (C) •
403-381-4609 (W) E-mail:
janchor@la.shockware.com
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BREED IMPROVEMENT
INFORMATION |
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The last several
months have been extremely busy for CSA genetic improvement
programs. The following covers many of the topics of
discussion at the recent Breed Improvemetn Committee meetings
held in April.
BIC Committee
Members: Rick McIntyre (Chair), Stewart
Ainsworth, Fraser Redpath, David Erixon, Ian Mitchell, Reanne
Sanford, Ron Nolan, Dan Skeels, Everett Hall.
Genetic
Evaluation: The genetic evaluation was
conducted by AGI in November/ December. Their service was
fast, accurate and professional. As part of the change to the
evaluation extensive work was done on support materials and
also several changes to the computer system were made to
enable EPD loads. Percentile tables and basic statistics were
all updated.
Currently work is being conducted to
include the scrotal EPD in the suite of traits regularly
evaluated by AGI.
Sire Summary: The
Sire Summary was updated and introductory materials developed
to support the new genetic evaluation. The new Sire Summary
was made available in early January.
Extension and
Education: Regular articles have been
published in the Country, as well as the e-news. Topics have
covered deadlines, ultrasound, data collection and the new
genetic evaluation. Regular administrative type updates have
also been provided for the regular support materials such as
those that accompany THE forms.
Support materials for the
evaluation have also been posted on the website, circulated
via e-news and been featured in the Country.
Member
Support: Direct member support has been
a key component of breed improvement over the last few months.
Member support has ranged from a presentation at the Annual
Meeting to answering member queries regarding performance
programs, ultrasound and/or carcass data. A lot of the support
has centred on investigating and answering questions regarding
the use and interpretation of the new genetic evaluation. In
all cases investigated the data submitted by CSA members has
strongly supported the resulting EPD.
Data
Collection: Follow up to the 2007-09
progeny test has been ongoing and we are still waiting for
weaning results from some herds so that we can provide a bull
owner update. Further carcass and rib samples were
collected on 160 head in mid-December. This dataset will be
used in the genetic evaluation and is also being used in the
detection and development of SNP markers. The data contains
information on growth and carcass traits and also on
tenderness, cooking loss, protein and fat content and drip
loss on the samples.
Garth Sweet
Research Project: A research grant
application has been reviewed and submitted to NSERC for
funding. Dr. Steve Miller at the University of Guelph is
taking the lead on this project and it represents an exciting
opportunity to investigate Simmental genetics and develop
tools for application of new technologies in the Simmental
breed and across the commercial industry. Simmental
calves from 2008 are currently on feed in Ontario in a feed
efficiency facility, and DNA and rib samples have been
collected and analysed on another large group of Simmental
test cattle. These data sets will help to jump start the
research project.
Cow Herd DNA
Program: A reminder that
while the program is closed the samples must be received by
Genserve no later than May 31st.
GenServe Laboratories™
c/o Saskatchewan Research Council
125 – 15 Innovation Blvd.
Saskatoon, SK S7N 2X8.
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REGISTRY INFORMATION |
Genetic Evaluation Deadline
for Total Herd Enrollment (THE) herds:
In order for data to be included in CSA
genetic EPD evaluations, it must be received by the CSA office
no later than JUNE 1st for the Fall Evaluation and NOVEMBER
1st for the Spring Evaluation!!!.
Non-THE/Online
- Registry Option Temporarily Disabled:
Please be advised that the “Registry”
option for the Non-THE participants is not operational as of
yet. Our IT department is diligently working on repairing this
problem. In the interim, if there are any animals you need
registered, please email
cansim@simmental.com so we can email you the Template to
submit the registration details. We can then manually register
them for you. Thank you for your patience and co-operation.
THE/Online - Request for Buyer Information:
If there are any Online participants
that have animals being held under – My Herd, My Held Papers
Transfer or Print; please be advised that the option to submit
a buyers name, address, city & postal code is temporarily
being worked on by our IT department. In the interim, we would
ask that you email this information directly to Perry or Beth.
Or, use the
cansim@simmental.com email address. We will then lookup
the CSA # and reply to your email so you can continue with
transferring the held animal using your Online system. |
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YCSA NEWS |
2010 YCSA Calendar
The
2010 YCSA calendar will be featured at the Canadian
Simmental Association Annual General Meeting in British
Columbia this summer. All thirteen full size pages will be auctioned off
at the event and all proceeds will go to the Young Canadian
Simmental Association. The YCSA will also be selling business
card ads and individual dates in the calendar. Don’t miss your opportunity for some
great advertisement as the calendars will be mailed out
along with the Simmental Country in November. Contact
one of the YCSA
board members to save your spot in the calendar.
YCSA Events
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The 2009 Young Canadian Simmental Association National Classic
will be held this
year in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
This event is open to all YCSA members and will feature events
such as conformation and showmanship classes, oral judging
classes, herdsman and sire summary quizzes and a whole lot of
getting know great friends from across the country. Feel free
to contact Jenna
Holmquist (306-864-2276) or
Emily Grey
(819-875-3205) for further information.
• The Salt
Water Classic in Truro, Nova Scotia is tentatively planned for
the last Saturday in July. Feel free to contact
Jennie Palmer
(902-370-2137) for further information.
• The Ontario
Trillium is tentatively planned for the month of August in
Owen Sound, Ontario. Please contact
Katie Wood
(519-821-6654) for more information regarding this event.
• In Manitoba, the “Youth Beef Round Up” has been planned
for July 31st to August 2nd in Neepawa, Manitoba. Get ready
for this all breeds youth show featuring many Young Canadian
Simmental participants.
• Alberta will be hosting their
Provincial Show in Olds this year. Mark your calendar for the
weekend of July 11th and 12th and be prepared to have a great
time. Please contact Jamie
Buba (780-962-5050) for more information regarding this
event..
New Members
If you are at all interested in becoming a YCSA member, please
contact Emily Grey
at 819-875-3205 or refer to the registration form online. |
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BEEF IMPROVEMENT FEDERATION |
BIF just finished its annual meeting in
Sacramento California. The topic of the day was the
development in the field of DNA testing and there was a lot of
discussion surrounding the use of DNA technologies in cattle
breeding. It was repeatedly stated that in order to take
advantage of the technology that data and DNA samples must be
available from the population.
Papers and presentations
from the conference are available online at:
Powerpoint
presentations:
http://www.bifconference.com/bif2009/newsroom.html
Papers:
http://www.bifconference.com/bif2009/symposium_papers.html
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T BAR INVITATIONAL GOLF TOURNAMENT |
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Plans are well underway for the second
annual T Bar Invitational Golf Tournament. The tournament will
be held on June 23 & 24, 2009 at Dakota Dunes Golf Links. Last
year the tournament raised in excess of $27,000 with $5,913.60
being donated to the National Young Canadian Simmental
Association. If you are interested in being a part of the T
Bar Invitational please contact, T Bar C Cattle Co. Ltd. at
306-933-4200.
www.tbarinvitational.com. |
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CSA MEMBERSHIP
ANNOUNCEMENTS |
Logan Matthews
Proud grandparents, Gaylene and Jack
Groeneveld, G5 Cattle Co., announce the birth of their
grandson, Logan Charles Matthews on February 12, 2009. Logan
is the son of Kim and Tim Matthews, Olds, AB.
Our
Sympathy
Our deepest sympathies go to the family
and friends of Larry Doble. Larry passed away at his
residence in Port Hope on April 17, 2009 at the age of 82.
Larry held a special place in the hearts of his children, and
will be remembered fondly by his grandchildren. Larry enjoyed
a varied career in dairy farming (Uxbridge), real estate and
development (Port Perry & Bayshore Village) and, in
retirement, breeding homozygous Simmental cattle (Breezy Brae
Simmental, Seagrave). Larry will be sadly missed by all who
knew him..
Please
send us your Membership Announcements to have them
included in the next Enewsletter. |
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SIMMENTAL COUNTRY PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST |
The Simmental Country Magazine is looking
for a Cover Shot for our Queens of the Pasture (Summer) Issue.
Photos must be emailed to
Margo Cartwright by June 15th, 2009. The
winner of the Photo Contest will receive one free page in the
Summer 2009 issue of the Simmental Country, and your winning
photo will be featured on the cover. So get our your
cameras and send us your photos.
Photos must be 8.5 x
11 at 300 dpi. All photos submitted will become the
property of the CSA. |
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SIMMENTAL
COUNTRY 2009 DEADLINES |
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Please make sure to note the
following deadlines!
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ISSUE |
DEADLINE |
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February Herdsire
Issue |
January 1st |
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March/April/May Spring
Issue |
March 1st |
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June/July/August
Queens of the Pasture Issue |
July 15th |
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October |
September 1st |
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November/December |
October 1st |
Issues for Commercial Country
are January and September. Deadlines are December 1st
for the January Issue and August 1st for the September
Issue. |
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS |
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Click
here
for complete calendar of events |
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QUOTE OF THE MONTH |
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"The real joy of life is
in its play. Play is anything we do for the joy and love of
doing it, apart from any profit, compulsion, or sense of
duty. It is the real joy of living."
... Walter Rauschbusch |
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