• Beef Improvement Information
• YCSA News
• CSA AGM Info
• Registry Information
• Cow DNA Program
• Smartag Update

• Beef Beyond Borders Symposium
• Simmental Country Deadlines
• 17th World Simmental Congress
• Calendar of Events
• Quote of the Month

Igenity Profile Update: The Igenity rebate program will be officially ending on June 30th. THE program members yearling bulls are eligible for the program. Samples not submitted by the deadline are not eligible for the rebate.

2008-2010 Progeny Test Program: The 2008 progeny test program is now accepting sires. The cost to participate is $1500 and 50 straws of Canadian qualified semen. Sires are randomly mated into commercial cowherds, and progeny are tracked from conception date through to harvest, with detailed carcass information being collected.
Producers interested in signing up a bull are encouraged to contact the CSA. Click here for more information

Genetic Defect Policy: Click here for an article on genetic defects.

Ultrasound and Carcass Rebate Program : The CSA carcass and ultrasound rebate program is continuing. Breeders who submit ultrasound records in valid contemporary groups and analysed through a UGC certified lab are eligible for the rebate. As well, CSA offers a rebate for carcass testing on feeder cattle with known parentage, and production data. Please contact the CSA for more details.

Heifer Pregnancy:  The CSA is actively encouraging members to submit pregnancy test data on females, including unregistered heifer calves. Data can be submitted on the enrolment forms or via the on-line system. There is no THE fee charged for submission of this data. Data will be used for evaluation of female fertility. Research has shown that differences in heifer pregnancy rates can have a significant effect on profitability of beef cattle enterprises, and further has shown that there is a significant genetic component to this.  As leaders in the industry, Simmental breeders are strongly encouraged to consider submitting pregnancy test data on all females exposed to breeding.

Selection Index: Information coming next month.

Smartag Update: The Smartag program has seen significant staff changes over the last several months, however the program will be continuing. To order tags, or for more information please visit www.smartagonline.com

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Genetic Evaluation Deadline:  Remember the deadline for data to the CSA office for inclusion of performance data in the Fall 2008 evaluation is June 1st. Be sure to get those calving, yearling and ultrasound records in.

Spring Calving Season - Calving Data Reminder: With the end of Spring calving season, now’s the time to complete your calving data. THE participants are encouraged to submit all birth weights, calving ease scores, cow weights, body and udder scores, etc. In order to facilitate data collection to better understand the genetics of the Simmental female, there have been some new additions to cow reporting. Please refer to the Calving Data Instructions and Performance Codes mailed with your calving data reports for complete instructions to complete reports, or call the CSA Registry department for a copy. Also important to note, herds with multiple ownership, or herds which are operated as a single unit, should submit calving information on all animals together under a single or master herd number. This does NOT affect ownership or registration requirements, however it does ensure that calves are handled correctly in the genetic evaluation and that proper credit is given to the animal’s genetic merit.

Reminder on Transferring Bulls: Simmental is once again enjoying the benefits of a strong and successful spring bull sale season! The CSA would like to remind you of the importance of transferring your bulls. A registration paper is an excellent promotional tool for Simmental genetics, plus transfers on all animals sold for breeding purposes makes statistics more accurate.

Online Instructions - to Hold, Transfer or Print Papers:  It is now possible to register an animal online and select a Hold Paper option. (on the Register Screen).
The animal will be assigned a registration number and the breeder will be billed – but the paper will not print.

Breeders can then access the list of “held papers” from their Online main web page under:

My Herd
My Held Papers Transfer or Print

From this list you can do one of 2 things:

1) Request a paper be printed
This will trigger a paper to print at a zero charge in the CSA print Run and the animal will disappear from the list.

Or, 2) Transfer the animal
If they do not know the Buyer’s CSA number for transfer they can fill in a form on the transfer screen and have the office staff provide them with the correct information. These request emails will come in via the office email account.
formation coming next month

DNA Certificates (Breeder Copies):   When your DNA samples have been processed, the lab in Saskatchewan sends us the results electronically. Our office then looks at each animal that has been tested and will advise the breeder immediately if there are any parentage problems in regards to the sampled animal.

A few weeks later the hard-copy certificates are mailed to the CSA office and we must then collate and mail the certificates to the breeder when time permits. Usually if you haven’t heard from us, your results are fine but we just haven’t had the opportunity to mail them out.
** Note: if the animal sampled is registered in our Herd book, you can do an “Animal Search” on our website and you will be able to see if there is an DNA case # assigned to the animal.

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The Canadian Beef Breeds Council will host the Beef Improvement Federation Annual Research Symposium and Annual Meeting in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. June 30 - July 3, 2008. For more information click here or visit www.canadianbeefbreeds.com

CSA is proud to be a gold sponsor!

CLICK HERE for more detailed information from Don Mackenzie, President CBBC Board of Directors and Chair of the CBBC BIF steering committee 2008

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Please make sure to note the following deadlines!

Issues for Commercial Country are January and September.  Deadlines are December 1st for the January Issue and August 1st for the September Issue.

“April is a promise that May is bound to keep."
~ Hal Borland

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