March 2024

Ontario Angus is hosting Convention 2024 in Toronto. Registration will launch soon, but demand is high for hotel rooms at the Convention 2024 host hotel in Toronto and we recommend booking your rooms as soon as possible if you plan to attend.

Ontario Angus is offering two full days of tours to CAA Convention attendees. Thursday, June 6 will start with a tour of the Elora Beef research station, tour and social time at Walkerbrae Farms, and will end with dinner at Sleeman Brewery in Guelph. Friday tour stops include Kawartha Ethanol Plant and Darrell Drains feedlot. The day will end at Whiskey Lane Livestock where local members will have the opportunity to display their cattle and the second annual Verified Angus BBQ Competition will take place.

On Saturday, June 8, the Convention banquet at our host hotel will feature member recognition including the presentation of 50- and 75-year long-term recognition awards and the second inductee into the Canadian Angus Hall of Fame. The event will wrap up with the Canadian Angus Foundation’s major fundraiser, Building The Legacy 12.

The host hotel is the Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel & Suites.

Click here to book your room(s) at the Canadian Angus Association Conference June 2024 group rate
CAA Convention rate: $219 per night
Start date: Wednesday, June 5, 2024
End Date: Sunday June 9, 2024
Last Day to Book: Thursday, May 9, 2024

A celebration of life will be held for CAA Past President (2008) Bob Switzer at the Sandy Bar Ranch on Saturday, April 20 at 11:00 a.m. with the annual bull sale to follow at 1:00 p.m.

You can view the sale catalogue with tributes to Bob at https://issuu.com/shanecastle/docs/2024_short_grass_bull_female_sale?fbclid=IwAR2N6DHCaYCiLM-5va2erbRZbAAmpOBiJxCBLu9Q7-bjPeDu9_hVks6HXQY

At Convention 2023, the Canadian Angus Association honoured Brian Good as the first inductee into our new Canadian Angus Hall of Fame. Designed to recognize members who have made significant contributions to the Angus breed in Canada, we are excited to honour a second inductee this year.

Nominations will be accepted until March 31, 2024 and one nominee will be inducted at the annual national convention. Any individual, family or business that has impacted the growth of the Angus breed in a variety of ways will be considered.

For more information and to view the full nomination process, click here.

If you are exporting animals to the USA, please notify [email protected] that DNA test results need to be sent to American Angus Association (AAA) or Red Angus Association of America (RAAA). If we are not aware of your intentions, we have no way to know that the results should be shared.

You will need to notify either AAA or RAAA of your intention to export.

For animals that will be imported by either AAA, animals need to be set up for Angus GS, all genetic conditions, and coat colour tests and a portion of the sample needs to be sent to AAA.

For animals that will be imported by RAAA, we will send all results we have on file (parent verification, genetic condition test results and/or coat colour) for each animal.

For support, please contact the member service team at [email protected] or 1-888-403-571-3580.

In 1998, the Canadian Angus Association introduced a program to recognize individuals and farm operations who have been Canadian Angus Association members for 50 consecutive years. The program expanded in 2011 to also recognize 75 years and 100 years of continuous membership. Awards are presented in the year in which the member purchases their 50^th, 75^th or 100^th consecutive membership so this year we will recognize members who joined CAA in 1975, 1950 and 1925. We do our best not to miss anyone but sometimes our information is incomplete, especially when there have been inter-generational transfers. Your Canadian Angus Association staff are in the process of reaching out to this year’s potential honourees. If your family is celebrating a recognized milestone this year and has maintained a continuous membership (including inter-generational transfer) please contact [email protected] or call 403-571-3584 to discuss your eligibility.

If you raise bulls, you may be surprised to learn that there is a good chance that you are supplementing their feed at the wrong time. We often put feed into bulls from weaning to yearling to ensure they look their best for bull sales. However, studies show that nutrition between birth and weaning has a significant impact on successful testes development and fertility because testes development actually takes place from birth to weaning. These research studies showed that underfeeding bulls early in life can cause irreversible damage to their testicular development. Breeders may therefore want to consider an earlier nutrition supplementation window, prior to 25 weeks of age.

Please click here to read the full article by John Kastelic DVM, PhD and Juan Hernandez-Medrano DVM, PhD, University of Calgary, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

The Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) is asking all Canadian cow-calf producers to share insight into their on-farm management practices and production methods. BCRC has reached out to us to facilitate increased participation from Canadian Angus producers. Results of the 2023-24 Canadian Cow-Calf Survey will influence how the BCRC prioritizes research and extension strategies that are funded by the research allocation of your Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off. The survey happens once every five years.

The more responses the BCRC gets, the better decisions they can make to meet the needs of different types of herds and operations in various regions.

Click here to start now

It will take approximately 30-60 minutes to complete the questions, which relate to your 2023 calf crop, starting with breeding in Summer 2022 and ending with weaning in Fall 2023. To preview the questions before completing the survey online, download a PDF of them here.

Credible information is needed directly from producers to help the BCRC identify research priorities and information gaps, develop provincial benchmarks and examine long-term changes that impact producers.

As a small token of appreciation for your time, the next 50 producers to answer all the questions are eligible to receive a BCRC toque and a pair of cotton gloves.

Individuals’ identity and information will remain anonymous and in the strictest of confidence. Information will be pooled with other respondents before being published in aggregate. Information collected will be subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Canadian Angus members, don’t forget that bulls sold as purebred must be transferred into the name of the buyer within six months of the date of sale.  The transfer fee increases after 30 days for member-to-member transfers and after 90 days for member-to-commercial producer transfers (see fee schedule for rates).

Remember to transfer the registration certificate whenever you sell an Angus bull.

The Canadian Angus Association office will be closed on Friday, March 29 and Monday, April 1 for Good Friday and Easter Monday. Staff will respond to inquiries on Tuesday, April 2, and any work submitted for processing will be added to the work queue in the order it was received.

Registration is now open for Showdown 2024 in Grassie, Ontario, July 18-20! Go to www.cdnangus.ca/canadian-junior-angus/showdown to complete the entry form, view the rules and regulations, and apply for Showdown Travel & Trucking Bursaries.

CJA members, check out the Certified Angus Beef Colvin Scholarship Awards and apply by April 30!

Certified Angus Beef plans to award $100,000 USD in scholarships this year, the most they have ever distributed in any given year. Eligibility has been opened up to Canadian students with interests aligned with those of the scholarship fund.

If you are a student interested in improving the agricultural industry, apply for one of the following scholarships:

• Colvin Production Agriculture Scholarship: career goal to go into production agriculture (working on a farm, ranch or feed yard).
• Colvin Undergraduate Scholarship: career goal to work in meat science, agricultural marketing or communications, agribusiness, other allied industry or continued education.
• Colvin Graduate Scholarship: career goal in industry research and higher education.

The top scholarship award for each category includes $7,500, with additional scholarships awarded. For more information, go to www.certifiedangusbeef.com/press/colvin/index.php

Do you know a young breeder that’s doing a great job? Nominate them for the Outstanding Young Angus Breeder and Junior Stockman awards presented by the Canadian Angus Foundation. Visit www.cdnangus.ca/foundation/scholarships-bursaries-and-awards for details. Need some inspiration for your nomination? Check out the profiles on last year’s winners, Outstanding Young Angus Breeder Chad and Becky Lorenz and Junior Stockman Cache McLerie on pages 156 and 158 of Angus Life magazine.

When you donate 15% of an animal from your 2024 sale, the Canadian Angus Foundation will further our mission and the breed. Please contact Belinda Wagner, Canadian Angus Foundation Executive Director at [email protected] or (306) 537-1518 for more information. Thank you to all the generous donors who have supported this initiative.