International Women's Day

It's seems like the media can come up with a day to celebrate for most everything.  But once in a while they declare one that is really important.  Now I'm not saying that there shouldn't be a day to recognize and celebrate the men in our lives but I do embrace the celebration of Women around the world.

When I think of today and the important women that have been in my life and that currently are, I  think of strong, independent, high energy, creative, hard working, multi-tasking, fun loving, caring individuals.  I am so happy that I get to live in a country where women are able to be all of these things and more.

We may not have accomplished all of the things that we have set out to do.  But I think that we all  make a difference each and every day in our homes, our communities and the lives of our family and friends.  We all have a different way of doing it but it makes a great impact on everyone around us.  Take a moment to celebrate yourself and the women in your life today.  Cheers!

Representing You

Our family has always believed that you need to give back in some way to the organizations that you belong to or just your community in general. We both grew up in families where our parents volunteered. All of them were 4-H leaders and helped on local community committees when time permitted. My dad (Chuck) has probably volunteered the most with over 35 years with the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede and numerous other organizations.

In our own family Rob has been on the Red Angus Promotion Society, a 4H project leader and the President of the Alberta Simmental Association. Both Crystal and Stacy were on the AYCS - junior Simmental board of directors and Stacy was the National YCS President.

  I was recently elected to the Canadian Simmental Association. Our first board meeting is on March 16 & 17 in Calgary. Most board of directors meet in the spring. I encourage anyone that belongs to an association of any kind to contact their directors and let them know what they need from their association. It shouldn't just be a handful of people making decisions that affect how you conduct your business or how the association that belongs to all of the members is operated. If we don't hear from the membership then all we can do is use our best judgement when making plans.

Back row: Barb Judd, Kelly Ashworth, Randy Mader, John Sullivan, Fraser Redpath, Bruce Holmquist

Front row: Lacey Fisher, Kara Enright, Ron Nolan, Judy Sweet, Deanne Young

The Canadian Simmental Association has nine members of their board of directors.  Contact one of them before the next meeting and let them know what you need from your association in order to sell more Simmental genetics and acquire more of the market share.

President		Ron Nolan Markdale, ON	Phone: (519) 986-2450 Email: rnolan@hatch.ca
First Vice-President		Fraser Redpath Mather, MB	Phone: (204) 529-2560 Email: redsim@xplornet.com
Second Vice-President		Randy Mader Carstairs, AB	Phone: (403) 337-2928 Email: rrmader@xplornet.com
	DIRECTORS
	John Sullivan Kazabazua, PQ		Phone: (819) 467-2713 Email: Sullivan.simmentals@bell.net
	Judy Sweet Drayton Valley, AB		Phone: (780) 542-2634 Email: judsweet@telus.net
	Lacey Fisher Amherst, NS		Phone: (902) 661-0766 Email: timberwoodfarms@seasidehighspeed.com
	Kara Enright Tweed, ON		Phone: (613) 478-3404 Email: kara_langevin@hotmail.com
	Deanne Young Breton, AB		Phone/Fax: (780) 696-3643 Email: bfcss@telus.net
	Kelly Ashworth Oungre, SK		Phone: (306) 456-2749 Email: jashworth@sasktel.net

Customer Service

This past week I had the opportunity to attend the Alberta Gift Show.  This is an invitation only trade show for business people to buy the stock for their retail businesses.  My very creative cousins Kim Mathews and Heather Saucier own a company called Baby Cakes.  They make baby gifts out of baby wash clothes, diapers and baby sock to look like a cupcake and packaged in a pastry box. 

When we were packing up from the show we noticed that there was a low tire on the Hummer (Kim's wheels).  Heather thought maybe it wasn't that low and could make it to Olds.  I convinced her to at least put some air in it.

Now I don't usually promote one company over another, because I think people should make their own choices.  Just like Beef,

I don't care if you eat local, organic, natural just as long as Beef is one of your protein choices.  Anyways I convinced Heather to stop at Kal Tire to put air in the tire.

 Upon looking at the tire we were told that it was actually flat.  Apparently the tires on Hummers don't do completely flat like regular tires, but there was no pressure in the tire.  This meant that we had to unhook the trailer, fix the tire and re hook before heading south.

The staff at the tire shop offered to do all of this for us while we went next door and had supper. 40 minutes later we came back to pay the bill.  The total amount was.......FREE, No Charge.  Apparently it is their company policy to not charge for repair of tires on personal vehicles.  Wow, I didn't think anyone did anything for free anymore.  We both commented on this policy and said that we would buy our next set of tires from Kaltire.  The manager said that was the whole idea behind the policy.

It just goes to show you that if you offer good customer service, you will become the choice of preference for the consumer and probably tell others.  Poor customer service and you won't go back and you certainly won't recommend that business to anyone else.

Thanks Kal Tire guys and we were glad that the young man helping us got to drive his first Hummer while helping us re hook the trailer!

Can we get that in writing

I can across this article regarding the outlook for Canadian Farmers.

OTTAWA — Government projections suggest almost all Canadian farmers can look forward to good times for up to the next 10 years.
Agriculture Canada says by almost any measure, average farm income set new records in 2011.
This year, total family income is forecast to be 27 per cent above the last five-year average. And the department projects that the same factors that led to last year's prosperous harvest will remain stable for the next decade.    Receipts from cereal and oilseed crops did the best, but livestock prices are also rebounding and producers are rebuilding herds.
Agriculture Canada says reasons for the favourable outlook are increasing worldwide demand for feed grains, high oil prices, moderate Canadian population growth and a Canadian dollar close to par with the U.S. greenback.

I recently spoke with a friend in Saskatchewan that sold their May born steer calves.  Their take home pay was close to $1250 / steer.  The bull sales that have already finished have been fantastic.  Congratulations to Kopp Farms, Manitoba on their sale yesterday that averaged over $6200 on close to 100 Simmental bulls. 
Let's enjoy these prosperous times.  It's been a long time coming.

Most Stressful Day of the Year.

We all have some stress in our lives.  Those that raise crops and livestock have many factors that are out of their control.  Market fluctuation, and weather are two of the big ones.  But as a cattle producer there seems to be one day that adds even a bit more stress - Semen testing of the bull pen.

We spend over a year raising these bulls to develop them for breeding stock.  If they make the bull pen there are the extra costs of feed, registrations, time, promotion, and semen testing.

Bull pen in the fall

So you can see why the stress level goes way up on the day of testing.  In a moment you can be told the bull that you thought might be one of your higher sellers has just had his value decreased considerably and you still have all of the extra management costs into him.

We have sold a few bulls off of the farm and we have 6 that are consigned to the Red Deer Bull Sale on Monday March 19.  They were checked in for their semen tests last week.  The verdict was.......They All Passed! 

All of the bulls had excellent mobility scores and they measured up very well, ranging from 36 - 39 cm.

Now we can breath a little easier and spend our energy on getting them ready for sale day.  Watch for pictures of our consignments.  5 sons of IPU Revolution and 1 Black Joker son.

What Do You Love?

February 14th, a day that you either love or dread.  I am the gift giver in our family.  Yes I have spoiled our girls over the years and now that they are adults, they still get little gifts here and there.  Last year Crystal was surprised with "Cow Cookies". 

Yes our holidays usually still involve cows, because that is what we really do love.  Our cows are a real part of our family.


I heard of a really great gift this morning on our local radio station.

Tender-Loins, from ACME Meats.

They are a local butcher supplying customers with quality, fresh, custom cut meats for over 90 years! They carry locally raised beef, pork, poultry, lamb and more. With an assortment of sausages that are made fresh in-store and are available fresh on Fridays and Saturdays, an assortment of deli meats, cheeses, jerky and pepperoni, there is something for everyone.  They can custom cut any size order to your specifications. If we don't have it in stock, just ask. If it's meat, we can do it. Eat Fresh, Eat Local, Eat ACME. I think these steaks would be better than over priced flowers. It is hard to beat chocolate though. I think the best part of Valentine's Day is that it makes people  think about the things they really LOVE.  These are a few things that would make our list: Our daughters and the men in their lives that make them happy. Our family Being in Agriculture Living in Canada Ours cows That the work we do each day makes a difference to the World. Wine ( Dee not Rob) Each other. I hope that everyone can find someone or something in their life to LOVE today.

What's In A Name

There are lots of weird "holiday" around the world and apparently today is "Change Your Name Day".  This is the day that if you really don't like the name that you were given, you have the opportunity to change it a no cost.  Although I think the opportunity to change your name is there everyday, someone thought we needed to have a specific day for it.

When we didn't have a son
We named our dog Kurt

When our daughters were born we like most parents to be had a list of potential names.  There were 3 girls names each time and only one boy's name.  If we had had a son - his name would have been Kurtis Robert.  I insisted on it being spelt with a "K" as I did not want our son to have the initials CRY. 

Crystal just seemed to fit her more than Ashley or Amber.  Stacy was chosen from Jodi and Carli. 

We often joke that we have spent more time over the years thinking of names for our purebred Simmental cattle than we did naming our children.  When that special bull calf or potential donor female is born, the hunt is on to pick the right name.

I think our girls are just glad that we didn't get to creative with their names like some of these parents did.

• Popcorn
• Salt & Pepper - twins
• Colt 44
• Ryan Coke