CANADIAN LOWLINE CATTLE ASSOCIATION June 2013 In this Issue News Houston show and sale update Memory Lane Ted Jensen Breeder Profiles Shows Tim Little Upcoming shows in Canada
Hello everyone I hope calving went well for everyone and lots of heifers were born. Sorry this newsletter is a little late but with the late spring things have been really hectic around here. Here is a photo of the last snowstorm we had in March the cattle could walk right over the 8 ft high porosity fence
NEWS Congratulations to Big Island Lowlines for winning grand champion bull and topping the sale with MRG Rusty at the Houston show and sale!!!
A trip down memory lane thanks Ted for the photo of the first lowline cow imported to Canada There was a group of people involved with the first Lowline Cattle that came into Canada. They arrived in May or June of 1996 and consisted of 5 heifers and 1cow with a heifer calf. After coming out of quarantine, the cattle went to Alta Genetics into an embryo program. There was a good turn out of people attending the grand opening of Lowline Cattle held at Alta Genetics during stampede week. The cattle were flushed for embryos, which were implanted into recipient cows. Neil Effertz of Bismarck, North Dakotaa took the female calf in July of 1996 and displayed it at fairs in the United States, The calf was returned to Canada in Nov 1996 at Agribition. The first sale of recipient cows was to Jerry Jensen of Climax Saskatchewan. At that time the cattle market in Canada was pretty tough, so most sales were to the United States. The import cows were gradually sold to individuals one by one over the next 2 to 3 years. Submitted by Ted Jansen
BREEDER PROFILES DALRAE ACRES DALRAE Acres is located in Southern Ontario just north of Bowmanville. We re so proud to be part of this opportunity to have established ourselves as one of the first hobby farms in Ontario to become breeders of Lowline Black Angus. Our 10 acre hobby farm was established in 2007 with a full blood bull, two percentage cows and has quickly grown. Currently, we now have two full blood bulls and ten female Lowline Black Angus both percentage as well as full bloods. Doesn t sound like much however our goal was to grow the breed in Ontario and we have been successful at starting 3 other farms in Ontario with Lowlines from our stock. We ve also had success with renting our bulls to other farmers. Our free range bulls have been used with Lowline breeders, Dexter breeders as well as full size heifers to test calving ability. Next up in Ontario I will be creating a yearly forum to discuss pricing, inventory and understand any insights. It s important we start out with a consistent pricing approach trying to grow the breed. We ve been successful selling full blood bulls at $2500.00 each and percentage females (3/4) on average $2000.00 each. We ve kept our full blood females so far. Although I ve not completely tested the Ontario market, in my opinion the full blood females priced >$3500.00 may be a tough sale. We have also found that the traditional farmers don t really find the Lowlines appealing however new hobby farmers including new farmers with smaller acreages appreciate the breed, their adaptability, ease of handling, land and food requirements. What? Cow treats? Our daily program is focused on providing a clean natural environment, ok, we spoil our cows. My wife Enid makes cow treats. We will be publishing the recipe on our web site soon so stay tuned. (www.dalraeacres.com) They love the treats, it s fun to have them eating from your hand. Halter training, moving them through the chute and changing fields becomes easier as well. Enid has also augmented the recipe to create homemade horse treats and dog treats. We ve had some ups and down for example helping to save a calf however all-in-all a hobby farm success.
Ah yes, some trials and tribulations on the farm; don t ask how I got this way? breeder profile submitted by Tim Lyttle
"Charity Works" Kevin, Lil Guy and Laurie leading the way in the Vernon M.S. Walk at the end of April. they were drawing attention to I.P.E. and them supporting the MS society this year. photos by Roger Knox with the Vernon Morning Star newspaper
New Members This year has seen our membership once again start to grow, already this year we have had 9 new members join. Quentin & Karin Jespersen from Alberta Thomas & Monika Herter from BC John Whalley from the United Kingdom Margaret Younker from PEI Calvin Henning from Alberta Luke & Jessica Petersen from BC Chuck & Carol Court from BC Jan Groshaw from BC Murray Tetland from Sask. We would like to welcome all our new members to the Canadian Lowline Association! Shows Don t forget about our anuall shows coming up this fall IPE Farm fair (The CLCA National show ) Canadian Western Agribition (First ever Lowline Classic show) Aug. 28 th to Sept. 1 st Nov. 4 th to 11 th Nov. 11 th to 16 th