Charolais Today - Spring 2025

VOLUME 1

HEY ALL! MY NAME IS SHADE BUNKER, AND I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF SERVING AS THE 2024-2025 PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR CHAROLAIS ASSOCIATION. I GREW UP ON MY FAMILY’S PUREBRED CHAROLAIS OPERATION IN SPARTA, WISCONSIN. I AM A JUNIOR STUDYING AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS AT IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY, WHERE I AM HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THE AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS CLUB AND THE SIGMA ALPHA SORORITY. WELCOME TO THE AIJCA CHAROLAIS TODAY! WE ARE EXCITED TO KEEP THE ASSOCIATION UPDATED WITH THIS NEW FORMAT. THIS NEWSLETTER WILL PROVIDE HIGHLIGHTS, DEADLINES, AND UPDATES FROM THE JUNIOR BOARD AND OUR ASSOCIATION’S SPONSOR, BIOZYME! AS JR. BOARD MEMBERS, WE LOVE TO HEAR AND SHARE ABOUT THE HAPPENINGS IN EACH OF OUR AREAS, SO CONTACT YOUR AREA DIRECTOR WITH ANY NEWS TO INCLUDE IN CHAROLAIS TODAY!

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR CHAROLAIS ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER SPRING 2025

11700 NW Plaza Circle Kansas City, MO 64153

AREA UPDATES Area 1 - MAKENNAH TUCKER Hello, I hope everyone is having a great year so far! I am your Area 1 director from Briggsdale, Colorado and I am excited to meet and work with every one of you. I am currently a Junior at Oklahoma State University, majoring in Animal Science and Agricultural Education with plans to become an Ag Teacher. I look forward to seeing everyone throughout the show season and at the GREATEST SHOW in Springfield. See you in the ring!

Area 2 - SARAH MEAD Hey AIJCA! Hope everyone has had a great start to the new year! My name is Sarah Mead, I am 19 years old and am from Aurora, Nebraska. I am currently serving as your 2024-2025 Area 2 Director and am in my first year of college majoring in Animal Science at Northeast Community College in Nebraska. Can’t wait to see all of you at “ THE GREATEST SHOW” in Springfield June 16th-21st! Get excited for another great Junior Nationals with the best breed association!

Area 3 - JOSI SCHRADER Hey! I’m Josi Schrader from Wells, Kansas. I am 18 years old and currently a senior at Minneapolis High School. I plan on attending Kansas State University this fall to dual major in Ag Business and Animal Science. I live on a ranch with my family where we run Charolais and Simmental cattle. I love being active in my community and school through extracurricular activates like volleyball, basketball, track, dance team, First Presbyterian Church, 4-H, FFA, National Honor Society, and FCA. I am passionate about the Charolais breed, and I can’t wait to see you all in Missouri!

Area 4 - LEXI HUSE Hey everyone! My name is Lexi Huse and I am currently serving as your Area 4 director. I am from Elm Mott, Texas where my family runs H3 Charolais where we raise registered Charolais and Crossbred cattle. As an area, we been staying busy over the last few months with majors where we have been very competitive. We just concluded our Open show in Fort Worth and had many high quality animals and a great turn out. I am excited to see how we progress into summer and I can't wait to see all of y'all in MISSOURI for the greatest show!!!

Area 5 - MACY HOAG Hello everyone, my name is Macy Hoag, I am 17 years old and reside in Illinois City, IL with my parents. I am currently serving as your Area 5 Junior Board Director! I am a senior in high school, however I plan to obtain my Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Education. Good luck to everyone with their upcoming show year and I hope to see everyone at “The Greatest Show” in June!

Area 6 - TANNAH CASSATT Hello everybody!! My name is Tannah an I am your current Area 6 director and Treasurer. I am a Sophomore at Mizzou where I am pursuing an Animal Science degree with the intent to apply to vet school next year! Missouri is hard at work preparing for the Junior National show in Springfield this year and I am thrilled to see everybody there! Always feel free to contact me if you have questions. God Bless!

Area 7 - NISSA OLSEN Hi AIJCA!! My name is Nissa Olsen and I am serving as your Vice President and Area 7 director for the 2024-2025 year! I am 20 years old and from Manhattan, KS. This is my third year on the Jr. Board and I’m looking forward to a great year full of all things AIJCA. I am currently a Sophomore at Kansas State University where I study Animal Science and am on the meats judging team! Go Cats!!

Area 8 - MARIE DOWNEY Hey y'all! I'm Marie Downey and I am the area director for all the states in the Southeast! I am a junior at Mississippi State University where I am studying Chemical Engineering, but my home (and my cows) are in Alabama :) I can't wait to see everyone in Missouri for Junior Nationals then again in Kentucky for CharFocus!

GET TO KNOW YOUR AT LARGE DIRECTORS SIDNEY ALLARD Hi AIJCA!! My name is Sidney Allard and I am serving as an At-Large Director for the 2024-2025 year! I am 19 years old and from Sidney, NE. This is my first year on the Jr. Board and I’m looking forward to a great Jr Nationals!! I am currently a freshman at Kansas State University where I study Animal Science and Industry! Go Cats!!

ETHAN SHOEMAKE Hey Charolais Family, my name is Ethan Shoemake, and I’m currently serving as the 2024-2025 AIJCA Executive Secretary and one of your At-Large Directors! This is my third year on the AIJCA board, and I am currently in my junior year of undergraduate studies at Oklahoma State University! Go pokes!

HAYDEN ENGLERT Hey my favorite people!!! My name is Hayden Englert, I am 17 years old and I am from Washington, KS. I am currently a junior at Washington County Highschool but I hope to later go to college for embryology. A fun fact about myself is I think embryo transfer is one of the biggest assets we have in the cattle industry. I can’t wait to see you all through out the rest of the year and I most definitely can’t wait for THE GREATEST SHOW this summer with THE GREATEST BREED ASSOCIATION!!!

BREEZE BUNKER Hello everyone! My name is Breeze Bunker , and I am from Sparta, Wisconsin! I am a freshman at Iowa State University studying Agricultural Business. This is my first year on the Junior Board, and I cannot wait to see you all in Springfield!

The 2024 CHARFOCUS YOUTH CONFERENCE was held in Ames, IA, from July 22nd - 25th

The 3rd annual CharFocus Youth Conference was another successful event for the Charolais breed! Participants spent 4 days in Iowa learning about career and education opportunities, the midwest agriculture industry, and of course Charolais cattle. The group visited many operations and places including Summit Agricultural Group, Iowa State University, Vermeer, Corteva Agriscience, Boyert-Core Show Cattle, Cannon Charolais, and the Iowa State Veterinary School.

The 2025 CharFocus Registration Deadline is July 1st!

Mark Your Calendars!!

2025 CHARFOCUS YOUTH CONFERENCE

Lexington, Kentucky

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July 21st - 24th

2025 AIJCA JUNIOR NATIONALS ADDS PHENOTYPE & GENOTYPE SHOW

UPDATED JUNIOR MERIT PROGRAM APPLICATIONS PLEASE CONTACT AIJCA OFFICE WITH ANY QUESTIONS

2025 CHAROLAIS JUNIOR NATIONALS UPDATE: PAINT AND POWDER ALLOWED ON CATTLE

Junior Board Update: Charolais members, get ready for the Greatest Show this summer!

The Junior Board is looking forward to making this show the greatest on dirt!

Bring on the big top!

Scan Code to View Entry Forms

NEWS The 2025 Junior National Show Judges are Confirmed!

Owned Heifer Show: Brian Fox Bred and Owned Heifer Show: Shane Bedwell Phenotype Genotype Show: Parker Henley

More Info: https://charolaisusa.com/jr-national.php

Early Entry Deadline May 1st, Late Entries May 10th

P&G SHOW FAQ’S How it Works: The P&G Show will employ a composite scoring system, equally weighting genotypes and phenotypes at 50% each. The approach will ensure a comprehensive evaluation of the animals, considering both their visual characteristics and genetic potential. Prior to the show, judges will receive cards containing each entry’s information, including birth date and genomically enhanced Expected Progeny Differences (GE-EPDs) with breed percentile rankings. This data will form the basis of the genotype rankings. The same judge will assess the animals’ physical characteristics during the Junior National event, providing the phenotype rankings. The final class placings will be determined by combining the genotype and phenotype scores. In the event of a tie, preference will be given to the phenotype rankings. The P&G Show will be organized into classes at the discretion of the show classification committee. Classes will be further divided into four divisions, with an emphasis on maintaining proportionate distribution based on age and class size

Entry and Eligibility: To participate in the 2025 P&G Show, entries must meet specific criteria: only purebred heifers are eligible; DNA sample results must be on file with AICA by March 1, 2025; GE-EPDs must be published in the April 2025 National Cattle Evaluation; heifers must be born on or after September 1, 2023; and juniors must have full interest and possession of the cattle by May 10, 2025. The P&G Show will be a non-fit competition. Premiums for the P&G Show will include Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion cash awards, with 70% of entry fees distributed as class premiums based on the number of entries per class.