by Jack Ward, chief operating officer and director of breed improvement jward@hereford.org
Jack Ward
Loewens Donate ‘Foundation’ to Support Hereford Research The 2010 American Hereford Association (AHA) Strategic Plan put forth a very dynamic set of core strategies, objectives and tactics. The breed improvement committee is focusing on core strategy 1: Improve the overall quality, consistency, predictability and profitability of Hereford genetics. The AHA has started to put together tools that will help facilitate this strategy which include whole herd reporting, National Reference Sire Program (NRSP) and the development of additional economically relevant traits (ERTs).
A functioning part of the Hereford Youth Foundation of America
CE 3.0 .08 BW 0.5 .36 WW 64 .28 YW 95 P+ MM 18 .10 M&G 50 MCE 3.0 .06 SC 1.1 .10 FAT 0.02 P+ 0.51 P+ A functioning part of the Hereford Youth Foundation of AmericaREA MARB 0.29 P+ BMI$ 25 CEZ$ 18 BII$ 21 CHB$ 35 LOEWEN FOUNDATION 34X {DLF,IEF,HYF} This goggle-eye, conservatively marked bull has all the pieces and has jumped through all of the production hoops. His genetic make up is incredible and his ratios of BW 84, WW 106, YW 101, REA 106 and MARB 115 have given him a tabulation that puts his Index Values in the top 5% across the board including the top 1% for both BMI$ and CHB$. His dam has had two calves reported at BW 86, WW 108, YW 104 and three for REA 107 and MARB 89. His dam is a donor in the Loewen program because she has a perfect udder and her dam, HVH Oksana 4L 33N, is truly one of the great cows in the breed. • John and Mona Loewen have donated this bull to the HRF and we will be selling breeding shares in the bull with all proceeds going to HRF. • ABS has leased the bull and the royalties from semen sales go directly to HRF. • Anyone who purchases a breeding share will have the chance to also win three embryos donated by John and Mona on the dam of Foundation. • For more details on how to get a piece of Foundation and support HRF, contact Jack Ward, jward@hereford.org or 816-842-3757.
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/ April 2011
In addition to these, the extension or education side of this strategy is very important. As with most things, all of these tools for genetic improvement will cost money and require resources. So, prior to this Strategic Plan, the AHA Board recognized that in order to make progress, there needs to be a funding entity outside the AHA budget to help with these programs; as a result, the Hereford Research Foundation (HRF) was organized. HRF is a division of the Hereford Youth Foundation of America, a 501(c)3 notfor-profit organization. In less than a year, HRF has raised more than $20,000 to help with different AHA breed improvement projects. Obviously, this is not enough, so HRF must continue to grow. Last fall, Lorna Marshall, ABS beef sire acquisition manager, approached the breed improvement committee with an opportunity to raise funds for the HRF. If we could identify a young sire that fit the genetic parameters of ABS and a breeder that was willing to support the HRF, we could work a joint venture that could help with some long-term HRF financial support. A young sire has been identified, and the breeders have graciously agreed to donate the bull to the HRF. The bull, Loewen Foundation 34X (43074983), owned by John and Mona
Loewen, Waukomis, Okla., has a very modern pedigree with an incredible set of numbers and he has jumped through all of the production hoops. Study this guy, and let me tell you that he has all of the bells and whistles. He is red to the ground, fully pigmented and google-eyed, moderate framed and he is backed by a powerful dam that has a perfect udder. In addition, the maternal grandmother is one of the great cows in the breed and full sisters and brothers to the dam are making a huge impact in the Hereford breed. “Foundation” has a very impressive full sister at Loewen Herefords that will be heard from in the future. The AHA would like to thank both John and Mona Loewen and ABS for this generous donation. The purchase price of this bull will be totally donated to the HRF and residual income will come from the semen sales at ABS. As I write this article, the details of the sale are still being worked out, but please study the pedigree and contact me at 816-842-3757 or jward@hereford.org to talk about the possibilities. This donation will be a tremendous opportunity to help build resources through the HRF for current and future research opportunities. HW
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