Feb 2018 newsletter

ECOSA NEWSLETTER EAST CENTRAL ONTARIO SIMMENTAL ASSOCIATION

FEBRUARY 2018 ISSUE

2018 ECOSA ANNUAL MEETING Feb. 24, 2018 6:30pm Villiers Community Center Potluck supper Annual Meeting Scholarship Presentation ECOSA YCS Meeting Ambassador Presentation Please bring auction items

Message from the President....

Greetings from East Central Ontario,

As I write this update, we have started calving which has had some ups and downs. There is optimism in the air as we see each new calf born, as we monitor our replacement heifers’ development and prepare for the 2018 breeding season.

2017 was another excellent year for the East Central Ontario Simmental Association. We were able to be involved in many local activities including the Lindsay Farm Show, Ontario Trillium Classic and Ontario’s celebration of 50 Years of Simmentals in Canada in Lindsay and the Hastings County Plowing Match. These events allowed us to talk to other breeders with Simmental cattle as well as other breeds.

Many of our members were involved in the Cattlemen’s Choice Sale in Hoard’s Station Sale Barn. It was a new sale in 2017 that marketed Simmental and Angus cattle. The sale was well received by purebred and commercial breeders.

The association continued to support youth shows including Youth Forum and the Trillium Classic. Members have felt that supporting the youth in Simmentals is an important part of our mission.

In order to support our youth activities and events, we sold tickets to win $500 cash or $1000 credit for the purchase of an animal from an ECOSA member. The draw was made at Norwood Fair and the winner of the draw was Adam Whalen from Marysville, ON. The ECOSA Juniors have been a particularly amazing group. At our 2017 AGM, we had close to 20 youth in attendance. They are a keen group of kids who started an executive and planned a show for Norwood Fair in 2017. They participated in fundraising at the Ontario Trillium Classic and the Central Ontario Cattlemen’s Choice Sale to offset the cost of prizes for the event.

Our youth have also represented our club and the breed in 2017 by participating in the Ontario Trillium Classic, the National YCSA show in Fredericton, NB, London Beef Expo, Youth Forum in Lindsay and many other junior shows. They are a competitive group, but work very well together.

We awarded Claire Doris the 2017 ECOSA scholarship for continuing her education at Ottawa University.

Sydney Magee was chosen as our ambassador to represent the club in 2017.

We are excited to see what 2018 has in store. As the calves develop, crops and pasture grow and the show season begins, farmers are always optimistic; it’s in our blood. ECOSA remains a strong group of Simmental breeders that continue to work together to promote Simmental cattle and we look forward to continuing our involvement and promotion of the breed.

All the best in 2018, Andrea Stillman

ECOSA NEWSLETTER EAST CENTRAL ONTARIO SIMMENTAL ASSOCIATION

FEBRUARY 2018 ISSUE

Message from the ECOSA YCS President....

Montana Stillman-Loyst

The ECOSA Juniors formed and had our first meeting at the 2017 AGM * The executives are President- Montana Stillman-Loyst, Vice- Katie Elmhirst, Secretary- Sydney Magee, and Treasurer- Shailey Magee *We raised money at the Trillium classics for our Junior Show by having a bake sale

Message from the 2017 ECOSA & OSA Ambassador....

This past year I had the opportunity to be the East Central Ontario Simmental Association Ambassador along with the Ontario Association Ambassador. Over the past year I have gotten to represent to the Simmental breed in a whole new way, I was able to meet a lot of great people who have educated and supported myself and other about this amazing breed. This opportunity has helped me become a better leader and has taught me the importance of breed recognition.

I had the great honor of handing out ribbons at our Ontario Simmental show at the Royal this past November, handing out ribbons was a pretty good excuse to get to what the show in its entirety and see all the amazing cattle that the Simmental breeders and raising. All in all, it was an awesome experience and I would encourage other to try for this position.

Sydney Magee

ECOSA NEWSLETTER EAST CENTRAL ONTARIO SIMMENTAL ASSOCIATION

FEBRUARY 2018 ISSUE

Cattlemen’s Choice Sale Report....

Glen Kerry of Fairview Simmentals had invited many of the ECOSA members to be a part of the first Cattlemen’s Choics sale. The Simmental breed was joined with the Angus. It was held Nov. 18, 2017 at Hoards Station. Here are a few sale highlights.

• Sale Gross on 90 lots $240,000 • Sale Average $2705 • High Selling Simmental sold to Lobster Point $4200 • 2nd High Selling Simmental sold to Damon Pogue $4000 • Volume Simmental buyer - Dylan Fallis

Sirloin Steak with Garlic Butter • • • • •

• • • •

1/2 cup butter 2 teaspoons garlic powder 4 cloves garlic, minced 4 pounds beef top sirloin steaks salt and pepper to taste

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat with garlic powder and minced garlic. Set aside.

Sprinkle both sides of each steak with salt and pepper.

Grill steaks 4 to 5 minutes per side, or to desired doneness. When done, transfer to warmed plates. Brush tops liberally with garlic butter, and allow to rest for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

ECOSA NEWSLETTER EAST CENTRAL ONTARIO SIMMENTAL ASSOCIATION

FEBRUARY 2018 ISSUE

6 Jobs To Tackle During The Cold Winter Months

Want to make the most of these dark, cold winter months? Get ahead in your business and tackle these six jobs before spring arrives.

Amanda Radke | Feb 14, 2018

In South Dakota, it seems like we have two seasons — cold winters and blazing hot summers. Spring and fall are just a blip on the radar before we move onto the next extreme. Right now, we’re in the throes of a winter that just keeps rolling. Yes, I know it’s only February, but with two little kids itching to be outside and help on the ranch, we’re doing everything we can to keep them busy and occupied to avoid cabin fever really setting in.

It’s not just toddlers who get antsy in the winter months. During these cold months, we dedicate our time outside to dealing with day-to-day maintenance of the ranch and calving cows that need attention.

Aside from that, we’re not starting any new projects, making improvements to facilities or spending much of our free time out in the frigid air.

So when you’re cooped up inside, what can you do to get ahead in your cattle enterprise and make the most of the reduced daylight hours and opportunities to work outside? I’ve compiled a list of six items we’re focusing on from now until April. Perhaps they’ll inspire you to get to work on these things, as well: 1. Tax preparation Of course, this one can’t be avoided, but instead of waiting until the last minute when the April weather might be a little bit nicer to be outside, why not tackle this job now while the snow flies and the temperatures are frigid? I can think of 10 things I would rather do than tax preparation, but get this one done sooner rather than later and strike it off your to-do list.

2. Record keeping This goes hand-in-hand with tax preparation, but don’t let receipts, invoices and other documents pile up before getting them filed away and plugged into your reporting systems. While you’re at it, consider downloading apps that can simplify your life and make record keeping that much easier. There’s an app for everything these days — from inputting feed expenses to tracking vaccinations to reporting calf birth dates and weights.

3. Organize your office Let’s face it, you probably don’t need to keep every sale catalog, breed association journal or cattle industry publication dating back to the 1970s. Now is a great time to keep the ones that are most meaningful to you and ditch the rest. Collect less dust and make room in your office for what matters. The cold winter months are a great time for purging.

4. Call or visit your customers Whether it’s the feedlot owner who buys your calves at weaning time or the repeat bull buyer who loyally attends your sales each year, now is a great time to renew connections, catch up on the latest industry news and compare notes on which products, genetics and other tools of the trade are working best for you and your peers.

5. Clean out the medicine cabinet and refrigerator Your veterinary cabinet and dedicated cooler may have expired items dating back to the stone age. It’s time to ditch the old vaccines, antibiotics, milk replacers, old bags of feed and other outdated items to make way for new products and more efficient storage.

6. Research advanced industry technologies There are plenty of tools at our disposal that can help us be better cattlemen and be more profitable each year. For example, genomic-enhanced EPDs are increasing in popularity and DNA information is helping commercial and seedstock producers make better culling decisions in their operations.

Perhaps you’ve been on the fence about DNA-testing your calves. Now is a great time to read up on how it works, the costs involved and how it might benefit your business. Plus, with calving getting underway or just around the corner for many, collecting hair samples on newborn calves is a great way to get an early start on gathering the data.

READ: More thoughts on the value of genomics and ginning numbers Now that I’ve compiled this list, I’m going to forward it on to my husband and see how much of this we can tackle before spring arrives. We’ve checked off the first two already, but there’s still plenty of work to be done.

By the way, we’ve decided to extend the voting period for the BEEF and Twisted X “Quiet moments on the ranch” photo contest until Monday at noon. Select your favorite image by clicking here, and remember you can vote every day until the voting period closes. Thanks for your participation!