Canadian Limousin January Newsletter

Canadian Limousin Association #13, 4101-19 Street NE Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2E 7C4 wwww.limousin.com

Phone: (403) 253-7309 Toll-free: 1-866-886-1605 Fax: (403) 253-1704 limousin@limousin.com

January 2011

CLA Board sets policies regarding homozygous status Dear CLA members The Board of Directors met on December 6 and 7 in Calgary.

Their productive discussions led to some policy changes, some new policies and the launch of some exciting programs.

See details in this newsletter.

The letter for 2011 is “Y”.

Please remember that Whole Herd Enrolment is due by January 15, 2011.

Over 100 CLA herds submitted their WHE early and were awarded a credit!

We are pleased to announce that homozygous status for polled and/or black will be incorporated on to the Canadian Limousin registration certificates. This is ground-breaking procedures as the CLA will be the first Beef Breed Herdbook to give this recognition in Canada.

Computer system upgrade is under way to capture that information and be displayed on the internet. This is a work in progress and a first step

towards the request that was brought up by the membership at the 2010 Annual General Meeting.

Effective immediately, CLA members are welcome to provide the office with DNA test results showing their animals have tested positive for homozygous polled and/or black. The results will be documented and will appear on the animal web search page and registration certificates can be re-

printed as well if requested.

The members requesting that service will be asked to sign a waiver, acknowledging the test providers disclaimer and releasing the CLA of all liability. The cost to include the information is $5 per animal, whether a new certificate is printed or not.

For further information about the procedures, please contact the CLA office

Here is a summary of the policy:

New Fullblood Upgrade Fees Effective January 1, 2011, the fullblood upgrade fee will increase from $2 to $5. Parentage verification by DNA not included and remains $30.

DNA results from all homozygous polled or black test providers are accepted • Each animal must have its own test results showing its homozygous status • Each member wishing to submit homozygous test results must sign a waver • Progeny of two homozygous parents by test, must be parentage verified in order to get the homozygous recognition • American animals that are indicated Tested Homozygous polled and/or black as per their NALF registration certificate or as per their information on NALF’s website (animal search pages), will be granted the same status by the CLA. • $5 per animal will be charged to the member’s account for the service. The updated information will immediately appear on the internet and print on the registration certificate. Members are asked to indicate if they request a reprint of the registration certificate or not at the time of placing the service request. Old registration papers must be remitted to the CLA office in order to receive new updated ones.

Elite Herd Program

New Programs Launched

The Elite Herd Program aims at identifying the herds that do total reporting of information for their animals and truly contribute to the advancement of the Limousin breed.

Elite Herd Awards: 1)

4 categories:

o

Platinum: herds that submit their BW, CE, WW, Docility on every calf weaned, YW, SC , Ultra sound or carcass

o

Gold: herds that submit their BW, CE, WW, YW and docility

o

Silver: herds that submit BW, CE and WW

o

Bronze: herd on Whole Herd Enrolment

2)

Based on information submitted in 2011

3)

Recognitions will be published in the February 2012 Limousin Voice, on the CLA website and newsletter.

Elite Limousin Dam: The Elite Dam award has been revamped with input from the board, the Breed Improvement Committee and our genetic consultant Sean McGrath. It was identified that the traits of importance in terms of high producing cows were birth weight, weaning weight, milk production and docility.

The ideal female is described as one that calves every year without assistance, weans a big calf thanks to her high milk production and possesses a temperament that makes her pleasant to work with. This is a first attempt at rewarding the Limousin cows that fit that profile under modern measurements such as EPD’s. We expect the program to evolve in the future with your feedback and input. However the starting criteria of the new revamped Elite Dam program are as follow:

•

All Fullblood, Purebred, or percentage registered Limousin females on Whole Herd Enrolment are eligible.

•

Must have raised at least 4 calves in the last 6 consecutive years

•

Must have above breed average EPD for Weaning Weight, Milk and Docility

•

Must have below breed average EPD for Birth Weight

e Feb. te list in th le p m co om e th limousin.c Wa tch for eck w w w. ch r o e ic o Limousin V

Altabarr Farms (2) Amaglen Limousin (1) Bar 3R Limousin (1) Blueberry Farms (2) Eric Boon (2)

Congratulations owners of the 2010 Elite Dams

Campbell Limousin (1) Excell Raches (2) Greenwood Limousin (1) Highland Stock Farms (2) Hutton Land and Cattle (1)

Ivy Livestock (2) J. Yorga Farms (2) R & R Acres (6) Rail Line Farms (1) Top Meadow Farms (3)

Canadian Limousin herds and elite females will receive acknowledgement from now on. These programs aim at rewarding and recognizing herds that submit performance data and are supporters of the Whole Herd Enrolment.

The Limousin Voice reminds you of the upcoming Winter Issue (Bull Issue). The deadlines for the of the Limousin Voice are: Ad bookings by Jan. 10th Ad copy by Jan. 20th Camera Ready Ads

by Jan. 28th 5000 copies of the Bull Issue are printed and widely distributed to the commercial sector.

Cattlemen Magazine Ad Campaign

A new Limousin ad was launched in the 2011 January Cattlemen Magazine, this time focusing on the merits of Limousin females.

If you are interested in being part of the next advertising campaign, starting with the September issue, please call Anne at the CLA office.

For $400 you can have your name and contact information in 5 issues of the Cattlemen or pick and choose your issues for $100 per issue.

Breeders Directory

The last breeders’ directory published in 2008 was a fund raiser for the juniors. It was widely distributed in Canada and became an important hand out to our international visitors. We are now out of directories and need to address that void for 2011. While the juniors have opted out of repeating the project, the CLA will publish an in-house version including all active CLA members (membership and adminstration fees paid as of March 1, 2011).

We will be using your contact information that we have on file such as your farm/ ranch name, owners, address, main and secondary phone numbers, email and website.

Do we have your cell phone numbers on file? Do we have your email? Is your website known by the CLA? If not, please return the form below or email us your updated contact information.

CLA Member #:

Please only provide us with new information that we do not currently have on file for your CLA membership. If your contact information as not changed, it is not necessary to return this form.

Farm / Ranch Name: Owners / Contact: Address:

Town: Postal Code: Main Tel.: Secondary tel. or Cell.: Email: Website:

The new breeders’ directory will be posted on the CLA website and updated on a regular basis to keep it as current as possible. You may download it and print it at your convenience.

However, if you do not have internet access and wish to receive a hard copy of the breeders’ directory, please check this box

Please return this form before March 1, 2011 by mail or fax or email aburgess@limousin.com Canadian Limousin Association: #13, 4101-19 Street NE Calgary, Alberta, T2E 7C4 Fax: 403-253-1704