A DVOCATE THE BULL ISSUE
SPRING 2019
ROYAL RESULTS UPCOM ING EVENTS BULL SELECTION On t ar io Sim m en t al Associat ion
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2019SPRINGSALES&EVENTS March2
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March10
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July12-14
OYCSATRILLIUMCLASSIC
ADVOCATE The Official Publication of the Ontario Simmental Association
Whitney De Decker OSA Member Services Manager memberservices.osa@gmail.com 519-500-8930 www.ontariosimmentalassociation.com
Advocat e Adver t isin g Deadlin es Fall 2019 Issue
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Cover Pict u r e
SEND US YOUR PICTURES! We love seeing what our fellow OSA members have been up to throughout the year with their programs. For consideration for the OSA cover page please send high resolution photographs to: osamemberservices@gmail.com
Spring 2019 cover photo provided by Juanita Elmhirst, Indian River On.
M ESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT It?s the most wonderful time of the year? calving season has finally arrived! The 2019 calving season is in full swing across the province and I would like to wish everyone a very happy, healthy and lively season. I also wish for many heifer calves for everyone (however, we are very bull heavy at home already).
This past year has flown by pretty quickly and it is really hard to believe that we are already into our second month of 2019. The OSA board of directors have been working really hard to bring new and exciting things to the membership. The OSA Sweepstakes?is in its trial run and the winner will be drawn at the Annual General Meeting in Cobourg on March 2, 2019, the rules & regulations can be found on the OSA website. Another thing we have been working on bringing to the membership is a point show to crown the All-Ontario Show Female & Male of the year, more details on this program will be released at the AGM.
The 2018 Simmental open show at the Royal took place on November 3. The exhibitors brought out 142 entries for the show ? 22 bulls and 120 females (11 percentage). Congratulations go out to all who participated and to all that brought home banners. Champion Female ? IRCC Darlin?613D owned by Indian River Cattle Company. Reserve Champion Female ? Oattes Cream Soda 35E owned by Oattes Cattle. Champion MaleIronhill Rollin Thunder owned by Ironhill Simmentals. Reserve Champion Male- Destiny Black Vision owned by Destiny Simmentals.
BRITTANYBARKLEY- OSAPRESIDENT
Th an k you t o ou r 2018 Ban n er Spon sor s
Ch am pion Ju n ior Heif er Calf
Reser ve Ch am pion Ju n ior Heif er Calf
Bouchard Livestock, Crossfield AB
Hallridge Simmentals, Dr Everett & Marylon Hall, Owen Sound ON
Ch am pion Sen ior Heif er Calf
Reser ve Ch am pion Sen ior Heif er Calf
Martinvale Farms, Kyle & Jessica Martin, Tweed ON
Leahy Stock Farm, Bernard & Lise Leahy and Family, Douro ON
Ju n ior Ch am pion Fem ale
Reser ve Ju n ior Ch am pion Fem ale
Tonnette Farms, Tom, Jeanette, Andrea, Montana & Tate Stillman
Donovandale Farms, Gerald & Keitha Donovan and Family, Ashton ON
Sen ior Ch am pion Fem ale
Reser ve Sen ior Ch am pion Fem ale
Rockridge Simmentals, In Memory of Florence Lewis
V5 Simmentals in Memory of Bennie Vance
Gr an d Ch am pion Fem ale
Reser ve Gr an d Ch am pion Fem ale
Waydamar Simmentals, Dave & Gayle Milliner, Dundalk ON
Flo-Lar Farms in Memory of Larry Behnke
Bu ll Calf Ch am pion
Reser ve Bu ll Calf Ch am pion
Robson Acres, The Robson Family, Millbrook ON
Barlee Simmentals, Jerry & Laurie Barber, Shawville QC
Ju n ior Ch am pion Bu ll
Reser ve Ju n ior Ch am pion Bu ll
Gravandale Simmentals, Ivan & Grace Oesch, Wellesley ON
Destiny Simmentals, Todd & Karen Campbell, Meaford ON
Sen ior Ch am pion Bu ll
Reser ve Sen ior Ch am pion Bu ll
Wild Oak Farms, Hand, Tina & Brandon Hiddink, Bloomfield ON
Ontario Simmental Association
Gr an d Ch am pion Bu ll
Reser ve Gr an d Ch am pion Bu ll
Canadian Simmental Country, Calgary AB
Indian River Cattle Company, Billy & Juanita Elmhirst, Indian River ON
Pr ogen y of Dam
Br eeder s Her d
Alliance Simmental Farms, Mike McCart, North Gower ON
Cedar Creek Simmentals, Ennismore, ON
Get of Sir e
Ch am pion Fu llblood
Velian Farms, Kevin & Whitney De Decker, Roslin, ON
Kern Simmentals, Erich & Doris Kern, Hanover ON
Ch am pion Per cen t age Fem ale
Reser ve Ch am pion Per cen t age Fem ale
Acadamy Hill Livestock, John & Kathy Pearson, Grafton ON
Canadian Sires, Olds AB
Br igh t Ligh t s Fu t u r it y Sh ow Spon sor s Ch am pion Bu ll
Reser ve Ch am pion Bu ll
Genex Cooperative Inc, Guelph ON
Ottawa Valley Simmental Club
Ch am pion Fem ale
Reser ve Ch am pion Fem ale
Black River Farms, Dan & Janet Munro, Sutton ON
Simmgen Land and Cattle Co., Jarvis ON
Ron Wooddisse M em or ial Per f or m an ce & Ef f ician cy Aw ar d Spon sor s Ch am pion Bu ll
Reser ve Ch am pion Bu ll
Tru Test, Mineral Wells TX
McRobdon Simmentals, Mount Forest ON
Ch am pion Fem ale
Reser ve Ch am pion Fem ale
Ontario Simmental Association
Ontario Simmental Association
2018 Sim m en t al Sh ow Resu lt s, Tor on t o ON
Ch am pion Ju n ior Heif er Calf
Reser ve Ch am pion Ju n ior Heif er Calf
Oattes Sinful Flirt 55F, Oattes Cattle Co, Cobden ON
RPCC Blk Frisky 248F, River Point Cattle Co, Glencoe ON
Ch am pion Sen ior Heif er Calf
Reser ve Ch am pion Sen ior Heif er Calf
IRCC Fantasia ET 802F, Indian River Cattle Co, Indian River ON
Barlee Golidlocks 3F, Barlee Simmentals, Shawville QC
Ju n ior Ch am pion Fem ale
Reser ve Ju n ior Ch am pion Fem ale
Oattes Cream Soda 35E, Oattes Cattle Co, Cobden ON
Black River Ms. Ivanka 95E, Mast-R Beef, Melbourne QC
Sen ior Ch am pion Fem ale
Reser ve Sen ior Ch am pion Fem ale
IRCC Darlin' 613D, Indian River Cattle Co, Indian River ON
Xcel Sheeza Gem 407A, Xcel Livestock, Russell ON
Gr an d Ch am pion Fem ale
Reser ve Gr an d Ch am pion Fem ale
IRCC Darlin' 613D, Indian River Cattle Co, Indian River ON
Oattes Cream Soda 35E, Oattes Cattle Co, Cobden ON
Bu ll Calf Ch am pion
Reser ve Bu ll Calf Ch am pion
Destiny Black Vision, Destiny Simmentals Meaford ON
RPCC Red Flame 220F, River Point Cattle Co, Glencoe ON
Ju n ior Ch am pion Bu ll
Reser ve Ju n ior Ch am pion Bu ll
Ironhill Rollin Thunder, Ironhill Simmentals, Metcalfe ON
Destiny Big Stan, Destiny Simmentals, Meaford ON
Sen ior Ch am pion Bu ll
Reser ve Sen ior Ch am pion Bu ll
Gr an d Ch am pion Bu ll
Reser ve Gr an d Ch am pion Bu ll
Ironhill Rollin Thunder, Ironhill Simmentals, Metcalfe ON
Destiny Black Vision, Destiny Simmentals Meaford ON
Pr ogen y of Dam
Br eeder s Her d
JetSteam Livestock, East Garafraxa ON
Indian River Cattle Co, Indian River ON
Get of Sir e
Ch am pion Fu llblood
Alliance Simmental Farms, Ottawa ON
Ironhill Rollin Thunder, Ironhill Simmentals, Metcalfe ON
Ch am pion Per cen t age Fem ale
Reser ve Ch am pion Per cen t age Fem ale
IRCC F1 Queen 842F, Indian River Cattle Co, Indian River ON
SCC Breathless 18E, Scott Show Cattle, Drumbo ON
Pr em ier Exh ibit or
2018
Indian River Cattle Co, Indian River ON
2018
Pr em ier Br eeder Indian River Cattle Co, Indian River ON
Her d Bu lls: How m u ch can you af f or d? Jim McGrann, Texas A&M University emeritus professor, completed a write-up and spreadsheet that provided a very sophisticated way of calculating the actual costs of a bull, and the impact of bull prices. The Excel spreadsheet allows one to adjust and play with the numbers, an exercise that was a lot of fun and illustrated to me some of the misconceptions we have about valuing bulls. First of all, we?re all guilty of not including all the factors in determining the per-cow service costs. Most of us don?t figure death loss, interest rates and all the fixed costs associated with purchasing and maintaining a bull battery. Using McGrann?s basic assumptions (most of us would use more optimistic numbers for weaning percentage, weaning weight, etc.), I think his numbers are probably pretty reflective of industry averages.
We?re all probably guilty of looking at bull costs as a one-time expense ? the way we view feed, for instance. In reality, however, a bull is a four- to five-year investment. One of the interesting things about this analysis is that the average service cost per cow ? when all costs are taken into account ? is higher than most people would calculate. For example, using conservative production assumptions, the average service cost for a $4,500 bull that is turned out with 25 cows/year is $63.14/cow. Interestingly, however, bull cost is not a huge driver in that equation. The difference of paying $3,750 for a bull and paying $5,250 for a bull doesn?t affect the service cost per cow that dramatically. In fact, the difference between a $3,750 bull and a $5,250 bull only moves the average cost per cow serviced by $9/cow. When one looks at today?s price levels and value differences, the higher-priced bulls are actually a whole lot better investment than the lower-priced bulls. Buying cow fresheners is a much worse decision than ever realized; it actually doesn?t reduce costs that much and really decreases revenue. Of course, paying more for a bull doesn?t always mean you?re purchasing more genetic value; if you can buy a bull worth $5,500 in today?s market for $4,500, that?s a real savings of $1,000.
Price doesn?t have much effect on this relationship either, but the number of cows a bull services has a dramatic impact on his value. If you?ve ever seen a commercial bull bring $9,000 and wondered how that can work out, odds are that producer has both a fall and spring program of significant numbers. The odds are that bull will actually cost that producer less than a bull that costs $3,000 and is turned out with 15 cows. Another way of looking at the impact of bull price is the impact of weaning weight. How much additional weaning weight would be required to justify paying $5,250 vs. $3,750/bull, assuming all other attributes remained the same? The difference was only 12 lbs. of weaning weight! As is so often the case, the initial cost often is a small part of the ultimate price, but is a big determinant of overall profitability. As an industry, we still tend to look at bulls as a cost rather than an investment. The data actually show the exact opposite. In fact, a higher-priced bull doesn?t have to have that big of an impact to justify the expense. That?s even more the case at these higher price levels. -Adapted from Troy Marshall, Beef Magazine.com
Find the Bull Investment Calculator online at www.ontariosimmentalassociation.com
V-5 Sim m en t als Fu llblood Cat t le w it h t h e com m er cial m an in m in d Barb Vance (613) 839-5274 1920 Manchurst Road Kanata ON K2W 0G8
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