ADVOCATE DETAILS
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ONTARIO SIMMENTAL ASSOCIATION
Advocate Advertising Deadlines SPRING 2021 ADVERTISING DEADLINE: FEB.15,2021 Advocate Advertising Rates Black and White 1/4 Page: $75 Black and White 1/2 Page: $110 Black and White Full Page: $175 Colour Full Page: $300 Colour Inside Covers: $325 Colour Backside Cover: $375 Yearly Business Card Ad: $75
Ashton Colvin OSA Member Services Manager memberservices.osa@gmail.com 519-357-6775 1422 Concession 4 Teeswater, ON N0G 2S0
- Prices may vary according to Print costs. Every effort will be taken to ensure accurate prices are reflected in each Advocate Issue. - 10% Discount on all advertisements commitment to 2 consecutive issues
FALL EVENTS Sept.12-18th Annual Autumn Classic Sale, Hanover Sept.26- Ferme Gagnon & Guests Simmental Production Sale, Cheneville QC Oct.3- Ontario Simmental Solution Sale, Listowel Oct.4- Quality Control IV, Indian River Oct.17- Stars of the Valley Simmental Sale, Metcalfe (DLMS Online) Oct. 18- RPCC & Guests Fall Gala Production Sale, Glencoe
STAY UP TO DATE WITH CHANGES AND ADDITIONAL EVENTS WITH OUR FACEBOOK PAGE AND WEBSITE: WWW.ONTARIOSIMMENTALASSOCIATION.COM
Message from the President
As we are all sitting down and flipping through the pages of this fall edition, the Fall 2020 Simmental sale season will be upon us. This will be the first time that many of you will have been able to re-connect either in person or virtually in six months. I recall being at the OSA Annual Meeting on March 7 and having a conversation with a fellow producer about the fall and with an element that is now prophetic about the we all would have bigger things to deal with on the horizon. It goes without a saying that COVID-19 has changed everyone’s lives and the world that we live for a long time to come. As seedstock and commercial cattle producers and those working in supporting industries our customer base is changing; the manner in which we advertise and exhibit our product; the way in which we merchandise live animals and ultimately the preferences for the distribution and consumption of beef. In March we welcome Ashton Colvin as our new Member Services Representative. At the same time, the OSA would like to thank Whitney DeDecker for her dedication to the roll over the past several years. Ashton has been a great addition to our OSA family and is enthusiastic about promoting the breed and serving the membership going forward. We are currently in the planning stages for our 2021 Annual Meeting that we would normally hold in early March. Most of our traditional venues are operating under revised procedures as required by both the local municipality as well as the Province of Ontario. Specific requirements currently limit room capacity to between 30 – 50% of our normal attendance in addition to other minor changes. At this time, we are working towards hosting our traditional event however will be making plans in the coming months for an alternative format and delivery of our 2021 Annual Meeting should the current restrictions remain in effect. In March we announced that we were hosting the 2021 CSA Annual Meeting and YCSA National Show. With the changes in scheduling in 2020, the 2021 event will be hosting in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba and Ontario will host the 2022 event. We are excited to announce that both the OSA and OYSA boards were both in support of the site for the 2022 CSA Annual Meeting and YCSA National Junior Show being the Ancaster Fairgrounds and will be held in early August 2022. As a result of the wide-spread cancellation of livestock exhibitions in Canada in 2020, both the Canadian and Ontario Simmental Association’s Award of Excellence Programs have been suspended for 2020 however we look forward to these programs being available again in 2021. The OSA Sweepstakes will be running in full force in 2020 with a total of $3,000 available to we won. As you attend sales or purchase privately please bid with confidence that for each animal that you purchase from an OSA member AND that the pedigree is transferred between January 1 and December 2020 will be eligible to drawn as one of the six awards of $500 each (three for heifers and three for bulls). Both Ashton Colvin and I look forward to attending as many sales featuring Simmental cattle this fall and to meet as many of you as possible.
Scott Dykstra 2020/2021 OSA President
Positive Markets in Keady During Pandemic By: Ashton Colvin
Over the past 6 months life as we know it has been dramatically changed, not only locally but worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has shut down much of our economy, however the beef industry has continued to provide a quality product to its consumers. As the industry faces its economic hardships with the pandemic, we welcomed the new Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), the new
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North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Many producers see this as a positive way to continue the growth of our industry through free trade of beef, live cattle, and genetics. Across Ontario there are 18 live auction markets for beef producers to market their cattle. In Tara Ontario lives the home of the Keady Livestock Market. Owner and operator Scott Kuhl and his daughter Grace spoke to the challenges of the live markets during the pandemic. Some changes they have had during the pandemic are restricting the number of people inside. Now they are allowed 50 people in the sales ring. This is made sure by screening people coming in and out that they are there to buy and they have had no COVID like symptoms. Kuhl says they have also put together a Facebook page with live streaming for sellers to watch their cattle sell. Stocker and feeder sales do not have a big need for online bidding. Kuhl also commented a bull sale they hosted, 2/3 were sold online. Feeder sales continue to be an in-person bid. Something that all live markets are facing is the reality of virtual bidding becoming the new norm. Kuhl feels that they will keep the momentum going to keep up with other markets and with the low cost of live streaming they see no downside.
-Simmental Influence coming in strong “Buyers and sellers are staying pretty consistent. The only thing we are seeing a difference is in not having the odd person coming into a sale and buying something sporadically� says Kuhl. They have not faced a huge difference in the weekly feeder sales. However, come fall they may have to investigate of a more online bidding option with breeding stock with on average 1250-1700 head coming through the stockyards per week. With the Keady Livestock Market being home to the ever-popular Farmers market they have certainly missed the 8- 10 thousand people coming through the small hamlet of Keady in the summer. With Fall sales starting to come into full swing Kuhl feels the market will stay steady unless we have another COVID outbreak that effects a meat packer such as Cargill. With the shutting down and limiting processing capacity of facilities in the early spring, it certainly took a toll on our producers and they are continuing to clear the backlog. Trends are ever changing in the beef industry and a positive trend that Kuhl is seeing in the beef ring is the Simmental influence coming in strong. Over the years the stockers have been mainly dominated by Charolais and Angus. Kuhl feels that Simmental breeders are doing a great job with improving their genetics.
Seeing multiple breeds come through the sale ring on a weekly basis Kuhl is on the front line of
"Communication is the key to improving the industry's performance and success." -Scott Kuhl Keady Livestock Market
seeing the performance in our industry. Scott and Grace both feel to make the Simmental breed and beef industry better as a whole is communication. “It’s so important for breeders to keep in touch with the cattle feeders to see how their cattle are performing”. Kuhl feels that the key to success in this industry is communication between the two ends. “If you know how the cattle are performing you
can
change
your
breeding
program
accordingly. This is key for the industry to keep improving and profiting.”
Heterosis, also called “Hybrid Vigour�, is the increase in characteristics such as size, growth rate, fertility, and yield of a hybrid organism over those of its parents. Breeders exploit heterosis by mating two different pure-bred lines that have certain desirable traits. Hybrid vigor occurs because the hybrid offspring's traits are enhanced due to the mixing of genetic contributions of its parents.
Along with the livestock market the Kuhl Family also runs 120 commercial Red Simmental Influenced cows along with some purebred Simmental seedstock that they plan to expand over time. At 21 years old Grace has already started to make her mark in the industry, including Vice-President of the Young Canadian Simmental Association and recently was announced as one the of the 16 participants in the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders (CYL) program. This program selects young people across Canada to take part in a mentorship program that provides them with industry specific training to expand their knowledge and networking within the industry. The Simmental association is certainly proud to have such an enthusiastic individual be apart of our future in the industry.
Coming from a mainly commercial cattle background Grace finds good seedstock very important. Good genetics are the foundation to every operation either it be purebred or commercial. “ I think its important that purebred breeders understand their responsibility of breeding females that will go on to continue to make excellent Simmental bull makers and selling bulls that will work on commercial cows, taking advantage of the hybrid vigour. Therefore producing the highest quality cattle to be finished efficiently as possible in the feedlot, which go on to be a final beef product marketed to the consumer. Commercial breeders are putting their trust in the bull breeders that they are optimizing the best genetics possible.�
2021 OSA Breeders Directory Membership Renewal 2021 Renew your Membership by March 15t h 2021 to be included in the new Breeders Directory
New Launch Date! - Hardcopies printed for events and advertising - Map of Breeder Locations
Please forward this form along with payment and apply any changes so our records stay current.
OSA Membership Renewal 2021 $55.00 HST included Farm Name:_______________________________________
Name:____________________________________________________
Address:____________________________________________
Phone #:_________________________________________________
________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Ontario Simmental Association C/O Ashton Colvin 1422 Concession 4, Teeswater, ON, N0G 2S0 memberservices.osa@gmail,com
Email:____________________________________________________ Website:_________________________________________________ E-Transfers now accepted! Please send to: payments.osa@gmail.com using your LASTNAME as the password
President: SCOTT DYKSTRA 1834 Concession 9 Jarvis, ON N0A 1J0 289-834-2269 dykstrascott@johndeere.com
Director: LINDSAY MITCHELL 8215 Concession 14 Moorefield, ON N0G 2K0 519-496-7985 lindsaym86@hotmail.com
Vice President: BLAIR WILLIAMSON 7739 Lakeshore Rd Lambton Shores, ON N0N 1J3 519-808-0516 ridgeviewshorthorns@hotmail.com
Director: NATHAN LATCHFORD P.O. Box 288 Beachburg, ON K0J 1C0 613-281-1477 jstarlivestock@nrtco.net
Past President: TINA HIDDINK P.O. Box 250 R.R. 1 Bloomfield, ON K0K 1G0 613-743-5774 tinahiddink@hotmail.com
Director: IVAN MATTHEWS 3724 Trim Road Navan,ON K4B 0B6 (613) 835-3363 rosemeadfarm@hotmail.com
Director: REED CRAWFORD 22950 Taits Road R.R. 4 Glencoe, ON N0L 1M0 519-857-7333 riverpointcc@hotmail.com
Director: BRITTANY BARKLEY 14505 Dafoe Road Igleside, ON K0C 1M0 613 360-1936 brittanybarkly@hotmail.com
Director: PAT TABER 7569 Durham RD 30 Mount Albert, ON L0G 1M0 647-321-3448 patmegens@gmail.com Director: BRAD TURPIN 482 Cooke Road R.R. 1 Stirling, ON K0K 3E0 (613) 848-4208 brandleesimm@hotmail.com
Treasurer: JERRY BARBER P.O. Box 689 R.R.3 Shawville, PQ J0X 2Y0 (819) 647-3770 jerry@petropontiac.ca Secretary: GRACE OESCH 1201 Lichty Road Wellesley, ON N0B2T0 (519) 656-2199 gravandale@netflash.net
2020 OSA Board of Directors
Member Services Manager: ASHTON COLVIN 1422 Concession 4 Teeswater, ON N0G 2S0 519-357-6775 memberservices.osa@gmail.com