especially embryo transfer and reproduction has been extremely beneficial to the purebred seedstock industry. In Western Canada alone, Davis-Rairdan implants an average of 2,000 beef cattle embryos annually, and to date, they have exported embryos to over 22 countries. For the past 17 years, Cathy has worked tirelessly with Dr. Davis and the Davis-Rairdan transplant team for the benefit of the purebred industry.
Cathy rises about 5:00 a.m. (must be an old habit from the show road) and arrives at Davis-Rairdan around 7:00 a.m. A half hour drive from Bowden to Crossfield, Cathy is often on the QEII highway with the 18-wheel truckers before the snow ploughs have had a chance to clear the roads. The time she arrives back home depends on the day’s workload. Bookkeeping at Davis-Rairdan is just one of Cathy’s responsibilities. She also co-ordinates appointments between the flushing team and the breeders, both on farm or at the transplant centre. She contacts the breeders and provides them with the information necessary when preparing a cow to be flushed. If the cow is to be flushed at the transplant centre, she ensures the semen to breed her is released and available at the proper time. When it comes to shipping embryos worldwide, just the paper work alone can be daunting. Every country has its own government protocol (ever changing) that has to be followed to the letter, not to mention the CFIA regulations and Health papers required to ship embryos to each various country. Then there are the airline regulations and schedules to follow and the paper trail that involves. “It can be stressful to ensure the embryos arrive at their destination on time and without delay,” Cathy tells me, “but when all goes well, and say a breeder in Denmark sends you pictures of his resulting calves, it’s a great feeling to have satisfied clients.”
Cathy’s first exposure to a computer was as a student at Olds College. Long before the internet arrived, one of her projects was to collect information on the College Hereford cowherd and enter the data, such as pedigrees and breeding information, into a very antiquated computer program. Her second exposure to computers was when she transferred the Kilmorlie Farms bookkeeping onto a computer, but the computerized record-keeping programs for purebred herds left a lot to be desired back then. Davis-Rairdan also did their bookkeeping on a computer and when Cathy arrived, they had started to develop a reliable embryo inventory program. Since then, technology has greatly improved, and Cathy has embraced it and continues to improve her skills. She maintains the Davis-Rairdan website and without the internet, easily connecting with clients and colleagues across Canada and worldwide wouldn’t be possible. When Cathy got tired of waiting for computer technicians to show up, not to mention the enormous fees they charged, she took it upon herself to enrol in some troubleshooting and repair courses. Now she is the go-to-girl at Davis-Rairdan, not to mention helping a few of her friends!
Davis-Rairdan Holiday Party
Cathy At Work
Idris Wood, Michelle, Tim and Kaylee Craplewe
Michelle, Cathy’s younger sister, graduated High School in Barrhead and also made her mark in the beef industry as a custom cattle fitter. Michelle (PeeWee) worked with Kilmorlie Farms for four years, as well as for several other Canadian and U.S. breeders. For those readers that knew Michelle, she now lives in Edmonton, Alberta with her husband, Tim Craplewe and their 12 year old daughter, Kaylee. Cathy and Michelle’s father, Terry, and his wife Lois, live in St. Albert, Alberta. Together they have one married son, Scott, who lives with his family in Reno, Nevada. Terry and Lois own and operate a “Hot Shot” service called, T. L. Wood Transport, and Michelle is the Office Manager. Idris, Cathy and Michelle’s mother, is now retired from the Alberta Government Department of Agriculture in Barrhead and resides in Leduc, Alberta. She keeps busy working part-time in a clothing boutique. Lois and Terry Wood Herefords Today Spring 2011
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