Canadian Lowline Association Register

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Meet Your

President's Message

CANADIAN LOWLINE ASSOCIATION 2015-2016 DIRECTORS Cathy Monteith, President - Edam, SK We first got our Lowlines in 2010 when we bought a small herd from Ken Lindahl in Wetaskawin.

I became a director of the Canadian Lowline Association in 2012 and am President this year.

With my husband Lee and children Melissa and James we have Honeybrook Lowlines and raise both Fullblood and Percentage animals.

Laurie Brunsdon, Vice President - Vernon, BC Silverhills Lowlines is located on the edge of the Monashee Mountains east of Vernon B.C. We raise Fullblood and Percentage Lowlines. We promote a grass raised animal without hormones and only use antibiotics if necessary. We now have a location in Lumby that sells our meat at a retail facility, the Lumby Community Market. We are pleased to see the breed growing in popularity as they are a great animal for this area.

Russell Crawford, Past President - Victoria, BC I have been a board member since 2010. We run approximately 120 Fullblood Lowline Angus and percentage cattle. We believe with other members of the board that Lowline Angus cattle have a place in the commercial market place, and we are actively expanding and promoting these cattle to the industry.

Should anyone have any questions regarding the breed please feel free to email me at info@highpointlowlines.com Darrell Gotaas, Director - Edmonton, AB Darrell Gotaas resides in Edmonton, Alberta and has been involved with Lowline cattle since 1999.

Darrell, along with his wife Barbara, his father Paul, and herdsman Murray Skippen, operate Big Island Lowlines. It began with the purchase of 20 Australian embryos and 3 heifers and a flush cow from the original Australian import that started the Canadian herd.

Darrell has been a member of the Board since 2006, and served as President from 2006 through 2014.

Melanie Guttner, Director - Pink Mountain, BC I have been a board Member since 2013.

Pinnacle Lowlines is owned and operated by Andy and Melanie Guttner of Pink Mountain, British Columbia, Canada. We purchased our foundation Lowline herd in 2008. We are proud to be a part of developing some of the most hardy grass fed Lowlines available in North America.

Monika Herter, Director - Leduc, AB Hello, my name is Monika Herter. I have been a Board member since November 2014. My responsibilities are Promotion and Membership. I will do my best to promote the Lowlines and explain why it is important to become a member. I try to make it exciting to be a member. My husband and I are the owners of Big Mountain Lowline. We are proud to own a little herd and be happy to help the people in our neighborhood to learn more about the Lowline.

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It is amazing to note that the Lowline breed will celebrate its 20th year anniversary in 2016. The breed has survived despite BSE, a drought and the stigma that it was a passing fad that would go the way of the Ostriches and Emus.

Well the breed not only survived, but has prospered and there is renewed enthusiasm and excitement as we approach this anniversary year. There are two shows to head out and lend support in whatever ways you can- IPE in Armstrong BC over the Labor Day weekend and the National show at Farmfair in early November. There will be other events planned to promote the breed in different regions, an example being the Get to Know Lowlines day planned for June 18th just outside of Saskatoon. I encourage everyone to take their animals out to display at local shows and fairs.

The board of directors worked hard in 2015 and finally got the DNA parentage testing brought into the 21st century with a switch to SNP methodologya cheaper and more robust testing method. Details are outlined in this magazine. We are now on par with the USA method of parentage testing.

The registration fees have also been lowered to encourage the registration of more animals.

An association is only as strong as its members, so I encourage everyone to become active in the association and if you have ideas or projects that you want to see done communicate them to the board, but be prepared to be an active participant in whatever project you suggest.

I look forward to an exciting year and wish everyone success in their Lowline related endeavors.

Cathy

Registration Changes

For the past year we have been working on changing how we DNA verify our cattle for parentage. We are transitioning from microsatellite array to SNP testing. We are almost there! When you go to register an animal you will receive a DNA form to be sent to Delta Genomics. On the form you will have two choices: SNP or SNP/Micro. If you are registering a calf, and both of its parents are SNP tested then you would choose SNP testing. If you are registering a calf and both parents are not SNP tested then you will have to choose SNP/Microsatellite testing. This will then parent verify the calf through microsatellite array and also SNP test the calf so it has its SNP test going forward. There is a price difference between these tests.

The cost of registering cattle will be going down. Firstly, we have dropped our registration fees for fullbloods from $50.00 to $40.00 and our percentage registrations from $40.00 to $25.00. For DNA testing prices, please see the CLRC fee schedule for up to date pricing.

The choices for DNA testing will be as follows. If you desire you can have all cattle that are presently registered retested with SNP testing which will allow you to then choose the cheaper SNP testing for registering their calves. If the parents are not SNP tested then the calves will have to have both microsatellite and SNP testing done. The price will likely rise in the future if both tests are required. The goal is to transition to as close to 100% SNP testing for parentage as is possible. In the future there may always be a very low number of calves that will still require both- for example embryo calves.

The board has also extended the length of time that animals up to 24m can be registered at the lower $40.00 fee. This is to accommodate the number of animals have not been registered due to the delays in getting the SNP testing made available.

New Membership Incentive Any new member will be given a refund on for the registration fee on the first calf they register. This is in effect for the first 2 years of membership.

If anyone has any questions, please contact us and we will be glad to answer your questions Sincerely The Board of Directors

Tuesday, March 29, 2016 4:54:24 PM

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Meet Your Directors ................................................................................. 1 President’s Message .................................................................................. 1 Registration Changes ............................................................................... 1 Canadian Lowline Cattle Association Member Directory.................. 6 Breeder Profile ......................................................................................... 8 Show Round Up ...................................................................................... 14 Get To Know Lowlines Weekend ......................................................... 15 Why A Lowline - From A Junior’s Perspective................................... 16 Vaccination Protocols ........................................................................... 18 A Breeder’s…Veterinary Perspective .................................................. 26 Wessex Lowlines .................................................................................... 22 Value of Collecting Phenotypes ........................................................... 24 Interior Provincial Exhibition.............................................................. 27 20th Anniversary in Canada..... ........................................................... 28 2 lowline16.indd 2

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WHERE

      

IS FOUND

Stop by to see our quality Registered Angus and Registered Midline Angus.

Our focus on breeding top Midline heifers and bulls is exceeding our expectations.

STUMBLES CREEK RANCH MIKE & LYNNE WRIGHT

Box 2051 I Merritt BC V1K 1B8 I P: 250-378-4996 I F: 250-378-4991 I E: mlwright1@telus.net

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Pat Andrusiak & Gordon Young Star, AB 780-895-2715 Email: pandrusiak@mcsnet.ca Lyle & Gwen Black Westlock, AB Email: lblack@mcsnet.ca

780-307-3607

Marc & Suzanne Dumaine Millarville, AB 403-931-9121 Email: suzid@shaw.ca Clinton & Joanne Erickson Elk Point, AB 780-724-2245 Email: cj_rvrview@hotmail.com Darrell & Barbara Gotaas Edmonton AB 780-486-7553 Email: drgotaas@telus.net Paul B Gotaas Edmonton, AB

780-434-8059

Thomas & Monika Herter Leduc, AB 780-387-7473 Email: tmherter@hotmail.com Quentin & Karin Jespersen Duffield AB 780-915-4257 Email: j6cattleranch@gmail.com Mary Peevey Drumheller, AB 403-823-9560 Email: mary2602@telus.net Karen & Ronald Sobey Sturgeon County, AB Email: rksobey@aol.com

780-939-5812

Twa Cattle Company Ltd. High River, AB 403-652-9903 Email: kyletwa1@gmail.com

 Cameron Mosher Emilie Skippen

Charlie & Bryan Jacques Abbotsford, BC Email: cjacques@shaw.ca

Camille Talbot Mirabel, QC 450-434-6245 Email: camtalbot@hotmail.com 604-756-0946

Laurie Brunsdon & Kevin Tiede Lumby, BC 250-547-6465 Email: littlecow@telus.net Debbie & Chip Wood Coldstream, BC 250-305-6162 Email: ducati_35@hotmail.com Mike & Lynne Wright Merritt, BC 250-378-4996 Email mlwright1@telus.net Stewart Zaleschuk & Tony Spina Lumby, BC

 Sonja Guttner Jax Jackson Nash Jackson

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John & Nadiene Frank Darlingford, MB 204-246-2383 Email: jnfrank@mymts.net

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Tim & Enid Lyttle Bowmanville, ON 905-263-4358 Email: tim.lyttle47@gmail.com James & Frances Quin Spencerville, ON Email: francespat@sympatico.ca Walkabout Ranch St. Charles, ON 705-867-0565 Email: walkaboutkathy@gmail.com

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Russell Crawford Victoria, BC 250-883-3287 Email: info@highpointlowlines.com Andy & Melanie Guttner Pink Mountain, BC 250-772-5711 Email: butterkupfarms@yahoo.ca Caroline Hickman Salt Spring Island, BC

Colby & Meagan Jackson Falkland, BC

250-537-5761

Judy Burgoyne & Michael Landry Crapaud, PE 902-566-5269 Email: ridintherein@gmail.com Margaret Younker Brackley, PE 902-368-1501 Email: huntervalleyfarm@hotmail.com

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Martin Beaulieu L’islet, QC 418-247-7839 Email: martin.beaulieu@ouellet.com

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Brian & Brenda Chicoine Storthoaks, SK 306-449-2290 Email: bchicoine@sasktel.net Ed Machart Saskatoon, SK 306-291-3111 Email: Livingskylowlines@gmail.com Cathy & Lee Monteith Edam, SK 306-845-7897 Email: cmonteith@littleloon.ca Perry & Shari Richard Hepburn, SK 306-861-4725 Email: perry@paintedpostlowlines.ca Carissa Richard Hepburn, SK 306-891-9574 Email: carissa@paintedpostlowlines.ca

 Melissa Monteith James Monteith

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David & Tara Haslett

+44-7710-378 Email: david.haslett@btinternet.com

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A M & S E Humphreys Shepton Beauchamp +44 14602493 Email: farm@jhmaritime.com Wessex Lowlines Blandford, Dorset Email: mail@wessexlowines.com John Whalley Saffron Walden Essex 44-1799-5400 Email: johnwhalley01@gmail.com

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Idaho Lowline Cattle Co. Diana Lillefloren Hayden, ID 208-215-4460 Email: ILCCDI@yahoo.com Muddy Creek Ranch Wilsall, MT 406-600-7179 Email: info@muddycreekranchlowlines.com

Herman Huijskamp Kelowna, BC 250-765-2126 Email: hermanhuyskamp@shaw.ca

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In 1999, Paul Gotaas began to think about how he might spend his time and energy when at some point in the future he would retire from his profession of dentistry. Paul had long had a passion for horses, cattle, trying new things, and a challenge. When Paul heard about some “smaller black Paul & Arlene cattle” that had recently arrived in Alberta, he found his way to Ted Jansen and soon became convinced that Lowline was a breed that he wanted to become involved with. Paul shared his enthusiasm regarding the efficiency of Lowline cattle with his wife Arlene, his son Darrell, and his daughter-in-law Barbara.

In the fall of 1999, Big Island Lowlines (named after the island in the North Saskatchewan River just below Darrell and Barb’s place) purchased 20 Paul, Matthew & Sarah embryos that were transplanted into 20 Holstein heifers at Alta Genetics. At the same time, Greta MLP (daughter of the great Australian donor cow Mugga Ellen) and three ET heifer calves Alta Paulie, Alta Mattie, and Alta Sarah (named after Darrell and Barb’s children) were purchased. The implant program produced 7 bull and 7 heifer calves in the fall of 2000.

Big Island Lowlines began their involvement in the exhibition and promotion Paul & Alta Grizz of the Lowline breed at Farmfair International in Edmonton, Alberta in the fall of 2000 with exhibition of the first Lowline at Farmfair, a 7 day old bottle fed ET bull calf, Alta Grizz BIL 6K. In 2002, to add diversity to their breeding program, Big Island purchased 4 breeding bulls; Zeus SCR, Titus SCR, Apollo SCR, and Chet. This introduced Goan Saltbush, Captain Knightcrawler, Commodore and Bosun genetics. Miss Sun Creek Aztek was purchased in 2003, adding a Knightcrawler line to Big Island females.

Over the years, Big Island has consistently added new genetics to their herd to continue to provide diversity and improve the quality of the Lowline breed. Before the days of using a computer program for herd management, Big Island relied on Paul’s detailed analysis and construction of pedigree charts for developing their breeding program and for continued acquisition of semen, bulls, and females to provide genetic diversity and quality. Big Island also began to

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be actively involved in cross breeding with the Angus, Galloway, Red Poll and Speckle Park breeds. There were many days and nights spent at the kitchen table, in parking lots, and at restaurants discussing Paul’s charts in detail! In a way it was a sad day when the computer program took over.

Over the years, Paul has enjoyed immensely his discussions with David Whitehead, Ted Jansen and many others regarding Lowline genetics.

In 2003, Murray Skippen joined Big Island Lowlines as herdsman. Murray has been an integral part of the operation since Day 1 of his involvement. Murray has not only made a commitment to promote and improve Big Island Lowline cattle, but the Lowline breed as a whole. Murray is always ready and available to “talk Lowline” and to share his wealth of knowledge about “anything cattle”. Murray looks forward to heading off to Denver and Houston annually to meet with fellow Lowline breeders south of the border. Murray has become like family to the Big Island operation.

Big Island Lowline began showing their cattle in 2003, at Edmonton’s Farmfair International in the Multi Breed Show. Big Island added participation in other exhibitions, sales, and shows throughout Alberta; in St. Paul, Drayton Valley, the Camrose Canadian Bull Congress, and at the Calgary Stampede.

In 2007, the first Canadian National Lowline Show was enthusiastically welcomed by the Farmfair International Beef Committee. Lowline cattle in attendance were representatives of Big Island Lowlines, Black AZ Lowline, BM Lowlines, Silver Hill Lowlines, Twa Cattle Company, and Wild Rose Lowlines. In November of 2015, the 9th National Show was held in this same venue. Big Island Lowlines is regularly represented at the Interprovincial Show in Armstrong, BC, the National Western Stock Show in Denver, the International Livestock Show in Houston, and at Farmfair International in Edmonton.

Big Island has produced Canadian male and female Grand Champions and also a Grand Champion Bull at the Houston International Lowline Show. Big Island cattle have also topped a number of sales in prices paid.

In June 2008, Big Island introduced the first recognized red carrier fullblood bull and female in Canada with the births of Alta Magnum and Alta Abigail sired by Bluey and Awesome Red respectively.

A year later, Lazy G. Red Skye was imported and was the first red fullblood Lowline bull in Canada. Since then Big Island has added the true red gene through the use of Alm Bess genetics. The red bull Alta Legend (first red Lowline born in Canada) and the true red gene carrier black bull Alta Demolition were born in 2010 and 2011 respectively. They were sold and have been and are currently being used successfully in breeding programs in North and South America and also in

Alta Demolition 214Y

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Australia. 2016 is starting out as an exciting year for red Lowline in the Big Island herd.

In 2010 Big Island sent its first export of 10 Lowline heifers to the UK. After a long and complicated process of working with the CFIA to produce a CHAH certification protocol that would work for beef herds, the heifers were exported and were the first live cattle to enter the UK from Canada in over Wessex Lowines, Paul, Barbara and Darrell 20 years, and the first live Lowline to set foot in the UK. Big Island has enjoyed working with Wessex Lowliness to send to date, 29 heifers to the UK. In the summer of 2015, Paul and Arlene, Darrell, Barbara, Paul, Matthew and Sarah, traveled to Dorset County in the UK to visit with the owners and managers of Wessex Lowlines. It was a pleasure to see how the Wessex operation has flourished and the enthusiasm and professionalism with which they promote the Lowline breed in the UK and the EU! For more than a decade and a half, Big Island Lowlines has been actively supplying breeding stock to buyers locally, nationally, and beyond, thereby aiding in the start-up of fullblood and/or mixed breed commercial herds. We recently have also had very preliminary discussions with the University of Alberta Faculty of Agricultural, Life, and Environmental Sciences and are excited about the possibility of collaborating with two research stations in studies of beef breeding, genomics, environmental influences, and rangeland ecology and management.

Darrell served as President of the Canadian Lowline Cattle Association for 10 years and currently remains a member of the Board of Directors. He enjoys being involved in the operation with his father. Barbara is the administrator for the Big Island operation and has been involved with the planning of the Canadian National Lowline Show since 2007.

On a more personal note: One of the most rewarding aspects of being a Lowline breeder is all the truly wonderful people that we, at Big Island, have met over the past 17 years.

Meeting, working with, and showing with many wonderful people has truly been a blessing to each one of us. We have so many memories that we are grateful for, so much wisdom and good advice that we have received, and so many friendships that we have made. Thank you for being a part of our journey. We are looking forward to making many more memories with you.

We wish you every success with your Lowline experience.

God bless you and your families – Paul, Arlene, Darrell, Barbara, Murray

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My name is Melissa Monteith, I am 17 years old and the owner of Prairie North Lowlines. I bought my first lowline at the National Western Stock Show in 2013 from Muddy Creek Ranch.

She is a 62.5% Moderator Lowline and her name is Pipi Longstockings. I have lived on a farm my whole life and have always had cows around. When I was younger I didn’t like to work with the big Angus and the Angus/ Belgian Blue crosses that we had because they were so big. When mom and dad got our first Lowlines was when I developed a real interest in the cattle industry.

I am now the President of the Mervin 4-H Beef Club, for the past two years I have taken a Lowline cross heifer as my heifer project. This year I am taking a Lowline Simmental cross steer, a Lowline cross heifer and I am taking my heifer from last year back as a cow calf pair. In 2015, my Lowline heifer, HNB She’s the 1, was the Grand Champion Female in our local club. We took her to Farmfair to the National Show. I showed her in the UFA Junior Futurity as well. This past summer I also had the opportunity to go down to the Spokane Interstate Fair for the Lowline show. I didn’t take any animals but ILCC was nice enough to lend me one of their heifers to show in the Senior Showmanship class.

Melissa Monteith

My name is Cailyn Campbell and I have grown up showing a variety of breeds including Shorthorns, Angus X, and Club Calves. I have recently been introduced to showing Lowlines for High Point Lowlines. From growing up on a third generation Purebred Polled Hereford family run cattle farm in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, to showing cattle in various provinces and countries, cattle have always been a huge part of my life. Showing, fitting and clipping cattle has always been a passion of mine. Driven by my passion, and drive to succeed I have always worked on improving my skills. In 2013, my sister Marissa Campbell and I made the trek out for Farmfair International to show her Shorthorn bred heifer and bull calf from SF Shorthorns, when we crossed paths with Linda and Russ Crawford. That year was the first year I’d shown Lowlines and I have been showing for Linda and Russ since then. The Club Calves that I show now differentiate themselves from Lowlines in multiple ways. I’ve learned from showing Lowlines, for the most part they are docile and gentle nature. It’s rare to see at a show where the majority of individuals in it’s class are sound but Lowlines seem to prove this wrong. From analyzing the Lowline breed, I have also come to a realization of how structurally correct theses cattle are. The breeds I show have many comparisons to the Lowline breed, however Show cattle are Show cattle. All breeds must be fed on premium feeds and premium care for quality results. The amount of work you put into your cattle is not breed dependant.

In the few short years I have spent showing Lowlines, I’ve been giving many opportunities. Opportunities not only including showing, but opportunities to meet new breeders, travel, meet new people and create new friendships. Despite what some may think, I truly feel that the Lowline breed has paved their way into the cattle industry and are a breed that’ll have a future in the industry. I would like to thank High Point Lowlines for introducing me to the breed, and the people I have met along my journeys.

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The Lowlines are the stature of what the Angus started out as back in the fifties. Over the years they were bred to be taller in size until they became the Angus we all know today.

My parents got their first herd of 8 Lowlines in 2008. We have found that the Lowline cattle are a very efficient breed of cattle. I am slowly building my own herd of Lowlines. My Lowline and standard Angus heifers that I bred to our Lowline bulls, will be calving this year.

We show our Lowline cattle every year at the Armstrong IPE and other fall fairs. I really enjoy showing our Lowlines. We get a fair amount of people that come up to us during the fall fairs and ask about our cattle. Little kids love the Lowline calves, because they are much smaller and less threatening compared to the larger breeds of cattle.

Lowline cattle are a great breed of cattle to own in my opinion.

Sonja Guttner

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T

here are many different vaccines made by many different pharmaceutical companies. These are just our recommendations. If you have used a different vaccine in the past and are happy with the performance, we can order that type in for you or recommend something that is similar.

4. Bovishield Gold / OneShot - This is a 2 mL subcutaneous vaccine that covers Mannheimia

*Farm Calves from cows vaccinated LIVE every spring: Live vaccines are the optimal way to vaccinate your cow herd. They offer the best coverage against the diseases but should be used ONLY when recommended. If used improperly, they could have a devastating effect on your cow herd. If you are uncertain as to use killed or Modified Live ASK us!

Pa ra i n f l u e n z a ( P I 3 ) , Respiratory Syncitial Virus (BRSV), Bovine viral Diarrhea (BVD) This is a LIVE vaccine and is included in all of our calf protocols. This protects your calves against the summer time bacterial and viral pneumonias as well as priming the immune system for fall weaning protocols.

1. Inforce 3 - This is a 2ml intranasal vaccine that covers Bovine Rhinotracheitis, Parainfluenza-3, Respiratory Syncytial Virus. This is a vaccine is recommended for new calves and can be given at birth or within the first few days of calving. It provides good protection against viral pathogens and is meant to provide coverage until 6 weeks of age at which time regular branding protocols can be initiated. The efficacy of this vaccine in our herd has been very good and it is especially well suited for pure bred herds calving early in the year with increased stocking densities.

2a. Vision 8/ Somnugen - This is a 2mL subcutaneous vaccine that covers Clostridium chauvoei(Blackleg)septicum-haemolyticum-novyi-sordellii-perfringens Types C & D. As well as Histophilus somnus BacterinToxoid (this is the “Blackleg”Vaccine) We recommend that calves receive this vaccine at 6 weeks of age and again at weaning time.

2b. Ultrachoice 8 - This is a 2ml subcutaneous vaccine that covers Clostridium chauvoei(Blackleg)-septicumhaemolyticum-novyi-sordellii-perfringens Types B C & D Bacterin Toxoid. This vaccine does NOT contain Somnus and is recommended to be given to cattle over one year of age. It is a KILLED vaccine and is included in all of our adult cattle protocols.

3. Bovishield Gold FP5 - This is a 2 mL subcutaneous vaccine that covers two types of Bovine viral diarrhea (BVD), Infectious Bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV), Bovine Respiratory Parainfluenza-3(PI3). These are LIVE vaccines and should only be given to pregnant cows that have been previously vaccinated with live vaccine or open replacements.

haemolytica as well as

*Farm calves not from vaccinated cows - these are the ‘KILLED’`protocols.

When in doubt use this protocol. If you bought cows from a source with unknown vaccine history, use this.

It is safe, and won`t compromise the safety of your herd.

The cost is marginally higher and it does not provide the same level of protection as live protocols.

1. Inforce 3 - This is a 2ml intranasal vaccine that covers Bovine Rhinotracheitis, Parainfluenza-3, Respiratory Syncytial Virus. This is a LIVE vaccine and is recommended for all new calves.

2a.Vision 8/ Somnugen - This is a 2mL subcutaneous vaccine that covers Clostridium chauvoei(Blackleg)septicum-haemolyticum-novyi-sordellii-perfringens Types C & D-Haemophilussomnus Bacterin-Toxoid (this is the “Blackleg” Vaccnine) We reccommend any animal under one year of age receiving this vaccine. It is a KILLED vaccine and is included in all of our calf protocols.

2b.Ultrachoice 8 - This is a 2ml subcutaneous vaccines that covers Clostridium chauvoei(Blackleg)-septicumhaemolyticum-novyi-sordellii-perfringens Types B C & D Bacterin Toxoid. This vaccine does NOT contain Somnus and is recommended to be given to cattle over one year of age. It is a KILLED vaccine and is included in all of our adult cattle protocols.

3. CattleMaster 5 - This is a 2 mL subcutaneous vaccine that covers two types of Bovine viral diarrhea

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(BVD), Infectious Bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV), Bovine Respiratory Parainfluenza-3(PI3). These are KILLED vaccines and are safe for any animal.

Alberta Veterinary Centre Vaccine Protocol: Calves: At birth or within first 7 days- Inforce 3- Intranasal (IN) At 4-6 weeks of age: At weaning boost with: Bovishield Gold / Ones Shot Bovishield Gold 5 / One Shot Vision 8 w/ Somnus 2cc under the skin (SQ) on all vaccines Cows- at preg testing or at Scourguard Vaccination: Bovishield Gold FP5 2cc under the skin(SQ) Ultrachoice 8

2cc under the skin (SQ)

Scourguard -- Initial dose can be given at time of preg testing and then given 2 weeks before the onset of calving thereafter. Revaccinating those late calvers 6 weeks after pre-calving vaccination is valuable and recommended.

Replacement Heifers - 2 to 4 weeks before breeding: Bovishield gold 5 Ultrachoice 8 2cc subcutaneously on both vaccines Replacement heifers at preg testing: Initial Scourguard Vaccine Booster to be given 2 weeks before start of calvingIntramuscular (IM)

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show ring – our homebred junior bull Wessex Calgary won the Championship in the Native & Minority breed classes at Dorset County show and Wessex Brooke. A heifer we sold in 2012, won the Lowline Championship at Frome show in Somerset, currently the only show in the UK with specific Lowline classes. Heifers we sold in 2014 have also been winning rosettes and championships at local shows in Derbyshire. It is always good to see homebred stock you have sold go on to do well for their new owners. We e are making in-roads in the UK with the Lowline also keep upto date with the animals we sent to Ireland and its cattle as we are now finding more people have great to hear they now have their first calves on the ground and heard about the breed and are enquiring about that things are going well for them as well. them. We have done a lot of marketing with editorials and features in farming and smallholder publications Bulling time has plus travelling around the country showing the cattle which is gone well, David finally paying off. Price is the biggest hurdle for buyers in the selected 8 bulls UK and Europe, importing animals and genetics is not cheap and in 2015 and after dictates the sale prices which are why we do a lot of work with scanning we have embryo flushes and surrogate dams to increase herd size. As the 54 females to calve UK/European herd grows and availability is easier then prices in 2016. All heifers will start to become more affordable which will make the breed were synchronised more accessible for many people. There is a lot of interest from and paired to junior Europe – we are currently working on a European export which bulls so it is always a we hope leads to more Lowline breeders getting established in relief at scanning to Europe. find all the bulls are

W

working.

Our embryo flushing and transfer program Calves weaned at the end of October weighed well, averaging continues to progress 181kg – the heaviest being 234 kg which after a largely dry with better success year summer with grass quite burnt off was good to see. Our on year, most recently with a 10 out of 10 take on highland surrogates and 4 out of 5 on the Angus surrogates, which we are very happy with.

2015 brought some good results in the

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percentage (Highland/Lowline and Angus/Lowline) calves are shaping up very nicely and are good examples of how a Lowline bull can influence offspring.

Last August we were delighted to host a visit from the Gotaas family from Big Island Lowlines whom we imported our foundation females from. It was great for Barbara, Darrell, Paul and Arlene to be able to see how their animals are doing over here and the herd we have been able to build from them. David spends a lot of time looking at bloodlines and pedigrees, so he enjoyed the opportunity to spend some time discussing these with Paul who has a vast knowledge of the breed.

We managed to take a 2 week break in December, returning from the Florida sunshine to high winds and lashing rain. We normally average 54 inches of rain a year but it feels like we have had most of that in December and January! We brought the majority of the cows inside at the end of November, the heifers stayed out until early January. Just the Highland surrogates and cows with young calves are left to winter outside on hay and silage to protect the pastures for spring grazing.

We sadly had to say goodbye to our stock bull, Langford Conker, in January. Conker has been a great ambassador for the Lowline breed in the UK winning 5 Championships and 1 overall Beef Championship along with many many rosettes over the last few years. He really caught people’s attention and made them take notice of the Lowline breed. He was only 8 years old and we hoped he would go on for a good few years yet but he tore a cruciate ligament in his back leg and despite 6 weeks of veterinary treatment it did not improve and the sad decision was made to put him to sleep. He was one of the sweetest tempered bulls we have ever known, however he has left us a great legacy with some promising offspring. We have some young bulls by him that are shaping up very well and have his fantastic temperament and some lovely young heifers sired by him – most of our show team are his offspring so his bloodline will be with us for many years to come.

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Introduction

From a historical point of view, there have been considerable changes made to National Cattle Evaluations (NCE) over time. More recently, many beef breed associations have augmented EPD with genomic information. This step alone has included many rapid evolutions both in terms of methods of incorporation and the source of genomic information. Changes include new genotyping platforms, the usefulness of genomic information in predicting genetic merit, and our understanding of how best to utilize it.

Prior to genomic information being first integrated into NCE by the American Angus Association in 2009, genomic information (Molecular Breeding Values; MBV) were viewed by some producers as competing sources of information to traditional EPD. This created confusion as to which piece of information to utilize. Even after the incorporation of genomic predictors into NCE, new implementation issues were evident in the beef seedstock industry. Retraining, or recalibration (the process of reestimating SNP effects and refining the resulting genomic prediction equation), became a necessity and the beef industry understood that the efficacy of genomic predictors were not robust (persistent) over several generations.

The lack of predictive ability across breeds was also very clear, and the use of genomic predictors trained in Angus could not be used with any beneficial degree of accuracy in a closely related breed like Red Angus. Consequently, for breeds to capitalize on the benefits of augmenting traditional EPD with genomic information, they must first make an initial investment in developing a “training” population of genotyped and phenotyped animals, upon which to train the genomic prediction equations. Generally speaking, breed associations were advised to genotype a minimum of 1,000 animals that preferably had moderate to high accuracy EPD. To date several breed associations have met this mark and are currently computing EPD incorporating genomic information.

Accuracy

How well a particular genomic test improves the accuracy of an EPD in the context of selection is related to how much of the genetic variation the marker test explains.

The magnitude of the benefits depends on the proportion of genetic variation (%GV) explained by a given marker panel, where the %GV is equal by the square of the genetic correlation multiplied by 100. Table 1 shows the relationship between the genetic correlation (correlation between predicted and true genetic merit; true accuracy), %GV, and the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) accuracy. BIF accuracy is the standard for all U.S. beef breeds.

Table 1. The relationship between true accuracy (r), proportion of genetic variation explained (%GV), and Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) accuracy.

From Table 1 it is clear that even when the %GV is exceptionally large, the corresponding BIF accuracy is relatively low. This suggests that although genomics has the potential to add additional information, by itself it is far from a perfect predictor of an animal’s genetic merit.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the benefits of including genomic information into EPD (or Estimated Breeding Value (EBV) which is twice the value of an EPD) accuracy (on the BIF scale) when the genomic information explains 10 or 40% of the genetic variation (GV), which is synonymous with R2 values of 0.1 and 0.4. The darker portion of the bars shows the EPD accuracy before the inclusion of genomic information and the lighter colored portion shows the increase in accuracy after the inclusion of the genomic information into the EPD calculation. As the %GV increases, the increase in EPD accuracy becomes larger.

Additionally, lower accuracy animals benefit more from the inclusion of genomic information, and the benefits decline as the EPD accuracy increases.

Regardless of the %GV assumed here, the benefits of including genomic information into EPD dissipate when EPD accuracy is between 0.6 and 0.7. On the other hand, when %GV is 40, an animal with 0 accuracy could exceed an accuracy of 0.2 with genomic information alone. This would be comparable to having approximately 4 progeny for a highly heritable trait, or 7 progeny for a moderately heritable trait (Table 2).

Phenotypes in the Genomic Era

While these gains in accuracy are impressive, particularly for non-parent animals, it is clear that genomic information alone cannot “prove” a sire. Or in other words, additional information is required before an animal can achieve very high levels of BIF accuracy. To reach high levels of accuracy it is necessary to collect and submit phenotypic information on the animal’s progeny. There is still a need, and tremendous benefit from, the continued collection of phenotypes in the context of genomic selection. The benefits fall into two broad classifications: 1) Training Population Animals with phenotypes are needed in order to develop the initial training population. Ideally these animals have moderate to high accuracy EPD, which would

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Figure 1. Increase in accuracy from integrating genomic information that explains 10% of the genetic variation into Estimated Breeding Values (EBV).

Figure 2. Increase in accuracy from integrating genomic information that explains 40% of the genetic variation into Estimated Breeding Values (EBV).

require that they have several progeny (refer to Table 2) that have the phenotype recorded. If routine phenotype collection does not occur, building the initial training set will be problematic.Genomic predictions need to be “retrained” overtime, and to do so requires additional animals to be included in the training population. Similar to building the initial training population, this requires that newly selected animals are routinely measured for the trait of interest thus building EPD accuracy and providing additional information from which more reliable genomic predictors can be derived.

2) Added Accuracy Although genomic predictors have been shown to increase EPD accuracy (refer to Figures 1 and 2), in isolation they do not have the ability to increase BIF accuracy to high levels alone. To continue to build the accuracy of an animal’s EPD, the animal must have progeny recorded that have been measured for the trait of interest.

Conclusions

The inclusion of genomic predictors into NCE offers an exciting and powerful tool to increase the rate of genetic gain by increasing accuracy of EPD, particularly of young animals, and by reducing the generation interval if younger sires are used more heavily. However, genotyping animals does not replace the need for phenotyping. Doing so inherently limits the upper bound of accuracy far below what is possible if additional phenotypes are collected. Genomic predictors should be viewed as an additional source of information for EPD calculations, not the complete picture.

Table 2. Approximate number of progeny with phenotypic information needed to reach accuracy levels (true (r) and the BIF standard) for three heritabilities (h2).

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Biography: Dr. Colin Palmer is an Associate Professor of Theriogenology (Animal Reproduction) at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. Originally from Nova Scotia, Dr. Palmer worked in mixed practices in Ontario and British Columbia and has owned/operated a practice in Saskatchewan. Dr. Palmer along with his wife Kim and children Lauren, Emily and Carter run a herd of purebred Red Angus cattle under the KC Cattle Co. name.

Vaccinating the Herd Two common questions I am asked are: “What should I vaccinate against?” and “What vaccine would you recommend?”

a good idea to make sure the vaccine provides protection against tetanus.

To answer the first question I would recommend that any cattle vaccine program in this country should provide adequate protection against Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR); Bovine Virus Diarrhea Virus (BVD), both Types 1 and 2; and a combined clostridium vaccine to prevent blackleg and other clostridial diseases. All unvaccinated cattle are susceptible to the devastating affects of IBR and BVD. High fever, depression, respiratory symptoms, abortion and death are all associated with IBR. Similarly, BVD is associated with a variety of clinical signs including fever, diarrhea, depression and respiratory disease. In recent years, distinct new strains of the BVD virus have been discovered referred to as BVD Type 2. Some of these Type 2 strains may cause bleeding from the gut, lungs or other areas within the body often resulting in rapid death of affected animals. Both types of BVD may be especially damaging to unborn calves. Infection of pregnant animals with BVD virus is associated with conception failure and abortions. Deformities in live born calves involving the brain, skin and eyes have also been reported. Pregnant cattle infected within a gestational window extending from as early as 2-3 weeks to as late as 4 to 5 months after conception may give birth to calves that are persistently infected (PI) with the BVD virus. The immune systems of PI animals are incapable of recognizing and eliminating the virus because the virus is identified as a normal part of the body.

PI animals can have a huge impact on the efficiency of a cattle operation as they are often poor-doers that constantly shed the virus to other animals. Most PI animals die young when exposed to other strains of BVD, but some can live long enough to give birth to persistently infected calves, or may be sold as breeding bulls spreading the virus to new herds. When discussing IBR and BVD vaccination programs I am occasionally asked if these two diseases are still important. My answer is a resounding YES! IBR and BVD causing agents are everywhere and with the increased movement of livestock nowadays the risk of disease is as great as or greater than it was years ago.

Vaccinating against shipping fever in calves and Haemophilus in the cow herd may also be considered and are certainly worthy of discussion with your veterinarian. I vaccinate against these diseases in my own herd and know of a few herds that gave up vaccinating their cattle against these diseases only to suffer devastating losses years down the road. In most herds, vaccinating calves before weaning against shipping fever will reduce the number of animals requiring antibiotic treatment during the immediate post-weaning period.

Bovine Respiratory Synctial Virus (BRSV) and Parainfluenza-3 (PI-3) cause respiratory disease in cattle. PI-3 is associated with mild infections, but may predispose to infection with shipping fevercausing bacteria. Alone, BRSV may cause more severe disease than PI-3, especially in calves. More recently BRSV has been found to worsen the clinical status of animals co-infected with BVD or IBR. Most vaccine products offering protection against IBR and BVD also contain BRSV and PI-3 and I believe it is important to include them.

Blackleg or clostridial vaccination is must for any herd.Many of the clostridial bacteria are capable of surviving in the soil for decades and can easily infect even minor wounds causing death of unvaccinated animals. Besides blackleg, other clostridial diseases are also important for example: malignant edema and gas gangrene in wounds; and tetanus. Most clostridial vaccines on the market contain 7 or 8 different types of clostridium bacteria.

If calves or older bulls are being castrated with rubber bands it is

Leptospirosis is another disease agent that often affects the kidneys and may also cause abortion. For most prairie beef herds vaccinating against Leptospirosis is not important with the exception of a few hot spots. The risk of disease in eastern Canada is greater.

Scours-preventing vaccines for the cow herd are no substitute for good management. However, for many producers these vaccines represent another level of protection and have enabled them to keep the number of calves treated for scours to a minimum.

“What vaccine do I recommend?” usually refers to killed verses modified live virus vaccines. Really, the only killed or live viruses we care about in cattle vaccines are IBR and BVD. Some vaccine products also contain modified live strains of BRSV and PI-3, but it is IBR and BVD that you must consider when making the decision to go with a modified live verses killed vaccination program.

Modification of these viruses ensures that the virus doesn’t cause full-blown disease in the animal, but will challenge the immune system sufficiently so as to provide protection against the real disease-causing virus if it is encountered. The main advantage of modified live virus vaccines over killed virus vaccines is that they provide a much longer duration of immunity verses just a few months as is often the case with killed vaccines. The disadvantage of live virus vaccines is that a small percentage of pregnant animals may abort due to the infection with the modified live virus; therefore, these products are not to be used in pregnant cattle. For most producers it is more convenient to vaccinate the cow herd in the fall in conjunction with other procedures. My recommendation is to use a modified live vaccine whenever possible. This usually means spring vaccinations following calving; however, there are new modified live products available that can be safely used in pregnant animals following an initial vaccination when they are not pregnant. If you haven’t heard of these vaccines check them out to see if they will work for you.

Consultation with your veterinarian on which vaccines are required for your area and what makes sense in your herd should be a first step in setting up your vaccination program. Don’t be afraid to revisit your vaccination program every few years to ensure that your program is still appropriate and cost-effective for your herd.

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   Abegweit Isle Lowline Cattle.................... 19 Aspen Lowline Cattle ................................ 25 Black River Farm ....................................... 25 FarmFair International ............................. 20, 21 High Point Lowlines.................................. 12, 13 Honeybrook Lowlines............................... 15, BC

Muddy Creek Ranch ................................. IBC Painted Post Lowlines ............................... 7, 15 Pinnacle Lowlines & Butterkup Farms ... 1 Silverhills Lowline Cattle .......................... 5 Stumbles Creek Ranch .............................. 3 Wildrose Lowlines ..................................... 28

Idaho Lowline Cattle Company............... 11 J6 Cattle Ranch .......................................... 25

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