Canadian londe d Aquitaine ASSOCIATION BOARD of DIRECTORS MYRNA FLESCH President Box 334, Stavely, AB T0L 1Z0 Phone: 403-549-2371 Fax: 403-549-2374 Email: westwind@telusplanet.net REED RIGNEY Vice-President Box 5959, Westlock, AB T7P 2P7 Phone: 780-348-5308 Email: rigney@clearwave.ca MURPHY BAKER Secretary-Treasurer 2583 Asphodel 3rd Line, Asphodel-Norwood, ON KOL 2B0 Phone: 705-639-1418 Email: bakerblondes@i-zoom.net RON MACARTHUR Executive Member 735 Salisbury Road, Moncton, NB E1E 1C4 Phone: 506-382-6630 Email: macarthur@rogers.com STEVEN ACRES RR 2, 2166 McGee Side Rd, Carp. ON K0A 1L0 Phone: 613-836-4190 Email: stevenjacres@sympatico.ca PAUL FERGUSON 21 Crystal Rd., RR3, Jasper, ON K0G 1G0 Phone: 613-275-2422 Email: ferguson.maryellen@gmail.com DAVE KAMELCHUK Box 32, Ellscott, Alberta T0A 1B0 Phone: 78O-675-1227 Email: littlecreekagroforestry@gmail.com ASHLEY MCNEVAN 4426 County Rd., RR3, Hastings, Ontario K0L 1Y0 Phone: 705-295-6208 Email: hilltoporchardfarm@gmail.com JOHN VINK 40 Gazley Rd., RR1, Wooler, ON K0K 3M0 Phone/Fax: 613-397-1890 Email: jiv@rogers.com Cover: Photo Contest Winner, Kirk McGee of Ridge View Blondes, Codrington, ON
President s Message I am not sure if your neck of the woods is the same as ours or not. A week ago there were no leaves on the trees but (at the time of writing May 25) in the short span of seven days, the trees are all green, the mayday is covered in white blossoms and the apple trees are blooming. Of course, the pasture grass never grows quite as fast as the lawn! It has been a long hard winter, followed by a long, cold spring. The corrals, as one other fellow breeder stated, can best be described as soup! And yet, we have some folks in the northern part of Alberta and into British Columbia that say a little rain would be welcomed. As your President, I have been surprised that not many folks have taken advantage of the opportunity to registered overage animals under the fee moratorium does that mean we don t have many unregistered animals or does it mean our breeders have yet to take advantage of the provision? Only time will tell. It seems in some ways that we just had the National Show, Sale and Annual General Meeting and we are already preparing for the next Annual General Meeting in Lindsay, Ontario on September 19, 2014. See the planned schedule elsewhere in this Newsletter. Spring bull sales seemed to be fairly brisk with calls from areas of the Country that had not been anticipated. Not all calls result in a sale but all calls do indicate the breed is being sought after which is a good indicator of progress. A new feature has been added to the pedigrees listed on CLRC. A full Ownership History on each animal became available early this year at no charge to the Associations or the breeders. The only requirement was that the various Boards of Directors pass a motion to put this into place for their particular breed. This was done on the last Board Conference Call. A new program to allow more participation in the BIO Program has been undertaken. It too, is explained elsewhere in this Newsletter. This is a program that allows breeders with just a few cows to participate at no charge in this first year. I would like to thank the Newsletter/Magazine Committee for the new Blonde Connection which has generated positive comments from past breeders and from Blonde Breeders in other parts of the world. A job well done! With that, I would like say, I hope your cows, calves and bulls are at pasture now and not waiting for the morning bale to appear! Myrna Flesch Message de la Présidente Je ne suis pas certaine si la même chose dans votre coin que dans la nôtre, mais la semaine dernière (25 mai, lorsque je rédige ce message) il n y avait pas une feuille sur les arbres et pouf! dans l espace de 7 jours, les arbres sont pleins de fleurettes. Naturellement, les pâturages ne puissant pas aussi vite que le gazon! L hiver était long et froid suivi d un printemps qui était long et froid. Les enclos, selon plusieurs autres éleveurs, peuvent être décrits simplement comme de la soupe. En plus, nous avons des gens dans la partie nord de l Alberta et en Colombie-Britannique qui inviteraient de la pluie. Comme Présidente, je suis un peu surprise qu il n y a pas plus d entre vous qui avez pris avantage de l enregistrement de sujets âgés sous le moratorium de frais est-ce que cela veut dire que vous n avez pas plusieurs animaux qui ne sont déjà enregistrés ou que nos éleveurs n ont toujours pas pris avantage de cet aubaine? Le temps nous le dira. Dans certains aspects on dirait qu on vient de finir avec l Exposition et ente national et avec l AGA et nous préparons déjà pour la prochaine AGA qui aura lieu à Lindsay, Ontario le 19 septembre 2014. Veuillez vous référer à l horaire ailleurs dans ce bulletin. Les ventes de taureaux ce printemps étaient plus ou moins idéales des appels de plusieurs régions du pays qui n étaient pas nécessairement prévus. Ce ne sont pas tous les appels qui finissent avec une vente mais ils indiquent tous que la race est populaire un bon signe de progrès. Une nouvelle fonctionnalité est disponible pour les pedigrees trouvés sur le site de la SCEA. Depuis le début de l année, vous avez accès à la chaîne de propriété pour tout animal et ce, sans frais supplémentaires à la société ni à l éleveur. La seule exigence était l approbation de chaque société notre société a approuvée cette décision lors de notre dernier appel de conférence. Nous avons approuvé un nouveau programme qui permet plus de participation dans le programme BIO. Ce changement est expliqué d avantage ailleurs dans ce bulletin. Ce programme permet la participation d éleveurs avec quelques animaux, sans frais, pour la première année. Je tiens à remercier le comité Bulletin/Revue pour la nouvelle édition du Blonde Connection le nouveau format a déjà reçu plusieurs accolades d éleveurs au Canada et ailleurs. Très bien fait! Avec ça, j espère que vos vaches, veaux et taureaux sont maintenant au pâturage et n attendent toujours pas la livraison de la bale de foin matinale! Myrna Flesch PROVINCIAL CONTACTS ALBERTA / BRITISH COLUMBIA Reed Rigney Phone: 780-348-5308 Email: rigney@clearwave.ca www.albertablondecattle.com MANITOBA / SASKATCHEWAN Pat Filz Phone: 306-634-2174 Email: fortyacreblondes@sasktel.net ONTARIO Dave McNevan Phone: 705-295-6208 Email: sheilamcnevan@gmail.com www.ontarioblondes.com QUEBEC Maureen Landry Phone: 819-336-3966 Email: blondaquitainequ@hotmail.com To access the Members Only Section on the website, please contact a Board member for the password. This page features current and archived Board minutes, as well as AGM minutes and committee reports since 2005.
2014 Canadian Blonde d'aquitaine 40 th Anniversary National Show, Sale & AGM Lindsay, ON - Sept 19 th -21 st AGM & National Tentative Schedule of Events Friday, September 19 th Cattle arrive at sale venue (For prior accommodations please contact Tyler Sutcliffe) Coffee & registration for AGM 9-10 am at the Admiral Inn & Conference Centre AGM will commence from 10 am to approximately 2 pm AGM lunch/refreshment break at 12 pm Preg-checks & tattoos will be checked at 3:30 pm Evening hospitality at the Admiral Inn Saturday, September 20 th Canadian National & Cream of the Crop Sale at 1 pm. Show cattle may move into fair grounds at 12 am. (Early accommodations are available. Contact: Paul Fee) 6 pm banquet dinner at Admiral Inn (Please RSVP to Ashley McNevan to reserve your ticket) Sunday, September 21 st National show at the exhibition grounds starting at 1 pm (Junior shows will be commencing at 10 am) Contacts: Ontario President - Dave McNevan (705) 768-5308 Sale Barn Boss - Tyler Sutcliffe (705) 879-6288 Show Barn Boss - Murray McVety (416) 737-8507 Show Committee - Paul Fee 705-835-2581 AGM Coordinator - Ashley McNevan (705) 295-6208 e-mail: hilltoporchardfarm@gmail.com Official Host Hotel ADMIRAL INN & CONFERENCE CENTRE ADDRESS: 1754 Highway #7, RR #2, Lindsay, ON K9V 4R2 PHONE: 1-705-328-1743 TOLL FREE: 1-866-328-1743 FAX: 705-328-3766 E-MAIL: info@admiralinn.ca WEBSITE: www.admiralinn.ca Pricing is as follows: 1 Night: $119.99 2 Nights: $109.99 Motel Stay: $89.99 A block of rooms has been set aside until July 15th under the Ontario Blonde d'aquitaine Association. Book Early! Map Legend A- Admiral INN & Conference Centre B - Lindsay Exhibition Grounds 354 Angeline Street South, Lindsay, ON (705) 324-5551 www.lindsayex.com C- Sale Venue (Buckley Farms) 114 Fieldside Road, R.R.#5, Lindsay,ON (705)879-6288 Other Accommodations Include: Howard Johnson 354 Lindsay St S, Lindsay, ON K9V 4R4 (705) 324-0314 Knights Inn 2862 Highway 35 South, Lindsay, ON K9V 4R4 (705) 324-321 Kent Inn 251 Kent Street W, Lindsay, ON K9V 2Z3 (705) 324-6744 or 1-888-730-9103 Victoria Motel 256 Lindsay St S, Kawartha Lakes, ON K9V 4R4 (705) 328-2111 Riverwood Park Campground 31 Riverwood Park Dr, Lindsay, ON K9V 4R4 (705) 324-1655 Double M Campground 101 Ridgewood Rd, Lindsay, ON K9V 4R2 (705) 324-9317 Melton's Light House B&B 17 Murdoch Court Lindsay, ON K9V 6L4 (705) 878-3426
news from the provinces ALBERTA / BRITISH COLUMBIA Our 2014 Field Day will be held Saturday August 23rd at a location to be determined (either the Rigney or Kamelchuk Farm). It is an informal day with eating, visiting and cattle viewing so bring the family and get to know some of your fellow breeders a bit better. The Alberta bull test was completed at the end of March. Final results had a bull consigned by KAM Blondes of Charlie Lake, BC on top. This polled Purebred bull gained gaining 3.66 lbs/day, and was sired by Arsha s Polled Trigger, the high selling animal in the 2010 National Sale. Next came a bull from Sprucevale Blondes (The Jacksons) at 3.64 lbs/day. He was also a polled Purebred and was sired by Forty Acre Troy. Third for gain (3.49 lbs/day) and tops for WPDA (3.24 lbs/day) was a polled Fullblood bull from Willow Springs Stock Farm sired by Heartwoods Reinhart. Pictures of the top gaining bulls as well as full results are available on the Alberta Blonde website (www.albertablondecattle.com). The 2013-14 test was held at Willow Springs Stock Farm, and went very well. The test will be held there again for the 2014-2015 season. If you are interested in consigning bulls please contact Reed Rigney. Another reminder on the shows this fall. For the best results start working with your animals this summer and get them on some better feed. There will be cattle exhibited by Little Creek Farms and Willow Springs Stock Farm at Farmfair International (Edmonton, early November). This past year had a very successful National show in Olds, positive exposure at Farmfair International and the Edmonton Farm & Ranch Show. Interest in the breed was strong and we garnered a lot of attention, especially at the farm & Ranch Show. The best way for cattlemen/women to learn about Blondes is to put them in front of people. I strongly encourage all our Alberta breeders to support these events, even if you haven t shown before. If we all work together it can be a fun and rewarding experience. MANITOBA / SASKATCHEWAN ONTARIO Now we asked for it! Temps of minus whatever has switched to plus 30. Our bodies are doing the can t believe it is real reel! Yup, acquiescent and plot revenge or accept and go with the flow. As I get older, flowing along seems the best idea. Don Quixote must have been a younger person to have such ambition or hate of the windmills. The farmers are working 24 hours a day trying to get everything in, the sun & wind sucked everything dry enough to work. Some areas have still water sitting on the ground along with frost boils making seeding difficult with a lot of low areas left. Grain is now moving faster but some large farmers still have a fair amount sitting in the bins. Sask & Manitoba gov t waived the restrictions on the road bans as soon as the railway opened so the bumper crop from last year could get moving. The trees finally have a bloom of green on them, the grass took an almighty jump, so now more cattle stuff can be done. Put the calves through the chute, needle for Blackleg and check for any other needs to be done things. The commercial guys are really starting to have their calves popping out. The purebred breeders are more than likely done, except for the last straggler or two that all of us seem to have. Bull sales have been brisk this year, lots of animals going all over the country. The cattle prices are as high as anyone has seen ever, with cows going for $2000.00 easily and a 500 lb calf bringing $2.10. Other than we keep on chugging along, getting this and that done or at least started. Once the cattle are all out in pastures, producers can see how many bales there are for carry over on the farm and start making plans for baling the fields they have, by checking the equipment, the growth of the hay crop, hoping that the midge died over winter and the alfalfa did not. Manitoba does not have an abundance of carry over for sale but Sask seems to have plenty. Lots of hay, buy more cows? On that note, I ll leave before you shake your head either way. The Ontario Field Day/Picnic will be held at Jeremy and Rachel Deweerd s (StoneWall Farms) near Wooler, Ontario on Saturday August 16th. Come out for some food, fun and cattle viewing. For more info please contact Jermey or Rachel at 613-661-3036 or Email: jardeweerd@hotmail.com. The Ontario Blonde d Aquitaine Association would like to take this opportunity to extend a welcome invitation to all of Canada, our neighbours in the US, and to the rest of the world to the 40th Canadian Blonde d Aquitaine National Annual General Meeting, Show and Sale in Lindsay Ontario, September 19-21, 2014. Everyone is welcome - come and see what the blonde world is all about in Ontario! Mark your calendars now - see you in Lindsay Ontario this September!!
QUEBEC News from the Québec Blonde d Aquitaine Association On February 22nd, 2014 we held the Québec annual general meeting, Gilbert Gauthier was reelected President, Clemence Landry Vice President and the directors are L. Pierre Léger, Sébastien Desgagnés and Laurent Desrosiers who accepted to represent the members / breeders of this Association for the year 2014. Members of the Board hope to see new breeders at the 2014 exhibitions, here are the dates : Expo St-Hyacinthe: July 24 thru August 3rd 2014 Expo Ayer s Cliff Fair August 21 thru August 24th 2014 Expo de Brome August 29 thru September 1st 2014 Expo Richmond September 4 thru September 7th 2014 Expo-Bœuf (Victoriaville) October 10 thru October 12th 2014 You are interested in showing your best subjects by participating in the different shows, please contact Maureen Landry at 819 336-3966. For more information you can always visit the association s website at: www.blondaquitaineqc@hotmail.com Nouvelles de l Association Blonde d Aquitaine du Québec Le 22 février 2014 nous avons eu l assemblée annuelle des membres, Gilbert Gauthier a été réélu président, Clémence Landry vice-présidente et les directeurs sont L. Pierre Léger, Sébastien Desgagnés et Laurent Desrosiers ont acceptés de représenter les membres/éleveurs de cette association pour l année 2014. Les membres du conseil d administration espèrent toujours voir de nouveaux éleveurs aux différentes expositions, voici les dates des Expositions 2014 : Expo St-Hyacinthe du 24 juillet au 3 août 2014 Expo Ayer s Cliff Fair du 21 au 24 août 2014 Expo de Brome du 29 août au 1er septembre 2014 Expo Richmond du 4 au 7 septembre 2014 Expo-Bœuf (Victoriaville) du 10 au 12 octobre 2014 Vous êtes intéressé à exposer des animaux et de participer aux jugements, veuillez contacter Clémence Landry au 819 336-5503. Pour plus d information sur votre association, vous pouvez toujours visiter le site Internet de l association au : www. blondaquitaineqc@hotmail.com Maureen Landry Change to Blonde Performance As always I would like to start by thanking those that have been sending in Birth Weight and Calving Ease information via the new CLRC form. This information is valuable to the breed as a whole and will improve our EPD database. However, we have decided to change the method by which we collect this information. There are several reasons for the change, but the end result will save the Association money (fewer charges from BIO & CLRC) while providing better information for the performance program. We also know cost to participate in the BIO program is a factor, and this change will move us towards a lower cost alternative for our membership who would like EPD s generated on their cattle. Here are the details: The CBDA will purchase a BIO membership which will allow us to enter information for all Blonde breeders ($350/year plus $1 for each cow that has a calf entered). or the 2014 calf crop BW, CE, WW & YW will be collected and entered into the performance program to generate EPD s at no cost to the individual breeders. The CBDA will provide EPD and Index reports for participating breeders. Once we have a better handle on the time and costs associated with this initiative, small fees may be charged in the future. Any charges will be significantly lower than paying for the full BIO program as an individual breeder. If individual breeders would like full access to all BIO services they can still have their own account and enter their own information. So what is the process? Effective immediately, I ask that you not to fill out your complete calf information on the Information & Registration Worksheet received from CLRC unless you are registering the calf in question, or intend to at a later date. Instead I ask those of you that wish to have your Birth Weight and Calving Ease information entered into the performance program to contact me directly and will send you a new form to fill out. These can be sent and received by mail, email or fax (I need to be notified for the latter). If you already keep computer records I will also accept computer files as long as they contain all the appropriate information. I know most of our Breeders collect this basic information, and I would really appreciate everyone making the effort to send it in to me. With this change we are also in a position to enter Weaning Weight information for the 2014 calving season. Those that send us BW & CE information will receive a second sheet on which they can record weaning weight information this fall if they desire. Entering Weaning Weights will ensure that your sires appear in the 2015 Sire Summary, as this is a requirement for their inclusion. Additionally, if you submit WW then you are in a position to submit YW in the spring of 2015. Again, as I keep saying, Blondes are a performance breed and we need to start effectively measuring performance if we wish to retain and expand our market share. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me, and I look forward to entering your data. Reed Rigney - CBDA Performance Committee Chair phone: (780) 348-5308 or email: rigney@clearwave.ca
Helping HANNAH Silent Auction & Dance Saturday June 21, 2014 Doors Open - 8:00pm Sunderland Memorial Arena Come enjoy a fun evening & help support an important need Tickets Available $20 per person Proceeds to go towards a wheelchair accessible van for Hannah Parents - Christine & Jason van Tol of High Rock Farm For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact: Marg Munro 705-426-9138 marg@lakewindsfarm.com Kerry Haswell 705-357-2043 khaswell71@hotmail.com Alana Cawker 705-344-7413 alana.cawker@sympatico.ca Heather Davidson 705-743-8102 hdavidson76@cogeco.ca Canadian Blonde d Aquitaine National Sale in conjunction with the 14th Annual Cream of the Crop Sale September 20th, 2014 at 1:00pm Lindsay, Ontario For more information on consigning to this sale please contact: Ashley McNevan hilltoporchardfarm@gmail.com 4426 County Rd #2 RR#3 Hastings, ON K0L 1Y0 Tel (705) 879-6288 Fax (705) 295-6208 SALE ENTRIES $50 per Entry (refundable if animal sells) & Digital Picture Due by July 7th/2014 BEaVERMEaD OW BLOnDEs Est. 2001 Purebred and Full blood blonde d aquitane Cattle lines of heifers include but are not limited to: Willow Creek Commander, Hadley Hank, Pop, Corby,William, Hanover Special, Gelstar 817x, Mighty and Poll Cat Important changes to DNA Parentage Testing The new Lab (even though owned by Quantum Genetix) operates under the name, GenServe Laboratories Inc, and has indicated that members should obtain a DNA Test Kit from CLRC prior to sending in Hair Samples. DO NOT SEND the Hair Samples to the Lab without the pre-printed CLRC forms. This change in procedure is effective immediately. The Lab address: 101-110 Research Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 3R3 Phone No: 1-306-956-2075 Bruce, cathy, Dan & camille Langstaff Phone: 519.490.0673 or 519.466.2299 email: brucelangstaff@outlook.com 1542 Mandaumin Rd, Tupperville (Dawn-Euphemia), Ontario N0P 2M0 Changements importants au niveau de l analyse de parenté par ADN Le nouveau laboratoire (la propriété de Quantum Genetix) fonctionne toujours sous le nom GenServe Laboratories Inc. Ils demandent aux éleveurs d obtenir une trousse ADN de la SCEA avant de soumettre les échantillons de poils au laboratoire pour analyse. N ENVOYEZ PAS les échantillon de poils directement au laboratoire sans trousse ADN, pré-imprimée, de la SCEA. Ce changement est en vigueur immédiatement. L adresse du laboratoire est 101-110 Research Dr Saskatoon, SK S7N 3R3 1.306.956.2075
Dusty Acre We would like to congratulate Ashley McNevan and Tyler Sutcliffe on their baby girl. I would like to introduce you to Kaylyn s little polled fullblood bull calf Dusty Acre Broc. He has been very friendly from birth. When he see s you out there walking he has to saunter up for a scratch. (to the left)here is Dusty Acre Bogart. He is a dehorned fullblood bull calf. Both of these two bulls are growing and developing muscle very well. If you have any questions about our other bull calves feel free to contact us or check us out on our website : dustyacerblondes@outlook.com Phone: 2507828565 or Email: dustyacreblondes@outlook.com
FOR SALE by Private Treaty Lil Rascal 30R Amber 55A EPDs and Pedigrees on Cows and Heifers Available. WEST WIND B L O N D E S BLONDE D AQUITAINE CATTLE www.telusplanet.net/public/westwind EMAIL: westwind@telusplanet.net SHIRLEY BILTON MYRNA FLESCH Box 334, Stavely, AB T0L 1Z0 Phone 403-549-2371 Fax 403-549-2374