Young Ranchers

This year I had the privelage to take part in the the Canadian Cattlemen's Association's Cattlemen's Young Leaders Program.

Through this program I was paired with my mentor, Jordan Buba of Lewis Farms, one of the largest Purebred cattle operations in this area.  Through the various trips to Lewis Farms I had the opportunity to learn just how Lewis Farms operates.  Jordan was very helpful and always had advice or information about the cattle industry and how they work on their farm.  Growing up on a commercial cow/calf operation I never really had the opportunity to learn just what it takes to own purebreds and I really wanted to get involved.

Jordan and I in the calving barn at Lewis Farms

Jordan was helpful in teaching me about EPDs on bulls, how they keep their calving records, what they feed their cattle in their feedlot, how they choose which bulls to keep and she went over some of the good genetics that they have in their herd.  This all motivated me and made me want to get involved and find out just what owning purebreds is all about.  On December 11, 2010, I headed to the SanDan Charolais Purebred sale with my father and grandfather.  I was determined to purchase my first ever purebred heifer.  And this is exactly what I did.

We spent an hour or so walking through the pens where all of the sale animals were kept.  I liked a lot of the calves, but none of them were really what I was looking for.  We headed into the barn where there were a couple of pairs located and I found just what I wanted.

Tyra SDC 73X (read my "All Things Agriculture" on traceability if you want to know what the numbers mean!) caught my eye right away.  A smaller heifer in the bunch she caught my attention.  Her mother was also in the sale, a young Freedom cow, she was doing a great job on her February heifer calf.  That's what we want in a cow/calf operation, we need cows that are going to be able to raise good sized calves, without taking too much out of themselves, because it is from these calves that we make our profits.  Obviously, I knew that now that I was getting into the purebred side of the cattle industry, I wouldn't only be selling commercial fall calves to the auction mart, I would instead have to market my purebreds and try to sell them to farmers to add to their own herds.

Tyra - 10 months old!

I had made up my mind, I wanted Tyra.  So the three of us headed to the show ring as the sale started.  SanDan decided to start the sale off with Tyra and her mother.  Great.  Now I'll never get her.  I am a Bachelor of Science Student at Grant MacEwan University, and with six years left of school, I don't exactly have all the money in the world to spend.  I wanted a heifer for under 2000, and I didn't think that the heifer starting out the sale would be the one.  I was right, she sold for more than 2000 so I had to let her go.
We watched as the rest of the calves went through the ring.  There were a bunch of great animals, but none of them really grabbed my attention like Tyra had.

The last bid was made, the last animal sold, and I still didn't have a heifer.  My dad and I decided to go talk to the owner of SanDan.  We had bought bulls off of her before, so they knew eachother fairly well.  We asked her if they had anymore heifers that they would be willing to part with out in the pasture.  She asked what we wanted a heifer for, and I said I had wanted a good one to show for the Junior shows the upcoming summer.

With a smile, she said "I have just the heifer for you".  She left us waiting impatiently as she made her way through the crowd.  She stood speaking to two gentlemen for a couple of minutes before waving us over.
"These gentlemen purchased a heifer calf and are willing to sell it to you so that you can show her".  Awesome! I was excstatic, and they hadn't even told me what heifer it was they had purchased.
"We bought the first heifer calf in the ring" one of them said as he flipped the sale catelouge to the picture of Tyra.  "I think she is better suited with you though".
I was shocked! Somehow I had managed to get the heifer I originally wanted, without even asking for her!  And better yet, the men I was buying her from through in a few straws of semen! We wrote a cheque for $2500, a little over my budget but I wasn't ready to turn down my second chance at the heifer I wanted.

So I came home that night with my first ever purebred! I have the CYL program and Jordan to thank for it all, for sparking my interest in the purebred industry and helping me to learn all about just what I would be getting myself into!

Tyra will be in her first show at the Summer Synergy show in Olds, Alberta mid July! I can't wait!

Through the CYL program, I also had the chance to take part in the Five Nations Beef Alliance Young Ranchers Program, in Denver, Colorado in January.  What an amazing experience!  I was presented with information and perspectives of agriculture from young ranchers like myself from Mexico, the United States, Canada, Argentina, and Australlia.  Each one of these Young Ranchers had their own story to tell.  We were able to compare issues facing the agricultural industry across nations, talking about biosecurity, traceability, trade, weather issues, consumers and much much more.  It was so awesome to be able to hear from other young ranchers, and to be able to work together to discuss what we could do to fix some of the issues each one of us were facing.  We had the opportunity to take part on tours and sit in during conferences.  I learned more and retained more information in one week than I had my entire second year of University.  I guess that tells you a lot about just where my passions lie.
The video below was made while we were at the National Western Stock Show in Denver!

The video below was made with the 2010 young ranchers.  Stay tuned as in a month or so a Young Ranchers video starring me will be released!