Brandon Kahler sent us the following report about the Maryland Guernsey Breeders meeting held in March!

On March 21, the Maryland Cooperative Guernsey Breeders Association held their annual meeting at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. The juniors and adults both held meetings during the event. Elections were held, awards were presented, and everyone enjoyed fellowship and a fun auction.

One of the highlights of the day was the record book awards. Youth across the state completed record books on their Guernsey projects. Everyone that participated received a copy of The Guernsey Breed . Tessie Weant had first junior record book. Raymond Fendrick was first intermediate, and Katie Moser was Senior and Overall Record Book Award winner. Other participants were: John Henry Myers, Wyatt Kahler, Chance Smith, Patrick Fendrick, Brandon Kahler, Ashley Hevner, and Logan Derickson.

Awards were also given to Guernsey breeders with high producing cows. Chance Smith was the overall junior winner in the production contest. His cow, OCS Dairy Bullsie Star, produced 29, 750lbs. milk, 1674 fat, 887 protein. In the adult division, Windy Springs Farm was the top herd for under 50 cows, whereas Three Brooks Farm was the top herd for over 50 cows. OCS Dairy took the title of Lowest SCC Score. OCS Firestone was the Overall Highest Fat winner with 1806lbs. fat, and OCS Susie was the highest protein winner with 1084lbs. protein.

The lifetime achievement award was presented to Jo-Ann Chason. She coordinates the Milk-It at the Maryland State Fair, and she leases Guernseys to 4-Hers.

Results of the Junior election were: Erin Spurrier, president, Rachel Manning, vice president, Elizabeth Reese and Patrick Fendrick, co-secretaries. Newly elected adult directors are John Fendrick, Karen Vaughn, Diane Miller, Jo-Ann Chason, and Erin Spurrier.

Brandon Kahler, Tessie Weant, and Wyatt Kahler display the book, The Guernsey Breed, presented to record book participants.

Jason French of Ontario Holstein sent us some pictures from the recent West Central Ontario District Farm Tour that was hosted by Halton-Peel county. 350 people toured ten farms including Valleycrest, Monteith, Cleave View, Darwell, Christeen, Fradol, Armstrong Manor, Woodfield, Skyline and Jameston.

Armstrong Manor milks 250 cows and is owned and operated by the Armstrong Family in Caledon, Ontario. Philip and Debbie Armstrong are seen in front of their farm sign and barn. Brother Peter and father David are also involved in the operation. New Coverall barns were recently built for heifers and new born calves fed with an automated computer feeder.

Many tour groups visit the farm and the parlour can been seen in operation from their observation room.

Fradol Holsteins is owned by Tom and Donna Dolson and they milk 45 cows in a century old barn.

Type is a high priority to them as they are seen with three young exciting cows in their herd. Left to right – VG 2yr Rosedale-L Tribute x VG Johnson, VG 2yr Erbacres Damion x VG Milan, VG-88 3yr Lylehaven Lightning x VG Gilbert.

Many people came to see the herds’ group of red and whites and strong framey cows.

Valleyville Champion Kacie VG-89 was purchased for their son Adam’s 4-H calf by Donna’s father, Bert Stewart. She has grown into a tremendous individual and is seen here after producing a test of 150 lbs and being successfully flushed to Sanchez. Her dam is a VG-87 Jed.

Rick Carberry’s farm is close to Toronto therefore giving him the opportunity to see the city’s great skyline and giving him the name for his herd, Skyline. One of the large groups that visited the herd during the day of the West Central Ontario District Farm Tour.

Rick’s herd is also the home for other owner’s cattle including recent Holstein Canada Master Breeder Dan McMorrow of Emilane Holsteins. Also, herdsman Craig Gordon keeps his collection of red and white animals in the herd. Left to Right – Rick Carberry, Dan McMorrow.

A VG-87 Allen out of an Outside of Skyline.

A VG-87 2yr Jasper out of an Integrity of Skyline.

Two animals of Emilane’s include this VG-87 Shottle out of Lystel Lorana Outside and a VG FBI out of Sunnylodge Allen Sweety.

Woodfield Holsteins was the popular spot on the District Farm Tours as Bill Woodill (Black hoodie) was serving burgers and hotdogs to the visitors. Bill’s Woodfield herd consists of a 100 milking cows and has been known for breeding top red and white animals.

Valleyriver Rubens Redman was used extensively across the herd and with great success. A sample is this EX 92 2E daughter that anchors the long string of cows.

A very exciting red two year old is this VG 86 Kite that is out of Woodfield Redman Bordeaux EX that was All Canadian Red and White in 2007.

Another well balance young cow is this VG 86 September Storm out of an Enhancer.

Below are some photos our man on the scene, Jeff Sharts, snapped at the MA Blue Ribbon All-Breed Calf Sale over the weekend.

Before the sale, which is geared towards 4-H and youth, there were several workshops for juniors to participate in and learn from. Here Ricky Allyn speaks on show calf care & nutrition.

An overview of all the vendors & educational booths set up.

You know what’s coming next… “Daddy I want that one!”

A look at some of the Jersey consignments

Another shot of the all-breed line-up

A good crowd was on hand for the sale!

The top-selling Holstein in the ring.

Last week I was delighted to receive an e-mail from Kris MacLeod, the Eastern Ontario Holstein Representative. Last Thursday he was on a bus tour with the Holstein Clubs of Stormont, Glengarry and Prescott counties as they traveled to herds in the Papineau area of Quebec. Kris was kind enough to share photos from the tour and we’re happy to share them with you. Thanks, Kris, for sending these pictures so we all can enjoy seeing some nice cows!

The herds they toured were:

Ferme Stepido – Recent Master Breeder Herd winner
Stephane Alary & Pamella Gelinas
Luskville, Quebec

Ferme Rubis – 2x Master Breeder Herd
Charles & Manon Menard
Thurso, Quebec

Ferme Outaouias
Yvon Chartrand Family
Plaisance, Quebec

Stephane Alary of Ferme Stepido visits with Ian Fraser of Gleneil Farms.

Line-up of three Jasper daughters at Ferme Stepido.

The right-side of the same three Jasper daughters at Ferme Stepido.

Stepido James Rose (VG-85)
3-05 2x 170 14,456 4.0% 567F 3.6% 485P RIP
BCA’s 276-262-250
Dam is a VG-88 1* Outside followed by a VG-85 Astre, and then 3 more generations of VG or EX dams.

Stepido Goldwin Magie (VG-87 2yr)
2-04 2x 169 12,535 487F 3.9% 403P 3.3% RIP
BCA’s 261-246-249
Dam is an EX-92 Blitz followed by a VG-88 Supersire, and then 3 more VG or EX dams.

Charlie Menard and Family of Ferme Rubis greeting the group.

Rubis Jackman Libellule (VG-85 2yr)
2-00 2x 365 27,341 1166F 3.8% 1010P 3.4%
BCA’s 279-293-290
Dam is a VG-89 3yr Igniter (pictured below) followed by a VG-88 Rudolph, and then Comestar Laura Black VG-87 24 * and Comestar Laurie Sheik VG-88 23*.

Comestar Igniter Lolita (VG-89 3yr 4*)
3-08 2x 365 42,211 2022F 4.8% 1343P 3.2%
BCA’s 344-445-337

Udder shot of Comestar Igniter Lolita.

Rubis Shottle Suzy
B: 12/1/08
Dam is Blondin Dundee Saphyr, a VG-86 2yr daughter of Blondin R Marker Supra VG-89 3yr and then Blondin Skychief Supra 3E-93. Followed by 5 more VG or EX dams.

Outaouais Merrick Zita (EX 3E 1*)
8-03 365 28,113 1186F 4.2% 818P 2.9%
She has 9 daughters classified – 5 VG & 4 GP.
Currently bred to Goldwyn and due in June.

Outaouais Titanic Jasmine (VG-86 2yr 88-MS)
2-02 2x 147 9,581 395F 4.2% 295P 3.1%
Currently bred to Regancrest Samuelo and due in November.
Pedigree includes a VG-85 Journalist, 3E-91 Zone and then a VG Leader.

Outaouais F B I Halley (VG-85 2yr)
2-04 3x 115 8,836 340F 3.9% 260P 3.0%
Dam is a EX-90 Markim Thunder from a EX-90 Milan, and then 3 VG dams.

The calf on the left is Stepido Jasper Janna, a 9/2/08 Jasper daughter of Stepido Outside Girl EX-93. On the right is Outaouais Goldwyn Hannabelle-ET, a 9/13/08 Goldwyn sister to the FBI pictured above.

Producer’s Break Ground at the 2009 Young Producer Leadership Conference
Reported by: Kari Stanek – ‘Leadership Coach’ for the weekend and Communications and Public Relations Coordinator for Accelerated Genetics.

Kari Stanek and her good friend and presenter this weekend Jolene Brown.

After much anticipation and preparation, the 2009 Young Producer Leadership Conference began with a ‘roar’ as seventy producers started their journey…’Breaking New Ground’! During this weekend producers will acquire communication and leadership skills while learning to look at life from a new perspective.

During producer introductions everyone got to share a bit about them selves and they were asked to bring an item that helped tell about their role on the farm or about them personally. WOW, is the only way to describe the enthusiasm of the group…producers brought along items like breeding gloves, tractors, hammers, wrenches, calf bottles, calculators, show halters, plants, USB jump drives, credit cards and even a Beef Steak!

Then, Jolene Brown otherwise known as ‘Farmer Brown’ kicked off her session with the Keynote…’Let Go of the Rope’. Jolene shared three tips to help producers bring Joy and Laughter Back into their world: 1) Accept things you can’t control or change. 2) Look for humor everyday. 3) If you want to enjoy your journey, associate with people who enjoy life!

At the end of Jolene’s keynote, producers got to play with balloons and blow one up…

Then they got to watch what happens when they let go of their balloons and see where they end up and how each balloon took a different path.

Jolene’s session will continue after lunch…so stayed tuned for further updates from this weekend.

Accelerated Genetics Young Producer program is for individuals, couples, farmer owners and herdspeople within the cooperative membership area of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. For more information about the Young Producer program check out www.accelgen.com.

Watch for more posts from Kari all this weekend!

The MA Blue Ribbon All-Breeds Calf Sale has concluded with an unofficial average of $1241 on all breeds, including several March calves.

The high selling animal was a Jersey, she sold for $2800. She is backed by three generations of Excellent dams.

The high selling Holstein was lot 51 and she brought $2550. She is a Gibson out of a Durham, and is a potential 5th generation VG or EX.

The top Brown Swiss sold for $2300, lot 31. She is an August ’08 Duece daughter with an EX-91 granddam.

Lot 27 was the high Ayrshire at $1500. She is a December ’08 Visserdale Stealth daughter.

A March calf topped the Milking Shorthorn consignments at $1350. She is a Spurgen daughter with a VG-87 dam and a 3E-92 granddam.

Look for pictures coming soon.

The MA All-Breed Calf Sale is winding down and we have the prices from the Ayrshires, Milking Shorthorns & Guernseys – Here are the highlights!
Ayrshires:
lot 29 – 1050
lot 30 – 1000
lot 60 – 1125
lot 27 – 1500

Milking Shorthorns:
lot 62 – 1350
lot 37 – 1000
lot 38 – 900

There was only one Guernsey and she brought $1100.

Another Jersey lot also brought $1700 – it was a pick of four heifers.

More prices are coming in from the MA Blue Ribbon All-Breed Calf sale. Three Brown Swiis have sold so far and brought $2300, $2000 and $1900. A couple more Jerseys have brought more than $2000, they are lot 2 at $2400 and lot 3 for $2200.

The MA Blue Ribbon All-Breed Calf Sale has started in West Springfield, MA.  Our field reporter on the scene is Jeff Sharts. So far the high selling Jersey is lot 6 for $2800, then lot 4 for $2500. Four Holsteins have sold so far, with lot 51 bringing the highest price at $2550. Jeff said she was a really fancy calf! Stay tuned for more information and prices!

Young beef & dairy producers will be congregating in Wisconsin Dells this weekend at the Wintergreen Resort for another edition of the Accelerated Genetics Young Producer Leadership Conference. We’ve been able to post blogs from past Young Producer events and will be doing the same for this weekend’s activities.

But before the conference gets underway tomorrow morning, we were able to visit with Accelerated Genetics Communications & Public Relations Coordinator, Kari Stanek. She tells us more about the program in general, the schedule for the weekend and why the program has been so important to Accelerated Genetics.

For more information about the cooperative, check out their website at www.accelgen.com or click here for information regarding the Young Producer program.

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