President’s Message

Canadian Hereford Association President's Message

BY NELS NIXDORFF President of the Canadian Hereford Association

We had a beautiful September and October in our area but then winter hit with a vengeance with lots of snow and cold temperatures just as our outfit and our neighbors rounded up our cows and weaned calves. I was reminded how nice it is to work with Hereford and Hereford cross cattle, even in adverse conditions. It is truly one of our breed’s greatest attributes that they are docile and seem to want to work with you, not against you!

I was privileged to travel with Michael Latimer, our new executive director to the 100th Anniversary of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. It was my first visit to the Royal and it was a great National Show in a fantastic facility with lots of top-quality Hereford cattle. We had many great conversations in the barns, and I appreciated the warm hospitality that we received.

Our board is working diligently to continue pushing forward the implementation of our breed strategy. Michael has been a very quick study and understands our goals and is spearheading these efforts. He has stepped into the job very easily and has a very good understanding of how to run the office and the association.

As a breed we have many ways to improve our cattle and it is important as breeders to use these tools. It is of the utmost importance that we continue submitting our birth weights, weaning weights, yearling weights, cow weights, ultrasound data and all other information. We as a breed need as much hard information as possible to make sure that our EPD’s are TRULY ACCURATE. These measurements help us to improve our breed and help us identify the individuals that will improve our herds. This will be my last President’s message as my term as President has come to an end. It has been a great privilege for me to work with all the directors from across the country and I am very proud of the work that we have done in creating and implementing our new breed strategy. We have experienced some trying times getting through Covid and finding a new executive director. I realized in these endeavors that we have a great staff that is very capable and very willing. We have a great breed with a great future ahead of us, and I feel very lucky to be a part of the Hereford fraternity.

All the best to you and all your family. I hope to see you down the road.

We as a breed need as much hard information as possible to make sure that our EPD’s are TRULY ACCURATE.