Association Outlook

Montie D. Soules

asa executive secretary/CEO

Getting on the Roll Call

We are already in April and Spring is starting to burst out, creating a newness around us. New baby calves and new plant growth, warmer weather and hopefully some rain - all this makes spring such a special and fresh time of the year, but also brings on spring work.

Deadlines are coming up for the Shorthorn Junior National and Youth Conference. Deadline for ownership papers and entries is May 1st. If you miss the May 1st deadline, the late entry deadline is May 15th and will cost extra. This year’s event is in Kansas City at the American Royal and is one of the largest and most important events of the breed. All funding comes from donations and sponsorships. The cost continues to rise; we have budgeted close to $300,000 to put on this year’s event and keep the level of excitement it has had in the past. Last year this show and youth conference was voted most enjoyable by Best of the Barns for the second consecutive year. Just imagine the entire bottom and top stalling area of the Royal full of Shorthorn cattle. Be sure to get your entries in on time. The entry form is online on the Shorthorn Junior Page: juniorshorthorn.org. All entries are completed and submitted online. If you have issues or questions please feel free to call the office. Don’t wait until the last minute to submit the entries and/ or have your animals registered and in the juniors name. This special Shorthorn event has gained a lot of momentum. I look forward to seeing everyone in June in Kansas City - come and be part of one of the greatest cattle events of all breeds!

We have been sponsoring and hosting activities to commemorate our Shorthorn Association’s 150th anniversary. The ASA beginning was in 1872. This year the Shorthorn Country will be publishing a special edition of the Herd Book to recognize the Sesquicentennial (150th) of the American Shorthorn Association. We hope everyone will want to be part of this issue and make it the biggest July Herd Book ever! This will only happen if everyone gets on board and puts an ad in this issue. Shorthorn Country is giving special discounts for this year’s herd book ads – a 15% discount for returning customers and first-time/new advertisers get 20% off! And it gets better - if you get your ad material in and pay for your ad by May 15 you get an additional 5% discount. There will be special discounts for multi-page advertisers. This is a joint effort by the ASA and Shorthorn Country to add to the excitement and documentation of the ASA’s 150th year celebration. Imagine, 50 or 100 years from now, Shorthorn breeders will look back to this date and find all the proud Shorthorn breeders of today.

Just 50 years from now will be the 200th anniversary of the ASA. Think about the young people, our children, who may be the driving forces of this breed. Their heritage is being formed today. The pride they’ll have pointing to an ad listing in this 150th special edition and say, “this is our family” or “here are your grandparents” as they show their children. It gives ownership in the breed to them and to you. You are not only sharing your pride of being proud to be a Shorthorn breeder today, you are giving the future generations a look at what has made this breed so great over the years. This issue will go down in the history of the breed as the one time in America that all Shorthorn enthusiasts came together to show their strong conviction for this great breed. I challenge you to be a part of this year’s July Herd Book in some manner. Small or large, be a part of the roll call. The great discounts make a page very attractive. This tells the story of our breed in more ways than you can imagine. It shows the kind, type and progress of the breed which is the future of the breed when we get everyone’s input in this Herd Book edition.

We have been reminiscing the past few months and celebrating the 150th with the publication of Shorthorn and the American Cattle Industry coffee table book. Be sure to order your copy online or one up at the Junior National or at the North American in Louisville,

Time flies, the years roll on and we dream about doing this or that. Well don’t be a dreamer be a doer and get listed in this year’s Herd Book. It will be seen by many more than in the past. You have the opportunity to show your breeding operation to everyone for more than one month as this will be a reference issue for a number of years.

Let’s make this the biggest and best issue of the Shorthorn Country ever!!! =

See Detail of Special Offers on Page 5