A Junior's Perspective – Connor Rodger

Growing up on a cash crop farm near Auburn, Ont., 22-year-old Connor Rodger was not always involved with cattle. His passion for raising and showing cattle, and the Limousin breed in particular, grew as he became involved in 4-H under the mentorship of his grandfather, Byron Black, and uncle, Brent Black, of Loyal Line Limousin.

Loyal Line Limousin began in the early 1990’s with the purchase of ¾ blood Limousin females for 4-H projects. Purchases of purebred cattle soon followed. Brent’s later 4-H projects are the foundation of the herd the Black’s have today. Connor was old enough to join the local 4-H club in 2008 and Byron and Brent saw to it that Connor, along with his brother and sister, were showing Limousin calves. Connor has shown a Limousin heifer every year since and was fortunate to make it to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair every year as well. Loyal Line Limousin has retained nine out of the 12 4-H projects that Connor has shown, including that very first Limousin heifer from 2008 who is still producing in their herd. In 2018, Connor made his first heifer purchase with his uncle and grandpa, bringing home B Bar / Hawkeye Foxtrot 27F.

Connor says that the Limousin breed is his breed of choice because of how versatile the cattle are,

“The cattle show competitively against other breeds and at the end of the day, are still profitable in the commercial world,” Connor goes on to say, “That’s something I think we all need to keep in mind too – to not forget where our bread is buttered, so to speak.”

Connor Competing at the Masterfeeds Junior Beef Heifer Show

Photo by ShowChampions

The Black family has had a few different breeds walk through their pastures, and Connor feels there is a stark contrast in docility between breeds.

“It’s hard not to brag about how docile the Limousin cattle are,” Connor comments, “That definitely shines through in the new BOLT system along with some other traits. Limousin have the edge in terms of carcass traits, efficiency, and longevity.”

Connor’s participation in the 2011 Canadian Junior Limousin Show in Orangeville, Ont. led him to become a member Canadian Junior Limousin Association (CJLA). He was elected to the CJLA Board of Directors in 2015 during the show that year in Stratford, Ont. His involvement with cattle ramped up once he joined the CJLA Board. In 2017, he stepped into the role of Treasurer on the CJLA Board. He says that the best part of sitting on the CJLA Board of Directors and attending the CJLA Impact Shows has been the opportunity to meet great people and make connections across Canada. He has attended every CJLA Impact Show since 2015, with the exception of the 2017 show. At the 2016 show in Lloydminster, Alta., Connor capitalized on the chance to meet a lot of Western Canadian Limousin breeders for the first time. At the memorable 2018 show in Nova Scotia, he enjoyed meeting everyone from the east coast at Balamore Farms and reconnecting with some of the juniors from Western Canada that he had met in 2016. The most recent CJLA Impact Show in Saskatoon, Sask. provided another opportunity to meet more breeders from Western Canada. Connor credits CJLA Coordinator, Laura Ecklund, and the many CJLA Board members that he has had the pleasure of working alongside, with being instrumental in his growth through his time on the CJLA Board of Directors.

Connor at the 2019 CJLA Impact Show.

Image by Jill Renton at CattleVids.

“By far, the biggest takeaway from showing with the Limousin breed are all of the people I have met,” Connor states, “At Agribition, last fall, I had a lot of laughs and good times with people I had met over the past few years.”

While Connor’s time in the CJLA program and junior shows have come to an end, looking back Connor has enjoyed great success throughout his time in these programs. Winning the showmanship competition at the National Junior Beef Heifer Show in 2017 is at the top of his list of proud accomplishments. The heifer he showed that year, Loyal Line Daisy, was the culmination of three breeding generations at Loyal Line Limousin. The pair won a number of showmanship accolades that fall and she was named Reserve Champion Female at the Ontario Limousin Association Provincial Show that year as well. This success also afforded him the opportunity to travel to the United Kingdom in August 2018 on behalf of the National Junior Beef Heifer Show.

Another exciting highlight came just this past fall, when their B Bar / Hawkeye Foxtrot 27F heifer finished the show season in second place in the Masterfeeds Canadian Limousin Show Female of the Year show points competition. She won the Grand Champion Female titles at Meaford Fair and Owen Sound Fair, claimed the Reserve Champion Yearling prize at Barrie Fair, Reserve Grand Champion Female award at the Ontario Limousin Association Provincial Show in Markham, and rounded out the year with a third in class at the 50th Anniversary National Limousin Show in Toronto, Ont. next to the overall Grand and Reserve Champion females.

Having not grown up with cattle at home, Connor credits his uncle Brent as his biggest mentor through the initial years of showing and to this day.

“As I met more people within the breed and the industry, everyone was willing to offer advice and answer any questions I had,” Connor says, “I think that as an industry, to support each other like that is extremely remarkable and uncommon in comparison to other industries.”

Going into this new decade, Connor is confident that the Limousin breed is positioned well for success, and that attracting more commercial buyers will be key.

“The implementation of the new BOLT system allows producers to give an accurate comparison to the other breeds that we’re competing against for market share,” Connor goes on to say, “The more I talk to breeders, the more apparent it becomes that there are a lot of repeat buyers for Limousin bulls and heifers.”

Connor points out that another strong point of the Limousin breed is the junior population and the number of juniors involved in the breed. Although not all are prominent in show circles, Limousin juniors are still plentiful.

Every year, local kids attend the Impact Show that I am meeting for the first time that have a lot of potential to have a great impact on our breed.

Connor’s advice for these juniors is to not be afraid to talk to people or ask for advice,

“I’ve learned a lot by asking other people what works and what doesn’t. Most of the time it will save yourself time and money.”

One of the brightest young men to recently age out of the CJLA program, Connor has been attending the University of Guelph since September 2015, enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Agriculture program, later majoring in the Animal Science stream. With graduation upcoming in April, Connor is waiting to see what the future holds in terms of employment but he is certain that he will remain involved in the Limousin breed.

“I love showing cattle and all the people in our breed, so we’ll see what the future holds,” Connor concludes.

Generations of passion for agriculture have guided Connor to where he is today. His positive energy and work ethic have been an asset to the CJLA Board and many youth have benefited from the mentorship he has passed on to them. Wherever the future takes Connor, there is no doubt he will have a positive influence and continue to share his excitement for the industry and breed that shaped him.