CLA Presidents Report

PRESIDENTS REPORT

CLA PRESIDENT Amanda Matthews

II hope this edition of The Voice finds you in good health. 2020 has come with its challenges, however Agriculture, especially the cattle business, is resilient.

Our board responsibility is not just around a table, but it is to represent the good of the Association and its members. At our December 2019 meeting we put forth a structured effort to represent our Association to the best of our abilities. We put together a set of goals to work towards in 2020, the main being to inspire respect between breeder to breeder. We want to protect the time-honoured handshake between buyer and seller. The Canadian Limousin Association has a set of bylaws that were created for our members to adhere to, and for the board to utilize to uphold the integrity of our breed. All of us should believe in these strongly. We will take the routes necessary to protect the membership and the Association.

This leads into the model of creating value in our membership, as many of you have heard rumblings, we will be restructuring our DNA bylaws to be user friendly and to begin to create a data base that we can draw genomic information from. We are working on a genotyping project, where we will be able to offer a reduced cost on lab services in conjunction with Neogen Canada. This is an exciting opportunity for our membership.

We will also be increasing our random DNA pulls through the membership. This allows us to make sure that our herd book is accurate. I would recommend while running animals through the chute this fall for preg-checking and weaning, that you take the time to keep a sample of tail hair. Store it in a cool and dry place and then you won’t be scrambling when you potentially receive a request. This can be a simple addition to your chute side practices.

I encourage everyone to reach out to fellow breeders to arrange private tours, or just to visit about the calf crop. We will certainly be all missing each other, with the cancellation of many of the fall shows. I am so pleased to have announced that our CJLA Virtual Show was a success, and a big thanks to Laura Ecklund and Amy Miller for their efforts, as well as CJLA President Samantha Kennedy and her junior board.

We hopefully will be able to be all together again very soon at the Impact Show 2021 in Ontario.