So as some of you are probably not familiar with these test I thought I would enlighten you. They are standardized test put out by the provincial government to ensure that every one in the province is receiving the same quality education . Now as I prepared and wrote my  last of 7 of these test I got to thinking. How would these test be described if you had to tell someone who only nows about cattle, well here is what I have come up with. They are like EPDs they are a guide for perspective buyers (universities)  to judge every one equally just as they do in the cattle industry. They have several different test much like EPDs from Bio to English and social not forgetting math and chemistry as well as physics (what I just wrote.) These are all weighted 50% of our final grade taking out any bias a teacher might have added. Much like the vast averages used in EPDs. Know for the people who are not as familiar with EPDs  Simply put, EPDs are an estimate of how a particular bull's calf will perform in certain traits compared to another bull's, in that particular breed and when bred to similar females, before the mating ever occurs. The actual EPD is calculated using information submitted to the breed associations and provides a basic representation of the pedigree for that particular bull for a particular trait of interest. It is very important to realize that EPDs are not static, they will change over time as more and more progeny information is collected, which leads us to another term of interest: accuracy. Accuracy is just that, how accurate or reliable an EPD is. It is measured on a scale from 0 to 1, the higher the number, the greater the accuracy. Accuracies are important when assessing existing bull batteries that may have animals of varying ages and when looking at pedigree information. However, when actually making purchasing decisions, most of the pool of animals you will be selecting from will be relatively young, having produced no progeny, and therefore will have relatively low accuracies for their individual EPDs. This is where going back and looking at pedigree EPDs and accuracies for potential purchases becomes useful.     

For some of you guys your probably wonder what is a Bonsmara is, well today I am going to educate you on this breed of cattle.
As most of you know, my favorite breed of cattle is Hereford, not only because I have grown up with them but because of the Jr. Program. So what would you get is you crossed Hereford, Shorthorn and Afrikaners? well you guessed it, a Bonsmara. During the years prior to World War II a need was felt for a beef breed which could produce economically in the sub-tropical regions of the Transvaal and Natal. Not with standing their adaptability to the climate, the indigenous Afrikaner-type cattle did not have the desired growth potential, they were relatively late in reaching sexual maturity and many of the cows did not calve regularly. And the exotic British beef breeds available at the time performed well in the more temperate regions but could not keep up the same production in the hotter environment. They were also more susceptible to the tick-borne diseases which were prevalent in the sub-tropics. The Department of Agriculture consequently decided to test the performance of various cross-breds between the indigenous and exotic breeds on its experimental farms, Mara and Messina. Bulls of five British Beef breeds were used on Afrikanner cows and the progeny then performance tested. After pilot trials it was decided to continue only with the better performing Hereford and Shorthorn cross-breds. Ultimately three-quarter Afrikaners were mated to half-breeds to obtain progeny with 5/8 Afrikaner and 3/8 Hereford (thats right Hereford) or Shorthorn blood. 


So how did they get the name?  The name "Bonsmara" was derived from "Bonsma", the man who played a major role in the development of the breed, and "Mara", the farm on which the animals were bred.

he Bonsmara has been scientifically bred and strictly selected for economical production in the extensive cattle grazing regions of South Africa. The Bonsmara has become so popular that it has grown to be numerically the strongest beef breed in South Africa in less than 25 years.

Canada's hog farmers want to see the U.S. Department of Agriculture's updated view of the temperatures needed to cook whole cuts of pork also become the pork safety standard in Canada.
The U.S. ag department on May 24 updated its recommendation for cooking any whole cuts of meat -- pork now included -- to 145 F (63 C), after which the consumer must allow the meat to rest for three minutes before it's carved or eaten.
The U.S. department said last month its new cooking suggestions "reflect the same standards that the agency uses for cooked meat products produced in federally-inspected meat establishments, which rely on the rest time of three minutes to achieve safe pathogen reduction." The key factor to consider when cooking pork is that you do not overcook and I think this information that has come out of the U.S. is very positive because for years consumers have been overcooking pork and it certainly is not necessary, Cooking temperature definitely will have an impact on the juiciness, the tenderness and texture and it's because when you cook for a long time you are drying the moisture out of the meat". 
Just some interesting news for the first day of summer!

Today is Framers day and as all of you know how much farmers do it is important that we stand up to the government on these big bad bills.  Please take a moment and have a listen and if you want to make a difference write to your local MLA about your concerns. It is important to stand for what we believe and to make sure that the farmers don't get swept under the rug.

A boy that lives on a farm is awakened by his mother early in the morning on the weekend. She tells him he won't get breakfast until he does his chores. One of his chores involves feeding all the animals. While he was feeding the animals he takes out his aggression on some of them. He kicks a chicken, a cow, and a pig. When he finished his chores his mother just gives him a bowl of dry cereal. When he asks why, his mother tells him that he didn't get any milk because he kicked the cow. He didn't get any eggs because he kicked the chicken and he didn't get bacon because he kicked the pig. Right then his father comes in and kicks the cat. The boy looks at his mother and says "Would you like to tell him or should I?"


I got a good laugh and I hope you do too.

Today I am going to talk about mans best friend, and no I am not talking about the TV or Facebook. I am talking about the farm dog. It as become apparent on our operation that things would be far tougher to get done with out the help of our trusty side kick the Border Collie, in fact my great grand father would say "having a good dog is like having two good men".  I know that with the help of our dogs it is much easier to do the little things like turning cattle into the right gate. Below is a video about border collies just incase you might like to find out some interesting info.

I think it is a testament to my great grand father dog, Roy he asked for him to be used in the building of his statue.