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.

 So how did I come to know this breed, stay tuned and tomorrow I will let you in on the secret behind my experiences with them.

Everyone has heard about the day where we honour the royals for governing this great nation. And I am pretty sure most of us understand Family day. But now we have Farmers day! This celebration is on Friday June 10, Tomorrow!

Coming from a fourth generation farm family I am very happy we are honoring farmers for putting food on everyones table.  Some think that his holiday is spurious I would have to tell you other wise.
People don't think twice when they thank the person at the grocery store or restaurant but the clerk definitely notices the thank-you. Now the farmer who doesn't have the chance to interact with the public is getting a thanks. A thanks for spending the night awake waiting for the cow that just will not calve, making sure there are no problems. Or the farmer who gave up his only planned holiday to combine the crop because it was finally ready.

So tomorrow please take a few minutes to stop and thank a farmer if you know any, it doesn't have to be a big long drawn out thanks just one to shown them you appreciate the all the midnight checks and working more the average 9-5 punch-in out job.

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.

It has ruined livestock farmers and unleashed famines that in turn have fuelled turbulence and war.


Stamping it out, a quest that can be traced back to 1920, brought together the World Organisation for Animal Health, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and national veterinary agencies. Their prime weapons have been vaccines as well as routine surveillance, in which outbreaks are swiftly spotted by veterinarians and then circumscribed.


What is this you are probably thinking, well its rinderpest, also called cattle plague.  Highly contagious and often fatal among bovine species but not infectious for humans, the rinderpest virus has a destructive history going back two thousand years. 


Ann Tutwiler, said  "We have a tremendous success that we can count today. It's a success that's born of cooperation, collaboration and partnership and most particularly knowledge,"  

We can make sure this doesn't happen again.

If we can control the spread and end a disease of this magnitude it really speaks for the worlds farmers and how important quarantines are when it come to preventing the spread of diseases.    

Mr. Gates’ first major address was on agriculture, to high-level members of the Obama administration. Over the past five years, the philanthropic foundation named for Mr. Gates and his wife, Melinda, have spent $1.7-billion in pursuit of food security by helping small farmers in struggling nations.  


The Conservative government’s 2010 budget outlined $1.8-billion in cuts to planned foreign assistance by 2014-15. Official assistance to Africa, the continent most in need of agriculture-related development assistance to combat malnutrition and hunger, has also been scaled back in recent years as Canada shifted its list of priority recipients to more Caribbean and Latin American nations.


The citizens have a voice, I believe that when it comes down to charity and governments giving money they must be very careful, after all a country would not be rich if they did not have the citizens backing them.  Community involvement is very important to me and I feel that we must give back, to feel good about ourselves and to help people in need, but I think it is a bit scary that a few leaders can decide were the money we have given government goes. That high fuel price that is full of tax and the GST, not to mention income taxes. If any one needs help it is the people here, like the people of Slave Lake who have no house left or the farmers in Manitoba that have lost their farm land due to a flood. If people feel that it is important that people in Africa get school then they should individually donate, but that do not mean our government should decide what charities outside of canada need our tax money we work hard for. 

Jonathan Fox, Jr. of Lloydminster