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.

The power behind blogging.

I attend a high school were most of my fellow students live in the city without the ability to access agriculture. So I am talking to my friend (about the blog and why I am doing it.) After explaining how the it is for the Calgary Stampede International Youth Livestock Show, to promote agriculture and what it is all about.  They found it very interesting to know how young group we are, and how we are so passionately involved in our industry. I tried to explain how it is our livelihood and how we are born into it. When the conversation was all done, she had one question, she said it was a thinker and she wasn't kidding.  "So let me get this right, you guys are spending hours each day blogging to inform the general public about agriculture," I said yep. so then she when on, " last year  I heard there were days where there were close  to one hundred thousand people at the stampede, wouldn't it make sense to have the this terrific show there were people could see how good the next generation of the agriculture industry leaders are and then you could market to far more people." I said wow that is a good question. I know that one of the biggest problems is the cost associated with the travel , the no  parking factor and the expensive on park costs. They looked at me crazily and said, "You don't think that blogging every night is a worse then parking, because if you factor the drive to where it is located now it is about the same. Food is expensive but you also have access to a midway full of fun ." I guess today I am righting this blog asking the same question, why are we advocating on the web when we could have a better chance at educating a city for about the same amount of trouble? Let me know if you have any thoughts. I think this is comparable to the saying “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish ; and you have fed him for a lifetime”—Author unknown lets teach our communities first then our world. 

When school ends everyone around is ready for the Airdrie Pro Rodeo. Every year, World and Canadian Champs are part of our record number of contestant entries at the Airdrie Pro Rodeo. In 2010, Airdrie Rodeo had more cowboys and cowgirls than at any other Canadian Professional Rodeo Association event. We are proud to be the 7th largest professional rodeo by payout in Canada and 2011 marks our 44th year of rodeo in Airdrie.

Recently I blogged about how important I thought it was that the general public is informed about agriculture. Today I was going to talk about urban agriculture when I came across this video, I think you should check it out. I think this is really interesting.  It is such a hard program to get into.  Please check it out. I found it interesting and think more rural schools should incorporate similar programs into their studies. 

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.

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.

Now for the people who know me, they may be thinking of my slightly shortened finger as per usual comes up in a many conversations. But today I am going to talk about steaks you can buy at the  butcher.


Recently I was out for dinner with some friends and this question came up,“What do you think is the best cut of beef? And why?”


Simply put we need understand that beef is muscle tissue.  As a result, regularly used muscles will result in tougher meat, while lesser used muscles will result in tender meat. This doesn’t mean that the less tender cuts aren’t worth eating – au contraire – some of the tastiest cuts come from the tougher muscles.  My favorite cut is a tenderloin, below is a chart to help you get a better understanding of the cuts and maybe assist you in finding your  new favorite cut.

Common Cuts	Location	Tenderness
Blade Steaks or Roast	Chuck	Medium Tender, but like butter when braised.
Flank Steak	Flank	Less Tender, but can be great when marinated or slowly cooked
Eye of Round & Sirloin Tip Steaks	Hip	Medium Tender, perfect for fast grilling or frying; inexpensive cuts
Tenderloin Steak & New York Striploin	Loin	Tender - the most tender cuts of beef
Rib Eye Steak	Rib	Tender - slightly less tender than Tenderloin or NY, but more flavourful
Top Sirloin	Sirloin	Tender - a great steak; much less expensive than cuts from the Loin and Rib but still tender and flavourful
Shank	Shank	Less Tender, great for braising.  Try using beef shanks for a larger and beefier version of osso buco.

Of the many concerning developments in food and agriculture over recent years, one stands out as being particularly perplexing and disturbing. It is the widespread disappearance of honey bee colonies throughout the North America that has come to be known as Colony Collapse Disorder. Some beekeepers began to report unusually high losses of 30-90 percent of their hives. As many as 50 percent of all affected colonies demonstrated symptoms inconsistent with any known causes of honeybee death: sudden loss of a colony’s worker bee population with very few dead bees found near the colony. The queen and brood (young) remained, and the colonies had relatively abundant honey and pollen reserves. But hives cannot sustain themselves without worker bees and would eventually die. This combination of events resulting in the loss of a bee colony has been called Colony Collapse Disorder. Certain pesticides are harmful to bees. That’s why we require instructions for protecting bees on the labels of pesticides that are known to be particularly harmful to bees. This is one of many reasons why everyone must read and follow pesticide label instructions.

It has not been said that is is directly related to pesticides however, it shows us how delicate our ecosystems are and knowing how important bees are to our crops we must do everything we can to prevent the spread of CCD. 

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.    

The European Union is keen to reintroduce practices banned on farms since the 'mad cow' scandal broke.


Member of the European Parliament will vote this week on whether to lift the ban on feeding animal by-products to pigs, chickens and farmed fish. They have been urged to back the move by an influential EU committee, which called in a recent draft report for the feed ban to be revised.

Cattle feed may be protected because cows are vegetarians

The document, from the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, stops short of altering the status quo on cattle feed, pointing out that because cows are vegetarian they should not be fed so-called "processed animal proteins" 


The potential U-turn comes as concerns escalate about how the world will continue to feed itself against a backdrop of rapidly inflating food prices and a soaring population. 


This is interesting, will North America follow suit or will shake our heads. Food scarcity is a problem and I see that people will look for alternatives when they are needed. 

The CFIA is an integral part of the federal government's capacity to respond rapidly and effectively in the event of a food safety emergency or a threat to agricultural or forest biosecurity. Agency surveillance and inspection programs are designed to detect the presence of hazards in food, animals and plants and their products, and provide an early warning for problems whether they are accidental or intentional.
In addition, stringent border controls, enhanced surveillance and early detection activities, and increased laboratory capacity enable the CFIA to rapidly identify disease agents or substances associated with agro-terrorism, tampering and vandalism.
CFIA works closely with federal and provincial governments to share expertise, and collaborate with the international community for intelligence sharing, to identify risks posed by foreign plant and animal diseases and pests.

Equine herpes virus is a contagious disease and may spread quickly among horse populations although EHV-1 is not transmissible to humans. Horse-to-horse contact, aerosol transmission, and contaminated hands, equipment, tack and feed all play a role in disease spread. Treatment may include intravenous fluids, anti-inflammatory drugs and other appropriate supportive treatment. Immediate separation and isolation of horses suspected to be sick are key elements for disease control. Equine herpes virus that was been transmitted to some California horses at the National Cutting Horse Association's Western National Championships in Ogden, Utah April 30 through May 8.


The California Department of Food and Agriculture has contacted all exhibitors from California who participated in the  event and asked them to isolate and monitor their horses for clinical signs of EHV-1. A rectal temperature in excess of 102 degrees Fahrenheit commonly precedes other clinical signs, including nasal discharge, lack of coordination, hind end weakness, depression or lethargy, urine dribbling, and decreased tail tone, all neurological impacts.  Therefore, horse owners with potentially exposed horses are urged to take temperatures on each individual horse twice a day.


If they find that horses not at the show are getting sick, then the strain "is not acting as we know it to act, and we probably are working with an emerging disease," said Bruce King, Utah's state veterinarian. 


The sickness is located in the western states, but it is important to always be aware of your livestock and now especially with this disease out brake. 

The Conservatives have also pledged to place a continued emphasis on market access and trade. During the campaign, Stephen Harper also spoke about completing the Canada-EU Free Trade Agreement by 2012 and the Canada-India Free Trade Agreement in 2013. The Conservatives have also promised to continue to stand up for supply management in all international forums and bilateral negotiations.

The Bank of Montreal on Thursday forecast that Canada’s agricultural sector will grow by between 3.5 and 4.0 percent this year barring major flooding that may hurt crop yields.


The experts think that the crop segment is expected to grow faster than its livestock counterpart, where activity will be limited by smaller breeding herds and high feeding costs. Canadian farmers are likely to continue to experience solid financial performance this year, with crop and livestock prices expected to remain buoyant and output rising on stronger demand and improved yields.


I think that this is very good news!  However, I am still very concerned that the corporate agricultural business will take most of it, if not all of the increase in the market, leaving the farmers once again without an increase in profit.  

 Conservatives

Green

Liberals

NDP

I am very exited to vote and I think that I am going to vote Conservative because their platform is focused on helping farmers and the industry rather than food and the environment. I hope that this post will help you make a decision with your food supply in mind.