Notice is hereby given to members that the Nova Scotia Cattle Producers will hold a special producers’ meeting on Tuesday May 29, 2012 at 2:00pm.  The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn located at 437 Prince Street.  The intent of this meeting will be to increase the Provincial portion of levy from $1.00 to $2.00.

Cape John Pasture Field Day – Poster and Directions [PDF]

Cape John Pasture Field Day – Agenda [PDF]

Join AgraPoint specialists Jonathan Wort, beef and sheep specialist, Amy Sangster, soil specialist, and Bill Thomas, forage specialist,  for coffee and conversation about the management of our Nova Scotian grass advantage. We’ll be looking at soil test results and pasture fertility, pasture productivity, rotational grazing, and animal health on pasture. Soil tests will be available to discuss but is also strongly recommended that you bring soil tests from your own farm if available.

Notes:
Vaccinated cattle will be uniquely identified, all cattle will be sold by order of arrival. Vaccinated cattle must be accompanied by a vaccination declaration.

Producers are encouraged to pre register all feeder cattle as early as possible – ASL will be list pre registered cattle on their website.

For more information please visit the Atlantic Stockyards website.

Jennifer MacDonald: 1-506-204-5976; aalp@rogers.com

To be eligible for this program, producers must have a current farm registration, must be registered and submitting levy to the NSCP, be actively farming, and be enrolled and submitting data to a genetic evaluation program. There is also a section which provides an incentive for new producers (in their first five years of farm registration).

Full Program Guidelines and Applications are available by visiting www.gov.ns.ca/agri or www.nscattle.ca/members/industry-programs. There are printed copies available at the office. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the office.

The NSCP has organized five workshops to allow producers to become familiar with the genetic evaluation program bioBeef as well as to access and interpret reports from bioBeef. Workshops will be held at the following locations and times. To register for the workshops please call the office at 902-893-7455.

Notes:
Vaccinated cattle will be uniquely identified, all cattle will be sold by order of arrival. Vaccinated cattle must be accompanied by a vaccination declaration.

Producers are encouraged to pre register all feeder cattle as early as possible – ASL will be list pre registered cattle on their website.

For more information please visit the Atlantic Stockyards website.

The top selling bull was a Simmental purchased by Gerald Eric Cochrane of Newport, Nova Scotia for $6,900; the bull was consigned by Trevor and Paula Hiltz of Aylesford, Nova Scotia.

The top selling heifer was Charolais/Simmental cross consigned by Scott Dixon of Port Elgin, New Brunswick; she was purchased for $1,725

From the Chronicle Herald- April 2, 2012

MOUNT THOM — Even after all these years, Betty Lou Scott walks to the barn with a spring in her step and a smile on her face. The Black Angus cows that have become the trademark of WindCrest Farm may dwarf her in size, but her enthusiasm for the animals more than makes up for it.

“I’ve always loved animals,” she said during an interview on Sunday.

For more years than either of them care to count, Scott and her husband, Bill, have operated this farm atop Mount Thom where the purebred Angus cattle they raise have developed a solid reputation. Bulls from WindCrest have made their way throughout Atlantic Canada and into parts of Quebec and Ontario through the years.

“We’ve sold more breeding stock than people would realize,” said Bill. “We’ve turned a lot of cattle black.”

They’ve also raised children here, maintained and developed 130 hectares, and been involved with just about every group and association you can think of.

This commitment recently earned Betty Lou the Rosemary Davis Award, which honours five women across Canada who are active leaders in agriculture. Betty Lou said the award is recognition of the growing number of female leaders in the industry, something that wasn’t always the case.

“I used to be very much a minority,” she said. “The big ranches out west, a lot of them, now they’re run by women.”

In many ways, Betty Lou has come full circle.

This is where she grew up. After leaving home to go to university, where she received an education degree, she headed to Musquodoboit Harbour where she found her first teaching job and a husband. Like his bride-to-be, Bill Scott grew up in a farming family.

When Betty Lou’s parents fell ill and passed away, as the oldest of five siblings, she returned to the family farm in 1975, and along with Bill, carried on with the operation.

“For me it was moving back, for (Bill) it was moving to the Arctic compared to Musquodoboit Harbour,” she said.

You don’t just give up farming when it’s in your blood.

Bill worked the land to breathe new life into the farm, while Betty Lou worked in the Pictou County school system (she became a full-time farmer after retiring in 1997).

They decided to take over the farm in part because both of them believed that few things could instil the value of hard work in their young children like working on a farm.

That view extends to Betty Lou’s now 33-year involvement with the Salt Springs 4-H Club.

“I really think it is the best youth program going,” she said. “One of the most satisfying things I get out of it is seeing kids who are very shy, very withdrawn . . . develop and blossom.”

Programs such as public speaking, showing and judging, things she insisted her own children do, develop skills that remain forever, said Betty Lou. She relishes seeing kids who might struggle in other areas shine.

She remembers one boy, in particular, who struggled with academics but realized great success with 4-H.

“If you had given him a million dollars he wouldn’t have been any happier than (he was) with that champion ribbon.”

At one point, the herd at WindCrest was as big as 90 registered purebred animals before the fallout from some cases in Western Canada of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as mad-cow disease, hit the industry.

But you can’t operate a farm for as long as the Scotts have without bucket loads of perseverance and the couple managed to weather that storm, in part thanks to the growing demand for Angus beef.

They’ve watched the land change around them through the years, as windmills and radio towers have sprouted up, but their commitment to the farm has remained steady.

Now, as beef prices are making a comeback, the Scotts are starting to slow down. Both Bill and Betty Lou agree it’s time. They’re down to 17 cows after a recent string of sales.

But as they approach the end of their own careers as farmers, both of them are heartened by the re-emerging interest in the industry. Startup costs can be difficult, but the Scotts see the same merits in farming today as they did many years ago when they moved back to Mount Thom.

On behalf of a national group of Canadian researchers (University of Manitoba, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, Agriculture and AgriFood Canada, and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA Letter of Support [PDF]), Ipsos Forward Research is conducting an online survey (via the internet) with beef producers across Canada to learn about current feeding strategies, forage and pasture management, animal management and manure management strategies for different types of beef operations across Canada.

The survey will help to:

• Develop new profitable Best Management Practices (BMPs) for the Canadian beef sector according to regional needs.
• Document improvements in practices that can bolster the image of the industry.
• Help the Canadian beef industry to capture market opportunities

If you qualify for this study (there will be a few short questions at the beginning of the survey to verify you qualify for this study) and agree to participate, you will receive a cheque for $25 as a token of appreciation for your time and input.

The results from this survey will be used for statistical purposes and published in aggregate form only. Your identity and the information you provide will be kept confidential.

Survey participants will be provided the opportunity to obtain detailed information on the study as well as a summary of the survey findings via the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and provincial producer groups.

If you are interested in participating in the study, please call toll free: 888-573-9026 and we will send you a link and a passcode so you can complete the survey via the internet.

A representative from the Ipsos Forward call center will be available to take your phone call between the following times:

• Monday to Friday: 7:00am to 9:00pm central time.
• Saturday: 8:00am to 2:00pm central time.
• Sunday: 4pm to 9:00pm central time.

While participation in this survey is voluntary, your participation is very important to us! The survey needs to be completed by April 6 – so, we hope to hear from you soon!

Best regards,

Ipsos Forward Research
120 Research Lane, Suite 202
Guelph, ON N1G 0B4