HaydenMorrow

AustralianShorthornAmbassador

The final leg of my trip waspredominantly in Canada. But before Italk about this I would first like tomention something I forgot to write inmy pervious article. During JuniorNationals I was lucky enough to go tothe US Meat Animal Research Centre(MARC) in Nebraska. Thank you toLaura Mushrush from the DroversCattle Network who not only drove meto the facility but also got me into afeedlot workshop. The workshop wasvery interesting and covered a largerange of topics. A significant theme ofthe workshop was that to overcomeglobal food supply challenges in thefuture, good leadership is just assignificant as innovation. In myopinion if the Shorthorn breed is to besuccessful into the future, breeders needto adjust their mindset. Not only arewe seed stock producers but we are beefproducers. There needs to be continueddevelopment of a stronger relationshipwith not only commercial breeders, butmeat processors, retailers andconsumers. The beef industry is quiteunique in that many people involvednever see their end product or theconsumer, obviously this provideschallenges.

The two weeks I spent in Canadainvolved many short visits to a largenumber of herds. I was finding it hardto believe that I only had a few weeksleft on this adventure with so much stilltoo see. My timing was perfect in thatthere was a heat wave going on, so Iwas quite at home in the 30°C days. Iwas excited to visit Canada for itsbeautiful landscapes and hardycommercially focused Shorthorn herds.My first stop was Saskvalley Shorthornsat Rosthern which is just north ofSaskatoon. I had expectations of tough,practical deep bodied cows as theseseeds had been planted in my mindfrom discussion with people aboutCanadian cattle in the USA. Myexpectations were definitely met. I wasimpressed by the efficiency of this herdimmensely. They were very practicalcattle that still displayed a significantamount of muscle particularlydescendants of the sire SaskvalleyRamrod.

While I was happy I avoided theCanadian winter I was still veryinterested in how these environmentalextremes are coped with by producers.

My next destination was Bell MShorthorns. While being hosted by theMoellenbeck Family I was also able tovisit Pound Makers integrated ethanolplant and feedlot. From touring thefeedlot it reaffirmed just how versatilecattle can be. Rather than infrastructurebeing designed to avoid heat stress likemany in Australia a Saskatchewanfeedlot is designed to cope with thecold. What I found interesting was thatweight gain in the cattle peeked whentemperatures were around -10°C. Thewet distillers grain which is high inprotein is then fed to the cattle in thefeedlot. Both divisions of the businessare just as integral as each other. Bell Mcattle were similar to Saskvalley in timeas they were moderate and easierfleshing then many herds I have seen.By now the forest fires in the CanadianShield had covered much ofSaskatchewan with a blanket of smokethat followed me south for the next fewdays.

My next destinationwas Bender Shorthorns. I enjoyedlooking around the Glenford herd a lot.A red herd that are bigger morepowerful cattle then many inSaskatchewan. There are definitelysome very tidy cows in this herd. Sireslike Glenford Just Right 20Z offer agood balance betweenmuscle and doingability. I find itinteresting thedifferent types ofShorthorn cattle thatcan be found. Thedebate on how big acow should be and ifselecting for all redpays is continuouslydiscussed amongbreeders. I think that just like the seedstock world commercial producers alsohave different ideas on what an idealbull should look like. As a result there

are markets for very differentShorthorns in North America,particularly between regions. At the endof the day as long as you are able tofind a market for your cattle then breedwhat you like. Profitability is obviouslycritical but I think an importantconsideration is whether your markethas potential for growth? As businessesrarely remain stagnant, they usuallygrow or decline thus if your marketcannot grow it’s probably declining.

My next destination was Horse ShoeCreek Farms. This operation isinteresting and unique in that such alarge percentage of sales are embryos.Embryos are sold all over the world. Ifound out a particularly strong marketright now is the UK. Grant Alexanderexplained that Shorthorns are thefastest growing breed in the UK at themoment. It was good to see some well-known cattle here such as WaukaruPatents mother and HC FLTouchdown. The most recent AIprogram at Horseshoe Creek used asignificant amount of Australian semen.It seems in recent times that exchangeof genetics internationally is becomingincreasingly common. Some people onmy travels have mentioned to me thatthey would like to see an internationaldatabase established through whichcattle in other countries could havetheir performance compared. Aninitiative like this would furtherenhance international trade. However,there are obviously a huge number ofhurdles to overcome for this to occur.

Differences inbreeding directionsbetween countriesdue to market ande n v i r o nmen t a lvariation may putthe value of aprogram like thisinto question.While at HorseShoe Creek I wasalso able to watchsome of the cattle

judging at Weyburn Fair. The show wasjudged by Peter Boake of Alta CedarShorthorns. I really enjoyed this show

=An Aussies PerspectiveAn Aussie perspective final article.

Balmoral Oaks Eagle calves. PaintearthShorthorns is a beautiful place with therocky outcrops emerging abruptlywithin pastures. A notable bull that hascome out of this herd is PaintearthRama that has also been very successfulat Creekside Shorthorns. I wasinterested to see Saskvalley Wholesaleand his calves at Double Star. Theywere sound, thick, soft, cattle that arevery commercially applicable.

I then spent a few days at Alta CedarShorthorns. Alta Cedar North Face haddefinitely grabbed some attention atDenver. His calves back in Canadastood out. They had a great deal ofbody and volume, with yearling heifersby him also looking the part. AltaCedar was my final destination inCanada before heading to Edmontonand flying back to sunny California.Thank you so much to everybody inCanada that helped me see yourbeautiful country. I hope I can comeback one day.

Now back in the USA I still had ahectic schedule lined up thanks to theAlbiani Family. First job on the list wasto spend some time on the Californianbeach. Next on the agenda was going tothe Salinas Rodeo followed by theCalifornia State Fair and finally exploreL.A., before departure. Everybody hassome “fact” about their little pocket ofparadise. In San Luis Obispo I was toldit was the happiest place in America,even Oprah supposedly owns a place

there. I will admit I waspretty happy exploringthe beaches in the area.Next for a road trip toSalinas to help set up foran event that then got mefree food and drinks thatcomplemented my freeCalifornia Rodeo ticketnicely. And what a rodeoit was with two eventsgoing at the same time, ithad it all.

The State Fair was next. It was greatto see some familiar faces at the fairfrom my previous time in California.By now I had seen what felt like 99%of Shorthorns in North America. Forthe few herds I haven’t seen I apologize,but if there was time I would haveloved to pay you a visit.

My final destination was Los AngelesI was fortunate enough to find sometour guides in Michelle and HeatherWelcher. I had a great time checkingout how absurd the lives of the rich andfamous can be.

I spent the night in a hotel withcheck out at 11 a.m., which meant Ihad an 11 hour wait in the airportbefore jumping on the 14 hour flight

I arrived early and beat the tourist rush.Obviously the lake was beautiful, so Icontinued to walk around the Lake notreally sure where I was going. I toldmyself I would turn around once thescenery wasn’t as pretty anymore. Iturned around 7km later when thetrack stopped at a sharp drop. I visitedthe Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House andcontinued right up to Abbott passviewpoint. I absolutely loved the hikeand recommend it to everybody, the

final portion got a little precarious

b u twas an awesome adventure. Eventurning around and walking the sametrack back was enjoyable. But the daywasn’t over. I then went to Banff andsaw Bow River Falls then went on theGondola to the top of SulphurMountain that is 2451m above sea levelfor some pretty spectacular views.Finally I found the hostel I would stayat for the night and then go explore thetown of Banff. The following day Ivisited some other sights including thecave andbasin beforeheading backto DiamondShorthorns. Idid the rockym o u n t a i n sc omp l e t e l yalone but stillhad the timeof my life. It’sjust thatgood.

While in Alberta I was also able togo to the world famous CalgaryStampede, walk on a Glacier, walk onthe skywalk, Royal Tyrrell dinosaurmuseum and go on North Americasfastest zipline and an Olympicbobsled track reaching speeds of86km/hr. Thank you Alberta.

There were also plenty of cattle tosee. I was fortunate enough to visitCrooked Post, Paintearth, ProspectHill, Double Star, Alta Cedar andCreekside Shorthorns. Between theseherds I saw some great cattle. CrookedPost was having some success withAustralian genetics such as YamburganTobermoary and Belmore Jackaroowhile Prospect Hill had plenty of great

in that it was primarily about youth,however while being competitive it wasnot extreme. Money was not as criticalas it is in many North American showsto succeed.

My next destination was to beMuridale Shorthorns. It was slightlymore difficult to find than some herdsbut I was definitely grateful for howwell planned many of the Canadianroads are. In that most roads run Northto South or East to West and aredivided by mile long sections. Despitepeople giving directions in miles wheneverything else was in kilometers thisplanning made for pretty easytravelling. In Australia roads are not sowell planned they simply go from onetown to the next taking whateverwinding route was the most economicalto build.

When arriving at Muridale I foundexactly what I was told to expect bypeople. A consistent, moderate, easyfleshing group of profitable cows. Somegreat cattle have come out of Muridalesuch as the recent sale topper MuridaleThermal Energy. Muridale cows are thetype that are very efficient in acommercial cattlemen’s paddock.Moderation and easy fleshing allowsthem to get in calf wean a high ratio ofcalf to cow weight and then get back incalf and do it again. Even in thetougher years. Its widespreadknowledge that the number of livecalves on the ground is a key profitdriver. It will be very interesting in thefuture if feed efficiency measurementbecomes more commercially availablehow the industries average cow size willchange as a result, or if it will change atall.

Well my world wind tour of Canadathen continued the following day as Idrove to Diamond

Shorthornsto make my first stop in Alberta. I hada lot of high hopes for what I would seein Alberta. Thank you to theStephenson Family for helping me seeso many things, it’s safe to say Albertaexceeded my already high expectations.I soon took my rental car up into theCanadian Rockies. First stop LakeLouise. This was definitely a highlight.

your culture, cattle, food, sport, peoplebut also myself. This experience hashad a huge impact shaping my future Iam so grateful Thank you. If any of youever come down under be sure to lookme up. I hope to meet as many futureAmerican Ambassadors that come toAustralia as I can.

Hayden Morrow

USA and two provinces in Canada,about 80 hosts and 34 free caps. I can’tthank the people who helped me overthe last six months enough I had anabsolutely incredible time effectivelyhitchhiking around North Americabetween Shorthorn breeders. There isno other experience like it. I have nodoubt learned a huge amount about

back over the pond too Sydney. Luckilythough I met a fellow Australian whowas in the same boat as me. We burntthrough all our quarters, dimes andnickels on a $7.50 beer each andcommenced the wait. Thanks a lot Jadeif I didn’t meet you I most likely wouldhave gone insane.

The final count was 24 states in the =