VOLUME 24 ISSUE 2
September 2024
what’s inside
1 12 22 14 26 18 66
COMMERCIAL BEEF PRODUCERS FAVOUR STRAIGHT-BRED HERD
FROM THE GATEPOST IT’S A DIFFERENT GAME LE CONTEXTE EST DIFFÉRENT
BREED IMPROVEMENT THE GENETIC POWER OF COLLABORATION LA PUISSANCE GÉNÉTIQUE DE LA COLLABORATION VET’S ADVICE SHORTAGE OF VETERINARIANS ESPECIALLY IN RURAL AREAS
COMMERCIAL BEEF PRODUCERS FAVOUR STRAIGHT-BRED HERD Attention to good quality Simmental cattle earns Saskatchewan Commercial Breeder of the Year Award While crossbred cattle were good, the Joorisity family of southern Saskatchewan has found that a straight-bred Simmental herd produces the quality cattle being sought after in the marketplace. The calves achieve excellent weaning weights on native and tame grass pastures, their heifers have been consistent award winners in Canadian Western Agribition commercial cattle competitions, and buyers return year after year looking for their top quality steers. “We’ve developed a program that produces high quality cattle, that do well in our environment,” says Justin Joorisity, who along with his wife Martina and father Wade own and operate Wadella Ranch, near Kipling, Sask. “We’ve been really happy with the performance of our straight-bred Simmental herd, so the plan is to just keep fine tuning what appears to be working.” Their commitment to producing high quality commercial Simmental cattle over the years also earned them recognition as the Saskatchewan Simmental Association Commercial Breeder of the Year in 2023. The Joorisity connection to Simmental cattle goes back to the late 1970s, when Wade was starting out and had assembled a 100 head cowherd. “The first bull I bought was a Simmental bull in 1979,” he says. “I liked the performance of that breeding program so over the next few years I bought five more Simmental bulls.” Wade was born at Bethune, Sask. and moved with his family to the Kipling area in 1963. As a young man he started the small commercial beef herd, but he also had a love for horses and got involved in the PMU industry, raising registered Percheron and Quarter Horses. “As I got more involved with the horses I couldn’t commit the time needed to properly run beef cattle, so I dispersed the herd and concentrated on expanding the PMU business, building barns, and raising purebred horses.” Wade and his late wife Ella move to their own property and established Wadella Ranch in 1985. He stayed with the horse industry until the early 2000s as the PMU business and markets started to decline. In early 2000s, Wade and youngest son Justin, seeing some instability in the PMU industry each bought a few cows anticipating changes ahead. As Justin was completing high school in 2007 he had an interest in joining the farm operation full time.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Publication Mail Agreement # 40012794
Return Undeliverable: Canadian Simmental Association #13-4101 19th St. NE, Calgary, Alberta Canada, T2E 7C4
continued on page 8