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Summitcrest Update 2009 - Kate Fisher

IN July I was fortunate enough to be able to finish my Summitcrest Scholorship with two weeks in Calgary, Canada, where I attended the Calgary Stampede and the World Angus Forum at Spruce Meadows.

It was an opportunity to meet people from all over the world who were passionate about the breeding of Angus cattle and promote the world forum that is to be held in New Zealand in 2013.

It was great to meet the Kiwi contingent the night before as I did not know many of them. Most of them had been on the pre tour and had a brilliant time. They were an outgoing lot, loads of fun and proud of where we come from and what we produce.

The first day of the forum Mark and Charlotte Stevens and I attended the “Young Guns” Youth part of the Forum at Spruce Meadows while the others went on the tour of historical ranches surrounding Calgary.

We met a great group of young people excited about Angus cattle with many of the attending countries represented. The morning speaker for the youth group Kim McConnell was very well chosen and kept us interested, thinking and involved for most of the morning. He was a marketing and advertising/communications professional and spoke to us on “Marketing our Brand” of Angus beef. He involved many brainstorming activities, motivated the group and educated us about the marketing basics at a very appropriate level that even the youngest understood and enjoyed.

In the afternoon was the individual judging challenge where a line up of cattle was brought forward and the youth had to judge them and give reasons as to why they placed them that way to the senior judge.

This was new for me as it was something I had never done formally and it was interesting to hear of the different qualities that individuals looked for in their cattle. For example as a New Zealander living in the hills I was looking for qualities in the beasts that the Canadian flat land ranchers didn’t have to worry about so much and vice versa. Strong hocks, good feet and walk are important to me and in many breeding lines in both Canada and America this was difficult to find.

During the afternoon we also got a look around the cattle that were on display and there for the show. There were six giant sheds with cattle from ranches all around Canada and was a show of the surely diverse ideals of individual breeders.

On Tuesday we had the official opening ceremony for the Forum where flags from the represented countries were presented and put on stage by the Forum Young Guns and we had the welcoming speeches. I was privileged to carry the flag as the youngest New Zealander. We also had the technical conference where we heard from three speakers on the scientific advancements happening within the beef cattle industry.

Some of this I had heard whispers of earlier in the year and understood. It was updates on genetic research happening with special reference to DNA and phenotype research and the potential value of the whole genome to breeding programs to give markets want they want while keeping animals and people healthy and at equilibrium. It gave a lot of heavy information for the mind to sift through.

The Friday was the Black Angus show, the Youth show and final dinner. I watched much of the show and enjoyed seeing some of the young producers showing in both the youth and adult show and beating their elders.

For me many of the cattle in the show classes were a far cry from what we see surviving in our New Zealand high country environment, but were suitable for the breeding program trends they are following at present for the requirements of their market.

The final banquet was where Argentina with the 2011 world meeting and New Zealand with the 2013 World Angus Forum issued invitations, Tim Brittain made a fantastic job and the DVD presentation was an amazing representation of New Zealand and our culture and gave a sneak peak of what to expect. It made me miss home!

The entertainment, shopping and food were brilliant all week, with all kind of wares for sale, information booths, and of course, Certified Angus beef always on the menu. With over two thousand people to feed and organise every day the Canadians made it look easy.

For me as an equestrian rider seeing Spruce Meadows was spectacular and as a show jumper we all dream of being there and seeing it someday.

I was there, just for a different show.

Kate Fisher