Interesting Article: Packing industry trends.

This article, which was forwarded to me by Garner Deobald emphasizes the packer shift to traits consistent with the use of Charolais bulls as a terminal sire. Obviously other factors are at play with this shift, however it further illustrates the financial benefits that are added by the utilization of crossbreeding in the commercial sector.

The Choice/Select Collapse
Anyone selling on a grid certainly has noticed that the Choice/Select spread isn’t what it used to be. In fact, at the time I was writing this, the Choice/Select spread was standing at 50¢/cwt.

Certainly, there’s a whole host of reasons for the Choice/Select spread narrowing. The easy reason is that cattle are grading better. There are several factors contributing to this – better genetics, an increase in yearling cattle, the implementation of instrument grading, the shifting of breed makeup in the Southeast, and maybe even learning how to feed and utilize the distiller byproducts that were initially thought to reduce quality grade.

There are demand issues as well. Consumers are trading down, the hotel, restaurant and institutional (HRI) trade has fallen significantly; the number of $100/person steak night outings has been declining precipitously.

The issue isn’t so much the confluence of these factors to form the perfect storm, but rather whether it represents an anomaly or a long-term trend. I think it’s the latter.

Here are a few points: The genetic component is unlikely to go away. Selection pressure for improved carcass merit is now well ingrained in virtually all major breeds. We’ve already seen that normal seasonal weather patterns are back. In the post-ethanol-subsidized world, we’re going to have a smaller beef industry, and that means plenty of demand, more yearling placements and longer feeding periods as feeders struggle to utilize capacity.

Instrument grading is likely to continue and will forever change the moving line that kept grading percentages relatively constant. While the economy is showing signs of improvement, runaway spending and government interference in the marketplace virtually guarantees that growth won’t be as robust as it has been in the past.

Considering these factors, it looks like the economic incentive has and will continue to move away from quality grade, with more emphasis being placed on averaged daily gain, dressing percentage, and feed conversion/efficiency. Compositional endpoints will remain critical to profitability, but the emphasis will continue to shift away from quality grade and more to compositional endpoints, efficiency and weight.
– Troy Marshall

Manitoba Charolais Association AGM – Update

Helge By and Neil Gillies travelled to Brandon, MB on Saturday, January 9th 2010 to attend the MCA AGM. The Charolais, Simmental, Limousin, Angus and Hereford provincial associations all hold their AGM’s on the same day at the Royal Oak Inn in break-out meeting rooms and then gather together for the evening banquet and speakers/entertainment. The pooling of associations members, guests and enthusiasts at the evening program allows for good will and laughter to be shared by all participants. The evening program features a silent auction,an actual auction of donated products (an example would be special pages in the regional breed newsletters for the year ahead), association awards – commercial and purebred breeder of the year et cetera and introduction of new boards. This would be followed up with a speaker or entertainment of some description. Naturally, this would have been preceeded by a roast hip of beef with all of the trimmings.

This is an excellent event that utilizes all of the energies of breed associations with  a critical mass of numbers to make these events more worthwhile. I remember that something akin to this was done before in Alberta in the late seventies, however more provinces should try this as it receives high marks from all of the participants in Brandon, MB each year.

Report on 2009 World Charolais Technical Conference

The World Charolais Technical Conference (WCTC) is held in alternate years with the World Charolais Congress (WCC) and this year’s conference was held in the city of Rockhampton in the state of Queensland, Australia on May 3^rd – 9^th 2009. The basic difference between the WCTC and the WCC is that 2 delegates from each country are invited to participate in the technical conference sessions and deliver presentations on subjects suggested by the organizational committee. Whereas the WCC tends to be a longer event that mixes Charolais herd tours along with tourist attractions of the area being visited. The WCC does not feature a technical component and has no restriction on the number of delegates that attend.

The Canadian representatives at this conference were Garner Deobald and Neil Gillies. The WCTC was 7 days in length with an eclectic blend of cattle tours, technical presentations and meetings, cattle shows, commercial exhibits at the exposition, city touring and dining and free net-working time.

Before the official start of the WCTC on May 3^rd, Bill Dunlop of Australia arranged a rapid three day pre-tour of Queensland Charolais breeders that included; David and Prue Bonfield of Palgrove Charolais "Strathgarve", Gary and Debbie Noller, "Gunnadoo" and Ian and Dell Price from "Moongool".

The group consisting of Bill Dunlop, 2009 WCTC Chairman & Charolais International President, David Benson, UK General Manager, Ben Harmon, UK Director, Garner Deobald and Neil Gillies assembled in Brisbane, Queensland on April 30^th. It was indeed a pleasure to walk out of the terminal into bright sunshine and 25 degree weather, which was a significant difference from the minus 1 degree that I left in Calgary on April 28^th. This was my first trip south of the equator and it would take some time to adjust to a reversal of seasons as the month of May is considered to be the fall. One other factor that would continue to feel very different is that that north is warmer and south is cooler. Another fact was that the daylight hours end abruptly with darkness coming at approximately 6.00 p.m. at night at this time of year, which shortened the cattle viewing opportunities considerably.

Day 1 of tour

We were picked up at the Brisbane airport by Bill Dunlop. From Brisbane we travelled to Palgrove Charolais and arrived just as darkness was falling. After freshening up we were treated to an enlightening evening of discussion with the highlight being a lively debate on the merits of calving heifers at two or three years old.

Day 2 of tour

An early start the next day and a tour through the Palgrove bull sale offering which is scheduled for September. Palgrove sells Charolais based genetics including; purebred Charolais, Charbray, Charolais/Angus and Charolais/Shorthorn bulls as well as semen, embryos and breeding females. David explained that by using these genetics to select for suitable traits within each breed, they can provide their clients with more flexibility in their choice of breeding and marketing options.

Palgrove Charolais is considered to be one of the elite seed stock breeders in Australia and even in a short conversation it is apparent that David Bonfield has a very clear understanding of what it takes to make his operation successful. Although David admitted to having made some decision making mistakes he is clear to point out that it is important to learn from the lessons and take actions not repeat them again. One of his statements that would raise eyebrows here in Canada is that in drought years he will wean calves as early as six weeks old. His statement was; "I do not mind feeding calves but we will not carry feed to cows under any conditions".

The next stop on the tour after Palgrove Charolais was Gary and Debbie Noller’s "Gannadoo" ranch. This area had sustained a prolonged period of drought over many years and it was evident as we came nearer to the region surrounding the ranch. Gary explained to us that they had purchased another ranch called the "Campbells" approximately three hours away and that "Gunnadoo" would be auctioned off in June. Gary took over as driver of the vehicle and provided us with an interesting and informative guided tour on the way to his new ranch. Gary had a very good knowledge of the flora and fauna of the region and provided an explanation of how the soil type could be judged by the type of the trees growing in any particular region. It was interesting to note that that this region of Queensland they had more rainfall – 20 – 30 inches that we experience in western Canada, however as they experience hotter temperatures over a 12 month period it was apparent that the country was more adept at dealing with drought. On most farms/ranches water collection in rainy periods was more prevalent with large dams holding considerable amounts of water having to provide water to the cattle over long periods of time. Also certain types of trees were deemed essential as a grazing source and in some cases trees were planted specifically for grazing purposes.

We arrived at the ranch in the late afternoon and immediately went on a ranch tour. Gary Noller had obviously had enough of all those dry years at "Gunnadoo" as the "Campbells" ranch featured an interesting flood irrigation component that was basically fed by rain water caught in large dams. In one of Gary’s pastures we found a few Canadian bred cows going back to some late 1980’s bloodlines; these cows were large framed and would not be considered as optimal by today’s standards, however they were still in production at an advanced age.

Day 3 of tour

We spent the night at Gary’s new ranch and in the morning with Bill Dunlop behind the wheel we headed to the ranch of Ian and Dell Price at the property called "Moongool". It was a 15 minute drive from the grid road to the ranch house and my initial impression was that we had entered a wild life sanctuary. We spotted (and took pictures) kangaroos, wallabies, emus, cranes, parrots, parakeets, ducks, kookaburras and a large turkey like bird that Bill Dunlop darn near flattened as we approach the house at 80kms per hour.

After a warm Australian welcome from Dell Price, Ian took us through some of his bull pens and a tour of his sale facilities. MoonGool Charolais bull sale is scheduled for Monday, August 31^st 2009, was still 4 months before sale day and Ian was wondering if he may put the bulls out to pasture for a couple of months as they were exhibiting good fleshing already. Over lunch we listened to Ian explain the operating structure of his ranch. They have 70,000 acres at their disposal and like many Australian ranches their total acreage is often divided between properties that may be strategically located many kilometres distant to take advantage of marketing opportunities. We left them with a promise to attend their stand (booth) at the Rockhampton Show.

From Moongool we travelled to meet up with Gary Noller at Toowoomba, Qld where we experienced a very enjoyable dinner courtesy of the Australian Charolais Society. We stayed overnight in Toowoomba and then travelled to Brisbane to fly to Rockhampton the next day.

It is my understanding that the Australian Charolais Society covered any cash expenses for this 3 day tour and we would like to portray a sincere thank you for their support. We enjoyed the hospitality immensely, it seemed that after a five minute conversation with the people we met it felt like you had known them for many years.

Day 1 – Sunday May 3^rd – Arrival in Rockhampton

We arrived at the Rockhamption airport in the afternoon and were ferried to the Leichardt Hotel for registration and check in. In the evening we assembled for a welcome steak dinner at the Cambridge Hotel.

This is an interesting situation that I experienced with my registration package. We picked up our registration packages as we checked in and I observed that it seemed reasonably heavy; anyway I added the package to the rest of my luggage and carried up to the room. After I had unpacked I opened the package and the weight manifested itself as a house brick. Obviously there was a reason for the brick so my approach was keep quiet and let the culprit announce themselves in due course. After a couple of days I was challenged as to the contents of my registration package and I feigned that everything was in order. This flushed out the offender as Bill Dunlop whose comment was "I wanted to pay back the Canadian’s for all the heavy gifts they had given us at 2006 WCC".

Day 2 – Monday May 4^th – Property Tours

We started the day by travelling to the property of Estelle, Geoff & Allison Maynard – Mt Eugene, Jambin, Qld. Mt Eugene is a 15,000 acre property in central Queensland, run and owned by the Maynard family.

Mount Eugene received and trailed the first Belmont Red cattle released in Australia in 1972. Geoff Maynard brought the first lot of Senepols to Australia from the US in 1998 in the form of 500 embryos. Charolais are now also bred with much of the focus on producing Charolais X Senepol animals for clients. Mount Eugene runs 700 performance recorded breeding females with a 1,400 head strong commercial operation. All animals are analysed with a 200, 400 and 600 day weights, scrotal circumference, rib-eye and fat scan, as well as calving interval. With over a thousand progeny submitted and 40 sires analysed, Mount Eugene can offer accurate and detailed information regarding marbling, carcass yield, tenderness and feed conversion.

Next stop on the day’s tour was a visit to AYR Charolais, George, Ruth and David Cass at "Mungabunda", Moura Queensland. The AYR Charolais breeding operation was established in 1972 using Full French semen on Santa Gertrudis, Shorthorn, and Angus and Hereford foundation females. They are still only using Full French Sires. Full French females have been bought at various sales over the years from Queensland to Victoria and today they are the largest breeder of Full French Charolais cattle in Australia. From an overall composition point of view this herd was probably the most complete set of Full French females that I had ever seen. This would demonstrate the argument that if selection fundamentals are rigidly followed the desired outcomes can be achieved. A direct quote from the Cass operation – "each female has to pass the strictest assessment before going out again with a bull. There is no room for cows that don’t perform".

An interesting statement from the Cass family was that they were always struggling with a shortage of water and the distribution of water to pastures during the year. They were seriously considering drilling a bore (well) on their property to harness an artisan stream. Upon questioning as to the likelihood on accessing the artisan source, the response was reasonably positive of getting water, however the cost of $300,000.00 was the difficult pill to swallow.

Day 3 – Tuesday May 5^th – Visit Gracemere Saleyards – Technical Sessions

On Tuesday, May 5^th the group visited Gracemare Saleyards for the CBA Australian Beef Cattle Championships Sale of Champions. This impressive facility that was completely refitted in 2005 and featured 360 degree seating in an arena setting that allowed excellent sight lines from all angles. The auction consisted of pens of ten animals that were predominantly Brahman based or "eared" cattle representing the type of animals that are conducive to the climate in central and northern Queensland, which had been judged the day before. The pens were all slaughter ready and an interesting note was that some of the pens were designated for Japanese export and some qualified for the European Economic Community (EEC). The equivalent event in Canada would be the Agribition commercial cattle show and sale. The annual throughput of cattle at Gracemere Saleyards is an average of 136,000 head that generates more than $90 million, including approximately 4,000 purebred cattle.

After lunch back at the hotel we gathered for the start of the technical sessions, which today featured 3 different speakers?

The first speaker was Terry Nolan, Nolan Meats, Gympie Qld whose presentation was titled – Australian Market Overview: An overview of the factors that influence the direction of Charolais breeding in Australia.

Terry endeavours to be an active participant in as many industry groups as he can, which have a charter of both advancing the status of the beef industry and improving the consumers’ perception of our products.

Next speaker was Allan Bloxsom MLA General Manager, Industry Systems – Meat Standards Australia – whose presentation was titled The National Eating Quality Assurance Program.

Apart from other duties Allan is Regional Manager for Europe, for Meat & Livestock Australia, with responsibilities for implementing Australia’s market access strategy during the upcoming WTO Round, and the marketing and promotion of Australian beef and sheep meat exports to the EU and Eastern Europe.

The final speaker of the day was Jason Strong, Pfizer Australia. He presented an Overview of Molecular Genetic Technologies: How "Genestar" Information can be incorporated into Breedplan for better performance analysis.

Head of New Market Development for Pfizer Animal Genetics, Jason has been the face for DNA testing and geneSTAR since the test was commercialised.

The first two presentations provided a good understanding of their respective industry systems, while the Pfizer Animal Genetics presentation specifically addressed a product as something that the industry should invest in.

At the conclusion of the presentations it was back on the bus for a trip to Paradise Lagoons for the Heifer Spectacular, Gala Dinner and Special Sister Sale. The owner of the property "Paradise Lagoons" is Mr Graeme Acton who is a fourth generation cattleman who along with his brother Evan runs 180,000 head of Bos Indicus cattle over approximately 4 million acres. They own five other properties apart from "Paradise Lagoons". The Special Sister Sale was a first time event for Australia and was modelled on the survivor event they witnessed at the World Charolais Congress in Edmonton in 2006. The event commenced with a public voting system on the 16 head of heifers to select 2 from each class to progress forward in a "survivor" style knockout. This event attracted a large crowd who seemed to be participating in the voting and enjoying the atmosphere.

At the dinner the 2009 WTC Chairman Bill Dunlop presented the Gary Noller family with a honorary life membership from the Australian Charolais Society. This is the highest award that can be presented by the Society and is considered a life time achievement by recipients.

Following dinner the sale attracted some lively bidding with the "survivor" a young heifer from Moongool – Ian & Dell Price fetching a price of $16,000.00.

Day 4 – Wednesday May 6^th – Rockhampton Show Grounds – Technical Sessions

In the morning we attended Beef Australia 2009 which is the official name for the Rockhampton Show so we could observe the Brahman judging and inspect the trade fair.

After lunch we were back to the technical sessions once again with an interesting cross section of presentations.

The first speaker was Christian Duff who was the project coordinator and technical officer for Southern beef Technology Services (SBTS). His presentation was titled – Member Workshop Services at which he provided a look at the extension network that delivers educational field days to stud and commercial breeders.

Next speaker was Dr Hans Ulrich Grasser whose presentation was titled – Ongoing Genomic Evaluation and Discoveries. This was a very interesting talk for most of the delegates as many Charolais Associations and Societies are still unsure at to which direction to take on this issue. Dr Grasser’s argument was that although genomics will definitely play a role in future breeding decisions his position was, that as much as we know about genomics there is still much that we do not know about genomics.

Note: We have been in contact with the Australian Charolais Society about trying to get a copy of Dr Grasser’s presentation.

Next up was the first of the presentations from the individual countries and Martin Ryan represented the Irish Charolais Society. The presentation was called – Strategies for linking breed associations and members to the commercial sector.

Martin started by explaining that the Charolais breed is the most dominant breed in Ireland and that 80% of the beef produced in the country is exported to Europe. He went on to say that the beef industry is highly regulated with the government having direct input on production practises, health protocols, animal movement, and marketing options. He explained the structured application required regarding record keeping and although it appeared to be a lot of red tape the returns seemed to make it all worthwhile.

Listening to the Irish presentation it drives home the reality that highly regulated farming is here to stay in many parts of the world, so fighting the inevitable increase in consumer driven regulations regarding animal production is going to be ineffectual.

After a short break the newly appointed General Manager of the Australian Charolais Society, Mr Jack Henry made his presentation titled – Understanding Performance and Profit – Getting the message out to members.

Jack outlined the fact that genetic selection evaluation tools were becoming more of a necessity in production practices as shrinking margins were forcing breeders to be more diligent in the selection process. The Australian system which mirrors the North American system in many ways in that genetic evaluation is an optional service offered to breeders, so uptake can be sporadic.

Robert Williams representing the U.S. was next and his presentation was titled – Responsibility of a breed organization in a changing world.

Robert Williams has been instrumental in managing the American International Association’s Breed Improvement division since he started with the AICA in 1998. One of the challenges has always been to keep on the cutting edge of new technologies and the ongoing research into possible inclusion into the evaluation system. Robert agrees that the potential for genomic selection is very real and the pressure to utilize the technology is strong from segments within his membership, however he agrees with Dr Grasser that more still has to be done on how it can be applied successfully.

The next speaker was the U.K. CEO David Benson whose presentation was titled – Strategies for linking Stud and Breed Associations into the commercial industry.

The U.K. production system would in many ways mirror the Irish production system. The Charolais breed is the terminal sire of choice and a with the EU market readily at hand excellent prices can be returned for heavyweight charolais carcasses. Once again hands on government intrusion into production methodology is a reality, however significant grants are available through the E.U system so it is an accepted fact of doing business. The Charolais bull remains the terminal sire used in the commercial industry and one of the challenges is to link purebred breeders with the needs of the commercial operator in this sector.

The final presentation for the day was the Canadian version titled – The integration of Charolais into the Canadian cattle industry.

This would be tandem effort from Garner Deobald and Neil Gillies and it was presented in a 72 slide power point presentation. This presentation was jointly created specifically for the WTC with the actual development being created by Garner Deobald.

The story started with the introduction of Charolais into Canada in 1953 moving along to the first French importation days of 1967. There was tremendous excitement in the years of the major importations; however it became obvious to the administration and board of directors that the future of the breed in Canada was going to rest with the acceptance of the commercial cattle operators. The Conception to Consumer (C to C) program was developed in 1968 in order that bulls could be tested in the commercial arena to determine which would effectively and which would not work effectively. The test proved to be essential in the commercial acceptance of the breed in the commercial industry.

Following on from the introduction of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the subsequent control of the Canadian packing industry by American interests plus a new grading system was introduced that catered to the American trade. The switch to the Angus breed was adopted by the Canadian industry mainly on the premiums that were being paid for by American buyers. This switch resulted in some lean times for the breed with a direct outcome being that our marketing had to focus on the Charolais breed being used exclusively as a terminal sire.

Today as lean meat yield has resurfaced as an important factor in determining settlement price, the breed is on the verge of resurgence within the cattle industry.

At the conclusion of a long but interesting 5 hour technical session we returned to the show grounds for dinner.

After a short reception we filed into a large tent on the ground for a steak dinner. A form of composite material compressed into a brick was heated to 400 Celsius in special oven and a raw chunk of tenderloin was placed on the brick and served. If the meat was then sliced up it would continue to cook on the brick.

Very unique and very tasty!

Day 5 – Thursday May 7^th – Charolais Show.

The Rockhampton show is distinct in that it is only held every three years. This seems to be a winning procedure as 2,350 cattle entries representing 32 breeds were on exhibit during the weeklong event. Most of the international guests watched the show from the Beef Australia VIP International Lounge which featured an outside covered seating area. The judge was Mr Bill Dunlop who did a commendable job sorting 297 Charolais entries. An interesting fact was that there were only 3 classes of females and 3 classes of males under 15 months old and they competed for male and female calf champion. There were 96 yearling bulls in 4 classes from 15 – 21 months of age. The majority of these bulls would be designated for the August and September bull sales. My impressions of the cattle was that they mimicked the Canadian type of cattle very closely, possibly the only trait at directly opposite poles would be the Australian selection for animals that have little hair coat as opposed to our selection for dense hair coats.

At the conclusion of the Charolais judging, male and female champions funnelled into the ring for the interbreed judging completion. A standing room only crowd watched Dr Jim Sanders, Professor, Animal Breeding & Genetics, Kleberg, Texas perform the obviously difficult task of selecting a champion male and champion female. A Brangus cow-calf pair won the female honours while a Horned Hereford bull won the male honours.

Day 6 – Friday May 8^th – Charolais International Annual General Meeting

The delegates sitting at this year’s meeting were as follows.

France – Regis Gremion & Henri Vidal

Sweden – Anna Ingvar-Nilsson

Ireland – Martin Ryan & Nuala Hourihane

New Zealand – Bryce McKenzie & Wayne Semenoff

Czech Republic – Kamil Malat

U.S. – Neil Orth & James Hayden

U.K. – David Benson & Ben Harmon

Canada – Garner Deobald & Neil Gillies

The Charolais International President Bill Dunlop opened the meeting by welcoming the delegates to Australia and mentioned that the Mexican delegation had been denied travel permission to attend due to the emerging swine flu outbreak in Mexico. He went on to say that the economic conditions in the world had also prevented some countries from attending the conference.

The meeting commenced with Regis Gremion reading the minutes from the 2008 meeting in Hungary. In business arising from the minutes there was some general comment as to the dispersal of the minutes from the Hungary meeting. It was agreed that the contact list should be upgraded and circulated.

There was also some discussion on the Charolais International Constitution from which, Garner Deobald commented that he would forward a copy to all the delegates and he made the suggestion that the constitution should be sent to the countries expecting to attend next year’s WCC.

Another issue that generated discussion was the question of how the committee should communicate with world delegates on upcoming conventions and conferences. It was agreed that Regis Gremion would continue to manage the finances of Charolais International along with keeping and distributing of minutes and generating agenda’s et cetera. While a new development would be that the host country of the next convention/conference would take over the duties of communicating with the participating countries on the registration details, itinerary’s et cetera of the next event. Marilou Wegener will be in contact through breed publications and e-mails providing details of the upcoming convention in 2010.

Regis Gremion gave the treasurer’s report which stated that the investment portfolio was stable in a GIC equivalent. The fund was approximately quoted at 90,000.00 Euros.

One other topic was the scholarship fund which is available to award two $1,000.00 scholarships per year. It was agreed that the hosting country would select the judges for the awards.

The last piece of business was the announcement that Lee Eaton from the U.S. would be the new Charolais International President leading up to the next World Charolais Congress in the U.S. – May 13 – 21, 2010.

At the conclusion of the Charolais International Meeting we reverted back to the country presentations from France and Sweden. These were not presented with titles but were more of an explanation of the production and evaluation systems in use in the country.

Regis Gremion, CEO of the French Charolais Association highlighted some of the evaluations used in France. Starting out Regis mentioned that the Charolais breed was by far the most popular breed in the country and apart from a few areas that practised crossbreeding; the majority of the country was straight bred Charolais. The overwhelming choice of carcass in Europe would be heavyweight and lean; the production of marbling and fat are not considered desirable. Another aspect is that the countries of Italy and Spain do not have cow/calf industries so feeders or meat is shipped in mainly from France.

The French herd book employs a certain number of field persons who physically inspect member’s herds and then sanction those which are considered worthy to be registered. The criteria for inclusion would be heavily influenced by muscle thickness in the females and males. Attendees to the past WCC would have witnessed the judge at the show in the Czech Republic as being a herd inspection field man from the French herd book.

The French also support the process of actual measurement of animals and in their semen catalogues they supply an array of structure measurements on all of the bulls on offer. As we would expect the French herd book is very focused on weights and measures as they see it is a strength of the breed.

The final country presentation was from Sweden. Anna Ingvar-Nilsson made the presentation and started by saying that the government basically controlled the farming of animals for human consumption. Animal welfare is one of the highly regulated components of Swedish agriculture. Anna explained that animals have to be housed for approximately 7 months of the year and in their case that would mean individual penning for most animals. Dehorning of animals is only allowed by a vet using anaesthetic and only conducted when they are very young. Anna was keen to point out that those are the rules and we have to abide by them. She was also quick to point out that Swedish Charolais are not as muscular as their French counterparts and the vast majority were polled. The main outlet for marketing bulls was through a test station that had a very thorough veterinarian examination before being passed for sale.

After lunch the delegates were given the balance of the day to do as they please and most took the opportunity to wander around the town of Rockhampton picking up some gifts and souvenirs for friends and family back home.

Day 7 Saturday May 9^th – Cruise of Great Keppel Island

They would not let us go home without visiting one of the 7 wonders of the of the world – The Great Barrier Reef. After a short bus ride from Rockhampton we journeyed by boat to Great Keppel Island to enjoy a few hours winding down from the hectic week of the WCTC. Wandering the white sand beaches, swimming, snorkelling and a steak barbeque on the boat was an excellent way to end a very memorable 10 days in Australia.

The Australian Charolais Society which was led by Jack Henry and Grayson Wolfgang and their team of staff, board members and organization committees need to be commended for hosting a very well organized and interesting conference. We would like to express our gratitude to the wonderful hospitality shown by all Australians that we met on the trip. A special thank you goes out to Bill & Gina Dunlop, Gary & Debbie Noller, Jock Gosse, David and Prue Bonfield, Ian and Dell Price and others who were responsible in hosting Garner and I on the pre-tour. Truly a job well done!

Submitted by Neil Gillies

Note: All international travel made by Charolais members and Charolais service providers that has been pre-approved by the Canadian Charolais Association, is eligible for partial reimbursement upon application for funding assistance through the Legacy fund. The Canadian Cattlemen Market Development Council (CCMDC) manages the Canadian Beef and Cattle Market Development Fund, known as the "Legacy Funds". This $80 million fund invested by the Governments of Canada and Alberta supports market development and promotion activities for the Canadian beef cattle and genetics industry.

Only international travel carried out by Canadian Charolais delegates representing the Association (President, General Manager et cetera) is paid for out of Association funds. All other delegates/breeders that attend international events pay for the trip with personal funds and then apply for reimbursement.