Cow of the Year Finalists Announced

Jan 09, 2013

Holstein Canada Releases Names of 2012 Cow of the Year Finalists

Holstein Canada recently announced the names of the four finalists for the 2012 Cow of the Year title. The finalists have been selected to compete for the prestigious title of Canada Cow of the Year Award. Nominations began in late fall of 2012 and the selection committee just recently announced the four finalists of the award.

The award began in 1995, which has since become an annual award that recognizes the outstanding achievements of four dairy cows. The nominees are judged on longevity, production, genetic merit, strength of pedigree.

The following are the profiles of the four nominees chosen to compete for the 2012 Cow for the Year title:

Comestar Goldwyn Lilac
Breeders: Comestar Holstein, Victoriaville, Qc; Cormdale Genetics Inc, Bethany, ON; Genervations Inc, Campbellville, ON; Todd J. Whittier, West Sutton, MA; and Mark Falshaw, Skipton, North Yorkshire
Owners: Genervations Inc, Campbellville, ON; Mapel Wood Farms, Jerseyville, ON; and O’Connor Land & Cattle Co, Ajax, ON

Gen-I-Beq Shottle Barbi
Breeder & Owner: Syndicat Gen-I-Beq, St. Patrice, Qc

Eastside Lewisdale Gold Missy
Breeders: Eastside Holsteins, Frenchford, PE and Lewisdale Holsteins, York, PE
Owners: Morsan Farms Ltd, Ponoka, AB; Van Ruinen Dairy Ltd, Lacombe, AB; Mark Butz, Cedar Rapids, IA; and Gert Andreasen, Ponoka, AB

Raeland Leduc Wilhelmina
Breeder: Raeland Holsteins, Selkirk, ON
Owners: RockyMountain Holsteins, Cochrane, AB

More information about reach of the finalists and voting information will be mailed out to Holstein Canada members in the February/March issue of Info Holstein.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.