Breed Improvement
An Introduction. Jeff Hyatt – CSA Research Coordinator
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fter being involved in the Research Coordinator and Breed Improvement role for almost 10 months it was suggested that I should tell you a bit about myself to help better understand my background. I grew up on a commercial cow/calf ranch in Northwestern Ontario. If you were to mention North in Ontario they would ask if you were from near Sudbury; in Western Canada most would assume Hudson’s Bay but neither of those would be correct. I grew up in the Rainy River Valley which is in Western Ontario near the Manitoba and Minnesota borders. To give you a better idea of distance it is about five hours further to drive to Toronto then it is to the CSA office in Calgary. The Rainy River Valley has always been good grazing land but we are also right on the edge of the Canadian Shield with one of our quarters being half pasture and the other half is Canadian Shield. We run 150 cows and about 200-300 stockers; some of our own and some bought in each October which are then sold normally in August at our local sales barn at Stratton, Ontario. These cattle are run on natural grass pastures totaling approximately 1500 acres of which roughly 800-900 acres is grazing land. Our operation has traditionally consisted of Charolais x Red Angus cross cattle; until February of this year when my Dad purchased a Simmental bull to put some red back in the herd and maintain the power while adding some mothering ability back to the cows. As a result we now have a Simmental bull walking the pastures of Circle H Farms and after his first calves hit the ground this spring I don’t think it will be long until we add more Simmental bulls. After finishing High School I studied Animal Science at the University of Guelph and upon graduating, I worked for the Rainy River Cattlemen’s Association working with local 24
producers on grazing plans and corral facility designs. I also helped implement a health protocol program that would be identified at the local sales barn as “Rainy River Raised” cattle that were tagged with orange eartags. This program is still doing well providing a 2 to 5 cent premium to qualifying cattle. After that contract position was completed I moved to Lethbridge and worked for Cargill doing nutrition sales to smaller feedlots and eventually moved to the Canadian Hereford Association as the Breed Improvement Coordinator. After a year in the position I was successful in attaining the Canadian Simmental Association Research Coordinator position in the area of Breed Improvement. Canadian Simmental has become known as a very forward thinking and progressive Association that works cooperatively with all segments of the beef industry. One of these partnerships is with Livestock Gentec where I currently have an office that allows me to work directly with the research community while my wife, Lauren, does her University Graduate work at the University of Alberta. My goal when I finished University was to find a position in the Canadian cattle industry where I could help make a difference for the whole of the beef sector. With the work that the CSA is currently doing my position falls right into those criteria. My responsibilities include understanding the science of the research, realizing how it will actually be applied and then relaying that to producers. Through my young career I have been involved in the cattle industry from the Seedstock producer to commercial producer and feedlot and right to the packing plant. I look forward to working with the CSA and its members. It is an exciting time to be in the Simmental Breed and I am happy to be part of it.