Saskatchewan
Angus 2002 Breeder of the Year
Bear Hills Angus – Kelfield, SK
by Kathy Mountenay
There
is a small town almost 2 hours northwest of Saskatoon, called Kelfield.
If you are driving there for the first time, you could miss it.
But, you will not be able to miss the herd of black and red Angus
cows that belong to Bob and Shonda Toner at Bear Hills Angus.
It is
with great pleasure that I had the opportunity to visit Bear Hills
Angus and that I could write this article and tell you about a
very deserving family that has been honored with the 2002 Saskatchewan
Purebred Breeder of the Year award. Bob and Shonda along with their
children, Cody, Carmen and Erin make up Bear Hills Angus. Bob and
Shonda are 3rd generation Angus breeders, running approximately
80 black and red Angus cows on 10 quarters of land.
When
I asked Bob, "Why Angus cows?", his response was immediate, "I
was born and raised with Angus cattle and there has never been
any reason to change." The Bear Hills Angus name was started
in 1988 by Bob and Shonda, however, Bob registered his first calf
under his own herd letters RDT in 1976.
Bear
Hills cattle are no strangers to the show circuit. Bob has shown
at many of the major Fall shows - Saskatoon, Edmonton, Lloydminster,
Agribition and Denzil (for those who remember Denzil). Bob has
shown at the Canadian Western Agribition for 21 consecutive years,
both custom showing and displaying his own cattle. A unique accomplishment
for Bob is that he has been awarded the Herdsmen Award 3 different
years in 3 different breeds - Hereford, Maine-Anjou and Angus.
In 1984 he was also awarded with the Reserve Herdsmen Award at
the prestigious Denver Stock Show in the Maine Anjou barn. Bob
and Shonda are also familiar faces at the different summer shows
around the province. When visiting with Bob and Shonda they have
numerous stories to share about the different shows and sales and
the people they have met. The friendships they have made through
the cattle business are irreplaceable and will last for years to
come.
Bob
and Shonda market their females in the Toner Angus Farms Invitational
Sale in Lloydminster, the Masterpiece Sale at Agribition and the
Angus Pride Sale in Saskatoon. Their bulls are sold through the
ring at the Real Value Bull Sale in Lloydminster. Bob would like
to see their herd grow to about 200 head of cows, but more importantly
he wants to keep producing cattle that are accepted by their customers
both purebred and commercial.
When
talking with Bob and Shonda you find out what truly busy people
they are. They both grew up in the Kelfield area and have been
together for over 20 years - marrying in 1984. Growing up Bob played
various sports, including hockey, fastball and football. Now, in
turn he coaches his son’s hockey team and has been a 4-H
leader. In 1996, Bob began doing Ring Service and Order Buying
and enjoys working at various sales in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Bob is also quite talented at Livestock Photography.
Bob
was elected to the Saskatchewan Angus Board in 1994 and is currently
serving as Past President - he has been the chair of numerous committees
and is one of the Angus representatives on the Canadian Western
Agribition Beef Committee. Bob is also an experienced judge, having
judged Saskatoon Fall Fair, Edmonton Farm Fair, The Red Coat Classic
at Agribition and numerous 4-H shows.
Shonda
currently works at the Prairie West Terminal in between Plenty
and Dodsland. Shonda has found the time to manage the Dodsland
hockey team and has also coached Carmen’s ball team. For
the past couple of years Shonda has helped the Saskatchewan Angus
Association’s Show and Sale Committee find sponsorship for
Agribition, which is a huge help and is really appreciated.
Bob
was an active 4-H and junior Angus member, showing at the first
Canadian National Junior Angus show in Bashaw, and Bob and Shonda
have encouraged their children to do the same.
Cody
is in grade 10 and enjoys playing football and hockey. He is a
member of the 4-H beef and light horse club, and serves as a director
on the Saskatchewan Junior Angus Association board. Carmen is in
grade 8, plays volleyball, baseball, and takes piano lessons. She
is also a member of the 4-H beef club and enjoys participating
at the Junior Angus shows. Erin is in grade 5 and plays soccer,
baseball and piano. Erin is also an active 4-H member and participates
in the Junior Angus program.
This
summer Bob volunteered to drive a van load of Junior members to
the National Angus Show "Showdown 2002" in Barrie, Ontario,
and ended up driving the almost 30 hours there and back with just
6 excited juniors, proving his dedication to and support of the
Junior Angus program.
I was
treated to a weekend of great hospitality by a truly hard-working,
wonderful family. If you are ever in the Bear Hills area, stop
in and visit Bob and Shonda and they would be proud to show you
what they have to offer the cattle industry.
2002
Saskatchewan Angus Commercial Producer of the Year
by Doug, Mike, & Lyle Smith, Swift Currrent,
SK
Doug,
Mike, & Lyle Smith are a family operation that ranch 20 miles
southeast of Swift Current in the Burnham area. A big part of the
success of this ranch has been family generations working together.
In
1890 Doug's great-grandfather headed west from Ontario with his
family. Unfortunately he never made it past Nisbett, Manitoba where
he died in 1900. Doug's grandfather then continued the journey
west and filed his homestead on Nov. 4, 1905. Doug's grandfather
farmed with his father Cecil until the 1950's. Cecil farmed with
his sons, Doug and Dave, until he passed away. Dave and his wife
Susan now ranch at Lockwood, SK and also raise Red Angus cross
cattle and sheep. Doug and his wife Maxine have four children -
Carl, Mike, and Lyle, and one daughter Lori who is married to Wade
Newton and they have three children. Doug continues to ranch on
the original homestead with Mike and Lyle.
Photo
on right: Bob Toner (l), SAA President, presenting gate sign to
Doug & Maxine Smith.
Their
ranch headquarters now consists of 36 quarters. About 800 acres
are cultivated and seeded mostly for feed, 2400 acres have been
seeded back to grass beginning in 1964, and the remaining 2500
acres is native grass rangeland. They also have a family partnership
in a summer pasture in northern Saskatchewan of approximately 6000
acres. The yearling heifers and a number of cow calf pairs make
this trip for the summer. They also send a few head to the community
pasture.
The
Smith family has had a long history with Angus cattle. Doug's grandfather
started with Black Angus cattle and Percheron horses. As time passed,
their operation tried a lot of different breeds of cattle, but
they have now developed a crossbreeding program that features Simmental
cows and Red Angus bulls. They like their F1 heifers as they give
very productive cows which "really fit the bill". These
RWF and Red cows are then bred to Charolais, Gelbvieh, and Tarentaise
bulls which are producing great calves. Their bull battery consists
of 20 Red Angus bulls, 2 Charolais, 3 Gelbvieh, and 2 Tarentaise.
Photo
above: Doug, Mike & Lyle Smith with their pen of Angus Bulls.
The
steers go to market in the fall, with the average weight being
very consistent of 560 to 570 lbs. The family is a regular competitor
at Agribition, missing only two years since the event started.
With their Red Angus x Simmental steers they have won Grand Champion
pen of 20 steers, and Reserve Champion a few times.
The
heifers are all kept and wintered, in the spring a culling process
takes place and the remaining heifers are sorted into groups and
exposed to Red Angus bulls for easy calving. An additional culling
process takes place at preg testing time. The family also competes
in the heifer competition at Agribition. Doug says their heifers
are in the "middle of the road - not overly large, but very
productive". They have been happy with their show results
and their repeat buyers over the years. The Smiths keep their F1
heifers for replacements, and offer for sale by private treaty
the higher percentage Red Angus heifers and the Tan (Char x Simm
x RA) heifers which are usually all sold by December each year.
Congratulations to this hard-working family on their well-deserved award.
They are great ambassadors for the Angus breed!
The
Smith's received their Commercial Producer of the Year award at
the 2002 Annual Meeting of the Saskatchewan Angus Association,
in conjunction with the Saskatchewan Livestock Convention in Regina,
Saskatchewan.
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