PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
by Curt Wieczorek
G
reetings and welcome to the Herd Sire Edition of
Limousin365. As you page through this issue and consider
the upcoming breeding season I encourage you to keep the breeding
target recommendations brought forth by our visions and breed
improvement committees in mind as you make your selections on the
bulls you will be incorporating through either artificial or natural use.
These decisions will have a lasting and profound impact on each of
our operations for years to come. If you are anything like me, your
goal is to outdo last year’s calves with this calf crop, and subsequently,
improve on this year’s calves with the next. If we want to not just survive
but thrive, we need to strive for improvement each and every year.
As I sit down to write this article we are nearing the half way point
in the spring sale season. So far there has been a renewed optimism in
the country with sale venues hosting larger crowds and active bidding
resulting in sales being stronger than last year in most cases.
Again this year, the spring board meeting will be held in Lincoln,
Nebraska, and like last year, we will have an opportunity to tour one of
the labs NALF contracts with for DNA services. Geenseek has agreed
to open its doors to us for an in depth tour Thursday, April 23 at 8:00
a.m. The reason for mentioning it in this article is because this time, we
want to make this opportunity available to the public. If you have ever
wondered what actually happens to that DNA sample once you harvest
it and send it off, this is your chance to find out. If you can join us for
this tour, please contact the NALF staff or your nearest board member
so we will have a count for planning purposes. If you will be driving
in the evening of April 22 and would like assistance in finding a hotel
room you can contact Katie at the NALF office and she will assist you.
We have recently closed the spring 2020 LIMS enrollment and I
would like to thank the 18 new operations that enrolled 741 new
cows into the whole herd reporting platform for the first time, as well
as each ranch that has remained in LIMS. Your participation in LIMS
not only provides a lower cost per head for registrations and transfers,
it also serves to increase the predictability and accuracy of the EPDs
of your cattle as well as the entire herd book. This brings the total
enrollment in LIMS to 9,108 cows.
As we draw near the spring board meeting I would like to thank each
individual who has either requested to serve or agreed to serve on one
or more of our steering committees. I would also like to say a special
thanks to each board member that has agreed to chair one of these
committees. They are Bruce Lawrence, Membership; Randy Corns,
NALJA; Troy Gulotta, Show; Charles Linhart, Visions; Joe Moore, Rules
and Regulations; Kevin Ochsner, Commercial Marketing and Breed
10
Promotions; Mark Barker, Finance; Jerry Wulf, Breed Improvement;
and Gary Fuchs, Nominating. The entire listing of committee members
can be found later in this issue. If you have ideas and/or suggestions you
would like considered, contact the appropriate committee chair. The
more grassroots involvement we as an organization can get from our
membership the stronger we become.
In closing, I want to invite you to feel free to reach out and get in
touch if you have concerns or suggestions or stop me and introduce
yourself if our paths cross this year at a sale or event. I look forward to
meeting you. I’ll see you on the trail.
Success and Blessings.
2020 NORTH AMERICAN LIMOUSIN FOUNDATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT, Curt Wieczorek..............................Mount Vernon, SD
605-227-4601 • [email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT, Dan Hunt..........................................Oxford, NE
308-991-3373 • [email protected]
SECRETARY, Wade Beckman....................................... Roberts, ID
208-313-0235 • [email protected]
TREASURER, Dr. Mark Barker............................ Oklahoma City, OK
405-520-5846 • [email protected]
AT-LARGE, Bruce Lawrence.......................................... Anton, TX
806-790-2535 • [email protected]
EX-OFFICIO, Gary Fuchs........................................... Cameron, TX
254-482-0611 • [email protected]
Randy Corns...........................................................Altoona, KS
620-750-0924 • [email protected]
Ronn Cunningham..................................................... Rose, OK
918-629-9382 • [email protected]
Troy Gulotta..................................................Independence, LA
985-662-1561 • [email protected]
Austin Hager....................................................... Karlsruhe, ND
701-626-2345 • [email protected]
Charles Linhart............................................................Leon, IA
641-446-7425 • [email protected]
Bart Mitchell......................................................... Wauzeka, WI
608-553-8070 • [email protected]
Joe Moore............................................................. Raphine, VA
540-569-6219 • [email protected]
Kevin Ochsner.........................................................Kersey, CO
970-396-5525 • [email protected]
Jay Wilder................................................................Snook, TX
979-268-5491 • [email protected]
Jerry Wulf...............................................................Morris, MN
320-491-1390 • [email protected]
• APRIL 2020