Dear Show Committee and AHCA Board, It has come to my attention that the North Central Regional Association was denied the exemption to the rule of a multiple breed show. I have to voice my opinion as not only a NCHCA member, but also more importantly as a farm that has travelled to multiple shows through out a year. The rule was implemented with good intention for the breed. There are several avenues that were not considered when implementing this rule. I am going to use the NCHCA as a basis for my argument. This is a region that participates in a multitude of breed promotion activities. Every year the Association has volunteers attend these functions to represent the breed and the organization. They religiously attend the Minnesota Scottish Fair, the Minnesota State Fair, the Farm Technology Days, the Wisconsin State Fair, and the newly added Waukesha Scottish Festival. All of these venues are for promotion only. The Minnesota State Fair is staffed for 12 days with Highland breeders who volunteer their time and cattle to exhibit to the public. For 12 days breeders donate their time and efforts to support the breed! The Wisconsin State Fair and all the other functions run anywhere from a full weekend to 10 days. Volunteers of the breed represent all these functions. All of these promotional activities of the breed by volunteers who pour themselves into getting the word out about Highland cattle. You add up the number of attendees that are at these functions and you are in the ballpark of over 3 MILLION people. 3 million people who get to see the breed highlighted. The rule implemented by the AHCA National Show committee was to draw attention to Highland cattle. In travelling to the Keystone International Livestock Show, the National Western Livestock Show, the NAILE, and World Beef Expo I find that the breed promotion is much more successful at events listed in the second paragraph than the shows. I dont list these shows as bragging rights, I list them because our farm has attended them and find that this type of show atmosphere can be not only exhausting, but more crucially they are intense shows. The amount of money spent by individual farms at these types of venues is draining. The time commitment is also financially draining as most farms with travel time are looking at spending almost a week off of work to attend these functions. Lets face it; there are few highland breeders that support themselves off their cattle. The audience at these types of shows is other cattle breeders. The World Beef Expo runs in conjunction with what is called Family Farm Festival. It is due to this festival that our farm actually has made several beef sales. These were attendees of the festival not the Beef Expo. Selling animals at these types of functions is rare. I agree it is great to see Highlands at these venues, but I dont agree it is where promotion is going to play a significant hand in beefing up our breed. Having attended the Walworth County Fair for multiple years in a row, I can also say that I never succeeded in swaying any other breed owners into purchasing highland cattle, and trust me, I have tried! Cobblestone Farm has travelled to many other regions to support the shows. At one point and time it was all about the show. As my show experience grew, it became very evident that its not about the show. Its about networking with other breeders, getting out of the box and looking at as many Highlands as we can see so we arent barn blind to our animals faults, meeting new breeders, and encouraging new comers to not only show cattle, but meet other breeders as well, and being an upstanding Association member who wants to see other breeders succeed. Showing cattle as we all know is stressful and to a newcomer it can be a total turn off. Its the experienced breeders that make a newcomer successful and allows them to feel at ease. Then there are the juniors. We all know Highland cattle tend to draw inexperienced cattlemen. Typically they also draw families. When you see a strong junior show, it gives a breeder hope for the future. Without shows that dont require lots of revenue and time off school, you loose valuable Juniors- who hold a key to the success of this breed. The NCHCA show in Austin, MN had 21 juniors this year. It required no time off of school, and while it still costs money, its not like asking a family to give up their vacation fund to attend it. The World Beef Expo had one highland junior. While this junior excelled at the event, it was only one junior that could participate and the family had to make two separate trips to get the junior there. It is of my opinion that implementing the showing with other breeds rule has created some very unforeseen issues and unfortunately it has created instability within the Association. I believe that every breeder within AHCA has a reason. Taking away Regional stand-alone shows is very destructive to breeders as it is an atmosphere that encourages the breed solely and strongly. Regions have worked hard to establish shows that have run consecutively and consistently year after year with not only large turn outs of cattle, but breeders as well. I will tell you that the MAHA show was one of my favorites. Large numbers of highlands, great people, and awesome food. Sounds like a good time doesnt it? Asking your membership to promote the breed in venues that will not impact the popularity of the breed is ludicrous. The basis behind the whole rule is somewhat demoralizing to the breed. If I were to have to show against other breeds continually I am afraid that it would sway me to the dark side of another breed. Reality is that Highland cattle are a rare breed. With that comes the responsibility of promoting the breed in a fashion that will not make a mockery of them. Promotion to other breeds and commercial cattlemen is something that many within this breed cannot successfully do. We have no EPDS, no statistics, nothing that backs why these cattle are good. What we have are horned cattle without numbers. A packers nightmare. Changing that thought process does not start within the show ring; it starts from within the Association. It starts with a strong board that is willing to listen to what its membership is asking and putting some sincere thought to the out comes of decisions. I respect any individual that sits on any committee, or board. You are in an important seat, and the very future of our breed is influenced by your decisions. Its a demanding, fatiguing and quite honestly, thankless job at times. You all donate your time and efforts to make this Association work. I appreciate anyone who is willing to do that. I thank you for that. What I ask is that you stop and listen to what your members are asking. This rule does not affect everyone in the association, but it affects several very active members that have gone above and beyond to promote Highland cattle. Take those members away and it is painfully evident a mistake has been made. The support both financially and promotionally (even in small venues) will have a toll on AHCA in the future. It is not about upholding a rule that forced change; its about the change that the forced ruling is creating within. Change is always inevitable. Making a change that creates excitement and demand is what we need, not the dissolving of shows that have created support and substance of a breed that needs every ounce it can get. Again, I ask you to reconsider the ruling of the NCHCA show for the 3 million reasons above. I also ask as a member that faithfully promotes the breed and devotes the time to do so, that you abolish the show with other breeds ruling for the integrity of the Highland breed and the breeders themselves. I apologize for the length of this letter, but I feel passionately about this topic. Respectfully, Heather Bailey Cobblestone Farm
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 00:11:23 +0000