Letter from the President:

Greetings!

As our daylight is decreasing and temperatures moderate, fall is on the way. Fall is one of my favorite seasons here in Michigan with the cool nights, warm sunny days and beautiful fall colors. Without a question this spring and summer has been a challenge for most of us. A wet spring making it difficult to get row crops planted and 1^st cutting hay put up and summer with above average temperatures and drought conditions in most of the state. As with our Michigan weather there is always change and is unpredictable at times.

With the continued demand for Hereford cattle, it is an exciting time to be a Hereford breeder. As fall is approaching, spring calves are being weaned. Now is the time to start making marketing plans for your calves. Methods of sales range from private treaty sales, online sales, Michigan Beef Expo and other means. This takes effort on your part to promote your cattle to prospective buyers for your success.

Check out our new website @ mihereford.com! With this there are many changes to benefit our membership. Some of these are a calendar that all members will be able to have their sales, events, etc. posted. As well as a forms page that will be accessible for upcoming events and sales.

A special thanks to Heather Breasbois and Robin Riker for all of their work put into Michigan Junior’s! It’s great to see the involvement and increased membership.

Our Fall Spectacular Show is coming up October 6th. With a venue change to Ionia County Fair Grounds. Please give this consideration as a place to get your cattle out and showcase them. See enclosed information in this newsletter.

As always we welcome your input, our association is only as strong as our membership’s involvement.

Regards,

Jim Steketee

MI Hereford Association President

Junior News

Reflection of Faces of Leadership Conference:
When I found out I received a fully paid trip to California for the Faces of Leadership I was thrilled but only one thing scared me, getting lost in the airport. I hardly travel let alone fly. With that being said I did get lost for almost an hour. Despite getting lost I found my gate, along with Drew and we set off to San Francisco for a trip I will never forget!

First and foremost let me tell you how very grateful I was for this opportunity. I would recommend this experience to anyone thinking about attending the Faces of Leadership Conference. You will meet so many new people who all love to do the same thing you do, showing Herefords. You have an opportunity to personally get to know the NJHA Board of Directors. The three day conference was packed with people. Our keynote speaker was Kenny Aronoff who was voted into the “Top 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time” -Rolling Stone Magazine. He spoke about many valuable life lessons, but one that stood out to me in particular was, “If you want to see your future, look at your friends now”. He also emphasized another great point that when you are told you can’t do something and you’re passionate about it, do it anyways. Pursue your goals and never quit trying!
One of my favorite places that we visited was the Sierra and Pedretti Ranches. We also went to a robotic dairy farm where over 2,000 head of dairy cattle are milked by machines automatically. We then went to an almond and a cheese factory and it was very entertaining to see how both products were processed. On the last night that we were there we went on a dinner cruise. The dinner cruise was a pleasant way to end our trip. On the cruise we seen the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz prison, and we had a great view of the city lights at night.
I hated saying goodbye to all the new friends I met on this trip. I will keep in touch with them and can’t wait to see them at Junior Nationals. Although I had a wonderful time, it was nice to finally be on my way home. Luckily on my return flight I mastered maneuvering my way through the airport and I didn’t get lost.
-Kallie Webber, MJHA President

Junior Fall Spectacular:

The very first MJHA Fall Spectacular is being held in conjunction with the Annual MHA Fall Spectacular. The junior show will be Saturday, October 6th with the open show to follow after lunch. More information along with the entry packet can be found on the MHA Website as well as the Junior’s Facebook page.

MLE Steer of the Year:

The 2018 Steer of the year was selected at the Michigan Livestock Expo in Lansing. Charlee Klink of Garden, MI exhibited the Champion Hereford steer, which was bred and owned by the Klink family. President Jim Steketee was there to present the $500 cash prize. Charlee and her steer also went on to win Champion Hereford Steer at the UP State Fair.

MI Points Heifer of the Year:

Andrew Johnston exhibited the Champion Hereford Heifer in the MI Shows Program this past year. The Heifer was bred and owned by Andrew and is a March calf out of Catapult. The MHA sponsored this division and Andrew was awarded a $150 cash prize. Andrew and his heifer were also named the MI Shows Reserve Overall Bred and Owned Heifer.

Calendar of Events:

Please visit the Calendar page for a full list of upcoming events.

MHA Fall Spectacular:

*NEW LOCATION* The fourth Annual MHA Fall Spectacular show is October 6 in Ionia MI. The MHA will again be providing a lunch for all exhibitors and spectators! We hope to make this a tradition and would love to expand this opportunity for our Breeders in the future.
Please find the Entry form here. All entrees will be due by September 20 with late entrees being excepted at the time of check in. The Entry form can also be found online at mihereford.com.

New Website:

As stated several times throughout the Newsletter, the MHA has been working with Rebecca VanDenBerg Web Services to create the new website that is up and running! Please go look at mihereford.com and let us know what you think! If you have any events or exciting news to share let us know so that we can get it posted! We are also always looking for new photos of Hereford cattle to display on the web page. You can forward those to michiganhereford@gmail.com

2019 MI Beef Expo:

The MHA would like to remind the membership about the opportunity to consign bulls and females at the MI Beef Expo. More information and the consignment form will available in the winter news letter.