Participant Spotlight

2014
Tessa Nybo, Mentee
Jamie-Rae Pittman, Mentor
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Stuart Sommerville, Mentee
Doug Sawyer, Mentor
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Stacey Domolewski, Mentee
Terry Hockaday, Mentor
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Shari Beamish, Mentee
Denise Lafrentz, Mentor
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Scot Boese, Mentee
Harvey Hagman, Mentor
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Rob Voice, Mentee
Christy Collins, Mentor
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Rae-Leigh Pederzolli, Mentee
Kajal Devani, Mentor
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Neil Overby, Mentee
Mike Fleury, Mentor
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Laura Ecklund, Mentee
Deb Verbonac, Mentor
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Kristine Blair, Mentee
Jeffrey Fitzpatrick-Stillwell, Mentor
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Jaclyn Horenberg, Mentee
Darryl Gibb, Mentor
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Erin Durrell, Mentee
Kevin Boon, Mentor
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Colin Verbeek, Mentee
Dyce Bolduc, Mentor
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Brett McRae, Mentee
Steven Kenyon, Mentor
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Andrew Kopeechuk, Mentee
Carson Moneo, Mentor
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Amanda Brodhagen, Mentee
Lorne Hepworth, Mentor
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Tessa Nybo, Mentee

Biography:
Tessa Nybo was raised on a commercial cow/calf operat ion near Sundre, Alberta. With a veterinarian as her father she grew up with a passion fo r cattle and agriculture. Through years of 4-H and showing cattle, Tessa has learned a great deal and i s keen to share her knowledge with others, especially young cattle enthusiasts. She does so through her clinic business in which she offers cattle clinics, judging clinics, and public speaking c linics for 4-H clubs as well as at events such as Farmfair International. She also owns a herd of commercial show cattle from which she raises and sells calves for 4-H and jackpot shows. Detail s of her services, clinics and cattle can be found at www.tessanybo.com. Tessa graduated from the Olds College Agricultural Manage ment program with a major in marketing. She has worked for the Alberta 4-H Branch and AgCareers.com, among other positions and continues to serve on numerous 4-H and industry committees. Tessa and her fiancé, Colin Verbeek, also a CYL mentee, are moving near his family’s farm in Sturgeon County where they will begin building their own cattle operation that will include a purebred Limousin herd. Tessa appreciates the opportunity to acquire practical product ion knowledge as well as gain a greater perspective on the cattle industry as a whole in addition to networking through the CYL program.
Jamie-Rae Pittman, Mentor

Biography:
Jamie-Rae lives in the south west of Saskatchewan where she ranches and farms with her husband, their three young children and her husband’s family. She and her husband operate under the name Pittman Holdings. The cowherd is a commercial cow calf operation, as well they farm cereal and pulse crops. Jamie-Rae is a co-founder of Bella Spur Innovative Media Inc. Bella Spur is a marketing company with roots and a large client base in agriculture. Jamie-Rae’s role in the company is that of art director. Her involvement with the marketing industry puts her in touch with agricultural producers and agri-business owners all across Canada.

Jamie-Rae grew up in the purebred livestock industry. Her family has bred seedstock for over 40 years. She continues to remain involved with the family operation. This background in the purebred industry exposed her to a number of influential youth in agriculture programs from a young age. She is sincerely grateful to all the outstanding individuals and organizations that cultivated the development of such groundbreaking programs decades ago that continue to benefit the young people of our industry today. She is tremendously passionate about volunteering with committees and organizations that provide opportunities to develop skills and leadership. She contributes time and energy to a number of programs that foster these values through 4-H and junior livestock platforms.



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Stuart Sommerville, Mentee

Biography:
Stuart Somerville, his wife Kayla, and their son Robbi e live near Endiang, Alberta and work with Stuart’s parents on the family’s mixed grain a nd cow-calf operation. Stuart completed a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the Uni versity of Alberta in 2007 and currently shares his time between teaching in Hanna, Alb erta and working on the family farm. He is proud to be the fourth generation to wo rk this homestead, and prouder still to have the chance to introduce a fifth generation to this way of life.
Doug Sawyer, Mentor

Biography:
Coming soon!


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Stacey Domolewski, Mentee

Biography:
Stacey Domolewski is from Taber Alberta. There, she is part of her family’s Red Angus operation, C.D. Land and Cattle. They calve out 180 purebred cows and hold their bull sale the second Saturday of March on the farm. Stacey has been very involved with Junior Angus Associations acting as a director on both the Alberta and Canadian Junior Angus boards. She has really enjoyed the opportunity to help plan and organize junior shows and events. Stacey was also selected as the 2012-2013 Robert C. McHaffie Junior National Angus Ambassador where she had the opportunity to attend many shows, events, and tour farms and Angus operations all across Canada.
Stacey graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 2013 with her Animal Science Degree, and is currently back at the U of S completing her masters degree in Animal Science. Upon completion of her degree she hopes to purse a career in extension and communication, while still remaining actively involved in her family’s farm.

Stacey is very excited to be part of they Cattleman’s Young Leaders Program. She is excited for the many opportunities for networking and mentorship, along with the ability to gain more information about the Cattle industry. She is so thankful to be given this opportunity and is looking forward to the coming year.
Terry Hockaday, Mentor

Biography:
Coming soon!


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Shari Beamish, Mentee

Biography:
Shari Beamish grew up in Hamiota, Manitoba on a mixed farm with commercial Angus cattle and a small purebred Angus herd founded through 4-H involvement . This would lead to Manitoba Junior Angus and Manitoba Angus Association board participation.

From 2003 to 2005, Shari studied Agribusiness at La keland College in Vermilion, AB, obtaining a Diplom a with a Livestock Production concentration. She was an Ag Ambassador and member of both the Stockman’s Club and Judging Team. While at Lakelan d, she took an introductory Carcass Ultrasound course and later completed advanced training at the University of Georgia to become a CUP Lab Certified Ultrasound Technician. Immediately after training, Shari purchased her own equipment and founded Ultrabeef Ultrasound Services in which she provides carcass merit assessment to seedstock producers across Western Canada.

In fall 2013, Shari began as a Canadian Representat ive for LiveAuctions.tv - an online bidding service for live or internet based cattle sales in Canada and t he US. This opportunity has allowed Shari to trave l throughout Western Canada and meet leading purebred operations from a variety of breeds. Shari also has a passion for Mary Kay Cosmetics and currently holds the position of Independent Sales Director.

Shari and her fiancée, Lance Leachman, will be marr ied in July 2014 and currently reside at Big Gully Farm north of Maidstone, SK where they operate a pu rebred Hereford farm with a small group of Angus females.

Shari is thankful for the opportunity CYL offers an d is excited to interact with her mentor and 15 talented peers.
Denise Lafrentz, Mentor

Biography:
Coming soon!

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Scott Boese, Mentee

Biography:
Scott grew up in Eastern Ontario where his family h as a mixed farm of purebred Hereford cattle, cash crops, and hay sales. His pa ssion for cattle started at an early age, buying his first purebred cow at the age of 13 . Scott graduated from Kemptville College in 2005 with a Diploma in Agriculture, and continued his studies at the University of Guelph, obtaining a Bachelor of Scien ce in Agriculture, majoring in Animal Science in 2008. He started working for Shu r-Gain in 2009 as a ruminant nutrition advisor and currently works with beef and dairy customers in East-Central Ontario. Scott has a real passion for helping cust omers achieve their goals and enjoys working to promote success in their operatio ns. After moving back home to his family farm in September 2013, he and his girlf riend Julia purchased their own farm where they plan to expand the cash crop busine ss and continue to grow their herd of purebred Herefords. Community involvement is important to both of them, and they are involved with Junior Farmers’ Associat ion of Ontario and Ontario Federation of Agriculture at the local level.

Through the CYL program, Scott hopes to gain insigh t and knowledge from the various industry and producer leaders who are invol ved in the program. Scott’s main ambition is to grow as an entrepreneur, and he is very keen to strengthen the many facets that promote a successful farm business . Learning about cattle nutrition and how to market quality cattle are also primary o bjectives of the mentorship opportunity for Scott. He is extremely excited to c ontinue networking with the current CYL participants and the numerous opportuni ties that this incredible program will provide.
Harvey Hagman, Mentor

Biography:
The beef industry is dear to me, and I have been involved in it for 40 years. I farm with my wife MaryAnn and my son Grant. I have been President of Hagman Cattle Co. Ltd for 24 years. Our farm is diversified with beef, grain and forages. It was an honor for our family to be awarded the Lac Ste Anne County Farm Family Award for 2012.

I have been involved in Agricultural Organizations the past 11years where I have gained Board and Leadership experience. The organizations have been producer, government, advocacy/education, and business. The organizations were: Business: UFA Co-operative Ltd- Board Director, and Cooperators General Insurance Company- Delegate. Advocacy/Education: Alberta Community and Cooperative Association-Board Director. Government: Agricultural Development Committee- Committee Member, Whitecourt-Ste-Anne Agricultural Committee- Chairman, and Alberta Farm Safety Advisory Council-Member. Producer Organizations: Alberta Beef Producers-Board Director/Delegate, Alberta Forage Industry Network- Founding Board Interim Vice President and Beef Cattle Research Council-Council Member.

Our family is currently involved in a number of local groups from Ag Society, Curling Club and Knights of Columbus.


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Rob Voice, Mentee

Biography:
Rob Voice resides on the family’s century farm at Bradw ell, SK. Rob developed an interest in cattle as an 11 year old at a time when his family was strictly a gr ain operation. Rob’s parents had dispersed their herd and facilities six years prior, but had the fore sight to provide an opportunity for Rob to pursue t his interest. Through 4-H and junior breed association activities, Rob’s passion for the industry was cemented.

Rob attended Butler County Community College in El Do rado, KS on a livestock judging scholarship out of high school. From there he took a different route and transferred closer to home to the University of Saskatchewan into the College of Commerce as an Accounti ng major. Rob obtained his Chartered Accountant designation and currently works in Saskatoon as the Controller for a produce wholesale company.

Rob has developed his own cow/calf operation consistin g of 35 Angus based breeding females with a long term goal towards club calf production. He spend s the bulk of his time outside the office managing this herd, researching genetics, and keeping up to dat e with the industry. Rob is also an active judge and has evaluated a number of local and regional 4-H sho ws as well as at Canadian Western Agribition. He is an organizer for a local event that raises funds to p urchase a progressive 4-H member’s project steer each year, and he is one of the senior project leaders for the Saskatoon 4-H Beef Club. Rob has a variety of industry interests around cattle breeding, genetics, herd improvement, and marketing. The opportunity to learn from an establi shed mentor and fellow CYL participants has Rob extremely excited about this program.
Christy Collins, Mentor

Biography:
Coming soon!

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Rae-Leigh Pederzolli, Mentee

Biography:
Rae-Leigh Pederzolli is a third generation producer on her family operation located outside of Medicine Hat, Alberta. Rae-Leigh and her family run bot h a commercial Black Angus Hereford herd and a small purebred Black Angus herd. She is graduating thi s year from the University of Saskatchewan with an agricultural degree majoring in Anima l Science. From here, she is transitioning into graduate school on a project under Dr. Gr eg Penner at the U of S. Her project focuses on improving beef cattle health and welfare in r egards to studying the barrier function of the gastrointestinal tract when under altered nutrient supply through feed restriction and acidosis conditions. She is greatly looking forward to this next y ear with the CYL program and all the people she will meet along the way.
Kajal Devani, Mentor

Biography:
Kajal Devani is the Director of Breed Development for the Canadian Angus Association. She leads the generation of genetic evaluations for Canadian Angus breeding stock, and identifies and monitors genetic conditions and counsels Association members on the application of genetic tools to balance and optimize healthy herds and economic gain. Raised on a mixed farm in Kenya, she obtained an undergraduate degree in animal genetics from the University of Manitoba, and a Masters of same at the University of Alberta. Kajal is passionate about genetics and their ability to enhance production for two primary ends: successful farmers and ranchers and a memorable dining experience for the beef consumer. Kajal is extremely excited about the opportunity to give back to the community in mentoring a CYL and anticipates learning much from her mentee in turn.

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Neil Overby, Mentee

Biography:
Neil was raised on a commercial cow/calf and bison operation near Inwood, MB. He attended the University of Manitoba where he was enrolled in the Animal Science program concluding in 2007. During university, Neil created Overby Stock Farm, a purebred Gelbvieh operation and has been expanding the operation ever since. Neil has been fortunate to be involved in many established purebred cattle operations post university completi on giving him valuable experience in moving the Gelbvieh program further ahead. Neil and his fianc é, Deanne Wilkinson, take great pride in how the purebred program has progressed over the years and are excited where they can take it in the future.

The operation is located at Ste. Rose du Lac, MB an d along with Jaymarandy Limousin and Maple Grove Gelbvieh, Overby Stock Farm had the inaugural Weste rn Gateway Bull Sale at the Ste. Rose Auction Mart on March 29, 2014, where they offered 2 year old an d yearling Gelbvieh and Limousin bulls.
Along with the cattle operation, Neil also works fo r Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development as a Farm Production Advisor – Ag. Crown Lands repr esentative out of the Ste. Rose Ag. Office, serving the crown land district north of Ste. Rose du Lac. Neil feels very privileged to have been selected i nto the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program and is excite d about the knowledge he will gain through the duration of the program.
Mike Fleury, Mentor

Biography:
Coming soon!

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Laura Ecklund, Mentee

Biography:
Laura grew up on a cow calf operation in Southweste rn Ontario, raising purebred Limousin cattle. In he r youth, she was an active 4-H member in the local be ef club and also showed cattle with the Ontario Limousin Association. Laura’s passion for beef cat tle lead her to pursue a career in the beef industr y. She moved to Alberta to attend Olds College graduat ing with a diploma in Agricultural Business and a Bachelor of Applied Science and Agribusiness Degree . Laura and her husband Cody now live in Olds, Alberta. In the near future they hope to start thei r own commercial beef operation.

Through the Cattleman’s Young Leaders program Laura would like to become involved in educating consumers about beef production and she looks forwa rd to expanding her network in the beef industry. Laura feels honored to part of a group of like-mind ed beef enthusiasts!
Deb Verbonac, Mentor

Biography:
Coming soon!

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Kristine Blair, Mentee

Biography:LKristine grew up in Woodside Manitoba on a cow-calf and backgrounding operation. The goals of her family's operation have been to strive for e xcellence in grazing management and environmental stewardship. She is in the process o f building her own cow-calf herd and she is very excited to be establishing an operation near L angruth, MB.

Kristine received her Bachelor of Science, from the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science with a major in Agroecology from the University of Manit oba. She has spent some time working for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) on projects including riparian area health, as well as the impacts of bale grazing on forage quantity, qua lity and species composition.

Kristine is currently enrolled in the Master's of A nimal Science program at the University of Manitoba. Her research is part of a larger project which strives to develop beneficial management practices (BMPs) that will improve the e conomic and environmental sustainability of the Canadian cattle industry. This is particula rly important as cattle producers in Western Canada have begun to change the way in which they o verwinter cattle, moving from traditional confined pen systems to in-field extensive systems including swath grazing and bale grazing. Kristine's project will compare energy lo st as methane, a greenhouses gas, in backgrounded cattle. More specifically, she will c ompare intake, gain and energy use efficiency in steers fed during winter, four forage-based diet s that differ in protein content. The diets have been formulated to reflect the range of diets typically used for backgrounded cattle in Western Canada.

Kristine is thrilled to have been selected for the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program and is enthusiastic to have the opportunity to work with s uch an accomplished group of young people.
Jeffrey Fitzpatrick-Stillwell, Mentor

Biography:
Jeffrey is the Senior Manager, Sustainability for McDonald’s Canada, responsible for directing all functional activities in support of the company’s goals under the Global Sustainability Framework and Global Corporate Social Responsibility. He develops and leads the implementation of sustainability strategies across the five sustainability pillars (Sourcing, Food, Planet, Community, and People). He represents the company on the global sustainability teams responsible for shaping the sustainability policies and practices across the worldwide McDonald’s system. He also manages the company’s external relations with key sustainability and CSR stakeholders and influencers. 

Jeffrey is a past Board Director of the Canadian Polystyrene Recycling Association (CPRA) and currently serves as a National Board Director of The Packaging Consortium. Jeffrey has participated as a member of numerous industry and government scoping and steering committees.

Prior to joining McDonald's in 2005 Jeffrey served as political staff to several federal and provincial cabinet ministers.


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Jaclyn Horenberg, Mentee

Biography:
Jaclyn developed her love for agriculture and passion for th e beef industry from being raised on a cow-calf operation near Stratford, ON. From a young age , she has shown cattle throughout Canada with 4-H and the Ontario Limousin Association. She always knew she wanted to pursue a career in agricul ture, so Jaclyn obtained her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, with a major in Animal Science from the University of Guelph. During third year of university, she began working with Agribrands Purina as an intern. Part of her internship was with Cargill Meat Solutions where she wor ked with the Beef Procurement Department purchasing cattle with the head cattle buyer. Since graduating in 2012, Jaclyn has continued to work with Agribrands Purina as a Beef Farm C onsultant where she works on-farm assessing the nutritional needs of beef operations and rec ommending proper feed rations designed to maximize performance and meet economic goals. Jaclyn and her husband currently are not farming themselves, so she is grateful that her job allows her to stay directly involved in the beef industry. Jaclyn is honoured to be a part of the CYL program, and l ooks forward to not only expanding her knowledge of the beef industry, but also networking and learning f rom the experience of others.
Darryl Gibb, Mentor

Biography:
Darryl has been involved in the beef industry all his life. He was raised on a mixed farm in Southern Alberta and has worked in commercial feedlots. He has done nutrition work for ranchers and feedlot operators for over 20 years. Darryl obtained degrees in Animal Science from Utah State University (Bachelors and Ph. D.) and the University of Nebraska (M.Sc.). He has conducted research at the farm level as well as with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada while working as a Research Scientist. He has written as well as contributed (SSGFusion.com) to feedlot software that improves accuracy in feeding, from ration formulation to delivery. He has been actively involved in using NIRS to identify feeds that are most valuable to producers. Darryl strives to identify feeds, practices, and technologies that help enhance profitability of producers.

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Erin Durrell, Mentee

Biography:
Erin grew up on her family’s historic ranch, Winegl ass Cattle Company in Riske Creek BC. Situated alon g the banks of the Chilcotin River, the central grass lands of BC’s interior have been home to the Durrel l family since the 1800’s. Erin and her sister (Keely ) and brother (Iaian) are the fifth generation to g row up there and be actively involved in the ranch from da y one. Erin and her siblings have been very involv ed in rodeo, and she excelled as a breakaway roper dur ing high school, winning a provincial championship her graduating year and earning trips to the Nation al and Canadian high school rodeo finals.

Wineglass Ranch runs a reputable commercial Black A ngus herd that Erin is excited about continuing to develop. The ranch has also developed a grass-fed, antibiotic, and implant free beef market through a local butcher shop and through farm gate sales. Al l cattle work is done with horses and dogs and grassland and environmental sustainability are very important to the ranch, its history and for its continued generations. Erin has recently become a director within the local regional Cariboo Cattlemen’s Association and is looking forward to h er involvement there. Erin has also worked in agriculture in Australia, has worked in the veterin ary industry here at home and is looking forward to returning to University to finish her Ag. Business degree.
Erin is passionate about the beef industry and its continued growth and development. She is very excited about being involved in the CYL program and is looking forward to the development and learning experiences she will be part of. Erin is very inter ested in marketing and trade. She also has a keen interest in animal health and the sustainability of family ranches. Erin looks forward to working with her mentor, her fellow CYL’ers and other members of our industry.
Kevin Boon, Mentor

Biography:
I was the third generation to ranch on the family homestead at Delia, Alberta about 35 miles northeast of Drumheller. Growing up I spent 12 years in the 4-H as a member and took over leading the Beef Club for 10 years while my kids were members. In 2002 we sold the ranch and I relocated to Tomahawk, Alberta and raised cattle there until 2009 when I took the position as General Manager of the BC Cattlemen’s Association. My wife, Karen, and I make our home in Kamloops, BC. We have 5 children and we are expecting our 9th and 10th grandchildren in August of this year. In 1998 I was elected to The Alberta Beef Producers. Over the next 11years I sat on many of the ABP committees and held the position of Vice Chair the year prior to our move to British Columbia. During this time I also sat on many national committees including CCA, CBEF, National Check Off and Chair of Beef Information Centre from 2000 to 2002. I have spent the past 5 years as General Manager of the BC Cattlemen’s Association where I am able to combine my years of work as a volunteer director with the cattle industry and the experience of being a rancher to represent the cattle producers of BC. In addition to the many duties of the job I was also asked to sit on the Ministers Agriculture Advisory Committee for BC and volunteer as a career mentor for the Thompson Rivers University Alumni and Friends Association. I have long believed in the power of our youth and the programs that support them. I look forward to the next year being a mentor and doing my little part to help my mentee get as much out of our industry as I have.

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Colin Verbeek, Mentee

Biography:
Colin Verbeek was raised on his family’s mixed grain and pure bred Limousin farm in Sturgeon County, near Morinville, Alberta. Hillview Farms calves out 150 purebred Limousin females each year and sells high quality Limousin bulls by private treaty and in the Prime Limousin Club Bull Sale in Westlock, Alberta the third weekend of Marc. Colin graduated from the Olds College Agricultural Management program with a major in ma rketing and worked for Richardson Pioneer. This spring he will be returning to the family farm and starting up his own cattle operation with his fiancé, Tessa Nybo, also a CYL mentee.

Colin has a passion for improving genetics through the use of artificial insemination, genomics, expected progeny differences, and other progressive means of selecting and breeding efficient, productive and sound structured cattle. Colin is a director of the Alberta Limousin Association and is looking forward to becoming more involved in cattle industry groups as he progresses as a producer and industry leader himself.

Colin is eager to learn from his mentor’s experiences a s he begins building his own operation. He is also hoping that the networking opportunities open m any doors and increase his connections in the cattle industry.
Dyce Bolduc, Mentor

Biography:
Dyce Bolduc and his brother David and families, operate Cudlobe Farms as a partnership with 5000 deeded acres, 2500 acres of crop and 2500 acres of grass and hay. They rent 2000 acres of pasture for their 500 purebred Angus cows. He was born into a family that has had purebred cattle since 1898. His first Angus purebred cows were purchased in 1967 at the age of 15. He worked for Fairview Ranches in Montana for two years, in the late 1970’s, where he was mentored by two of the best people in the industry in showing and managing practices. He returned home to develop his own Angus herd and eventually took over joint management of Cudlobe. 

The herd was small, less than 20 cows but became a major player in the Angus show ring in the late 70’s and 80’s , as it grew he became more involved in the policies of the Purebred industry at an early age. He truly enjoyed looking at the “Big Picture” and these organizations gave him the opportunity. He served on The Southern Alberta Cattle Breeders, Southern Alberta Angus Club, Alberta Cattle Breeders, Canadian Angus Association, Alberta Angus Association, and was a 4-H leader for 25 years. 

In the early 2000’s, they refocused their goals after 30 years in the show ring. The tools were now available to identify superior cattle. Dyce and his brother started a production sale in the 2000’s to offer these superior genetics and tools to their customers. Many of their long term clients are now receiving superior returns from their program. The success of their program is measure by the success of their clients programs.

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Brett McRae, Mentee

Biography:
Brett is very excited and thankful to be selected a s a CYL finalist! Along with his family, Blair, Loi s and Melissa McRae, they own and operate Mar Mac Farms w here they currently calve 210 head of purebred Angus and Simmental cows, as well as farming 1000 a cres of grain and oilseeds.

Growing up, Brett was heavily involved in 4-H, the Young Canadian Simmental Association, and the Canadian Junior Angus Association (CJAA). He was a founding member of the Manitoba Junior Angus Association, and served on the board of the CJAA. I n 2007, he earned his Agribusiness Diploma from Lakeland College in Vermillion, AB. In college, he was involved with the Judging Team, Rodeo Club, and was the President of the Stockman’s Club in his sec ond year.

After college, he worked in the oil field for one y ear and in the feed industry for three years before moving to the farm full time.

Today Brett owns 30 of the purebred head in the her d and manages just under half the grain acres. He also runs a custom A.I. business and usually breeds up to 2000 head each year. In his spare time, Bret t enjoys reading, riding horses, quadding and rodeoing.

Brett looks forward to meeting some of the many big thinkers of the beef industry as well as learning more about how to improve his operation. He would l ike to thank the CYL program coordinators, Jill Harvie and Jolene Noble, as well as all the sponsor s of this amazing program!
Steve Kenyon, Mentor

Biography:
Steve Kenyon runs a custom grazing business in the Westlock area under the name of Greener Pastures Ranching Ltd. He currently runs just over 1500 head of livestock on 3500 acres of leased land. By using extended grazing techniques he is able to pasture cattle year round. This is done by using a combination of intensive cell grazing, dormant season grazing, swath grazing, crop residue grazing and bale grazing. Steve has become well respected in the agriculture community for his business management and innovative ideas.

Steve has been teaching sustainable grazing management for more than 10 years and has been a keynote speaker at many conferences and seminars throughout Canada and the U.S. He is a writer for the Stockman Grass Farmer magazine and also for the Canadian Cattleman Magazine. Steve has a very energetic personality, which compliments a very down to earth common sense approach to farm business management. Yet he is still just a producer and presents in a very honest and straightforward style. Steve has developed and instructs the “Year Round Grazing Systems” Agricultural Business Management Course. This three-day course includes a human resource component, economics, finances, grazing principles, cell design and pasture rejuvenation.


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Andrew Kopeechuk, Mentee

Biography:
Andrew grew up and lived at the family farm his who le life called RSK Farms. It is a family-run mixed farm which began operation in 1984. It located appr oximately 14 kilometers east of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada along the Trans-Canada Highway.

RSK Farms breeds approximately 120 females which co nsist of Purebred Polled Hereford and Commercial Cross cattle, with a goal of expanding a nd calving 200 Hereford calves a year. The land bas e consists of 3 ½ sections of both owned and rented l and which is into annual crop, rotated perennial an d annual pasture, for forage production and grain and hay sales.

RSK Farms uses AI and ET breeding strategies to sou rce some of the breed's top genetics and in turn us e our top producing females to create quality offspri ng that display improved consistency, performance maternal traits and carcass. RSK Farms has had grea t success over the years exhibiting cattle across t he country. The operation is a co-consigner to the Cat tleman's Classic Bull Sale that is held in the begi nning of April in Virden, MB. RSK Farms also co-hosts an online female sale called the Elite Genetics Online Sale during the last week in October.

Andrew was a member of the Carberry 4-H beef club ( 1995-2000). He has been a member of the Manitoba Junior Hereford Association and has been a national delegate on the Canadian Junior Hereford Association board, being president 2002-03 . He assisted in developing and enhancing many projects while on the board including, the heifer l ottery, semen donation and fact sheets.

Andrew also just finished up a 4 year term with Man itoba Hereford Association holding a VP position fo r 2 years and a president position for 1 year. He ser ved on many committees while there including, MOE Show committee, Marketing and Promotions committee and Market Development committee.

Andrew attended Olds College from (2001-2003) recei ving a diploma in Agricultural Production with a major in Livestock Production and from (2003-2005) receiving a Bachelor of Applied Science in Agri- business.

Andrew is currently employed with Agriculture and A gri-food Canada in Brandon, MB where he is a research assistant.

Andrew is quite excited to be involved in the CYL p rogram. It presents many opportunities in personal and professional growth, including great networking opportunities with countless people in the livesto ck industry.
Carson Moneo, Mentor

Biography:
Carson Moneo ranches along with his family in the rolling hills of Wood Mountain, SK. It's a family run operation consisting of Barb and Terry Moneo, Carson Moneo and family, Clay Moneo and family, Mia and Scott Turner and family. Carson is part of the third generation and along with Clay and his brother in law Scott they run the day to day of the ranch. Growing up Carson participated in 4-H and earned a diploma in Beef Management from Olds College. Peak Dot Ranch runs 600 registered cows and has another 500 cows in co-operator herds. They also put in 300 embryos annually making them one of the largest angus herds in Canada. Peak dot hosts two sales a year, one in December and one in April. The ranch just received a Canadian Angus Heritage award for being in business for 50 years.

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Amanda Brodhagen, Mentee

Biography:
Amanda Brodhagen hails from Brunner, Ontario where she grew up on a commercial cow operation nestled in Perth County. She represents t he sixth generation of cattle producers in her family. The Brodhagen’s were awarded the On tario Plowmen’s Association BMO Family Farm Award in 2012. The award recognizes far m families who have made significant contributions to their agricultural com munities. No stranger to rural youth organizations, Brodhagen is a 4-H alumna, a member of the Junior Farmers Association of Ontario, and has held several ambassador-like titles including Listowel Fair Ambassador and Perth County Queen of the Furrow. In the past, Brodhagen participated in the Canadian Young Speake rs for Agriculture competition at the Royal Winter Fair. In 2010, she was a recipient of the International Livestock Student program. Brodhagen graduated with an Honours B.A. in Politic al Science from the University of Guelph in 2012. She was actively involved in parti san politics for a number of years both provincially and federally. It not surprising that she has a keen interest in agriculture policy. While attending university, she interned on e summer in the Office of the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Not only is she a primary producer, working on brin ging food from the farm gate to your plate, she is a trained and experienced agricultura l advocacy ambassador, and has a passion for narrating the agricultural message. Br odhagen works as the Assistant Editor for Farms.com.
Lorne Hepworth, Mentor

Biography:
Lorne Hepworth is now retired, after serving for over 16 years as President and CEO of CropLife Canada, the trade association representing developers, manufacturers and distributors of plant science innovations for use in agriculture, urban and public health settings. Dr. Hepworth is currently the Chair of the Board of Genome Canada; a member of the Board of CARE Canada; a member of the board of the Global Institute for Food Security; a member of the board of Input Capital Corp; and, on the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund Governance Committee.

He recently served on the Canadian Council of Academies Expert Panel on Sustainable Management of Water in the Agriculture Landscapes of Canada. He has served as a member of the Advisory Board of the National Research Council of Canada, Plant Biotechnology Institute; the Canadian Agri-Food Research Council; the federal government’s Pest Management Advisory Committee and National Biotechnology Advisory Committee.

A graduate of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan (1971), Dr. Hepworth was a veterinarian in Alberta and Saskatchewan until 1982, when he was elected to Saskatchewan’s Legislative Assembly. He subsequently served nine years in Cabinet, during which he was minister of Agriculture, Education, Finance, and Energy and Mines. From 1993 to 1997, he held several executive positions with the Canadian Agra group of companies specializing in agri-food/feed production, processing and marketing.

He was raised on a farm near Assiniboia, Saskatchewan and continues to have an interest in farming there, including the original homestead quarter established by his grandfather in 1907. He is married to Fern and they have two adult children (Graeme and Alana).

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