Regional Association News Midwest Lowline Association We are growing! With the addition of states the MLA is growing daily. During the <strong>American</strong> Royal we obtained more new members and were able to hold a physical meeting where we were addressed by the CEO of the <strong>American</strong> Royal, Mr. Jim McNair. Mr. McNair acknowledged our hard work in getting entries to increase in the <strong>American</strong> Royal Show and also commented on the MLA involvement with the <strong>American</strong> Royal Kids Q. All our efforts have been received with open arms since the <strong>American</strong> Royal is a non-profit organization geared towards the involvement of young adults in agriculture. Unlike other venues this show is an 11-week event starting in September and ending in November. Plans for next year’s event have already begun starting with the BBQ and going through the Lowline Show. We need to express many thanks to Kathy and Tom Fredrickson who so graciously prepared our great buffet prior to the sale at the Royal. Many thanks also to the members that helped. All the teamwork paid off as everything went very smooth. Another thanks goes to Norbrook Pharmaceuticals (www.norbrookinc.com) as they stepped up and donated many premium gifts that were high dollar and very useful to those that won them. Thank you also goes out to Bomac Vets Plus Animal Health and Nutrition for their kind donation of Probios for premium gifts. Visit them at www.probios.com This year at the <strong>American</strong> Royal we had 70 entries and were acknowledged with great enthusiasm by our judge Mark Eberling. We hope to increase the number of entries again next year as this show is growing into a great event for us. As the year moves on the MLA is pulling together to work on other events to gain exposure for our breed throughout the Midwest. Mark your calendars for the Iowa <strong>St</strong>ate Fair and Nebraska <strong>St</strong>ate Fair in August 2010 and the <strong>American</strong> Royal at the end of October 2010. Karla A. Kovac-Grier Mountain <strong>St</strong>ates Region The MSLA sponsored NILE show was a great success this year. We had a total of 72 entries from California, Idaho, Washington, Wyoming, Nebraska and Montana. I want to thank all of you for coming and helping with the show. Look for the show results in the show section of this Lowline Ledger. On Friday night the group had a Q & A session with Rick Dodd, Trevor Smith and Brian Walters. They shared some of what the Board has been working to attain this year and heard member concerns. It was a very informative evening. Thanks to the ALR “Hot Dog Money” we also had snacks and refreshments. I would like to encourage anyone in the Mountain <strong>St</strong>ates region to join MSLA to work as a group to continue to promote this fine breed. If you need further information please call or email any member of the MSLA Board. Betty Deeney, President 406-366-0267 flatwilo@midrivers.com Paul Kenehan, VP 307-761-5519 kenehan@wyoming.com Rick Sekich, Treasurer 307-532-7674 sekich6@msn.com Les Shannon, Secretary 303-451-5355 mary.shannon@comcast.net Erik Hansen, At Large 303-622-6361 enhasen@tds.net Thanks again to all who attended and hope to see more of you next year. Betty Deeney Southwest Lowline Angus Breeders Association (SLABA) The Southwest Lowline Angus Breeders Association continues to grow in numbers as we strive to serve our members in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. SLABA sponsored the Open Lowline Show at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in March. The results of that show were reported in the Ledger earlier this year. We will be sponsoring that show again in March of 2010 and also the Open 38 The Lowline Ledger • Winter 2009 Lowline Show at the <strong>St</strong>ar of Texas Fair and Rodeo in Austin, Texas immediately following the Houston show. We’re hoping that all exhibitors at the Houston show on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 will leave there and make the short drive to Austin for the <strong>St</strong>ar of Texas Show checking in that same evening of the 16th with the show to be held on March 18. Two shows in a week – two for one! There is great excitement in the state of California as plans are being made to either show or exhibit Lowlines at the Cal Expo – the state fair of California in Sacramento. That will be in July and August of 2010. We are inviting all members of the ALR and SLABA in the surrounding states to participate in what we anticipate to be an annual event. Let’s get it up and going. Contact info@slaba.us as to how you can help with that. Two field days were held in the region in 2009. One was held at the Prime Lowline Angus annual ranch event in Hopland, California on April 18. SLABA director Jim Crawford and his wife Amy hosted the Field Day. Jim and Amy gave those who attended a first class tour of their ranch (which is maintained by sustainable practices). This was followed by a fantastic barbeque, and to top it off they provided a live band to entertain the guests! We’re all looking forward to this again next year. The second field day was held at the ranch of Larry and Kim Watkins in Groesbeck, Texas on September 25. Patti Seeley gave an excellent presentation of sustainable pasture practices, showing photos of how she had transformed some poorly performing pastures into productive, natural, multispecies grazing areas. We also were given a demonstration of show fitting using the Watkins’ fine bull, Peyton. Lunch – great Lowline burgers – was cooked and served by Mark Roesler. A question and suggestion session followed where the members expressed their opinions and concerns about the association and direction it should move. Out of those discussions a committee was later appointed consisting of Sandra Walker, Bob Bard, Tim Jackson, Patti Seeley and Jim Crawford to address the disposition of extra Lowline bulls and steers. The board of directors is considering the recommendations of the committee at this time. If you live in our eight-state region and are not a member of SLABA we encourage you to join. See our website at www.slaba.us. Bill Cabaniss, Vice-President <strong>North</strong>west Lowline Association 2009 has been a busy year for the <strong>North</strong>west Lowline Association. We completed our biggest ever show ever at the <strong>North</strong>west Lowline Classic in Spokane in September with over 60 head from at least five states. A big thank you to the ALR Board members Brian Walters, Rick Dodd and Trevor Smith for coming to the 2009 <strong>North</strong>west Lowline Classic and keeping in touch with the NWLA. Jim Eldridge has taken over as our interim President after Gordon Lenhard resigned. Thanks Gordon for all your hard work. We appointed Beth Chudoba of Klammath Falls, Oregon to be our Vice President. We have increased our membership to over 40 members from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California and Montana. We are looking forward to a great 2010 and all the challenges that it will have. Our membership is working hard to expand the Lowline breed in the <strong>North</strong>west. We are currently planning a spring show at the Spring Washington <strong>St</strong>ate Fair in Puyallup in April. Some of our members also showed at the NILE in Billings Montana and will represent the NWLA in Denver in January. We are proud of all the hard work the NWLA and all of its members have put into making this a great year and a much improved association. We have some big goals set for 2010 including our <strong>North</strong>west Lowline Classic in September 2010 in Spokane and a possible sale to go along with it. This will be a great opportunity to see and possibly purchase some of the best genetics the ALR has to offer. We fully expect 2010 to be our best year. Alan Bradshaw
Winter 2009 • The Lowline Ledger 39