Spring is in the air and as I pen this column, I am spending the weekend in Okeechobee, Florida attending the Florida Brahman Association Annual Meeting, Field Day and Sale.
We had an outstanding International Show and Annual meeting held in Waco, Texas this year. As we all know it was not a Houston International Show, but due to COVID restrictions it was a great option for 2021. During the event we also were able to host the 2021 ABBA Annual Meeting, it was great honoring the award recipients and seeing all the active members that attended. I want to take this time to commend Morgan Thomas and her team for hosting this outstanding event. As we plan for 2022 our hope is to once again hold our event during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
The 34th ABBA National F-1 Female & TBA Brahman Female Sale was held on March 20th in Caldwell, TX and was a complete success. This year’s sale was dedicated to Mr. Arnold Saunders of Bar W Ranch in Devine, TX. We are thankful for the continued dedication the Saunders family has shown to the National F-1 Sale since it was first held in 1987. Thank you to the consignors, buyers, and all those who helped put on this stellar event.
We have numerous programs being conducted by our ABBA Performance Committee. These programs focus on the improvement of the Brahman Breed and collect data that is vital for the prosperity of this great breed. We are thankful for the hard work this committee does and for all of those breeders who enter cattle in these programs to help us in moving forward.
We are moving right along with our ABBA E.A.R. Program that is designed to allow ABBA and American Brahman breeders to gain an understanding of how genetics perform within the beef industry. We currently have 160 Purebred Brahman Steers on feed and are looking forward to the data to be collected in the coming months.
The ABBA Bull Development and Marketing Program is designed to provide Brahman breeders with the opportunity to develop bulls, collect economically relevant data and market commercially oriented bulls in a cooperative effort. With 67 Registered Brahman Bulls from 16 different operations, we are extremely excited about this year’s set of bulls and are looking forward to seeing them progress over the coming months. Be on the lookout for more information, including sale dates in the coming future.
As I close this month’s edition of “From the Desk from the EVP,” I wanted to share some statistics with you. There is no question that 2020 was a year of extreme hardship for many, but thanks to the continued dedication and work of ABBA Board of Directors, Members, and Staff, we are continuing to grow our numbers in terms of registered Brahman Cattle and that is something to truly be proud of.
See you Down the Road!!
Joe Mask
