HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1994-03-16, Page 63Wednesday, March16, 1994
The Todd family tradition continues
Winning at Royal Winter Fair: in its fourth generation
by Mike Robinson
Winning at the Royal Agricultural
Winter Fair is not exactly a new
experience for the Todd family.
For Hugh and JoAnne Todd and
their children Keith and Jenean,
who live just north of St. Helen's, it
is a tradition reaching into its fourth
generation.
It began for the West Wawanosh
Township family in the 1920s,
when Hugh's grandfather started
showing Aberdeen Angus cattle at
the CNE and later at the Royal.
Even then, the family name was
well-known for the quality of its
cattle. Later Hugh's father, Thomas,
became involved showing cattle and
later sheep. Now the family is well-
known for the quality of its South-
down and Hampshire sheep.
Hugh's wife JoAnne, told the
story of how, in the 1940s, Thomas
Todd father traded off a number of
Aberdeen Angus cattle for a num-
ber of Southdown sheep.
"Everyone thought Dad was
crazy," but he'd seen a ram he'd
wanted at a Chicago showing. The
ram was owned by an Oregon man
who in turn had wanted some of the
heifers, said Hugh.
As to the tradition of showing the
sheep, the family was originally
approached by neighbors heading
down to the Royal. They offered to
show the sheep, while the Todds
earned the money from the sale of
the sheep.
In 1968, the family decided to
begin showing the sheep.
Now the family is in its fourth
generation of 'show' people, as
Hugh and JoAnne's son, Keith and
daughter, Jenean continue the
tradition.
At the 1993 Royal, the Todds
came home with the Graad Cham-
pion Pen of Three market lambs
and Reserve Grand Champion
market lamb.
From 1987 to 1992, the Todds
brought home five successive Grand
Champion market lamb wins -
something unparalleled in the
Royal's history.
This year the Todds won the
Supreme Champion flock from
overall breeds. This meant the '
family was chosen as having the
best flock (four sheep) over the
entire show.
Previous to that they had'cvairth
1991 Supreme Champion Ewe.
It seems every year the family
comes home with a win of some
kind. Even so, Hugh says, "It's
quite an honor to win at the Royal."
One memorable moment at the
Royal, a few years back, was when
Hugh met Princess Anne at the fair.
A photograph of Hugh with his
sheep and the Princess reached
major newspapers across the
country. It was also the year Hugh
won first place for a yearling ewe.
Hugh says he is sometimes
surprised by the number of ques-
tions and the number of people
wanting to learn more about
agriculture.
Keith added that a number of
school groups from the city go to
the Royal every year to learn more
about agriculture. Some of them do
not know the difference between
pigs, sheep or cows - some do not
even realize milk comes from dairy
cattle, he said.
JoAnne pointed to the fact that
there's a lot of people who don't
know about sheep. She remembered
an incident a number of years ago
when one producer put blue food
coloring in the wool of one of his
sheep. Those unfamiliar with sheep
asked if that was the breed of sheep
that blue wool came from.
That incident, she remembered
caused quite a stir down at the
Royal.
The fair is also a time to meet old
friends.
Hugh says he looks forward to
seeing other breeders again, because
it continues to be a gathering spot
for people from across Ontario,
Quebec, and the eastern provinces.
But, while he enjoys the time at the
Royal Winter Fair, "I'm awful glad
to get home again."
r:, Oy 111: the years ighligiii
but the breeding program is always
kept in mind. The show just
becomes part of that program,
JoAnne said.
The object is not necessarily for
the sheep to win at the show, but
rather to show what they can offer
potential customers in terms of
quality and styling, says JoAnne.
The show also helps to get their
name known as breeders and their
market lamb business.
"We may not have the best in-
dividual sheep each year, they are
consistently near the top," she
added. That consistency allows
customers to trust the pedigrees for
the sheep.
Keith added that breeders of
market sheep can view what
qualities they would like to generate
in their own stock.
JoAnne says the objective is to
show the purebred qualities so
commercial breeders can create a
heterogeneous crossbreed to get the
best qualities of a number of
breeds.
Although most of the sheep they
sell remain in Ontario, breeding
stock has been shipped across North
America, from Prince Edward Is -
and to British Columbia and as far
south as Texas.
Most of the breeding stock they
purchase is from the United States,
although a few of the Southdown
were imported from New Zealand.
Both the Southdowns and
Hampshires are English breeds of
sheep, raised primarily for their
meat. Because of their excellent
rate of conversion to meat, these
purebreds are crossbred with other
sheep to create market lambs.
Most of the business is in the sale
of breeding rams, although they sell
the occasional ewe. The Todds also
continue to sell market lambs.
•turn to page 2a
The tradition of winning at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
continues Into the fourth generation of the Todd family of St.
Helen's. Hugh and JoAnne, along with children Jenean and
Keith, are well-known for the quality of their Southdown and
Hampshire sheep. (Pat Livingston photo)