The Rural Voice, 1999-05, Page 31Master class
It takes years of dedication to excellence in breeding cattle to win a
Master Breeder shield. Two of the latest recipients, from Huron County
share their strategies in building long-term herd success
Story and photos by Keith 1:vulston
VILLVERN FARM
Jts the highest award a Holstein
breeder can attain, a reward for
years of dedication to excellence
and building a herd. It's the Master
Breeder shield and only a handful of
breeders from across Canada achieve
it each year.
For two Huron County Master
Breeders who picked up their awards
at the Holstein Canada annual
convention in Halifax in late April,
it's the culmination of years of
breeding strategies that built
outstanding herds. In the case of
Clinton's Paul Gibbings, he began to
dream about achieving Master
Breeder status when he was still in 4-
H, and working for two breeders who
had won the award. For Ethel's Lyle
Martin, it's an added reward for daily
The Master Breeder Award was a family affair for the Martin family of Ethel.
Daughter Wanda, Lyle and Barbara, son Grant and his wife Pam all help out on
the farm. Ellen and Paul Gibbings (at left) have seen their bloodlines make their
way around the world.
breeding decisions over the long
term.
"Whcn you start out you never
think you'll make it," says Barbara
Martin. "It takes a long time to get
the points to win. Only until in the
last few years did we begin to realize
it could happen."
Gibbings says the idea of winning
the award has been in the back of his
mind ever since he was a kid but it
was only three years ago he began to
realize he might be edging closer. He
paid Holstein Canada to do a search
of records and found out he was
closer than he thought to the coveted
award. Aftcr that he began to look
closely at the cows in his herd to sec
which might earn "very good" or
"excellent" status and contribute to
his point total. Still, he says, he was
surprised to qualify this year.
To become a Master Breeder, a
Holstein breeder amasses points for
"very good" (up to 12 points,
depending on the cow's production)
and "excellent" cows (up to 18
points) that have been bred in his
herd. Cows that go on to have top
offspring earn points as Star Brood
cows. Those cows may be in his own
herd or in another Canadian herd.
The morc cows you have registered,
the higher the goal of points you
need to qualify. It takes years of
excellence to gain enough points to
qualify. A breeder can use his best 20
years of accumulated points but the
Gibbings only needed 15 years and
the Martins, 18.
Unlike show cattle, production
counts as well as type with cattle
qualifying for Master Breeder's
points. The Gibbings herd has had
the highest production in Huron
County in the past three years and the
Martins have taken first or second
place several times.
Paul and Ellen Gibbings have a
milking herd of 40 cows, with the
MAY 1999 27