SG USA July 2023

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT By HC Neel (361) 592-9357 | hcneel@santagertrudis.com

It’s Heating Up

I t’s getting very hot in Kingsville, Texas, as I’m sure it is at your place too. But in the beef cattle industry, Santa Gertrudis genetics are getting even hotter. I want to take some time to talk about the narrative we push, though. We, like all the other Bos indicus breeds, have some distinct advantages in terms of heat tolerance. This is the time of year that Bos taurus breeds wish they were us, just so their cattle could make it through these hot summer months a bit better. The prob lem is, we seem primarily to only push heat tolerance. Personally, I don’t think Santa Gertrudis are just heat tolerant, I think we are ADAPTABLE. It’s already being proven that Santa Gertrudis cattle and their crosses can not only survive in a variety of different environments, but they can THRIVE in almost any environment. Just ask Matt Garcia, Ph.D., about how cold it gets in Utah and how well the Santa Gertru dis-cross cattle are performing there. In addition, our cattle thrive in high eleva tions, desert country, tropical humidity and lush green pastures. Santa Gertrudis can perform at a high level just about anywhere. We are working on chang ing the narrative on this end. However, I’d challenge all of you to look at this through the perspective of widespread adaptability as opposed to strictly south ern heat tolerance. If you’ve got this magazine in your hands, it also means we’ve just recently wrapped up the National Junior Santa Gertrudis Show in Gonzales, Texas. Santa Gertrudis Breeders International (SGBI) has one of the premier youth programs in the country. In addition, we’re also one of the fastest growing

with how many new junior members we see every year. To me, this shows the belief that breeders, parents, advisors and students have in the Santa Ger trudis youth program. You all should be proud of how much admiration our youth get from across the industry and how well the student participants exemplify leadership, collaboration and respect. Also, don’t forget about international opportunities! For example, the Santa Gertrudis World Congress 2023 will be held Nov. 26-Dec. 11 in Brazil. Our Santa Gertrudis friends in Brazil are working tirelessly to put on a great event. In my opinion, we need to make sure to support them just as they supported us when the World Congress was last held in the United States. If you’re interested in learning more about the World Con gress in Brazil or want to register for the event, please visit santagertrudis2023.com or give us a call at the SGBI office. I also recently had a meeting with our

collaboration of Santa Gertrudis across the world. We plan not only to work together more to promote the breed on a global scale, but also work to increase collaboration across all countries for the betterment of the Santa Gertrudis breed. I’d also like to get back to giving you a glimpse into my schedule. Again, I love meeting all of you and I’m happy to get the chance in July to meet breeders in different parts of the country! By the time you’re reading this, I’ll probably be in Canada at the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Research Symposium and Convention. BIF is a tremendously valuable asset to the beef cattle industry, specifically as it relates to purebred cattle. In addition, you can catch me at the Kentucky National Sale in Bowling Green, Ky. As always, it’s about BREED improve ment, not only herd improvement.

friends from Australia’s Santa Gertrudis Breed ers’ Association. Chris Todd, general manager, and Michael Doering, president, were fantas tic to speak with and they have some incred ible ideas. Primarily, we discussed getting the exchange program between Australia and the United States going again and ways to achieve this. Also, we all see the value in

It’s already being proven that Santa Gertrudis cattle and their crosses can not only survive in a variety of different environments, but they can THRIVE in almost any environment.

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SANTA GERTRUDIS USA