|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
| Thunderbrook Farms is a fifth generation farm owned and operated by Brian and Joan Trueman and their family. Located in Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada, our mixed farming operation includes blueberries, lumber and a British based cow herd, half of which are commercial females and half of which are purebred Herefords. Over a cup of coffee or around the dinner table, there are always discussions about cattle. Our life like most cattle people has four seasons including calving, breeding, showing and sale season. We have met lots of people in this business and many have become life long friends. So to say our lives revolve around cattle would be an understatement! Our passion is cattle and our goal is simple, to produce and develop cattle that can surpass the demands of today’s customer. And we wouldn't have it any other way! ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. |
||
From the Auction Block Brians perspective of our recent sale Wow April already! Spring seems to want to come early. AI breeding is in full swing and there is a lot to do around the farm as we enter into these welcomed warmer days. |
 |
|
||
 |
|
|||
I’ve been lucky over the last 15 year, I’ve had one of the best seats in the house at the annual Maritime Beef Testing Society Bull sale at Nappan, Nova Scotia. I’ve done the block work with auctioneers Andy Carter and Dow Foster and each spring we sell the top 75-80 bulls selected out of 150 that have been on test since November. Selling also are approximately 25 select open commercial heifers from a group of 45. I’ve seen the sale which has been in operation since the early 1960’s go through some tough years and some good ones. April 7, 2012 was the best one yet! 71 bulls sold averaging $2858 and 23 heifers averaged $1401. Yep, the turn in the beef industry has touched the Maritimes with records set in many breeds, mind you not the records being set elsewhere in the country but still much better. The sale order is set the year before with the highest averaging breed selling first. At Nappan, it is the Charolais breed that usually sells first, however this year the sale started with the Black Angus. All bulls once selected are sold no reserves, no floor prices and the buyers decide which breeds are hot and which are not. Averages were as follows.
~The High selling bull of the sale was a Simm. Bull consigned by Trevor Hiltz bringing in $6900. Congratulations to the Hiltz Family. It never ceases to amaze me that at auctions, surprises happen and I’ve seen some really top animals sell for less than they should and on the other end of the spectrum some bulls who just make the sale sell for a lot more. Perhaps what was most encouraging this year was some new young faces in the crowd buying bulls, it has been a long time and I hope this spark of enthusiasm will grow. Things are looking better and you can’t help but feel that we are going to be able to start to regain some of the equity that we burned trying to survive the post BSE era. It is what it is! I hear that a lot lately and at the end of the day we all deserve to feel good unless you had to refill your diesel tank today. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. |
||
| Sincere Thanks to our Bull Buyers! Leonard & Winston Allen of Oxford, N.S.for buying Thunderbrook Nine Inch Nails (pictured on our show cattle tab) Wayne Slauenwhite of Barss Corner, N.S. for buying our Hereford bull sold at the 2012 Maritime Bull Test Station Sale. You support of our program at Thunderbrook Farms is greatly appreciated & we look forward to working with you in the future! |
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. |
||
2012 PEI Easter Beef Show Results
Congratulations to Deigo McGarry on exhibiting this steer to Reserve Champion Charolais at this years Easter Beef Show. This steer was purchased from us last fall and was also the Champion Prospect Steer at the 2011 Maritime Fall Fair. The steer was purchased by PEI Bag Co. Ltd. and McKenna Bros. (1989) Ltd. for $4.50/lb. We would also like to congratulate Marvin Peters on exhibiting the Champion Hereford Steer at this years show. This steer was a Who Made Who son bred by Dale Black and sold and raised by Jay Hiltz, Scott Dixon, and Mark Trueman. |
|||
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. |
||
| Fergalicious! | ||
 |
|
|||
| "Fergie" Boardwalk X Thunderbrook Too Bad So Sad 2T (Purebred Hereford) |
||||
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. |
||
| We like our steers with a little bit of powdered sugar! | ||
 |
|
|||
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. |
||
| Color Is In | ||
 |
|
|||
| "Huggy Bear" Leading Prospect Steer at Thunderbrook Farms |
||||
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. |
||
| What’s New at Thunderbrook Farms (An update from the desk of Brian) We’ve learned that one of our biggest challenges is keeping our site current and up to date, we’ll work on that as a goal for 2012 but we’ll stop short of calling that a New Year’s resolution, as we all know what happens to them. Catching up from the fall: Our show season wrapped up with the Maritime Fall Fair in October. We were excited to exhibit Thunderbrook Nine Inch Nails 8W our La Grand Reload son to Hereford and Supreme Champion Male over all breeds for two years in a row. It was a great way to cap our show year where we were fortunate to receive Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor honors at all four shows we attended. In the Angus ring. Beth won the cow/calf class with Rosie 3R and her calf Thunderbrook Yellow Rose 1X. Mark’s three entries in the replacement heifer and prospect steer classes all won their classes. Check out all our show pictures under our Show Cattle link… November Six Thunderbrook heifer calves were purchased by International Genetics Ltd. to join a group of 650 which were exported to Kazakhstan in December. A smaller group went to Russia via Comtois International Exports in the spring. The world indeed seems to be getting smaller, as a small breeder 10 years ago I would only have dreamed about being able to participate in exporting our cattle abroad. January One of my favorite times of the year. We as I’m sure you all do look forward to our new calf crop and the results of our breeding decisions. Herefords, Simmentals, Angus, Clubby and our commercial Charolais calves are all eagerly awaited by our family looking for that really good one. Denver Joan and I were fortunate to be able to take another item off our Bucket List. Mark and Isabelle took over calving duties and we took a trip to Denver and the National Western Stock Show the show the Americans call the Grand Daddy of them all and rightfully so. From January 7-22 the events of the 106thtook place and we were happy to see some of them during our stay Jan.11-16. Thousands of head are exhibited at this show and unlike our Royal and Agribition it is impossible for them to be all there at once so they rotate in and out during the schedule they share with all the other livestock shown .Our first day there brought back great memories of 12 years ago when Mark and I attended the show while I was CHA president, the mountains in the back ground ,the stock yards, the Hill as it is called ,Steer Bull Alley and all the atmosphere I can only describe as exciting. First stop was the International Visitors office where you register, put your pin on the map of the world and receive your International Visitor Pin no admission and they really make you feel like they are glad to see you. Our next stop was to go down the hill to the yards which are bustling with cattle on display, these animals are all judged in pen shows groups of 3,5 and carloads of 10.Many of the animals on exhibit are sold in sales or by private treaty .I believe this may be the only show that shows a carload of ten yearling bulls or heifers together and they are like peas in a pod. To give an idea of numbers 800 head of Herefords shown 300 in the yards pen classes and another 500 in the open show on the hill, at least 22 beef breeds would exhibit in the show. |
||
 |
|
|||
| The yards are like stepping back in time to 1905 when they opened as a shipping railhead to move cattle east. Many of the old plank corrals still exist. The catwalk where you can walk and look down over a sea of cattle on both sides is a sight to see. There is a plan to relocate the NWSS in the next 5 years?? And without the history and atmosphere of the old yards it could never be the same. | ||||
 |
 |
|
||
| Steer Bull Alley: To those in the steer show circles the displays and unannounced appearances of the next big stars in the show steer breeding business were truly amazing. The glitz and banners and promotion of these animals was electric to the crowd waiting for a look at them in the flesh and man they had them looking good!! |
||||
 |
|
|||
| The open Show on the hill was impressive, our main aim was to take in the Herefords of course but we were also able to view some great Angus, Shorthorn, Maine and Simmentals during our short stay. With major Horse shows, the PBR Rodeo, Wild West Show, what seems like acres of displays selling everything Cinch to Carhartt there is truly something for everyone. Hopefully someday we’ll be back. | ||||
 |
||
 |
 |
|||||||||||
 |
|
 |
|
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||
 |
 |
|
||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
