by Kyla Nesheim, editor/director of communications

Support

     What is support? It means different things to different minds. An array of definitions exist for this word. Support comes from all aspects of life—it’s everywhere! Where would we be without support? Support makes us thrive, makes us want to succeed and it builds our self-esteem. The word is bigger than we think. We need and use support every day. The American Maine-Anjou Association (AMAA) has been a long standing pillar of support to the Maine-Anjou breed.           Without an association, the Maine-Anjou breed would not be as prestigious as it is today and the demand for Maine genetics would be minimal. There would be no way of getting performance data, genetics, EPD information and production information out in the public’s eye or the cattlemen’s eye. The AMAA supports and will continue to support everyone involved in the Maine-Anjou breed, including the breeders, promoters, commercial producers, showers, buyers,
sellers and state associations.

     Here are just a few definitions of SUPPORT and ways the AMAA supports you, the Maine-Anjou enthusiasts.

Definition 1: To bear the weight of, especially from below.
Think of the AMAA as the foundation bearing the weight of all the Maine-Anjou promoters and enthusiasts. The AMAA bears a considerable amount of weight when it comes to making things run smoothly and getting things done. It’s the foundation for our strong and growing breed.

Definition 2: To keep from weakening or failing; strengthen.
The AMAA is working constantly to strengthen the breed. Maine-Anjou cattle are thriving and the AMAA wants to continue this trend by strengthening your Maine-Anjou program. The more registrations you have, the more pedigreed animals you have, the stronger your program and the AMAA becomes.

Definition 3: To furnish corroborating evidence for.
Every year in the May/June (Herd Reference Edition) of the Voice, the AMAA includes evidence demonstrating the quality of Maine-Anjou animals and breeders. In order to show this evidence for the Maine-Anjou breed, the AMAA must stress the importance of registration and pedigreed animals. Annual statistics are included to show registrations and transfers of bulls and females and highlight the top five programs and states in each category. Also included are: registration information, trait leaders, Cornerstone Dams; show females, bulls, and sires of the year; All- American females and bulls; and breeder and exhibitor of the year awards for the Maine-Anjou breed. These awards show the quality of the Maine-Anjou breed and the quality people involved. This is a major way of getting good evidence out for the Maine-Anjou breed. The cattle prove themselves when it comes to performance in the show ring, feedlot and pasture.

     Now, the AMAA is asking for your support. Like the old saying, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” the AMAA supports you and you support the AMAA by getting involved and registering your animals. Let’s make this association bigger than ever. Who says we can’t be as big as other breed associations? With your help we can be. Register, register, register—the AMAA can’t stress this enough. It is so important to get your animals registered. The more pedigreed animals we have, the bigger this association becomes—allowing you to receive more support. These pedigreed animals show the strength of the Maine-Anjou program. Recorded perfomance data and EPDs can then be compared to other animals and other breeds. A major benefit of having an association is to showcase our breed. Let us advertise that Maine-Anjou cattle excel in performance, feed efficiency, disposition and superb carcass traits.

     Let’s not forget how important an association is for any breed. A breed association is the backbone for the breed. The AMAA is the backbone holding together the traditions and structure used by Maine- Anjou breeders every day. Without an association and structure, a breed would quickly fall apart. Support the AMAA by registering your calf crop and all of your Maine-Anjou animals, make transfers when ownership is transferred and advertise with the Voice to get your name out. We can’t forget those who stand behind the AMAA 100 percent, putting forth countless hours toward the breed—the ones who give their all for the Maine-Anjou breed. You are the individuals that make the AMAA strong . Get involved with your state association. The state associations, breeders and promoters of Maine-Anjou cattle should be pushing each other to make their state association a strong influence in the Maine-Anjou program.

     The AMAA would like to thank all of you who have supported the breed and have given extra effort to push the breed into new bigger and better horizons! Again, the AMAA encourages you to stay involved with a growing and popular breed of cattle. Please continue to register your animals. Maine based females are some of the best walking in the pastures, the steers are some of the best on the rail and the bulls have proven themselves as leaders in the beef industry. Clearly, our breed has the genetic advantage in the seedstock and beef industries.

     Join Team Maine-Anjou to get those cattle registered and on the fast track to quality Maine-Anjou genetics!