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ADCA 2011 Great Event Recap:

"This years Great Event turned out to be a great success. With over 80 attendees enjoying engaging speakers such as Temple Grandin, Joseph Heckman and Tom Adams all had a grand opportunity to gain new tools in managing their farms and animals. That evening we were treated to a wonderful feast of Double Brook raised pork and vegetables followed by a screening of the movie "American Meat" which I'm sure will open many eyes to the benefits of a more locally based food system. The ADCA annual meeting was held the morning of the 9th. An open discussion was held on many issues and several votes passed as follows:

1. As of January 1, 2012 an additional protocol in handling embryo transfers will be enacted with the mandatory use of IETS forms (please see our registration page for these forms and a further explanation).
2. DNA processing will be streamlined through the Associated Registries office, more details to come.
3. A yearly Devon herd book will be printed.
4. Yearly breeder inventories will be collected.

The two seats previously held by Jacob Owens and Paul Colucci whose terms were up were filled by Paul Colucci and Jeremy Engh. Paul Colucci, Jacob Owens, Steve Rockcastle and Jeremy Engh were the nominees. It was determined that Mr. Rockcastle was not eligible to serve on the board according to our by-laws.

Jeremy Engh was voted in as president and Guile Yearwood was voted in as Vice President by the board of directors. Paul Colucci agreed to continue on as Treasurer.

It seemed there was a spark in the air and the new year looks to be exciting and productive. Planning the 2012 Great Event is one of the first tasks we have in front of us, if you have a desire to host the Great Event and a suitable location please send a detailed overview to our office at Box 51, 222 Main St Milo Iowa 50166 or by email to carrietaylor_tx@yahoo.com.

ADCA 2011 Great Event:

We hope you can make it out to Double Brook Farms in Hopewell, NJ for our 2011 Great Event. The morning of the September 9th you will be treated to some renowned speakers: Temple Grandin who will be speaking about the humane handling of livestock and then Tom Adams who will focus on choosing the right grass species for your needs. That night we will be having a wonderful dinner with a live band to boot. All of the farm raised meats and produce will be provided by Double Brook Farms. To wrap things up we’ll have our annual meeting. This year the board will elect a new ADCA president and the membership will need to elect several new board members. It promises to be a grand time and we hope to see you there. Please download the registration form on your right to make sure we save a spot for you. If you have any further questions please call either Paul Colucci at 845-629-1462 or Frank Heeren at 512-627-8114.        

Dr. Temple Grandin – Biography

Dr. Temple Grandin was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Temple’s achievements are remarkable because she was an autistic child. At age two she had no speech and all the signs of severe autism. Fortunately, her mother defied the advice of the doctors and kept her out of an institution. Many hours of speech therapy, and intensive teaching enabled Temple to learn speech. As a teenager, life was hard with constant teasing. Mentoring by her high school science teacher and her aunt on her ranch in Arizona motivated Temple to study and pursue a career as a scientist and livestock equipment designer.

Dr. Temple Grandin obtained her B.A. at Franklin Pierce College in 1970. In 1974 she was employed as Livestock Editor for the Arizona Farmer Ranchman and also worked for Corral Industries on equipment design. In 1975 she earned her M.S. in Animal Science at Arizona State University for her work on the behavior of cattle in different squeeze chutes. Dr. Grandin was awarded her Ph.D in Animal Science from the University of Illinois in 1989 and is currently a Professor at Colorado State University.

She has done extensive work on the design of handling facilities. Half the cattle in the U.S. and Canada are handled in equipment she has designed for meat plants. Other professional activities include developing animal welfare guidelines for the meat industry and consulting with McDonalds, Wendy’s International, Burger King, and other companies on animal welfare.

Following her Ph.D. research on the effect of environmental enrichment on the behavior of pigs, she has published several hundred industry publications, book chapters and technical papers on animal handling plus 45 refereed journal articles in addition to seven books. She currently is a professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University where she continues her research while teaching courses on livestock handling and facility design. Her book, Animals in Translation was a New York Times best seller and her book Livestock Handling an Transport, now has a third edition which was published in 2007. Other popular books authored by Dr. Grandin are Thinking in Pictures, Emergence Labeled Autistic, Animals Make us Human, Improving Animal Welfare: A Practical Approach, and The Way I See It.

Dr. Grandin has received numerous awards including the Meritorious Achievement Award from the Livestock Conservation Institute, named a Distinguished Alumni at Franklin Pierce College and received an honorary doctorate from McGill University, University of Illinois, and Duke University. She has also won prestigious industry awards including the Richard L. Knowlton Award from Meat Marketing and Technology Magazine and the Industry Advancement Award from the American Meat Institute and the Beef Top 40 industry leaders and the Lifetime Achievement Award from The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Her work has also been recognized by humane groups and she received several awards. HBO has recently premiered a movie about Temple’s early life and career with the livestock industry. The movie received seven Emmy awards, a Golden Globe, and a Peabody Award. In 2011, Temple was inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame.

Joseph Heckman, P.h.D.

Joseph Heckman, Ph.D. is a Professor of Soil Science, Rutgers University, where he teaches courses in Soil Fertility, Organic Crop Production, and Agroecology. He conducts research and extension programs on optimizing nutrition and soil quality in support of plant, animal, and human health. Dr. Heckman has served as Associate Editor of the Journal of American Society of Horticulture Science, Chair of the Council on History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Soil Science, and Chair of the Committee on Organic and Sustainable Agriculture. Dr. Heckman is President of the Northeast Branch of the Crops, Soils, and Agronomy Tri-Societies. In addition to guest lectures on Soil Fertility, Dr. Heckman is frequently invited to speak on History of Organic Farming, and Raw Milk with Informed Consumer Choice.