John and I attended the Fleck Forum sale in Guelph on Saturday night. The turn out was good and the sale was over quickly.

Attendees hung out in the back alley, where animals were on display prior to the sale.

Rae and Doris Imire along with John and Linda Sullivan dropped by PHS for short visit -- and we all had such a good time that it turned into a long visit with them. They enjoyed their time here and we hope they will visit again in the future.

Doris, Rae, Linda, John and John standing in the main cattle yard at the home farm.

John and I visited our animals on test at Bar 5. Both the bulls and the heifer look like they are doing great. Have a look next time you’re at Bar 5.

Owen, Lisa and I travelled to Toronto to spend the day at the Royal Winter Fair. We enjoyed watching the Simmental show, visiting with friends, and checking out all the displays. PHS had a heifer calf shown by Sam Buschbeck on Monday in the 4H show.

John and I travelled to Regina, a special thanks to mother nature and Air Canada for getting us there 8 hours late. On Friday we stopped at Double Bar D for a quick tour and coffee before heading off to Virden to Archie Laundry, Craig Gibb and Neil Moffat’s dispersal sales. It was a day that was special for so many different reasons. I always enjoy talking with Archie. I only wish I could be as quick as he is. We continued on Saturday to Bonchuk Farms, in Solsgirth, Manitoba, for a day long tour. A special thanks to the entire family for taking care of us for the day. I have never ate so much in my life. On Sunday we continued on to Kopp Simmentals in Amaranth, Manitoba. Edmund and his family showed us great Manitoba hospitality as well as great animals. Touring both farms I reflected how both operations ran and I will instill some of their ideas here at PHS. Thanks to all our hosts.

John, Wayne, Dave and Amy talking about the future of the breed and farming.

One of my favourite cows, out in the field.

The FSFF annual sale was held this year at Bar 5 in conjunction with Bar 5's Extravaganza III Sale. On Saturday night a social dinner was followed up by a bull pen discussion of the future of the breed. A few people stayed even later to close down the bar with a few good jokes. There was a great turn out at the sale, with many different breeders purchasing animals.

Don Oberg and Lisa (with Owen staying warm under Lisa's coat) check out the animals before the sale.

John Cartwright joins PHS as our new farm manager. Welcome John, Margo and Emily to the PHS family.

The Gagnon’s have done it again. Another great sale with great numbers in the bleachers and on the block. Yves and his family educated everyone the night before to fondue, followed up by a night of billards and good times. A joint purchase was made by PHS and Boss Cattle Company (John and Margo Cartwrigh) of Granton, Ontario.

The bidding begins on this cow/calf pair at the Ferme Gagnon & Guests 12th Production Sale.

Kent and Glenna Dollar’s sale "The Quest" happened on a hot Saturday afternoon in Arkansas. Everything went off perfectly. I traveled down the day before and was to be joined by Andreas from Bar 5. He met me 7 hours later.... ask him about crossing the border. I enjoyed meeting friends from the past, as well as getting to know many new people. Thanks to the Dollar family for their great hospitality.

Kent Dollar starts off the bidding at his sale in Arkansas.

This fall the Autumn Classic was home to some mini-production sales as well as some dispersal sales. There was a great turn-out as the weather was wonderful and that there were great animals to be purchased. PHS purchased some calves from A-Bar-A as well as Rolling Acres Farm. One of the most interesting things was watching the Matt Buschbeck and his assistant organize and help load all the cattle at the end of the sale. Fast and thorough. Good job boys.

A great day for a sale.

I travelled to Rolling Acres to meet with John Cartwright. We toured his herd in preparation for their upcoming dispersal sale on September 16th at Watcha Farms, north of Mount Forest. Watch Transcon's website for the catalogue or call the Cartwrights.

Content cattle.

The animals look great and ready for the sale.

Life has sure changed with the arrival of little Owen. We've adjusted to fit his "demands" and are settling into our new titles of Mom and Dad. Calving has long finished, first and second cut hay is in the barn, and the straw is put away. Everything is getting done, just not as fast!! This summer has been the driest I can remember, with only 3 tenths of an inch from June 1st to August 6th. We even started feeding hay, a first ever for us in the summer. Luckily, the skies opened on August 7th, and we got almost an inch and a half. . . it figures, we were fencing that day!!

Welcome Owen Joseph Schuller!!!

I travelled with Andreas Buschbeck, of Bar 5, to Double Bar D in Grenfell, Saskatchewan for their annual Best of Both Worlds Sale. We were hosted by Richard Dimler and family for the day. There were people in attendence from all across Canada. The FF Simmental bulls sold better than the Reds and Blacks. The heifers also sold strong. PHS purchased lot 110, Double Bar D Cassie 42S, a homozagous polled heifer sired by Emil. A special thank-you to the Dimler family.

Double Bar D Cassie 42S - Homozygous Polled Full Fleckvieh heifer.

PHS is happy to report that 3 of our yearlings will be sold at the Bar 5 Spring sale. Two of our bulls (AP 5S and AP 6S) and one heifer (AP 14S) have been selected after the end of their BIO test. Watch for more information and the link to the catalogue when it becomes available.

Bar 5 Polled SA Ms Sinful has finally come home to PHS. It has been a successful few months at Alta Embryo, but it is nice to have her home. She is pregnant and we are looking forward to a calf in October.

Bar 5 hosts the end of BIO test open house. The bulls and heifers were on display. Brian Pogue from BIO gave a presentation on bull selection, and Andreas Buschbeck talked about choosing the right bull for your program. Thanks to the Nolan's for their hospitality.

The snow was finally melting at Bar 5. The sun was out, but it was still cold.

John Cartwright with Karl and Ben Wright, were among the many visitors viewing the animals.

After a weekend with no hydro for almost 48 hours we were blasted by record cold temperatures, wind and snow. A perfect time to put our new snowblower to the test. Boys and their toys.

Much better than the old blower.

This is almost fun.

I started out for Houston Monday morning, only to be delayed by cancelled flights and poor Canadian winter weather. Greg Nolan and I finally arrived in Houston on Tuesday afternoon only 1 hour before the sale!! What a day and what a night!! The sale went great with our Sinful embryos being sold to Bar 5. Andy Oslanski and Jason MacLean both Canadian breeders made it to Houston as well, so we had a nice delegation of Canucks represented. This was my first trip to the Houston Livestock Show and it won't be my last. The people were great, and the entertainment was second to none. I've heard many people go on and on about it before, but they didn't do it justice. From the hospitality in the International Room, to the friendly people around the show grounds, or the easy going attitude of all the breeders that I met, I had a wonderful time. To all the friends I made, I look forward to seeing you next year.

Action at the auction!!

Greg (from Bar 5) and Miles (from Semex) having a number "1" time in Houston.

A few more cows have calved. We only have 16 to go. All so far have been UA and up quickly. If only we had some warmer weather. Next thing you know they will be out to grass.

I visited Bar 5 today to see our bulls and heifers that are on test. I reviewed them with Greg and also had a visit with Ron and Richard Woodisee.

Bar P FF Belle 1402S our Homozygous Polled Heifer on test.

Polled Samson is one of our bulls on test, who is a candidate for the Bar 5 April bull sale.

Today John, Margo and Emily Cartwright from Rolling Acres stopped in for a farm tour. The weather was freeezing (-18 celcius without the windchill!!). We somehow spent a few hours outside looking at the 2007 calves sired by Pfalzer, Kaptain, Hamlet, Three Sixes, and Krugerand. John was impressed by the calves we have had so far. We all warmed up to a great lunch, thanks to Lisa.

With January comes calving season. The calving barn is full and the ladies out back are waiting their turn. As of today, we've had 4 calves, from 3 cows.

These 2 full South African bred heifers are awaiting their first calves.