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Liliane Kot devoted her life to her family, her faith and her great passion for the bison industry. She was a dedicated wife, mother and grandmother. In memory of her wonderful life, husband Bernie Kot and her children and grandchildren have developed the Liliane Kot Memorial Scholarship in remembrance of their beloved Liliane.
 
Each year a scholarship of $500 will be awarded to a selected individual. In addition, each year a perpetual award is presented to the recipient who is able to keep the award for a year. An engraved gift is also given to the recipient.
 
Note: For 2016 only there will be two scholarships awarded as a result of an anonymous donation in honour of Liliane Kot and in recognition of the significance of the scholarship provided by the Kot family.
 
Scholarship Criteria:

• Applicants or their families must be active members of the Canadian Bison Association and their respective Regional Association
• Applicants must be actively involved in some sector of the bison industry
• Applicants must be attending or be accepted into post-secondary education or training. This may include but is not limited to college, university, or a trade programs. Applicants must provide supporting documentation. 

Once an applicant has determined that they meet the scholarship criteria they should download the application or contact the CBA office and they can email the application to you.  Forward completed applications to the Canadian Bison Association office by October 28, 2016.  The recipient of the scholarship will be chosen by a selection committee.
 
Areas Given The Highest Priority in The Selection Process:

• Involvement in the Canadian Bison Association/Bison Industry
• Attendance and/or involvement in a church or church ministry
• Involvement and commitment to community & volunteering
• Involvement and dedication to school
• Involvement in sports
• Employment experience
• Career goals 

The 2015 recipient of the Liliane Kot Memorial Scholarship was Jessica Boos.

2016 Scholarship Application HERE

Online auctions have the ability to market animals to the North American market in a secure and real-time platform.  The Canadian Bison industry has started to see the use of video sales and online marketing increase.

Today, September 30, 2016, a set of 52 Bison yearlings belonging to Tyler Blanchette of Vawn, SK, were sold on the TEAM online auction.  The Electronic Auction Market (TEAM) is an online marketplace owned and operated by the Calgary Stockyards.

The bulls and heifers weighed between 520 and 935 pounds, averaging 720 pounds.  The lot sold for $4.55/lb live weight Canadian.  This online sale marks a successful rebound in live bison market prices, and support for online marketing of bison.

To learn more about the bison industry and its potential, please join us at our National Convention, Show and Sale in Regina November 20th – 22nd. For more information on our Convention please go to http://canadianbison.ca/producer/index.htm 

Upcoming online Bison auctions include the Canadian National Show & Sale and the Canadian Bison Bull Draft.

The Canadian National Show and Sale, to be held in Regina SK, November 22, 2016, will be available online for a second year.  As a new feature, the National Sale will be a video sale, allowing animal lots to be viewed online prior to the sale.

The CBA and Show & Sale Committee, and DLMS are excited to be offering the video sale this year. 
 
The Canadian Bison Bull Draft Sale will be available online, through Kramer Auctions Ltd. March, 3, 2017.

Group Meets In Banff National Park To Talk About Return Of Bison To The Land
BANFF, Alta. – Members of the American Bison Society are meeting in Banff, Alta., to look at ways to properly conserve and integrate the big mammal back into the North American wilds.

The federal government says it will spend $6.4 million over five years on the project under the banner of Canada’s National Conservation Plan.

The first herd is expected to be reintroduced to Banff National Park next year.

A keystone species that has been absent from the park since its establishment, plains bison once played a key role in the park’s montane ecosystem. Read More HERE
 

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Bison Market and Supply Update for September is Now Available

English Version HERE
French Version HERE
Past Reports HERE

Wood Bison To Be Removed From CITES
Over the past number of years the Canadian Bison Association has worked to have Wood Bison removed from the listing in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). At a meeting that is currently taking
place in Johannesburg South Africa, a proposal has been adopted and unanimously supported to remove Wood Bison from CITES. This decision is
expected to be adopted on October 5, 2016.
 
The removal of Wood Bison from CITES will initiate a regulatory process in Canada. More information will be provided as it becomes available. To access the detailed submission go HERE

Pipe Ceremony At Lake Minnewanka Welcomes Bison 'Back To Their Homeland'
BANFF NATIONAL PARK — As the sun peeked over the Rockies, officials and First Nations gathered for a pipe ceremony to welcome bison back to Banff National Park and start off a day of historic celebrations.

Early Thursday, the signatories of the historic Northern Tribes Buffalo Treaty hosted the ceremony along Lake Minnewanka.

“We’re not really blessing this place,” explained Wilton Good Striker, an elder with the Blood reserve or Kainai First Nation in southern Alberta. “We’re asking for blessings from this place — this is a sacred place.

“We’re bringing the bison back to their homeland.” Read More HERE

Bison Report Card Shows Gains In Conservation Efforts
Bison conservation across North American is steadily moving in the right direction, according to a 10-year report card released Tuesday by the American Bison Society in Banff, Alta.

For the first time, the ABS is holding its annual conference in Canada — bringing together more than 150 bison scientists, producers, advocates, philanthropists and artists.

"We've moved farther and faster than I would have imagined," said Keith Aune, director of bison conservation with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Read More HERE

Telling the Story - The Long Trail Back
The Wildlife Conservation Society supported production of the film to celebrate the recent designation of the American bison as the United States national mammal. Read More HERE   Watch Video HERE

Kazakhstan Visitors Learn About Bison
WorldMontana recently hosted a group of four International Visitor Leadership Program delegates from Kazakhstan who had come to experience Montana, and get some ideas as to how to improve the Kazakhstani beef industry.

They met with state livestock and agriculture officials, visited the Helena Farmers Market and visited the Wild Echo Bison Ranch in the Big Belt Mountains outside Townsend. Read More HERE

Extending the Grazing Season — Options for Adding Days on Grass
Having enough forage on hand for the fall grazing or winter feeding season is sort of like the best time to plant a tree — it should have been planned for a long time ago.

I caught up with Ontario’s new forage and grazier specialist, Thomas Ferguson, at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show to talk grazing crop residues (go talk to your neighbours!), written-off crops, and what you can plant late in the season to capture a few weeks of sun in the spring to give those grazed and dry stressed pastures a longer rest. Watch Video HERE

Conserving Bison in Indiana. Yes, Indiana.
Since 1996, the Conservancy and partners have been working to restore a significant slice of prairie at Kankakee Sands. Nearly 6,500 acres have been planted with 600 native plants. Like its own “field of dreams,” once those plants were in the soil, the native wildlife followed.

But planting prairie plants is just one part of restoration. This habitat evolved with grazers and fire. Conservancy stewards manage some of the preserve with patch-burn grazing, where cows follow burned areas, mimicking natural prairie processes.

Now bison will be added to the management plan.

A land manager, of course, cannot just order some bison and set them free. Read More HERE

Central Illinois Farmer Raises Bison
NEWMAN, Ill. — David Ruhter’s Prairie Rim Ranch business cards include a tidbit of information beyond phone number and address that is thought-provoking: “Bison — Feeding America for over 10,000 years.”

These big, beautiful beasts that served as a primary food staple for Native Americans for thousands of years were driven to near extinction in the 1800s from commercial hunting, slaughter and the introduction of bovine diseases from domestic cattle. Populations shrank from about 40 million in 1830 to just 300 in 1900.

Fortunately, individual ranchers and the federal government were able to protect all that was left of the bison population, and the herd on private and public lands now stands at more than 400,000.

Ruhter and his wife, Kathleen, operate one of 2,564 bison farms and ranches across the nation. They recently opened up their 68-acre 33-head ranch for a tour as part of the National Bison Association Advantage workshop. Read More HERE

At The Minnesota Zoo, Growing A Bison Herd Little By Little
After traveling more than 1,000 miles, five frozen bison embryos arrived in Minnesota by airplane last week.

They started out in Yellowstone National Park, made their way to Colorado State University in Fort Collins and finally the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley. Hours after arriving, they were implanted in the zoo’s four bison cows.

If all goes according to plan, there will be bison calves at the zoo next spring.
“If this project is successful and a Yellowstone bull calf is born at the [zoo], he will be widely used in the future within the Minnesota Bison Conservation Herd to spread his valuable genetic material,” said Tony Fisher, director of animal collections, in an e-mail. Read More HERE

Streeee-tch Those Hay Supplies
Do you know which crop’s straw is the most palatable? If you don’t have a TMR, how do you get livestock to eat more straw to stretch those hay supplies? Did you know straw quality can change significantly from year to year? What are the more creative options for feeding livestock? Watch Video HERE

The Winners Have Been Announced…

The winners of the 2015 CBA Annual Photo Contest have been chosen. Thank you to all the producers who submitted photos. You make our job hard each year trying to pick just 3 winners in each category. To see the winning photos go HERE. 

Travelling? Looking for a Place to Stay?
1st International Symposium on Bison Health Presentations
Dr. Woodbury, one of the organizers has made it possible for us to post most of the conference presentations on the CBA Website. Go HERE
 

Branding No Longer Required for Shipping Bison Between Canada And The US

  

Advance Payments Program improved under the Agricultural Growth Act

Effective April 1, 2016 the Manitoba Livestock Cash Advance Program has been expanded to offer advances on a select number of crops in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, which allows producers to obtain cash advances for more than one commodity. This improves service to producers.  http://manitobalivestock.com/
 
More details can be obtained on the following links including other including other organizations that may have expanded the commodities for which they offer Cash Advances. (ENGLISH: http://bit.ly/XqeLPZ or FRENCH: http://bit.ly/1oKxhPK)

Advance Payment Program Now Available To Producers Who Market Their Products To The Retail Market
The Advance Payments Program (APP) is a federal loan guarantee program that helps livestock producers meet their financial obligations and benefit from the best market conditions by improving their cash flow throughout the production period. The Manitoba Livestock Cash Advance issues producers a cash advance on the anticipated value of their livestock that is being produced. Producers can receive a cash advance on up to 50% of the expected average market price of the livestock.
 
The Canadian Bison Association worked with producers and the Manitoba Livestock Cash Advance managers to make the Cash Advance Program available to producers who market their bison to the retail market from their farm. Producers who have their animals slaughtered will have 30 calendar days from the date on the slaughterhouse receipt to repay their advance. The number of bison slaughtered must be included on the slaughterhouse receipt.  For additional information and application forms go to http://manitobalivestock.com/ or call 1-866-869-4008 
 
Le Programme de paiement anticipé est maintenant offert aux producteurs qui commercialisent leurs produits sur le marché de détail 
Le Programme de paiement anticipé (PPA) est un programme fédéral de garantie d’emprunt qui aide les producteurs de bétail à respecter leurs obligations financières et à bénéficier des meilleures conditions du marché en améliorant leurs liquidités tout au long de la période de production. Le programme Manitoba Livestock Cash Advance fournit une avance en espèces sur la valeur prévue du bétail qu’ils produisent. Les producteurs peuvent recevoir une avance en espèces pouvant atteindre 50 % du prix moyen prévu du marché du bétail.
 
L’Association canadienne du bison collabore avec les producteurs et les gestionnaires du Manitoba Livestock Cash Advance afin de mettre le PPA à la disposition des producteurs qui commercialisent leur bison sur le marché de détail à partir de leur ferme. Les producteurs dont les animaux sont abattus disposent d’un délai de 30 jours civils pour rembourser leur avance, et ce, à compter de la date indiquée sur le récépissé délivré par l’abattoir. Le nombre de bisons abattus doit figurer sur le récépissé remis par l’abattoir. Pour de plus amples renseignements et pour obtenir les formulaires de demande, visitez http://manitobalivestock.com/ ou téléphonez au 1-866-869-4008.

Through the Lens of the Producer
Over the past years the CBA has asked its members to send in pictures of their bison in the four seasons. HERE then are the Seasons of the Bison-through the lens of the Producer.

Malignant Catarrhal Fever
The SBA along with the sheep industry have created a video that will support education and awareness of Malignant Catarrhal Fever (MCF). To View the Video Go HERE

Do You Want Big Travel Insurance Savings
The CBA has partnered with ATI Insurance Inc. to provide members with another benefit -- Comprehensive Travel Insurance at a discounted price.  Please go HERE and make this insurance program part of your annual travel plans. Service is offered in English and French. Mycoplasma in Farmed Bison Survey 2014 - 2015
The Mycoplasma in Farmed Bison Survey intends to supply the bison industry with much needed knowledge, so that evidence-based decisions can be made to protect herds and control the spread of this emerging disease.

The Survey is a collaborative effort of the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Alberta Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Canadian Bison Association, veterinarians, and bison producers. It will be launched in May 2014 and is designed to provide valuable information.

For more information go HERE (scroll down to News & Events)