The latest CGS Board meeting was held on the evening of Friday, May 21st.
Participating were:
President Sandy Howell; Callum McLeod; Ed Cavanagh; Susan Frazer; Annie Steeles and Russell Gammon Secretary-Manager.
Regrets: Catherine Lord; Karen Cavanagh.
In terms of finances the Board received a report that, at meeting time we had $10,000 in investments ( as of the week of May 17th); just over $8,000 in our savings account and $6700 in our chequing account. This would place CGS financial assets at over $24,700 at the time of the meeting.
The association will be following up on a small number of accounts receivable.
NEW BUSINESS
CGS has been invited to partake in a summer webinar series hosted by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the University of Guelph’s Center for the Genetic Improvement of Livestock (CGIL).
CGS has agreed to be part of this series with a presentation. We have been asked to address the topic of conformation evaluation.
In addition our working group of Adam Scanlan, Ed Cavanagh and Callum McLeod have begun work on a video or videos on judging and the related evaluation of conformation and a refresher course for CGS licensed judges. The presentation will be available to everyone.
The Board will be again canvassed for input on what day of the week and time of day work best for the majority to maximize participation in meetings.
A brief presentation was made on plans to bid to host the 2026 International Goat Conference in Alberta.
CGS will investigate the use of the G prefix for registration numbers for Lamancha goats upon receipt of examples where use is questioned based on generations of recorded ancestors.
Director elections are coming up in Alberta, Ontario ( 2 positions) and the Maritimes. Deadline for nominations is June 30. A nomination form will be available in the INFO AND LINKS section of the CGS website at www.goats.ca.
The Board was updated on progress of an initiative with Heritage Livestock Canada (HLC). The project involves testing 50 head per breed to arrive at a measure of genetic diversity in that breed. HLC is seeking coordinators for each breed to coordinate collection of samples and forward them to the designated lab for testing.
Board members Sandy Howell and Callum McLeod have offered their services as a breed coordinator.
The CGS Board has decided that the CGS Facebook page will be used in the same manner as the CGS website in a message board function. Comments may be directed to Board members or the office by email or phone calls or letters.
CGS will be releasing an announcement regarding the results of DNA testing on three animals and subsequent revisions to two pedigrees to the membership.
Further discussions will be held on possible random DNA testing within the Canadian population or DNA testing of males being registered.
The Board received a report of the latest meeting of a steering committee regarding integrated databases for genetic, pedigree and performance information for small ruminates. The meeting had been held earlier in the day on May 21st. The steering committee has also created a game plan for next steps.
Board members have supplied copies/samples of their recent breeding records to the office.
The Association will now work on randomized selection a member in each
Director region for a request for a copy of their breeding records as outlined in CGS by-laws.
CGS will be consulting with CLRC for a quote on adding a breeding date or exposure date range to the registration application process.
CGS has consulted with the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair on prospects for the East National Show and The Royal itself. The RAWF has indicated they will have a better handle on their plans for 2021 by early July.
A motion was passed that funds in the Candice Cavanagh Memorial Scholarship Fund for youth be forwarded to the Cavanagh family for management of the program. This will provide an extra level of protection for the funds.
CGS will continue working with the Animal Registration Officer on proposed by-law amendments that were submitted during the winter. A working group of members invested considerable amounts of time formulating draft amendments that were also reviewed in depth by the Board.
The Board’s next scheduled meeting will be held in early July 2021.