When he was 9 years old, Devon Donald started his own purebred Angus herd. Eleven years later, he has been presented with the Canadian Angus Foundation's Junior Stockman award.
Donald grew up on a 100-head cow/calf operation in southern Manitoba but decided he wanted to join the purebred Angus business. Diamond D Ranch started in 2006 with the purchase of three purebred Black Angus cows with heifer calves at foot. Today there are 75 cows, 70 of which are purebred. Diamond D cows have been exported to Kazakhstan for breeding. Donald has also sold 30 bulls to commercial cattlemen, many to repeat customers.
Donald attends shows and sales across Canada as well as industry meetings to talk to fellow producers about his business and to learn how to improve his herd. In addition to maintaining his purebred operation, Donald has a seasonal job working on a nearby grain and cattle farm.
Rodney Guilford, President & CEO of Xports International which purchased some of Donald's open heifers and exported them to Kazakhstan, says "In a very short period of time, Donald has been able to grow his cow herd both in terms of numbers and quality by seeking out top genetics and using all the tools available to him to find them. A couple of years ago, he purchased some bred cows from us. I sent him a listing of cows prior to him coming to look and when he came, he knew more about those cattle than I did!"
The Junior Angus Stockman of the Year Award is an initiative of the Canadian Angus Foundation. This award was introduced in 2014 to recognize those outstanding young cattlemen who are constantly growing their stockmanship capability by actively working with their Angus cattle. Donald received the award at the Canadian Junior Angus Showdown banquet in Lloydminster, SK. Showdown is an annual summer cattle show organized by Canadian Junior Angus. It rotates to provinces throughout the country every July. This year a record 158 participants and more than 200 head of cattle took part in the event in Lloydminster, SK.
Source : Canadian Angus Foundation