MAKING HER WORDS BY PIPER WHELAN MARK Indiana cattlewoman Emily Griffiths heads to Toronto for a muchanticipated judging milestone. Whether she s in the show ring or the boardroom, Emily Griffiths is making her mark in the American beef industry. Not only is the Kendallville, Indiana, cattlewoman a rising star on her home state s agriculture scene, she is becoming a respected livestock judge, and not just in the United States. One of the first major shows she judged was, in fact, north of the 49th Parallel the Gelbvieh show at the 2007 FarmFair International in Edmonton, Alberta. Since then, she s held the mike at a number of regional shows in the U.S., and her highlights include the Georgia State Fair and the North American Livestock Exhibition at Louisville, Kentucky. This November, Griffiths will return to Canada to judge conformation at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair s National Junior Beef Heifer Show in Toronto." Griffiths was raised on her family s Limousin and Gelbvieh operation, 3G Ranch, and is a fifth-generation cattlewoman on her dad s side of the family. Cattle is something that s been in our family for a long time, she states proudly. Her father grew up on a polled Hereford operation that introduced Limousin bulls to their breeding program in the 1970s. Along with using Limousin genetics in his own program, he also brought in Gelbvieh cattle for another option with Continental maternal qualities, which is attractive to their British-based customers. We re fortunate to be able to build the program and have a pretty good customer base of purebred cattlemen as well as commercial cattlemen, 064 Top Stock Magazine / Winter 2015
FAVORITE SHOW JUDGED So far that would have to be the Red Angus show at the North American in Louisville. For me, growing up and exhibiting at the North American since 1995, when we started showing Gelbviehs and started being pretty successful showing cattle, to be acknowledged to get to judge the Red Angus there at the first part of Louisville was really exciting and truly an honour. Q A & ALL TIME FAVORITE COW/BULL Photo Griffiths brings a wealth of experience in the ring to the Toronto heifer show. Above, she shows the triple crown winning female, 3G X-Factor 014X. I would have to say it s a heifer that we call 3G X-Factor 014X, and I showed her at the end of my junior career. She was a bred and owned heifer and she won all of the triple crown of the majors (the American Royal at Kansas City, the North American at Louisville and the National Western at Denver). Probably the most exciting thing for us was that she was four generations of our breeding on both sides of her pedigree, and she continues to produce some really good calves that have been competitive as well. Those that are representative of your breeding and have had success in the show ring but then make great cows are what we re about. Ones like that are exciting to show and still be able to go out and see in the herd every day." Top Stock Magazine / Winter 2015 065
"When somebody goes to a show, they may not like the same kind of cattle that I like, but, hopefully, I m pretty predictable and they ll know the kinds of cattle that I ll pick." ROLE MODELS GROWING UP & HOW THEY AFFECTED YOU There s a lot of great cattlemen, but for me the one that I most respect will always be my father. He always provided such great opportunities, not just to be able to show cattle but really in teaching me about good livestock and helping our family build a program. My dad s dad my grandpa didn t give him the land and didn t give him the cows because he thought he was the brother who could succeed on his own. He still tells the story of how he was only ever going to have five cows and they each had their own feed pan, and now we have 150, and he started there in about 1985 building that breeding program. For me, to be able to look up to him and look at the program that he built and the kind of cattle that he taught me to like and to raise and breed has truly been humbling. He is easily, I think I can say, that one individual that I look up to and always will." WORDS OF ADVICE FOR JUNIORS I enjoy judging market animals, but to judge those breeding females, those are truly the next generation and hopefully they re proud of those animals that they ve brought, not just to show on that day, but that they re the kind of cattle that can work for them. Everybody likes something different that s what makes the industry great but hopefully they re the kind they can be proud of, not just to show them on that day but, more importantly, to take home and put in their herd and continue to build and be that next generation of cattlemen that we talked about are so important to continue to develop. Above Griffiths showing Gelbvieh at the American Royal in 2013.. Right The American Gelbvieh Assocation welcomes Griffiths on the board of directors. Far Right Griffiths shows with her father at the National Western in 2015.. 066 Top Stock Magazine / Winter 2015
Griffiths explains. Today, 3G Ranch runs around 150 head, and is a Limousin cooperator with Wulf Cattle Co. of Morris, Minnesota. We send about 15 to 20 bulls up there a year, and that s a great outlet for our Limousins. Growing up, Griffiths excelled in livestock judging, capping off her 4-H career by winning the National 4-H Judging Contest at 18. She then went on to compete on judging teams while studying science at Black Hawk Community College and then agribusiness at Western Illinois University. At the junior college level, Griffiths was particularly successful with her team, winning the junior college contest at the North American Livestock Exposition and placing second at the National Western Stock Show in Denver. By growing up on a beef operation and getting to make breeding selections, she s developed the type of animal she likes, which holds true in the pasture and in a conformation class. When somebody goes to a show, they may not like the same kind of cattle that I like, but, hopefully, I m pretty predictable and they ll know the kinds of cattle that I ll pick, she says. After graduating from college, Griffiths worked in public relations positions in the beef industry. Currently, she is the livestock manager at the Indiana State Fair Commission, and is the first to hold this new position. We have about 19,000 entries at our fair each year, so everybody s really glad to see a designated livestock person here on staff full-time, she says. I have the great fortune to work with everything from dogs to draft horses, both on the 4-H and the open side as well So it keeps me incredibly busy. Something she s particularly enthusiastic about in her new job is launching a statebred initiative for the 2016 Indiana State Fair, which is currently in the planning stages. A lot of neighbouring states already have developed, long-standing, long-running programs, and we used to have a program in the state that was like that but kind of went by the wayside for Top Stock Magazine / Winter 2015 067
Right The 3G ranch has a long history of success at the National Western Stock Show. They were the premier breeder and exhibitor of the show in 2015. Bottom Left After being named Reserve Spring Bull Calf Champion in a tough division, 3G Bootlegger 439B went on to be named the Reserve Grand Champion Bull Top Right Judge Doug Satree, Montague, Texas selects GGGE 3G X-Factor 014X as the National Champion Female in 2012. the last few decades. So I m really excited to get that state-bred program to reward those breeders and exhibitors of those purebred livestock species in our state. Through her own success as a young person in the agriculture industry, Griffiths knows that encouragement works when it comes to keeping youth involved. That is the biggest challenge and the biggest obstacle I think we face, and that s regardless of geographic location. With the average age of the American farmer and rancher continuing to increase, we have to keep young people involved and engaged. One such example in her own life, she notes, was being the youngest director elected to the American Gelbvieh Association board of directors. Not only was I really honoured by my peers to be nominated, but I think that in of itself is an example of breeders really being proactive and really encouraging the next generation, she explains. She sees judging in the same light, and believes that while it s necessary for young people to pay their dues, established breeders have a responsibility to guide and embrace upand-coming producers. Allowing them to have a voice, listening to that voice and continuing to keep them engaged keeps young people excited about the future of the industry. "With the average age of the American farmer and rancher continuing to increase, we have to keep young people involved and engaged. The diversity within the beef industry, she explains, is just one of the strengths of the business to be excited about. We have a lot of different types of cattlemen producing a lot of different, whether it be 068 Top Stock Magazine / Winter 2015
FAVORITE SHOW DAY TIP I think that there is so much work that goes into it ahead of time, but really on show day, is not to overlook some of those important things. I think a lot can be done; we call it managing the logistics, making sure the cattle have the appropriate amount of time to rest and to keep them full and keep them fed and to get them clean at the wash rack and get them dry and get fit. Obviously, I always like one that s well dressed and well presented, but all of those little things that go into it ahead of time long before they get to the ring. purebred breeds or hybrids, and they all do something a little different, and I think that allows us to be unique and not maybe necessarily go as vertically integrated as some of our other protein competition has, she says. I think with the demand for beef what it is, we certainly haven t given up any market shares, so that s fun to see that demand from the consumer side for me, but also as breeders and producers. These opportunities keeps Griffiths motivated for the future of her family s herd, and she plans to focus her efforts on quality genetics. Their home in northeast Indiana, she explains, has two of the highest prices for pasture rent of all the counties across the U.S. Urban sprawl and crop production affects this, she notes. We re a little bit more limited in that we try to keep the number of cows that we can manage if we lost all of our rented hay and pasture grounds, so I think that forces us to continue to work on quality and to work on genetics, and to continue to spread out in terms of some different clientele. As for her future in the show ring, Griffiths is looking forward to judging the Junior Heifer Show at this year s Royal Winter Fair. I m excited and looking forward to some great cattle, and I think it will be a lot of fun, she predicts. Everybody, whether they disclose it or not, kind of have that group of shows that s on their bucket list to judge, and I would have to say judging at Toronto would be just that Within the last year I ve got to judge several shows in Ontario and know the kind of quality that were at those shows, and with the Royal Winter Fair being the next level, that next calibre of exhibitor I just expect good cattle, so I m excited about that. WHAT WILL YOUR BE LOOKING FOR ON SHOW DAY At the end of the day, I just like ones that I know are going to go out and be good cows. I ve said that my role model is my dad and what I say at a lot of shows is that ultimately I want one that I can unload in front of him and make him proud and that will go out and work in our herd. So those low-input, easy-keeping type females that have great rib, great body and are in the right amount of flesh. You want them fresh and you want them pretty, but you also want them to be the kind that will be low-input and maintain themselves for years to come. Probably my single most important characteristic that I look for, whether it s steers or females, is they ve got to be on a good foundation. It doesn t matter whether you re in the mud of Indiana or covering a lot of ground in western Canada, they have to be good in terms of their feet and legs because I think a foundation is just so important when it comes to longevity in any kind of livestock, especially the breeding females that I ll be judging there at the Royal Winter Fair. Top Stock Magazine / Winter 2015 069