The Bagpipe

Writing this so close to Thanksgiving causes me to reflect on all that I have to be grateful for in the past year. Since you will be reading this in early 2007 we will be right back at the National Western Stock Show where we kicked off the first success of 2006. The special 100^th Anniversary of the NWSS was a tremendous event with 190 entries of impressive Highlands being judged by Andy Smith, a fine judge from Inverness, Scotland. We moved right on through a busy spring season with a fine bull and select heifer sale in New York to our annual AHCA convention in June in Sheridan, Wyoming. This event was of course combined with the 2^nd International Gathering of Highland breeders with a theme of “Innovation in the Highland Breed “. The excellent presentations from our members and international guests provided forage for endless discussions with this diverse group of breeders and enthusiasts. It seems the common thread in this tapestry of individuals is that unique long haired species we know as “ Highlands”.

Accepting the presidency in Sheraton I realized how fortunate I was to have a new updated version of the By-Laws of AHCA. Although these new By-Laws still require submission to the membership, they are currently available for use as required. On behalf of the AHCA Board of Directors I would like to thank Lee Wolfgang, our long time director from the Heartland Region, for his effort and dedication in having our outdated By-Laws rewritten and approved. Thank you Lee, it was not an easy task and you stuck with it.

The decision of the AHCA Board to accommodate the new national I.D. Tag Number in our registry did cause quite a stir resulting in e-mails etc. to members of the board and the executive committee. It seems that emotions can run high with any suggestion of “Big Brother” watching us, even when it is merely perception with no factual evidence. The debate on whether or not the national livestock identification and tracking program will eventually become mandatory is actually over, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture already pledging that it will be a permanently voluntary system. Under this voluntary system however, it is estimated that there are already 24% of the livestock using this new RFID Tag plus 332,000 premises registered out of an estimated 1.4 million. Right now the USDA estimates 70% of the premises and 40% of the livestock will be included in this system by January 2008. In addition to this voluntary system there are some states such as Michigan, which has mandated the use of such tags on all livestock leaving the farm after March 2007, which is just around the corner. Other states may follow the lead of Michigan, and as some members decide on utilizing this form of livestock identification we would be negligent if we did not accommodate this I.D. Number within our AHCA registry. The decision of the board of directors in June to add this provision was in no way an endorsement of a mandated system and AHCA takes no position on outside issues political or otherwise.

It seems that often the concerns of the membership regarding with the decisions of the board of directors are caused by misinformation or a lack of communicating the rationale used in making these decisions. We will continue to strive through our Bagpipe to inform and to clarify our decisions and rulings and we do appreciate questions and comments from the membership. As I stated in my first report the leaders and directors of AHCA are merely trusted servants and it is important that the membership communicate with the director from their region. We only meet as a group twice a year but many of us are communicating on a daily basis trying to respond to the many issues and questions. We are also fortunate to have a knowledgeable and dedicated staff located in the office in Denver with a talent for insuring that a response is forthcoming.

My initial introduction to this task of being president has certainly been interesting and I look forward to the ongoing challenges and opportunities that this position provides. I will maintain a positive attitude as we move into the new year with its many gifts and blessings and I trust I will see a fine group in Denver for the show and our meeting.

Eddie Mackay, your humble servant.