LIMOUSIN TODAY February2019_LimToday_WEB | Page 8

President’s Message 2018 Reflection By Gary Fuchs, NALF president With the completion of our annual meeting in Denver this writing serves as a beginning for 2019 and a time to reflect on 2018. We begin our new year with hope for a positive and prosperous 2019. 2018 was an interesting year in our breed. Some of the occurrences for the year were: the full implementation of staff changes that occurred at the end of 2017, our opportunity to host international guests at the 2018 International Limousin Congress, the implementation of our new EPD system, and participation in many NALF sponsored shows and events. We still face the challenge of lack of breed growth. A couple of years ago the board set an annual goal for breed growth that we have not attained. We each need to consider things that we can do in our businesses to help us grow. The board is working to establish some goals in EPDs that will help us more effectively perform in some commercially acceptable traits. We are also working on some new promotional ideas and marketing areas to get the name of our product and our benefits in front of commercial cattlemen. These things can’t only be done from the NALF office. We as breeders must engage our commercial cattlemen to help them see and understand the benefits of Limousin cattle. I am also going to use my space here to express my thanks to the many members of this breed that have helped me during the past year. Many of you have been willing to share your knowledge and ideas about the Limousin breed with me. I had the opportunity to visit many ranches, sales, events, or meetings as I tried to learn more about the various production systems and regional needs in the production of beef. I extend a special thanks to each of you for hospitality and the extent which you answered my questions about things that were probably second nature for you but were new to me. I look forward to serving you another year on your board. I hope I can continue to learn more so that I can improve what I do in Central Texas. I 6 | FEBRUARY 2019