Friends of Canadian Simmental Foundation

Hello! My name is Katie Kolenosky and I am a 16 year-old grade 10 student in Perdue, SK. I am currently a YCSA board member and look forward to our National Show here in Weyburn, SK. My family and I own and operate a small purebred Simmental herd, EZEE Cattle Company - named after my late grandpa, Jim Scharf, who invented “EZEE Wrap 1000”. I recently took my AI course at Southwest Genetics and plan to hand-breed our small herd with further plans of becoming an Embryo Transfer Technician! I want to send a huge thank you out to the Friends of Canadian Simmental Foundation for providing opportunities like this to young agriculture enthusiasts, Thank You!

I grew up as the oldest child of the fifth generation on our family ranch in Southern Alberta, where my family runs an Angus-influenced red and black commercial cow calf herd. Simmental genetics are key in attaining the cross we desire and we currently run all Simmental bulls on our mature cows. We love the frame size, docility, hair and muscling that the breed offers our herd. We have also seen our weaning weights increase and the quality of replacement females improve since changing our bull battery. This makes me excited for the future of the Simmental breed, as well as our involvement within it. Within the Simmental breed, I have attended YCSA conferences, sales, as well as national and provincial shows. I enjoy the welcoming and friendly environment the Simmental breed offers, and how it provides a great learning and mentorship place for youth. I really enjoyed putting together meaningful events for the Alberta Simmental show with the board as Secretary this past summer. I helped organize the Roundtable event with new sponsorship and participation from MNP, and bringing in the University of Calgary Veterinary Medicine faculty to teach youth more about cattle health. Listening to the youth engage and learn with the different topics made for a successful event! I recently graduated from the University of Guelph, where I received my Food & Agricultural Resource Economics degree with a minor in marketing. I am excited to be transitioning to a more in-person role at home, helping with decision making and the day-to-day!