Rob Matthews Receives Don Matthews Memorial Award

CALGARY, ALBERTA   Rob Matthews was awarded the Don Matthews Memorial Award at the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Beef Breeds Council on March 28, 2018.

The Don Matthews Memorial Award was instituted in honour of the late Don Matthews, a Past President of CBBC as well as many other accomplishments including the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame. The award is presented annually by the Canadian Beef Breeds Council to an individual who exemplifies excellence and passion in the purebred beef cattle industry.

The influence Rob has had on the Canadian cattle industry is a little like “climbing Mount Everest”, says CBBC Director David Sibbald. “A daunting challenge that only a select few ever accomplish. Rob’s legacy of influence is legendary and something we all should be proud of.”

After graduating from University, Rob joined the family in the operating of Highland Stock Farm, a purebred Angus and mixed farming operation. From this point forward, Rob’s influence on the farm and his numerous other endeavours had a profound impact on beef cattle production in Canada.

Rob’s influence at Highland Stock Farm soon took shape and as it shifted from being primarily an Angus operation to expanding into a new frontier as pioneers of the Limousin breed in Canada. As early importers of Limousin cattle, Highland Stock Farms soon established their place as leaders in the breed. Rob’s influence and dedication to the Limousin breed is unmatched. He was among the first to introduce polled and black genetics into the breed and was one of the first breeders to utilize embryo transfer technology. With the help of his good friend Dr. Murray Jacobson, the first Limousin embryo calf was born at Highland in 1973 and the first Angus embryo calf was born at Highland in 1975.

The Canadian Beef Breeds Council is extremely proud of the accomplishments that Rob Matthews has made toward beef cattle production in Canada and is honoured to present him an award named in memory of his late father.

The vision of CBBC is to be the world leader in developing profitable and sustainable beef cattle genetics. Its mission is to be the catalyst advancing the Canadian beef cattle seedstock sector through unified representation, strategic alliances and implementation of innovative technology.

The mandate of CBBC is to support the Canadian seedstock sector by developing partnerships that advance genetic improvement, research, extension services, information dissemination and our role in Canada’s National Beef Strategy; promote Canadian beef genetics both domestically and internationally by identifying market opportunities and facilitating market development; and represent the Canadian seedstock sector to government by advocating effective policy and ensuring market access and enhanced competitiveness.

For more information: 

Michael Latimer, Executive Director, Canadian Beef Breeds Council mlatimer@beefbreeds.ca  T: 403.730.0350 C: 403.861.7772