ADCA Meetings & Minutes Archives

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October thru December ’08 ADCA WorkYoke

Information – Breed Standards/Guidelines
Pat Mitchell is working to put together an update of the old guideline information, addressing heights, weight, color designation, polledness and anything else that might be revised in a document on Breed Standards/Guidelines. The problem compounds itself when judges at shows try to interpret the old guidelines as a breed standard, and place cattle with superior conformation and body type lower solely due to the fact that their size may be outside the recommended 36-42" box, mistakenly thinking that the guideline is a standard. The proposed changes will be presented to the Board for review and approval, then to the membership for input.  He requested comments, either pro or con, to the proposal in order to begin working on it.

 
AGM Board Minutes and August-September WorkYoke Summary
Both the minutes from the AGM ’08 BOD meetings and the WorkYoke summary for August-September were approved as corrected and released for publication on the Web site and the Bulletin.
 

Information – CafePress.com (continued)
Discussion on the use of CafePress.com as the vendor of promotional items continued.  The BOD has decided to try using this venue in order to streamline promotional item sales.

Information – Regional Director Elections
In response to member input regarding this first round of Regional Director Elections using a proxy form, we are working to improve the procedure:

• The form does need a signature to be valid
• All returned forms need to be archived  
• The title ‘Proxy Ballot’ was misleading – ‘Proxy’ needs to be clarified on the form
• Proxy forms need to be mailed to a designated person, who should be given Proxy Power, and simply report to the Regional Chairman and Secretary the votes cast (i.e. X votes for candidate #1, X votes for candidate #2, etc.).
• In addition to the Nominating Committee and Board of Directors candidate recommendations, candidates can be nominated from the floor (or from write-in on proxy form) during an Election Meeting. 
• Any/all candidates (including write-ins or nominations from the floor) must meet the established criteria used by the ADCA Nominating Committee.
• The Regional Meeting must have a designated chairperson and secretary.
• The Officers, as well as Regional Directors, also need to have a copy of the Director’s Manual which contains SOP for the ADCA which includes the eligibility requirements for director positions.

Judges for AGM Shows (continued)
Discussion about judge selection for AGM shows continued.  The consensus was:

1. First and foremost, select a good cattle judge
2. Secondly, educate that judge about the fine points of the Dexter breed
3. Show judging is definitely different than classifying

Interim Director for Region 3
Bill Kirkland resigned as Director of Region 3.  Judy Nocks volunteered to assume the responsibilities of directorship until nominations for a new director and election could be held.

Information – Chondro & Genotype Testing
Pam Malcuit reported that people repeatedly call or email to ask what to do if the animal is not yet registered. 

The answer is a permanent ID - usually the tattoo - as is required for registration noted on the application, not just a name for the animal. The sire/dam & birth date are required as well.

Many choose not to register an animal if it is a carrier, so they can put "pending" in that blank as long as they provide the animal's specific and permanent ID.

Information – Youth Committee
There was discussion on developing a Youth Program Committee to encompass the Chris Odom award.  The presentation at the AGM outlined a vision for the future of youth in Dexters and the ADCA.  Incorporation of a committee that involves the individuals already working in this area with a BOD as a chair/co-chair would eliminate a duplication of programs.   President David Jones has proposed this as a new ADCA committee and asked for membership participation.

The Talisman award would remain separate with the prior year’s recipient a co-chair with a BOD co-chair (Roberta Wieringa).

 
Information -Random Parentage Testing (RPT)
At the ’08 AGM, a motion was made to go forward with RPT, seconded and passed.

It was then turned over to the Genetics/Pedigree (G/P) Committee for development of a process to implement.

The purpose of RPT is an attempt to make breeders more careful and responsible while establishing integrity within the Registry. 

Warren Coad submitted a draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to the Board for input.  It was pointed out that the final SOP will be submitted as a document through the G/P Committee.

BOD Commentary:

• The membership has been informed about RPT over the past year.

• The program is a stopgap measure and will only be useful for about 5 or so years, until the genotyping of ALL bulls is established.

• The difference between RPT and bull genotyping is that:
  • RPT is paid for by the ADCA whereas genotyping is paid for directly by the breeder.
  • RPT demands three hair sample tests (dam, bull and calf) whereas genotyping is only the calf.
• There are a lot of ‘What ifs?’ in this program that are not present in the genotyping of bulls.  That is why time is needed to get the ‘What ifs?’ figured out and agreed to before proceeding.
• The G/P Committee or its’ designated sub-committee needs to develop proposed answers for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) regarding RPT and add others that may not have been thought of yet.  Once the questions have answers the proposed policy will be compete. 
• The final SOP for RPT process should go to the entire membership for a vote on to determine if this is what they want the association to do. 

Information – Membership Directory & Herdbook
The Membership Directory is a handbook for members that has been given as part of the annual membership fee and given to new members.

Registrar Chuck Daggett reported that the ADCA now has 1232 members and the price of publishing the Membership Book is about $5.00.

The Herdbook, which is paid for by the membership requesting it, is between $25-$35 per copy  and is getting very large.

 Registrar’s Recommendations:

• By putting only basic information into The Membership Directory and limiting The Herdbook to just the basic records for the past year (no change), the cost would be about $20 each.
• The Herdbook information would be free on the website for those that don't want to purchase a hard copy.

Board Comments:

• Somehow we are going to have to cover this cost, including postage/shipping.
• Order 100 if they cost $20 price them at $25.
• It's too late now to require a fee, but next year start charging any member a fee for a hard copy of The Membership Directory if they still want one.
• In the past, the BOD tried to push a CD of The Membership Directory, but at that time the members didn't want it.
• It seems senseless to subsidize all of these unwanted books...Post something online and in the Bulletin that The Herdbook will be available by prior order only ... @ $20 each with a  final due date - and that is it!  Order a few extra copies for our archives.
• Problem with the online herd book is that it gets replaced each year and the old herd book goes away.
• Publish transfers only in The Herdbook - show the sellers and not the buyers.
• The Herdbook should be a complete record of sellers and buyers, dates of transfers, tattoo numbers etc. 
• Publish all information.  I think it is a great idea to take orders, and just have a few extras on hand for archive or new members.  That way we can sell them close to cost.

It was suggested that The Bulletin be on the website, keeping at least four issues on file there that can be accessed individually in an archive. This CAN be done (depending on how much server space we rent).  We could easily do the same with The Herdbook....so last year’s does not go away when the new one comes out.

 
DNA Genotyping Proposal – (published in ‘08 Winter Bulletin)
A member from Region 11 strongly objected to a section of the genotyping proposal as published in the ’08 Winter Bulletin.  It was asked how and why the determination was made that bulls previously genotyped by a certified Laboratory other than the ADCA’s current Laboratory will not be accepted? 

Following considerable discussion among the BOD members and Registrar,

ADCA President David Jones stated that: ‘agree or disagree, the Board voted on and passed the proposed Genotyping program in its entirety and is obligated to support the program.’  He requested that the Board either:

• Agree if the Board wants to vote the program in as it stands and then deal with the fallout by not "grandfathering" in prior tested animals.

(OR)

• By unanimous consent of the Board, include the verbiage that animals tested by an accredited agency prior to 1/1/2009 with certified copies are grandfathered in from the requirement to test at Texas A&M. 

I support the acceptance of compatible/comparable test reports from labs other than the one designated by the ADCA (Texas A&M), if those test reports are dated prior to the implementation date of the bull genotyping policy.

Clay Adams

(Texas A&M) Genotyping done by other Labs will be accepted if:

 1. Testing was completed prior to the implementation of this ADCA  program (suggested date 1/1/09)

2. When the outside test results are fully compatible (for determining parentage) with the testing the ADCA lab of contract. 

3. Test results must be submitted directly from Lab facility to Lab facility not by/from individuals.

4. Texas A&M will charge a processing fee of $5 to enter outside test results into the ADCA databank.

Sandi Thomas

DECEMBER ’08 WORKYOKE SUMMARY

Information – Regional Director Elections

Election meetings were conducted with the following results:
- Region 9 membership has elected Mike Vaughn as Director.
- Region 10 membership has elected Roberta Wieringa as Director.
- Region 12 membership has elected Dan Butterfield as Director.
All proxies have been archived with the secretary.

Region 3 Vacancy

-          Judy Nocks has been recommended in as interim Director

-          Members of the region will be notified with one mailing that this is what has been done with a call for nominations for a replacement. 

-          Regular election procedures will be followed when nominations are received.

 
2009 Regional Director Elections

The following regions will have elections in 2009:

-          Region 1 (John Foley unable to run again due to term limits)

-          Region 2 (Sandi Thomas unable to run again due to term limits)

-          Region 4 (Judy Nocks incumbent)

-          Region 11 (Carol Koller incumbent)

Information – DNA Genotyping Ballot

The final tally of the membership ballot regarding the DNA Genotyping of bulls submitted for registration was 123 in support and 85 opposed.  7 proxies were postmarked after December 17^th.  All proxies have been archived with the secretary.  There were some problems which occurred with members not receiving their ballots. According to our governing documents and widely held legal statute - notice is considered delivered when deposited with the USPS.  Unfortunately, the only two viable options available for a vote by members of the ADCA are via the USPS or one time per year at the Annual General Meeting. Neither is perfect.

Standard Operating Procedure on meetings will include more realistic time frames for postmark date vs. meeting date.

 
Information – Youth Committee (continued)

Warren Coad has been recommended as the BOD co-chair representative for the newly formed committee.

 
Information – WorkYoke & Advertising Coordinator

Robert Seddon will continue in this position as appointed by the BOD and will continue to serve at the BOD’s pleasure.  His position with Advertising has a stipend. 

It was suggested that Robert write the guidelines for Workyoke as he knows its inner workings.  This information would make it easier to discuss various topics. 

Information – Formation of an Arbitration Committee

- Up to this point, an arbitration committee has been appointed by the President to resolve issues on an ‘as needs basis’. 

- Might be a good idea to make it more formal, but it should not be a standing committee and composition would depend on what/who the concern is about.

- Due to the complexity of issues when action is required regarding an  ADCA Member or Board Member, it should consist of BOD members only.

Clarification for Making BOD Motions

Many actions of the Board do not require a motion or a vote.

1.      the topic can be discussed and the motion drafted on work yoke, a vote cannot be taken at this time.

2.      then, there are two options following full discussion with most of the Board:

a.        the motion can be passed by complete consensus of the Board

                                   (or)

b.      a special meeting (in person or via conference call )can be called, 48 hour notice is required.   Only at a meeting can a vote be taken.