Maine-Anjou Voice online, and more gripes

[xxcc]

Who has seen this?

http://www.amavoice.com/catalog.php?catid=14

What did this cost to set up?  I sure wish the board and those in the office would discuss some things with members. We are an association, not a dictatorship.  They double our rates to be a member, take down the free classified ads that used to have many listings and now charge us to market animals when the expense could have been taken out of the membership fee(how many listings are there now), jack our registration fees and impose new ones, make unfounded, unscientific statements in regard to policy or policy change, the list goes on.

I realize expenses go up and needs change, but is anyone ready for another Boston Tea Party!!!   This is almost as bad as when Hunsley took a stab at Maines on his way out of the Shorthorn Association.

 

[Doc]

  Was glad to see this post , I was beginning to believe that the Shorties were the only breed that had an imperfect home office.lol. ;D ;D

 

[BJN]

I must be missing something.  What exactly is the problem with putting the Voice online?  I guess I think that is an excellent service for the members.  I hope they archive every issue online so we can simply look up any past issue when we want or need to.  I can't tell you how many times I have wanted to go back and reread an article from an old issue and can't find it laying around the house anymore.  Are you complaining about the cost?  I can't imagine there is much cost in doing this.

For the most part I think the association is doing fine.  I get great service on registrations and transfers.  The office staff is friendly and helpful.  I may not agree with every decision the board makes, but I am not on the board.  For every decision any board makes, there will be plenty of members on each side of the issue.  That is why we have a board.  The board investigates the facts, deliberates and discusses them and makes a decision based on the best interest of the association as a whole, not just one member.  It may not work like that every time, but the board is charged with the duty to make decisions.  They have to make them.  If the bulk of the membership becomes dissatisfied with the decisions the board makes they can take care of that at the next election.  We don't need a Boston Tea Party, just the next election.

 

[afhm]

Maybe I'm mistaken, but hasn't the Voice been online for several years now?  I think its great that magazines have online editions.

 

[xxcc]

I shot too quickly and vaguely.

I like the online Voice format, I just don't like the tactics of the office.  We are charged for this, that and the other thing but are not really allowed a lot of input.  I know we have our board, but it seems the offices' policy on changes is "Do and ask forgivness, rather than the other way around."

Yes, there has been an online version of the Voice for quite some time. And yes, the archives are good and important, but have you received an issue lately?  There isn't a whole lot in it.  To me it is nearing the status of a newsletter.  I guess what I'm a little jostled about is where current efforts are focused.

Maybe I am not clearly understanding proposed policy, but to me the big push to not even allow registration of "clean" (i.e. PHAF) animals parented by carriers, particularly carrier bulls, has me a little doubtful of the understanding and intentions.  I may be wrong, but from everyone I have talked to, the intention is to make it such that even though an animal is PHAF, after 2009 if the animal is sired by a carrier, it is not eligible for register.  To me, this is just a business building tactic backed by a particular breeder with a large battery of PHAF bulls trying to squeeze out breeders with large inventories of carriers.  I'm not sure I clearly conveyed what I am trying to, so correct me if my understandings are wrong.

 

[DL]

I have had no problems with registrations, service etc. I don't always agree with the board, and I really don't like the fact that the minutes of the board meeting are basically useless to read - they tell you nothing about anything of substance and then they go into closed session (so you learn absolutely nothing) - in general you have no idea what people are doing or how they are voting.

I agree with xxcc that there really isn't much in the Voice anymore - it looks like the Voice of the 90's - primarily ads and now no Canadian ads. Look at the card ads - there aren't even a page worth - look at the Shorthorn Country, or Hereford World or many of the state magazines and there are tons of card ads - I think that says something

I also find it interesting that a breed association that is suppose to be trying to increase awareness in the commercial market is not a member of NCBA - good grief the Longhorn Assn is - what is with that??

 

[Joe Boy]

I am like Mike in a couple of things he brings up.

1.  The increase in dues and fees was for the purpose of helping the state and youth programs.  Will they and how much?  Will they publish this?

2.  I have a hard time understanding why such a large increase in the cost to advertise bulls, females, etc. when you are promoting the sale of your product.  They have very few ads now.  Seems to me it would encourage new members if they new that there might be an outlet to help the sale their product.

3.  I miss the old set up where you could look up breeders who had their little promotional logos to search out what they have in stock.  Before I knew who DL was I had looked at her cattle a couple or three times.  I enjoyed learning about what people were trying to do with their cattle.

I like the Voice being on line, but I do not like it declining in pages and articles.  DL had some wonderful articles on cattle and calves before the PHA and TH problems came to be known.  I miss such articles.  Use to in the Hoard's dairyman there were such articles and very informative.  I recently saw a copy of the Angus magazine and really enjoyed it.

While I am 100% for getting rid of the genetic problems until another one appears, I think it terribly unfair to those who have carrier bulls not to be able to register the non-carrier offspring.  What I think our goal should be is to increase more quality clean cattle and get them registered to make more money for the association to spend promoting the breed.  I think all of the above items will hinder new growth.

Mike, thanks for bringing this up.

 

[justme]

After my daughter purchasing her first shorthorn heifer and the pain it was to finally get our papers I value the staff at the Maine Anjou assoc.  I've never had a problem that wasn't quickly taken care of.  Registration even without a rush is handled quickly and (for me) accurately.  Never a rude comment when I call or a run around.  I hate the fee increase in being a member, ecspecially being a smaller producer of only 30 cows, but I'll pay it and not complain.    After seeing what I had to deal with with the shorthorns, it really makes me appreciates Mary and the girls at the Maine Assoc.

 

[BCCC]

I think it is VERY dumb, that we won't be able to register Th and Pha free calves out of carrier females or bulls, I can see not being able to register carrier calves out of Carrier parentage. If they are goign to do what they say they are going to do, they might as well revoke all carrier males and females out of the breed, and then they will be getting close to where they started in the begging  # wise.

 

[Jill]

I don't agree with not registering free animals, but you are making this worse than what they actually voted on.  You can't register out of carrier non-Maine bulls and you can't register a new carrier bull, nothing has been stated about cows or current carrier Maine bulls.  I think they loose a lot of revenue and don't really think they have a basis for not registering non carrier animals, but it won't change my breeding decision, it will only limit how I can register them, the Chi organization will still register ( Heat Wave is the only one I am still using) as far as I have heard.

 

[BCCC]

Oh I thought that you couldn't register any calves out of carrier parentage, my bad  )) ))