Calgary, AB – The Keith Gilmore Foundation (KGF) selected two winners for the $10,000 KGF Prize for Beef Cattle Innovation; Angus personality Rae-Leigh Pederzolli from Medicine Hat, Alberta and Nicky Lansink from Three Hills, Alberta. The KGF Prize is awarded to students who are recognized for academic excellence, leadership and commitment to pursue a career to improve, support and promote the beef cattle industry.
The KGF Prize and Keith Gilmore Foundation are both Canadian Hereford Association initiatives, however, the award seeks to acknowledge beef industry research and leadership in the fields of agriculture, veterinary medicine and agricultural journalism rather than specific breed projects. Donations to the KGF Prize for Beef Cattle Innovation are for cross-industry benefit. Canadian Angus is proud to include Rae-Leigh Pederzolli as a member of Canada’s Angus fraternity as well. She is a commercial cattle producer from Medicine Hat with an Angus-influenced herd and the granddaughter of Aldo Pederzolli, who received a 50 Year Heritage Award from CAA in 2015. Pederzolli is also a graduate of the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders program and was mentored by CAA Director of Breed Development Kajal Devani.
Pederzolli is completing a Masters of Science at the University of Saskatchewan and will be attending the University of Calgary this fall pursuing a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine. She is an active member of the Canadian Young Leaders program and is a member of the Young Cattlemen’s Council. She has attended and represented the Canadian beef industry at numerous conferences in Canada and the U.S. Her long-term goal is to practice and perform research in the food animal production industries, particularly within the cow-calf and feedlot sector.
“I believe you see Canada’s national breed associations doing more work together now than ever before,” says Canadian Angus Association CEO Rob Smith. “I commend the Canadian Hereford Association and the Keith Gilmore Foundation for their interest in advancing research that benefits all cattle and beef production across Canada. Rae-Leigh is an outstanding young cattleman whose interest, passion and intelligence have much to offer the future and sustainability of our sector and industry as a whole.”
The Keith Gilmore Foundation, with the support of the Hereford community, offers three levels of scholarship to Canadian students. The KGF Prize for Beef Innovation for students involved in advanced studies of industry research; the Hereford Youth Scholarship for students with connections to the Hereford breed, enrolled in agriculture-related studies and the Future of the Breed Scholarship, funded in partnership with the Canadian Junior Hereford Association, for CJHA members moving on to post-secondary education. For more information on the Keith Gilmore Foundation and its scholarship and donation opportunities, please visit www.keithgilmorefoundation.com
The Canadian Angus Association is Canada’s largest purebred beef breed organization. The Association represents more than 2,000 members across Canada for the purposes of registering and recording the pedigrees of purebred Angus cattle in the closed HerdBook and promoting the breed across Canada. The member-approved mandate is to maintain breed registry, breed purity and provide services that enhance the growth and position of the Angus breed.