THE cattle producer meetings that introduced the national cattle
identification program could get pretty heated. Many a red face and
raised voice were in evidence as people fretted about potential
increases to cost and labour and potential losses of independence and
privacy.
As tempers flared, Saskatchewan rancher Carl Block would unfold his big
frame, stand his ground and calmly recite, in a voice that commanded
attention, the reasons he felt the program was necessary.
Never sarcastic, never mean-spirited, Block would state his case and
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leave no doubt about his own conviction that the program was vital to
the future health of Canada’s beef business.
Block’s voice was forever stilled last week. He died in a plane crash
near his ranch at Abbey, Sask., as he was trying to move his cattle to
better water. Thus years of working for the cause of improved herd
health and range management were ended amid the practice of same.
The 58-year-old rancher spent much of the last 10 years working for the
betterment of the cattle industry.
Block was an Alberta transplant. He moved to Saskatchewan in 1985 after
buying a ranch in the Great Sand Hills. Nearly 60,000 acres of
government lease land were part of his operation, which involved a
900-head cow-calf herd plus backgrounding capability.
As chair of the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency from 1998-2001,
Block saw the I.D. program through its conception and birth. It was by
no means his only influence on the industry.
A list of his committee involvement shows a particular interest in
animal health issues. He was chair of the Canadian Animal Health
Coalition at the time of his death and in that role had recently led a
delegation to the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to learn from
their foot-and-mouth disease experiences.
As well, Block served on many Canadian Cattlemen’s Association
committees and is a former president of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers
Association.
Block’s passing was formally recognized in the Saskatchewan legislature
May 30 and last week industry colleagues each had long lists of his
cattle industry accomplishments.
And all of them also remembered Block as a family man – a husband,
father of four and grandfather of three, who took pride in his kin and
loved prairie skies.
Carl Block was a man who made a difference in the wider world of the
cattle business, as well as in the heart of his community and in the
bosom of his family.
A great tribute to the man’s legacy would be the realization by other
farmers and ranchers that their involvement in commodity organizations
and farm groups can make a difference – can in fact allow them to
influence their own operations by contributing to the greater good.
