The Alberta Sheep Breeders’ Association is very proud of the long standing presentation of the biannual Symposium. This event is a premier opportunity for the sheep industry as it brings in speakers from across the globe, who are experts in their field to present research and technology pertinent to the industry’s growth and sustainability. 

This year represents the 50th Anniversary of the Alberta Sheep Breeders’ Association Symposium and the theme is “Back To Our Roots”. ASBA is proud to be hosting this event and looks forward to welcoming guest speakers, which include: Dr Greg Penner, Dr Lesley Stubbings and Tony Stolz. There will also be a GenOvis workshop along with the trade fair, silent auction and the Celebratory 50th Anniversary Banquet.

Be sure to be a part of this exciting event in October

Become a Sponsor!

 We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our sponsors who's generous support help make our event a possibility.  Your contribution is greatly appreciated! 

For approaching 40 years, Lesley has been a leading figure in the UK sheep sector, gaining a UK-wide reputation for her outstanding knowledge and expertise in all aspects of the industry and particularly sheep nutrition and parasite control. On winning the award, she joins many reputable faces honoured for their contribution to the UK sheep industry by NSA.

On graduating from Nottingham University with a degree in animal production in 1979, Lesley joined ADAS during which time she was appointed as advisor to the Whitebred Shorthorn Cattle Association, succeeding the late Ian MacDougal, however she quickly worked her way up to become Principal Sheep Consultant. She became an independent sheep consultant in 1997, developing a wide client base within the industry, advising farmers, Defra, organisations such as NSA and many more. In addition, she is a life member of the Sheep Veterinary Society and the leading figure in the SCOPS industry group, which is a world leader in integrated parasite control in sheep.

Dr. Greg Penner is an Associate Professor and Centennial Enhancement Chair in Nutritional Physiology. He joined the Department of Animal and Poultry Science at the University of Saskatchewan in 2009 after obtaining his BSA (2004) and M.Sc. (2004) degrees from the same University, and his PhD from the University of Alberta (2009). His research covers forage utilization, ruminant nutrition, and regulation

gut function in cattle. He has developed 2 indwelling pH measurement systems that have been adopted by the research community worldwide. Dr. Penner has a well-funded research program supporting and has trained more than 10 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. He has published over 60 peer- reviewed papers and provided over 40 invited presentations. Greg also has an active extension program helping to communicate research results to end users and serves as the co-chair for the Saskatchewan Beef and Forage Symposium.

Tony grew up on a farm northwest of Calgary, Alberta. He has a BA degree from the University of Calgary and is a Certified Management Consultant. In 1999 Tony and his wife Toby Williams purchased 50 ewes which grew to a flock of over 200 ewes and 450 lambs before they sold in 2005. Tony managed the Alberta Sheep and Wool Commission (now Alberta Lamb Producers) from 1998 to August 2001, at which point he started a Management Consulting business specializing in rural economic development. Tony was a member of the Alberta Lamb Traceability Pilot Project team from 2008-2013 working as project manager and analysis coordinator. Work on the traceability project included exploring sheep enterprise costs of production as well as the costs and benefits of RFID management and traceability systems. Tony is currently the Executive Director of Community Futures Alberta. Community Futures has 27 offices across rural Alberta offering business loans, business training and engages in community economic development projects.

Dr. Chris Clark graduated from the Cambridge University in the United Kingdom and then eventually came to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) for a one-year internship. After one year as a rural veterinarian in the UK, he returned to the WCVM to complete his residency, master’s and PhD degrees in clinical pharmacology.

As an associate professor, Dr. Clark has received numerous teaching awards, including the University of Saskatchewan’s Master Teacher Award in 2016.

He has served as the WCVM’s associate dean academic since 2015. His greatest interest is veterinary education.

Dr. Gilleard obtained his BVSc from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liverpool. After three years in general veterinary practice in the UK, he undertook a PhD in Parasitology at the University of Glasgow and then 5 years post-doctoral research in the Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, at the Department of Genetics, University of Glasgow. Dr. Gilleard was awarded a Wellcome Trust Travel Fellowship in 1998 to spend 2 years in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary before returning to a faculty position at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, UK. In 2007, he was appointed Professor of Veterinary and Molecular Parasitology at Glasgow before moving to the University of Calgary in 2008 as Professor (Parasitology). He has been Associate Dean Research, in Faculty of Veterinary Medicine since 2012.

Johanne grew up helping her grandfather, Louis-Philippe McCarthy, with his registered Border Leicester flock. She studied animal science at Laval University and worked with Dr. François Castonguay to develop a photoperiod (light control) system for sheep flocks in Quebec. She completed a Master’s degree in 2006, while working full time at the Centre d’expertise en production ovine du Québec (CEPOQ) research station in La Pocatiere.  Johanne resigned from full-time work at CEPOQ in 2011, but now works for them part-time, both remotely from home and on-site. Johanne enjoys showing sheep and participates in a few shows each year. She also serves as one of three Quebec directors on the board of the Canadian Sheep Breeders Association.

Bob Beach comes from an educational background having taught senior high school for 20 years. He has a Bachelor of Education degree with majors in English, Physical Education and Psychology. Bob joined the life insurance and financial planning business in 1982 and has been featured six times in the Insurance Sales magazine as his company’s All-Star. In 1983, Bob was promoted to Regional Manager in the Calgary Branch and then returned to personal sales in 1989. Since then he directs all of his energy and expertise in the area of Farm Estate and Retirement Planning. Bob is a certified agricultural farm advisor and work with Alberta’s top farm accountants and lawyers, doing seminars and setting up individual farm transfer programs.