The fourth annual Calves for a Cause sale returns to the Canadian Dairy XPO in Stratford April 3.
The sale is held in honour of Brooks Markus, the four-year-old son of an Ingersoll-area dairy farming family who was born with a rare nervous system disorder called Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS). Funds raised by Calves for a Cause are donated to the Children’s Health Foundation of London, where Brooks has received critical care and multiple surgeries. The event has donated over $170,000 to children’s healthcare in the London region through its first three sales.
Calves for a Cause is a consignment sale, and dairy breeders can choose to provide either 100 per cent of the proceeds or a portion of the proceeds to the Foundation. All commissions earned are also donated to the Foundation.
The sale raised $65,000 last year, and over $100,000 in in its first two years.
Embryos and semen will be auctioned off online from April 1-4, with the sale hosted by Farmgate Timed Auctions. The live sale is April 3, starting at 6 p.m., at Canadian Dairy XPO (CDX) in the Cow Coliseum, featuring 40+ head of dairy calves from multiple breeds.
Shipping can be arranged across Canada and the U.S. The sale will be streamed live on dlms.ca and online bidding is available there. Calves can be viewed in the showcase for the duration of CDX.
With “superior genetics and promising potential, these calves represent the best of the region’s dairy industry”, the organizers said in a release.
“It’s the sale you can pick your next breeding piece from,” says Jeff Stephens, sale manager. “Every April, Calves for A Cause at CDX is the place to be in North America for genetic opportunities in all dairy breeds”.
In 2023, the sale averaged $6400 per head, and this year the sale organizers are aiming higher: $10,000 per live lot.
“The sole purpose of the sale is to give back to the London Children’s Hospital,” says Darryl Markus, Brooks father and sale founder. “It’s our way of saying thank you for the incredible care Brooks receives there and also our way of helping other families who find themselves needing care there. For us, the London Children’s Hospital is our second home, the amazing health care professionals there treat Brooks and our family just like family, and it’s our hope that sale funds can help every family feel the same love and care Brooks gets.”
For more information, visit Calves for A Cause on Facebook or dairyxpo.ca, or contact Jeff Stephens, sale manager, at 905-317-8252 or Darryl Markus, sale founder, at 519-421-6743.
Source: Farmtario