Purebred Breeder of the Year

“Diamond T Cattle Co.” – The Smith’s & Gardner’s Olds, AB
Presented by Dawn Wilson & Gavin Hamilton

Diamond T Cattle Company is a true family operation which was built from the ground up with a strong foundation started by Gary and Donna Smith. Gary and Donna moved from the city of Calgary in April, 1970 with their two children, Tami (age 10) and Rob (age 1) to fulfill their lifelong dream of farming. They made this move by selling off almost all of their possessions in order to make the down payment on what is now the home place of Diamond T Cattle Company in Olds, Alberta.

Gary maintained his job with Alberta Transportation, and Donna worked as a nutritionist at the Sundre Hospital. Their farming operation diversified to include milk cows, hogs, chickens, turkeys and beef cattle. In 1972, Gary was able to become a dedicated full time farmer. Donna left her job in 1973, and agriculture has been their sole source of income ever since.

Diamond T is a rather unique name with special meaning to the Smith and Gardner clan. Diamond T was the brand used by Gary’s special uncle, Lennie Mickel, and it was left to Gary and Donna upon Lennie’s passing in 1977. By 1980 beef cattle were the only production livestock remaining on the farm .The decision was made to develop a purebred seedstock herd of Pinzgauer Cattle and Diamond T Cattle Company was born.

Tami married Roy Gardner in 1976 and their family includes Tracy, Brody,and Tyson. They purchased 320 acres across the road from Gary and Donna in 1990, and Diamond T’s land base was expanded. The families continue to operate together as a family farm, with the “East Side” featuring the purebred cattle and the ‘West Side’ home to the commercial herd.

Even though the Smith’s had huge success with the Pinzgauers, Rob started watching Angus real close when Belvin Angus was showing Belvin Lady Blossom 23’84 as a two year old pair in 1986. He admired the breed and while watching the Winter Classic in Edmonton, with Burt Shantz (one of the breed’s great historians) for two years, he learned a great deal. To initiate the start of Angus at Diamond T, Rob bid on a few head in the Superstar sale while a University student in Edmonton, unbeknownst to his parents and with absolutely no ability to pay whatsoever. We assume he was not the winning bidder because he is still alive and well today! No one had to kill him!

Finally in 1994, Diamond T made the jump to Angus with the purchase of cows at the historic Remington dispersal, including their first purchase of Remington’s Miss Burgess 15 C, a New Trend 315 daughter who worked for Diamond T until last fall. The one and only heifer she had will remain in the Diamond T herd. They followed this with a purchase from Miller Wilson, DMM Duchess 16D, a cow who is still alive today. Further purchases were made in 1995 from Northline Angus, including one outstanding cow who started the Red Angus division. Also of note, was the purchase of cattle at the Riverbend Dispersal, one of our honorees today.

After having convinced the family to get active in the Angus business,thus getting more cattle and more workload, Rob“naturally” accepted a “big” dollar job with an oil company overseas from 1977 to 2002. This allowed the herd to expand with purchases made primarily by Tracy and Donna from many premier angus herds and high profile sales.

As with the Pinzgauers, the show ring was a priority and source of enjoyment for the Angus. Rob says his job on the show circuit was “PR”, the others was to actually show. Brody and Tyson’s 4H career included alternating years of Angus and Pinzgauers show heifers.

4H, Youth and Junior shows have always been a priority at Diamond T, with Rob, Tracy, Brody and Tyson having tremendous success. It is a testament to the dedication of this entire family to the beef industry that has seen many youth and organizations benefit from their hard work. This is exemplified by the families belief that “If you are going to participate, you should do your part; you have to work to benefit.” To that end, this family has thousands of hours of volunteer experience.

On the Alberta Angus Association Board, Tracy served as a director for three years and Rob currently sits as the President.

They follow in the footsteps of the generations before who have also served on several boards. Anyone who has been to Canada’s number one summer show, Olds Fair & Rodeo, knows the tremendous input this family has into its’ success. It starts with Gary and Donna and travels right down through the entire family.

Diamond T has shown Angus cattle in open shows from B.C. to Ontario, having won grand champions from IPE in Armstrong to the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. They are very proud that their show bulls, in the past three years, Belvin NightHawk 32’03, Diamond T Hard Copy 04’04 and Red Wildman Rio Grande 520R, have made the Top 10 Show Bulls of the Year. They are also proud that the bulls are working herdsires for them and their respective partners.

On a more personal note, Gary and Donna celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary while most of the family was up at Farm Fair in November, so a party had to be postponed until December. In addition, Tracy will be getting married on Saturday, June 28th to Rob Lundago, known to most of us as “Chub”.

This year Diamond T bred 120 Angus females, 80 black and 40 red. There are also 200 registered Pinzgauer cows in the operation. In 2008, Diamond T will sell it’s bulls in the 19th Annual Mader Ranches Bull and Select Female Sale on Friday, February 22nd in Olds.

The Smith and Gardner families exhibit what a purebred breeder should be. They are involved in marketing, promotion, showing and selling, volunteering and the basic belief that you must have a strong foundation to build on. This is so evident in this strong and tight knit family.

All three generations at Diamond T have made great strides in genetic selection and have a keen eye for what will work in their operation. They are highly regarded cattlemen and women, judges, volunteers, organizers, mentors, friends and a huge attribute to our breed. They are also highly accomplished. Amongst them we have Premier Award winners, National
Young Cattlemen, recognition awards for local and district 4-H, Western Canada Fair Volunteer of the Year, many judging and showmanship awards.

In fact we wouldn’t be standing here this evening, having this fabulous event, the Hall of Fame, if it weren’t for Rob Smith.

This was his brainchild as was the highly competitive and hotly contested National Young Cattlemen. This family is responsible for many initiatives in the cattle industry. Tracy Dietrich said it well when she said “it doesn’t matter what you ask them to do, or where, or when, it will get done and done well”.

Like a diamond, it took years to create the gem we know as Diamond T Cattle Company. It is my honor to present the Smiths and Gardners.... Donna, Gary, Tami, Roy, Rob, Tracy, Brody and Tyson.