Mark Goes, an instructor in Southeast Community College’s Agriculture Business & Management Technology program, is the 2012 American Gelbvieh Association Member of the Year.
The AGA Member of the Year award is presented annually to an outstanding member who gives their time, talent and dedication to further the improvement of their state and national association. Goes was honored at the AGA’s annual convention in Denver earlier this year.
Photo cutline: Mark Goes, center, poses with daughter Tricia, left, and wife Patti after receiving the 2012 American Gelbvieh Association Member of the Year award.
Goes, from Odell, has been very active in the Gelbvieh breed and the livestock industry. He has been a member of the Gelbvieh Association in Nebraska since 1987 and the AGA since 1988 as owner of M&P Gelbvieh, which he owns with his wife Patti and daughter Tricia. Recently, Goes also was elected the 28th president of the AGA.
“Since elected to the AGA Board, I have experienced a great deal of professional development in my field that I am able to relay to our students as well as implement in the management of the SCC cow herd,” Goes said. “Countless educational opportunities are afforded, and I have honed my expertise in areas of genomics and genetic evaluation, fed cattle and beef production as driven from a genetic and data-based approach, management of the diverse interests of people involved with beef production, and hosting of activities that create growth for membership leading to progress and the greater good.”
Goes said the Gelbvieh breed works well into SCC’s instructional three-breed rotaterminal crossbreeding system.
“Only registered females produced via artificial insemination enter the purebred Gelbvieh and Angus herds,” he said. “The reciprocal cross of the two breeds in the pasture yields a hybrid female that is able to support the growth genetics then incorporated with a terminal sire breed.”
Goes has been a director for seven of the past eight years with GAIN, where he worked to create the GAIN field representative position.
“The Gelbvieh cattle have been found to have superior fertility, enabling our students to enjoy greater success with advanced breeding technology,” he said, “and the novice student is able to gain experience when dealing with a breed that is proven more docile. Our students are able to practice the techniques at hand with less fear of a negative disposition hindering progress. Our students have even produced a national champion female through their efforts.”
Goes has chaired numerous AGA committees, including productivity, finance and national show and has written six published articles in “Gelbvieh World.”
“The American Gelbvieh Association and the surrounding state associations are proud to have SCC as a member of their groups, and they provide support for the SCC ag program through time and financial investments,” Goes said. “Membership of the AGA is quick to recognize the skill and knowledge base of our interns and graduates and provide intern sites as well as permanent employment for many of our graduates.”
In 1999, Goes was responsible for adding a registered Gelbvieh and Balancer herd to the beef program at SCC. The College has hosted multiple Gelbvieh tours with a variety of guests, including representatives from the Canadian Gelbvieh Association.