Source: Canadian Angus Foundation
When he was only a few months old, Wade Olynyk began riding on the quad with his gido (grandfather) or his father while they fed cattle. He has continued to be involved with cattle, and now he has been presented with the Canadian Angus Foundation’s Junior Stockman award.
Whenever he wasn’t in school, Olynyk spent time helping on his family’s purebred Angus operation, Crescent Creek Angus near Goodeve, Saskatchewan. Olynyk would help harvest, wean cattle and prepare for winter. In high school, he used his spare class periods to leave school early and oversee cattle feeding and help with bedding and calving. While other friends found summer jobs that offered them off-farm experience, Olynyk remained on the farm saying that “I don’t want to spend my time on anything else”.
In 2015, an accident left Olynyk’s father Wes unable to walk for three months. The accident happened weeks before the annual bull sale, thrusting Olynyk into the role of head herdsman and marketer. Olynyk stepped into his father’s role, showing the cattle to producers, speaking with them about genetics and helping to set up the penning system.
Olynyk currently maintains his own herd of 20 purebred Angus cattle. He hopes to build it through artificial insemination and embryo transplant. He has recently purchased his own land for grain and pasture use.
In addition to his cattle, Olynyk is a director on the Canadian Junior Angus and Saskatchewan Junior Angus Association boards. He has just completed his animal science diploma at Lakeland College and intends to become a 4-H leader with the Goodeve 4-H Club.
The Junior Angus Stockman of the Year Award is an initiative of the Canadian Angus Foundation. This award was introduced in 2014 to recognize those outstanding young cattlemen who are constantly growing their stockmanship capability by actively working with their Angus cattle. Olynyk received the award at the Canadian Junior Angus Showdown. Showdown is an annual summer cattle show organized by Canadian Junior Angus. It rotates to provinces throughout the country every July.
The Canadian Angus Foundation was incorporated in 1993 and is the charitable arm of the Canadian Angus Association.
