REGINA – As Brad Buchanan’s windshield wipers began to stick in place, Mother Nature and the RCMP ensured that White River, Ont., would live up to its name.
On Nov. 15 the road through White River leading to the biggest livestock show in Western Canada, Canadian Western Agribition, was closed due to snow.
“It’s winter in Canada and we’ve made the trip every year for 35 years. We know what to expect, but we might expect it a little closer to the Prairies,” said the Ariss, Ont., purebred cattle producer.
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Snow, freezing rain, wind and being limited to a speed of 60 km-h for much of the trip, extended the drive by a day for Buchanan’s crew of six and his dozen Red Angus cattle. Their home is just north of Guelph, Ont.
“Winnipeg was just a mess too. But after that it straightened around. Then bang, it’s almost summer out here,” he said.
Agribition has always been a good show for Buchanan’s Gold-Bar Livestock Ltd. The family hopes the 10.5 percent increase in 2005 participants points to a cattle industry on a post-BSE rebound.
“We sell 60 to 70 percent of our cattle out here. This is our real market. Ontario isn’t really growing its beef business the way the West is,” he said. “If we can keep the cattle clean with all this mud around, it could be a pretty good show.”
Gold-Bar is optimistic about its chances at this show after claiming Champion Bull, Reserve Champion Female, Breeder and Exhibitor awards at the North American Beef Congress in London, Ont., earlier this fall.
Jim Martin and his family also travelled from Ontario for this year’s Agribition. They came from Manitoulin Island, but left two days later than the Buchanans.
The Gore Bay, Ont., Shorthorn and Angus breeder said it was “a really great drive.”
“We got lucky and missed the weather,” he said.
The Martins brought six Shorthorns to Regina in their intermittent 15-year attendance at the show. While the Martins say Agribition is good for business, their customers aren’t in Western Canada.
“The fact that we are strong competitors at the biggest beef cattle show, in the heart of cattle country, is a selling point for our animals back home in Ontario.”
He said the 2,200 purebred cattle entered in the show make Regina “the place to be if you are serious about the business.”
Martin said despite the extra time he’ll have to spend washing muddy cattle because of the warmer than normal temperatures, he expects that the weather will draw more producers to the event.
“When the truck tires are frozen square, and the old girl doesn’t want to start in the first place, it tends to make it easier to stay home on the ranch than come to the show,” said Martin.
The Gold-Bar’s crew may have had a long drive on the road West, but it will seem longer going home, no matter what the weather brings. The first night they were in town someone broke into their truck and stole their DVD player.
