LETHBRIDGE – If Robert Jackson had not finished harvest Oct. 13, he would have given the Chinook livestock show a pass.
The longtime Hereford breeder from Drumheller, Alta., travels the province showing cattle throughout the fall, but a delayed harvest had him and other breeders thinking twice about the Lethbridge event held Oct. 14-16.
Kathy Park of Claresholm, Alta., was showing three Red Angus. As her family at Meadowcreek Angus rushed to finish harvest, they barely had time to halter break their show heifers.
Last year, more than 400 entrants came to the southern Alberta show. This year, there were just more than 100.
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Still, many want to continue supporting these exhibitions because they need to advertise their breeding programs as they struggle to survive with a BSE-triggered embargo on livestock.
“Purebreds have really taken a hit with BSE,” said Jackson.
The harvest and money constraints saw numbers fall, said Cecelie Fleming, one of the show organizers.
“People are having to make choices.”
The overall quality of cattle was good and in many cases families came to support their children’s show.
“If the kid is in the junior program, the parents make the effort to get there,” Fleming said.
Other shows are looking for ways to encourage attendance.
Farmfair International in Edmonton is offering new programs and entry discounts for its show Nov. 6-12.
To date, 371 exhibitors and 1,503 cattle are registered. Farmfair officials expect late entries will boost the number of cattle to around 1,550.
A new registration program offered a free fifth entry for every four paid cattle entries.
In addition, producers may participate in the new Canadian Genetics Exposition and Exchange where they can advertise their breeding lines to international customers attending the fair.
Although livestock cannot be exported, many countries can still import semen and embryos.
Entries for Canadian Western Agribition are down about five percent, said manager Leon Brin.
Last year, 2,291 head of purebred animals were entered and about 85 percent actually showed.
No incentives were offered to encourage entries but the on-line registration was extended to Oct. 8 because of the delayed harvest, giving producers more time to select and prepare their show strings.
“We’ve struggled to ensure that our folks weren’t facing any higher costs,” said Brin.
