As a published fiction writer, Joanne Jones-Hole had no plans to branch off into history.
But when friend and neighbor Ron Hanson approached her about writing the history of the 100-year-old Calgary Bull Sale, she said, “Sure, why not.”
She then shelved the project for two years.
She and her husband Jim Hole left the purebred business in 1986. As one of North America’s premiere Hereford breeders, the genetic influences of Jim Hole’s cattle are found around the world. He also had the top selling bull at Calgary seven times.
Read Also
VIDEO: British company Antler Bio brings epigenetics to dairy farms
British company Antler Bio is bringing epigenetics to dairy farms using blood tests help tie how management is meeting the genetic potential of the animals.
Jones-Hole felt she had distanced herself over the years so she was no longer part of the politics and biases of the purebred beef world.
“I don’t have any axe to grind or back to pat. I tried to be very objective,” she said from her Calgary-area ranch house.
Once she got started, bull sale enthusiasts who wanted to share their memories welcomed Jones-Hole. She also scoured archives at the Glenbow Museum, Calgary Herald and farm publications.
Her biggest research obstacle was a lack of written records of North America’s longest running purebred beef bull sale. Sales documents and pictures had been lost or thrown away. The Stampede and exhibition board filed catalogues and little else.
“They were so dusty after a couple days I couldn’t read them at the computer,” she said.
However, she persisted and developed an affectionate book of anecdotes about the sale, as well as Calgary and Alberta agricultural history.
Each chapter contains comments on the cattle business, the competition and the fun of the 100-year-old event, which this year takes place March 5-7.
The first Calgary Bull Sale was held in May 1901 as part of livestock convention week.
People and animals arrived in the bustling prairie town of 4,000 by horse-drawn wagon and rail for a week of farm meetings, social activities, sales and shows. Everything from poultry to cattle to horse sales happened in that week.
“It was the major thing for the farm and ranch families to come to,” Jones-Hole said.
The early sales featured mostly Shorthorns, some Angus, Hereford, Galloway and dairy bulls. There was a junior show for baby beef and fat cattle.
The intention of the sale was to offer an improved genetic pool to prairie ranchers, whose animals descended from some shaky family trees. Early pictures from the turn of the century show bony, poorly muscled cattle carrying heavy racks of horns.
Culling has been tough over the years to ensure high quality and to maintain the sale’s reputation. In the early days, all bulls not making the grade had to be slaughtered and the tattooed ear was returned to the bull sale president to prove it was destroyed. The slaughter ended in 1971 when Walter Blume of Castor became president of the Alberta Cattle Breeders Association, which sponsors the sale.
“It did make the breeders much more careful about what they brought in,” said Jones-Hole.
These days bulls arrive with a health and semen certificate. They are weighed, measured, palpated and checked with an ultrasound.
This year’s sale is the first time there is more Angus than Hereford. Older breeds like Galloway and Shorthorn are gone. The exotic Simmental and Charolais, now major participants, arrived in 1978 and 1980 respectively.
One strike against the bull sale could be the growth of Calgary.
The city and surrounding area is approaching one million people. Traveling the freeways to the downtown sales barn can pose a problem for big trucks and livestock trailers.
While the city has changed, some of the traditions remain the same including buyers’ ability to find a sturdy ranch bull for $3,000 or less.
The sale also continues to draw the high rollers.
The record breaker was a two-year-old Hereford sold in 1981 for $280,000. Sales between $50,000 and $100,000 for a single pedigreed bull are common.
The first sale had an average of $85 with a high seller of $250. In 1968 a Hereford bull broke the $10,000 mark, but overall sale averages did not approach $1,000 until 1970.
For the centennial year, the president of the breeders’ association is Charolais breeder Hazel George of Airdrie, the first woman to hold the job.
