EDMONTON – Purebred breeders can no longer count on commercial cattle producers travelling hundreds of kilometres to one of the province’s largest cattle shows to see their animals.
To provide them with an extra incentive, six purebred breeds recently hosted a variety of gala events during Farmfair in Edmonton, where they were wined and dined and given the chance to win an animal of their choice.
The gala events seem to have worked – 400 commercial cattle producers attended the Hereford Genes Event Nov. 10, up from 300 last year.
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Event organizer Al Fenton said it’s 400 commercial cattle producers that wouldn’t have likely made the trip to Farmfair otherwise.
“There was real excitement in the venue,” said Fenton.
Breeders paid $500 to enter a bull and in return received tickets to give to their customers for the gala event, which included a beef supper. The customers also received entrance to Farmfair and the Heritage Ranch Rodeo. All their names were placed into a draw barrel and the winner, one of Leonard Poholka’s Breton West Hereford customers, received a bull of his choice.
Poholka said he doesn’t think any of the 10 customers he invited from Saskatchewan and Alberta would have come to Farmfair on their own.
“It’s an exciting idea,” Poholka said.
“It’s a customer appreciation event and a great display. It shows off the excitement in the Hereford industry.”
Fenton said inviting commercial producers to view the purebred selection reminds purebred breeders to keep animals useful.
“When you get guidance from your customers, it’s a good education,” he said.
“If we’re producing the best cattle, there better be a market for them.”
Wayne Burgess of the Alberta Limousin Association said his colleagues personally invited their buyers to a special breakfast show.
“It’s a way of bringing purebred and commercial breeders together at the same venue.”
He said breed associations need to find ways to attract producers to the shows.
“If they’re bringing producers to town, you want to make it worth coming to.”
Gaylene Groeneveld, who organized the Simmental and Gelbvieh gala shows, said those associations gave invitations to commercial breeders with the possibility of winning a free bull.
“It adds interest to the visit,” she said. “The more interest we create to individual events and with each breed, the more interest in the breed industry and the more energy it creates”
