DENVER, Colo. — Participating in an international livestock exhibition such as the National Western Stock Show can bring instant name recognition and big business deals.
For Scott Severtson of Innisfail, Alta., the long drive to Denver, Colorado, paid off this year when he won the senior champion bull award with two-year-old SLC Swagger 105A.
The bull was named Canadian national champion Gelbvieh in 2015, and a half interest was sold to Mexico the day before the Jan. 11 show in Denver.
Severtson, who has made the trip about 20 times, said the recognition that comes from an animal making it to the championship circle is invaluable.
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“Denver is a very good marketplace,” he said.
Visitors from around the world tour the barns seeking out new genetics. The Canadian dollar is also sitting around 70 cents, which can make exports more enticing.
“I suspect at bull sale time there will be lots of American interest,” said Severtson.
Swagger is a home bred bull, and Severtson also raised its dam, which was the Canadian national champion female in 2010.
Manuel Molina of Sonora, Mexico, knew the bull’s reputation but had not seen it until the stock show, which was held Jan. 9-24.
“I saw a picture of him, and I wanted him,” said Molina.
It will return to the Severtson Land and Cattle Co. after semen is drawn in the United States for export to Mexico.
The solid, dark red bull has 40 sons and daughters on the ground with another 40 expected this year.
Molina’s family raises purebred Gelbviehs and Balancers on their ranch, which is hilly grass country with outcroppings of trees and rocks.
Balancer cattle are registered hybrid cattle with documented pedigrees. They are 25 to 75 percent Gelbvieh with the balance being Angus or Red Angus.
Imported Gelbviehs have performed well in Mexico, even though the climate is hotter than central Alberta.
Severtson’s breeding program is well known in Mexico, and his cattle trace back to a landmark bull named SLC Freedom 178F.
“Freedom changed the Gelbviehs for the good,” Molina said.
In Mexico, Gelbviehs serve a dual purpose as beef animals and milk producers.
“The people I sell to use them for milk and get homemade cheese from them,” said Molina.
Severtson, who entered four cattle, also had the first place class winner with a spring heifer calf with SLC Lady 12C and second place with a spring bull calf named SLC Velocity 14C.
