A Radville, Sask., producer has taken home both the President’s and First Lady Classic titles at the Canadian Western Agribition Nov. 26, a rarity for the 50-year Saskatchewan ag show.
Justin Morrison of Brooking Angus Ranch took home both coveted awards for his Black Angus bred heifer and his bull calf, beating out nearly 100 entries in the First Lady division and 300 entries in the President’s division. To be chosen among all the quality cattle was quite the experience, he said.
“Our family, this is what we do. We have cattle, we sell bulls and females, and then being recognized as having a champion female and bull, it’s highly rewarding.”
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This isn’t the first win for the Saskatchewan cattle breeder. The mother of the award winning bull won Supreme Champion in 2019, said Morrison. However, their breed philosophy isn’t to win awards but just to promote strong genetics, he said. For both winners, there were obvious things that judges, and hopefully potential buyers, liked.
“They’re powerful, yet eye appealing, muscular performance cattle that still have some look to them. They’re a combination of the real world and a bit of the show-ring look.”
Judge Blake Morton said he starts from the ground up when judging the many outstanding entries in the First Lady Classic. By looking at the femininity of the animal, their udders and how they’re developing, judges are predicting how productive they’re going to be.
What he saw was an abundance of quality beef cattle in all the individual categories that culminated in the final 11 animals.
“The quality is next to none. Canadian genetics are sought all over the world and this is the place to come and find them.”
Overlooking the arena is the international business centre where breeders from around the world gather to watch as hundreds of cattle are led through the Chevrolet/ GMC Arena.
Brad Gilchrist, Canadian Beef Breeds Council director and beef marketing manager with Semex, said that with the First Lady Futurity and the President’s and First Lady Classic being the first in the week, this was a great way to kick off the livestock and purebred part of the show.
He said that as long as he has been attending Agribition, no one has ever taken home both awards, and seeing history being made means the industry has even more to strive for.
“To me, a rising tide raises all ships. When we bring breeders that raise the level of performance and phenotypic attributes that we’re looking at, I think it just makes everybody strive to do better,” said Gilchrist.
“From an industry standpoint, that’s a good thing. As a Canadian cattle breeder, we’re able to look out there and see what’s possible.”
Morrison and his son, Kordell, as well as other members of his team, brought 11 animals to the show with animals in the breed show Nov. 28 and heifers in the junior show Nov. 30.
There’s a lot of anticipation before the show, said Morrison, with the barns full of cattle with winning potential. It’s a busy time, but Morrison said Agribition is always a success when he can get his cattle in front of people.
“We’re here to see a lot of people, which Agribition is great for. It’s world renowned. We’ve visited with people already from multiple countries today (day two) and our neighbors down the road.”
Winning both titles with high quality animals is a bonus on what is always a productive show, said Morrison.
