Despite the troubles caused by BSE, and maybe in part because of them, the 2003 Canadian Western Agribition may be more successful than ever.
As one of the world’s largest cattle events, Agribition might well have fallen victim to bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Border closures, nervous international markets, bad publicity and producer losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars could have conspired to hurt the big show.
But the result instead is increased competition entries in nearly all the purebred classes and commercial cattle events and commitment from producers to attend “the one show this year, rather than a bunch.”
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Roger Hardy of Sooline Cattle Co. in Midale, Sask., said he has heard from other purebred producers and commercial guys that they have “skipped Lloydminster and Saskatoon” shows that occur before Agribition’s Nov. 24 to 29 schedule.
“If you’ve got less money, and everybody in the cattle business has less this year, you’ll spend on the best bang for your buck. That means Agribition,” he said.
Leon Brin, general manager of the show, said the strength of the show is present in nearly every class of entry.
“Commercial cattle, up 40 percent; purebreds up 10 percent for more than 2,300 animals. The only show in Canada this year to see increased entries,” Brin said.
Horse markets have also suffered this year with reduced demand for pregnant mare’s urine, but at Agribition, the entries did not reflect the downturn.
“The draft horses are up 18 percent and the ranch horse competition and sale are up … it is almost too good to be true.”
Brin said show organizers began creating alternative plans in case BSE did harm the event, “but we really didn’t need them. But we were ready.”
Ontario producers are also helping fill the stalls in Regina.
Normally purebred cattle producers from Eastern Canada plan on making their largest show of the year an attendance at Louisville, Kentucky’s, North American International Live-stock Exposition held earlier in November.
This year those producers are shut out of the American event and are making the trip to Regina to show their animals.
Breeders say BSE hasn’t hurt the embryo or semen markets and for that reason American buyers who have been moving away from live animals in favour of genetics in a nitrogen canister are expected to attend in average numbers.
Stewart Stone of Heartland Livestock, international chair of the show, said the out-of-country interest is better than ever.
“We haven’t seen any decline in the foreign visitor numbers … we have a large international component and they seem to see Canada’s BSE problem as a minor blip on the graph and not as a long-term problem, so they’re coming to do business.”
Still, Brin is unwilling to admit success.
“I’m not going to ring any bells until (it’s over) but so far it sure looks better than we might have imagined at the end of May,” he said.
About 150,000 people go through the gates during the annual event.
