Livestock exhibitors at the Saskatoon Fall Fair got their first look at the new agriculture building at Prairieland Park Nov. 12-15, and most liked what they saw.
Clarke Ward praised the barn staff and noted how the dirt floors kept the cattle from slipping.
He wanted to see more electrical outlets in the barn building, a short walk from the other Prairieland halls, but felt the new site is an improvement.
“The show ring is big, bright and decent,” he said while waiting in the wings with his son to show their Black Angus cow-calf pair.
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Prairieland livestock manager Brenda Sapergia said the new building can accommodate all aspects of a livestock show under one roof, with large wash racks and heated areas.
She said the show’s numbers are up marginally from last year, at 350 purebred entries and 200 commercial entries.
“For this show, people made an extra effort to come because of the new facility,” she said.
Changes this year included a change of date and moving the Señor Challenge bull show to the first day, which Sapergia said helped bring more people to the show earlier.
The Saskatoon event is a smaller livestock show and trade fair, falling between Edmonton’s Farmfair International and Regina’s Canadian Western Agribition.
“It’s a really nice crowd,” Sapergia said.
For Ward, the show is a little icing on the cake. A regular exhibitor at the show, he said it allows him to show his animals to potential buyers and promote his annual spring bull sale.
“We use this as promotion for that,” he said. “The show is not our main concern but it’s more about making contact with buyers.”
He usually brings Red Angus cattle but brought black ones for the first time this year for the cow-calf and bull calf classes.
It’s also good exposure for Gary Nickel’s commercial cattle. The livestock producer from Borden, Sask., who only competes at the Saskatoon show, brought six pens of animals for the Jackpot.
Nickel likes the Fall Fair because it’s close to home and attended by many good friends.
“I like the friendly competition and I like showing off my cattle,” he said.
“I get exposure and people see what the animals look like.”
Nickel conceded, however, that beyond the show barns the picture is not as rosy. Cattle markets have been slow to return to normal since the BSE outbreak in 2003.
A lower Canadian dollar is a hopeful sign, although Nickel felt few animals are going south these days.
He also worried about the impact of an impending recession on the industry.
“The States is our biggest customer,” said Nickel, who predicted consumers will reduce beef consumption.
“If their mortgages are in trouble, they’ll start to cut back and food is one of the first to be cut.”
