Italian hog farmer Georges Campana made the trip from one culture to another and halfway around the world to learn about the farming practices of his Canadian neighbors.
“There are no small hog farms in our country any more. Now only barns that contain 10,000 or 20,000 animals. They are born and raised to slaughter weight there,” said Campana through a translator, during Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, Sask.
The delegation of 10 from Cuneo, Italy included Campana and other farmers and a few restaurant owners. The group was using Agribition to gather information about an expanding Canadian hog industry and how it fits into rural culture.
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“Yes, we want to know how they are fed, but also want to know about the people behind the pigs,” said Campana.
The Italians toured several farms in the Saskatoon area, SPI Marketing Group and Intercontinental Packers, as well as attending events at Agribition.
More than information is traded at the annual show, where 567 international guests registered at the International Business Centre.
Horacio Palladino found several Canadian products for which he intends to seek a market in his native Argentina. Palladino owns a large farm and a grain elevator near Tres Arroyos, in southern Argentina.
Touring beyond the farm show was a major element of Palladino’s visit. He knew what Western Canada offered from a trip to Agribition two years ago.
“There are many things about our agriculture that are same as yours and so many of your ideas will work for us. It’s about learning and sharing,” said Maria Costa de Gowland, an Argentine journalist and translator for Palladino.
“We have elk in Argentina. But they certainly aren’t of commercial value like in Canada. We were impressed by the Boer goats. We don’t have them but we could. We have long held an interest in Canadian cattle breeding. So there is a very good reason for us to be here for this event,” said Costa de Gowland.
The largest foreign delegation, other than American, to visit the farm show this year was Korean. Eighty-five attendees from that nation examined nearly every aspect of the Canadian livestock trade including the much prized elk antler industry that has been growing in Western Canada to serve southeastern Asia.
While some international guests of Agribition come to buy cattle or genetics, others come only to learn more about the Canadian system and make contacts for the future.
“The Chinese are a prime example bracket of buyers that won’t find animals, in a price range they can afford, at Agribition,” said Sydney Palmer, of Canadian Livestock Services, of Marsden, Sask., an international livestock broker.
“What they will find are the people who have bloodlines they can afford. And they can get a look into the future of their own industry. No show is better than Agribition for bringing together such a wide range of buyers and sellers and mixing them together.”
