YORKTON, Sask. – As their names were called out, each third generation family walked into the show ring behind their cattle.
Several grandfathers cradled grandchildren in their arms.
There was a look of quiet pride among these seasoned men, mixed with a shyness at being the centre of attention.
The six families were participating in the three-generation cattle show at this year’s 20th annual Harvest Showdown in Yorkton.
“We wanted to recognize exhibitors that have been with us for 20 years,” said Shaun Morin, general manager of the Yorkton Exhibition Association.
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“We’re trying to recognize the strength of the family farm in our area. Everyone is saying the family farm is disappearing. Farms are getting larger. You can’t make a living on a half section like you did 30 years ago.”
He said it’s been interesting to watch families grow up since the show began.
“Over 20 years of our event, the first couple years we saw the grandfathers entering the show and now we have their sons participating or carrying on the family operation. We still have some grandfathers involved; they’re still part of it.”
Rancher John Simpson is the one exhibitor to appear in all 20 years of the commercial cattle show.
He was one of seven exhibitors in 1989, who between them entered 31 bred heifers. At this year’s show, producers entered 225 head, of which 100 were bred heifers.
“That says we’re growing and we have been able to sell these heifers because we’ve been getting a premium for them,” Simpson said.
“We’ve had top quality and clientele willing to pay for them.”
He said ranching is more of a lifestyle than grain farming.
“You have to like it to stick with it. My son is the fourth generation in ranching. My grandfather started this in 1907 or ’08 – moved up from Manitoba,” he said.
“Developing a cow herd is not something you do overnight. It takes generations to do it. You can go out and buy it but you have to develop it. My son has developed a herd; the grandson and granddaughter have a couple cows. Let’s face it, in the cow business we’ve always been optimists. It’s next year country. I sincerely hope that there’s a future for them.”
Todd Britton, who ranches with his father and son at Rokeby, Sask., southeast of Yorkton, said family-run farms still exist but most of them require one or both family members to work off the farm. Britton is a community pasture manager and his wife works full-time in town, which means in the spring his 80-year-old father must put in full days on the farm.
“He cuts all the hay, does all the field work, because I have to go to work,” he said.
“I’d like to be able to stay home. I just want to be able to make a decent living and stay home, get the grandchild to come out and teach him what I know about the land, about cattle and maybe he’ll want to carry on. When we’re gone, who the hell will grow the food?”
