REGINA – Claude Wasden is as proud as a new father surveying his Red Coat Classic winning Hereford at Agribition.
“I knew he was a winner from the moment he was born. He had a top on him a mile wide,” said the Spiritwood, Sask. farmer.
“I raised him from day one. It is a feeling of pride and means a lot to one’s herd standards. Not to mention it pays the bank,” Wasden said.
A $5,000 prize is paid to the current year’s top Hereford bull calf. A three-person panel makes the choice that will determine the direction of the breed for another season.
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“The purpose of these competitions is so you can see where the breed is headed. If you have the animal that best shows that direction, you win,” said Glen Klippenstein, of Maysville, Miss., a $10,000 winner of a producers’ choice contest among Hereford breeders at Agribition.
In its short life, Wasden’s bull calf has won no less than five awards in Western Canada. To the northwestern Saskatchewan farmer it will mean demand for his breeding stock.
“We beat the best from across the country and it will mean a lot to us in the long run,” said Wasden.
