If Regina’s Canadian Western Agribition is any measure, it doesn’t look like the era of the big livestock show has passed its prime.
It also appears they are not as dramatic or focused on the purebred market as they once were.
Historically, the role of big cattle events has been to market a genetic line and herd, to show off a life’s work for breeders and deliver sales for years to come.
Farms have consolidated in all business areas, including beef genetics, and as a result there are fewer sellers and fewer buyers.
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The internet has long been a part of most breeders’ marketing platforms. Larger operations have hosted their own production sales for years, and consolidation created more of those, which reduced reliance on local shows and sales to market beyond private treaty at the farm-gate.
Genetic testing and the resulting comparison systems are allowing breeders and commercial producers to make more data-based decisions when it comes to sires and dams.
International marketing can now be accomplished using genetic profiles, which eliminates the need for two-day travel times to give breeders a reliable idea of what they are in-vesting in.
Last week, I asked Agribition attendees about the role of “the big show” in their operations.
They all spoke about the traditions of these sorts of events, the family nature of the business and about the need to meet customers face to face.
There was an honest desire to provide a comparative measure be-tween producers and to get a idea of what trends are taking hold within their breed and across the cattle industry.
Several pointed out they feel well informed about their breed, but big, multi-breed shows are their only opportunities to get a good look over the fences at other breeds.
Price discovery, while interesting at auction when the bidding soars, plays a small part during the show-sales events and is a bigger issue for the smaller breeds.
Everyone I spoke to talked about the social opportunity that shows play in bringing their community of producers together. And maybe, as long as there is profitability in the industry, that alone is enough to ensure the future of large livestock events.
