REGINA – Cattle producers, vendors, and workers have spent the weekend getting ready for the 45th Canadian Western Agribition (CWA); the biggest livestock show in Canada.
“You know this is our biggest cattle show in a few years,” said CWA CEO Marty Seymour. “Our cattle entries are up eight per cent this year. You’ll see a little over 2,000 head of beef cattle here over the course of the six days.”
That’s on top of the hundreds of other animals that will be on the exhibition grounds like: goats, horses, bison, and sheep.
The show officially kicks off on Monday, and in the weeks leading up to the big event producers have been working on making sure their animals are show ready.
This includes things like halter breaking cows, closely monitoring their feed, and plenty of presentation work.
“Combing and grooming them, and trying to do as much at home as we can. Then we come to Regina and they get washed and clipped. Some more and ready for the show,” said Richard Mollenback of Bell M Farms.
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Mollenback has been making the journey from his farm near Englefeld, SK every year since 1983. He said that Agribition is a great place to trade; especially on the international level.
“Often our Canadian genetics go over to other countries and do well there and that’s kind of the icing on the cake. If you can get your genetics to another country it’s a great thing to have.”
People travel from as far away as Australia and England to attend Agribition, and invest in cattle.
Of course the livestock events are the main draw at Agribition, but Seymour said he is excited to see the Food Pavillion that debuts this year.
“This area’s going to be full with the wine garden,” he said while motioning to a nearby corral. “We’ve got the cooking display behind me. We’ll be giving demonstration’s from local chefs like Dave Straub from Malt City.”
This year is also bittersweet for Seymour. Exhibition Stadium, which hosts much of Agribition, is scheduled to be torn down in December to make way for the International Trade Centre. Seymour said many people are sharing fond memories this year as a result.
“What’s been really fun this year is the emotional connecting stories that are coming out. I met my wife at Agribition or I sold a cow for $80,000 at Agribition in these old buildings.”
Agribition has a full entertainment line-up scheduled. This includes live music from bands like The Dead South, jousting on Saturday, and a free rodeo on Tuesday.
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