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By Alice McFarlane

Canadian Western Agribition

Cattle continue to be the focus of Agribition

Nov 22, 2019 | 3:53 PM

Canadian Western Agribition (CWA) opens on Monday with attendance expected to surpass 120,000 people.

CWA CEO Chris Lane said there are over 1,500 cattle entries across 12 different breeds which is an increase from last year.

He said purebred cattle continue to be the heart and soul of Agribition.

“Each breed will have its own show and a lot of them will have sales as well. It’s all capped off with the RBC Beef Supreme and that’s the champion of the champions show on Saturday,” he said. “Even if you’re just curious about what the livestock side looks like at Agribition you can come and grab a seat and watch it all unfold. If you are in the purebred livestock business, you probably already know there’s no better place to do business.”

It’s been a tough year for the agriculture sector. Lane said they have empathy for the kind of year it’s been for producers and ranchers, but all of the signs point to strong sales.

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“People are resilient and the business of farming still needs to get done. We have full barns, we’ve got over 1,500 head of purebred cattle and that’s going to be a little more than last year. Given the state of agriculture and the tough fall, we’re sure happy with those kinds of numbers,” Lane said.

There are close to 1,200 international guests expected to attend from over 80 countries including China, Kazakhstan, South Africa, South America, Mexico, Australia and United States.

“I think that says a lot about the market development work that we take part in throughout the year. A big part of what Agribition does in the off season is recruit buyers from other countries to come and look and see what’s available for Canadian cattle genetics. We do a real thorough job of vetting and targeting people who are ready to buy,” he said.

Lane said the international guests go through an application process and get checked out in their home countries to make sure the right people making buying decisions are walking around at Agribition.

Agribition’s trade show is the fourth largest in Canada with over 400 different exhibitors from equipment to ranch supplies.

“Our trade show is completely sold out. We’ve got every square foot with an exhibitor in it. Everything from tractors to farm supplies, to toys, home decor, financial services and agronomy. All of those wonderful things that people come to Agribition for. We’ve got our professional development conferences, Grain Expo registration is ticking along and, of course, and we have the major entertainment events. We’ve got a brand new Maple Leaf finals rodeo product so that’s four nights of rodeo coming to Agribition. We’ve got a brand new event on Tuesday, the Agribition Altitude Motocross. It’s a great time for the whole family,” Lane said.

The show opens Monday and wraps up Nov. 30.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF