[UPDATED: Dec. 5, 2023] Six days of the Canadian Western Agribition came to a close on Saturday, Nov. 25, with the annual Beef Supreme event and the final night of the Maple Leaf Finals Rodeo.
Kim Hextall, president of Agribition, said they have been hearing many positive things from attendees and the international guests who flew out for Agribition.
“People have visited us from a lot of countries, we’ve had new visitors this year,” Hextall said in a press conference on Saturday morning. “Our international buyers are spending money, buying genetics, so… that’s really exciting that we’re spreading Canada around the world.”
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As of Thursday, Nov. 23, at Agribition, 211 international visitors had checked in from 19 countries such as Australia, Denmark, Mexico, Argentina, Sweden and Switzerland. Of those 211 visitors, 35 were approved buyers and 14 were the government delegation from Vietnam.
Shaun Kindopp, CEO of Agribition, said Agribition this year was one of the smoothest events he’s ever been part of.
He said the weather helped a lot with keeping the event running easily.
“Anytime you can wake up in the morning and not have to shovel a foot of snow off your vehicle or not have to battle the highways or the elements to get to Agribition puts a smile on your face,” Kindopp said.
The only day Agribition experienced snow was the very last day on Saturday, with temperatures staying relatively mild most of the week. This is seen in the attendance numbers, which at the time on Saturday, Kindopp said was trending above the numbers from the year before.
Kindopp says the new events, such as the AgTech animal awards and the Miss Rodeo Agribition competition were a hit.
“They’ve been phenomenal, it’s been very exciting,” Kindopp said. “It wasn’t in their contract to stay and perform in the rodeo, this is them saying they like it, they want to perform… so that, for me, has been a lot of fun.”
Purebreed beef shows happened every day at Agribition across a variety of different breeds, which came to a head with the prestigious Agribition Beef Supreme, where champions from across a variety of different beef shows in North America and at Agribition are invited to compete.
This year, the Beef Supreme consisted of 45 females with 23 calves and 38 bulls, representing 15 shows across the continent. The winner on the female side was Black Gold Simmentals out of Paradise Hill, Sask., and the winner on the bull side was Glenlees Polled Herefords out of Arcola, Sask.
*Update: the article previously indicated Glenlees Polled Herefords as Glenlea Farm. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
