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Check out the beef!
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Kerry Mulligan of K.S.M. Red Angus entered a pen of three red Angus heifers and a red Angus bull in the contests offered by the Beef Congress when it was last held in High Prairie in January 2007. More of the same type of entries are expected again this year.
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Theresa Seraphim
for Spotlight
Plans are in high gear for the 12th annual Peace Country Beef Congress.
The event, to be held at the High Prairie Agriplex this Friday and Saturday, will feature a trade show, as well as various events.
These include a purebred heifer show, carcass class evaluation, herd alley walk, junior and senior commercial heifer shows, a steak cook-off banquet, and a cattleman’s choice bull.
Several 4-H events are scheduled for Saturday, including judging, a beef bowl, a steer show and a heifer show. Junior 4-Hers will participate in a quiz show, while the seniors will go through mock job interviews to get them ready for the workplace and inform them of what’s available there.
Organizer Jamie Borduzak-Semple said the congress is good for the area, economically.
“It’s good especially now in an industry that’s so depressed. It gives hope,” said Borduzak-Semple, adding the event was able to go on due to funding from the Town of High Prairie and the M.D. of Big Lakes.
It’s hard to predict attendance, she said, as the congress moves around between Grande Prairie, Dawson Creek and High Prairie.
There are a few changes and new events for this year, including the cancellation of the banquet. In its place is a steak cook-off on Friday night, wherein Charolais, Simmental, Hereford and Angus beef is cooked up and the people eating it decide which tastes best.
“It’s kind of like a taste-off,” said Borduzak-Semple.
Another new event is a slave auction on the Friday night, in which members of the junior board auction off their services for one day in order to raise money for a potential beef congress in the summer.
There are also more animal categories this year.
“We opened another pen,” said Borduzak-Semple, adding that enclosure will contain two, two-year-old bulls to accommodate producers whose heifers calve in May and June.
Cattleman’s Choice is slated for Saturday afternoon.
“It’s an individual bull class judged by three local cattlemen,” said Borduzak-Semple.
Five commercial heifers from a local producer will also be raffled off, with 500 tickets available at $20 each.
Borduzak-Semple stressed the local nature of the congress.
“It’s localized to Peace Country cattle producers,” she said, adding only they are allowed to showcase their stock and products. The trade show, however, is open to any cattle-related merchant wanting to participate, and will feature items such as financial advice, forage seeds, hays, artificial insemination and pharmaceuticals.
“It kind of encompasses the whole industry,” said Borduzak-Semple.
Sponsors have been solicited for the event, and they fall into four categories: Gold, in which a $5,000 commitment results in newspaper acknowledgement, corporate logo on all advertising and identification on posters and at the top of the sponsorship board; Silver, same as Gold except the commitment is $2,000; Bronze, same as Silver except the commitment is $750; and Supporting, which includes door prizes, free draws, etc.
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