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Beef Congress deemed a success
Theresa Seraphim and Mac Olsen
for Spotlight
Tradespeople, cattle owners and organizers agree, the 12th annual Peace Country Beef Congress was a great success.
“This (congress) looks really good. It’s really well organized,” says Jaroslav Gasko of Champion Feeds, who had a booth at the event, held Jan. 8-9 at the High Prairie Agriplex.
“There are not as many (people) as in Dawson Creek (two years ago) but I can understand – the economy is hard,” says Gasko.
Gasko’s booth partner, Laurenz Baars, says people were not just looking, but bringing forth their questions as well.
“People are asking for feed solutions, for minerals, for supplements,” says Baars.
Over at the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency booth, Karl Sorensen, an inspector with Livestock Identification Services, says he talked to many people.
“There have been lots of good questions,” Sorensen noted.
Cattleman Mike Klassen, attending his sixth congress, says the meeting is good for bringing purebred and commercial breeders together and for networking.
“It’s great to see the stock that’s out here and visit with old friends,” says Klassen, who is also one of the congress’ directors.
Klassen says the attendance was about the same as in Grande Prairie last year.
Klassen and fellow cattleman Derek Mayer say one good and important aspect of the gathering is the involvement of 4-H members.
“There are good information sessions for 4-H kids to learn from, to develop their skills,” says Mayer.
“It’s about the youth, so we have to keep them (in agriculture),” says Klassen.
Mayer also says the congress is beneficial for those who want to learn more about agriculture, or who are new to it.
“It’s good for people who are getting first-time exposure,” he says.
The good turnout allowed members of the agricultural community to network with one another, says Mayer.
Bev Milne says the value of the congress lay not only in attracting potential buyers, but also catching up with past buyers.
“It’s important for people to see that we’re still in business,” says Milne. “We’re all suffering from the economic slowdown.”
The beef industry has been struggling for 10 years and what affects one aspect affects all, says Milne.
“We’re all connected.”
However, she is optimistic things will be better this year. Like Mayer, Milne pointed out networking was a vital aspect of the meeting.
Congress organizer Jaime Borduzak-Semple says about 350 people came through the doors of the Agriplex over the weekend. The quality of the animals was high, she says.
“We had some strong bulls here; we had some strong heifers.”
Borduzak-Semple also says there was strong interest expressed in the pens containing two-year-old cattle and young people were avid participants in the congress.
“The 4-H program was double what we usually have,” she says.
Borduzak-Semple, as well as some tradespeople and cattle breeders, expressed gratitude to the Town of High Prairie and the M.D. of Big Lakes for providing sponsorship money to ensure the congress was held.
“They gave us a strong sponsorship,” she says.
While businesses and service organizations promoted their products and services at their booths, a series of livestock shows were held:
* Purebred Heifer Show.
* Two Herd Alley Walks.
* Junior and Senior Commercial Heifer Shows.
* 4-H Judging (four livestock) with judge Dave Vikse.
* 4-H Beef Bowl.
* The Pen of Two and Pen of Three Purebred Bull Shows.
* 4-H Steer Show.
* 4-H Heifer Show.
* Cattleman’s Choice Bull Show.
The results of the shows are listed separately.
But what would the Peace Country Beef Congress be without sampling the real thing? A steak cook off banquet was held at the end of the first day and four types of beef – Angus, Charolais, Hereford and Simmental – were cooked.
Attendees didn’t know which beef was which when they tasted them, going only by a coloured toothpick marking each type. They checked off one coloured toothpick on a card and commented why they liked the beef best. The Charolais beef was declared the overall winner.
A slave auction was held following the dinner. Taylor Iwasiuk and six other youth held it to raise money for a Peace Country Jamboree for youth, tentatively scheduled for Aug. 27-28, 2010 in High Prairie.
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Jordan McQuaid of Sexsmith, with a Charolais bull from JayDawn Farms. McQuaig participated in the pen of three Purebred bulls contest during the second day. It was one of many contests held during the Peace Country Beef Congress' two-day event held at the High Prairie Agriplex Jan. 8 & 9, 2010.
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Marie Ochran of the High Prairie District 4-H Club and her Simmental cross steer won the Reserve Champion 4-H Steer Class banner. Left-right are judge Dave Vikse, Marie Ochran, judge Kristy Oatway and emcee Al Billings. In back, far right, is Mike Ochran.
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Dawn Rohloff, the acting manager for the Alberta Treasury Branch in High Prairie, had information about ATB’s agricultural financial services. She also gave away mugs and calculators.
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Cody Clark won the Senior Heifer Pen Grand Champion banner. Standing next to him are judges Kristy Oatway and Dave Vikse. Clark is from Sunset House and his three heifers are 10 months old
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Jordan McQuaig of Sexsmith and his Simmental Steer won the Grand Champion 4-H Steer Class banner. Standing next to him are the judges, Dave Vikse and Kristy Oatway. McQuaig is a member of the Kleskun 4-H Multi Club in Teepee Creek.
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A steak cook off banquet was held at the end of the first day. Pictured above, front-back, are Mike Daubert, Chris Semple and Terry Lanigan of Big Lakes Dodge in High Prairie. They cooked the four types of beef – Angus, Charolais, Hereford and Simmental. The Charolais beef was declared the overall winner.
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The work never stops for Kyle Klassen, as he prepares one of his cattle for the Cattlemen’s Choice Bull event. Klassen, who is from Crooked Creek, and his family like to attend the Peace Country Beef Congress to show off their latest livestock.
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Bev Milne, right, and her daughter, Olivia Milne stand with a German Gelbview bull, which is also called a “yellow cow.”
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Derek Mayer with one of his Black Angus yearling bulls. Mayer says the Peace Country Beef Congress is a good way to network with the livestock industry.
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