Manitoba Ag Ex returns to Brandon next week

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This article was published 22/10/2022 (1189 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The 49th annual Manitoba Ag Ex event is coming to the Keystone Centre in Brandon from Oct. 26-29, featuring 150 more head of cattle than last year.

The number of people putting on exhibitions at the event are also “way up,” said Dallas Johnson, chair of Manitoba Ag Ex.

“There’s people that, with the [COVID-19] vaccination rules, weren’t able to come, so that hurt our numbers a bit last year, but we’re pretty much going to be full this year,” Johnson said.

The event took a break in 2020 due to the pandemic, but has been going strong since, and next year will be its 50th anniversary. Johnson said some exciting announcements will be made at this year’s Ag Ex regarding next year’s event.

Everything kicks off Wednesday with MooMania in Barn Three at 9 a.m. The school-based program is being offered through the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba and Manitoba Ag Ex for students in grades 3 to 5 in southwestern Manitoba.

Grades 5 and 6 students in Riverview Elementary School in Brandon already got a sneak-peek of what MooMania is all about, including learning that it takes one cow hide to make 18 soccer balls or 144 baseballs. The children also heard about the environmental benefits of the cattle industry in helping grasslands maintain lower levels of carbon dioxide. By the end of the class, they could assemble a side of beef.

“I love going to schools to educate the students, bringing rural farm life to urban communities,” Kristen Laing Breesmerch, program and volunteer manager with the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba, said in a recent press release. “That’s what MooMania is all about!”

Riverview school is just one of many schools Laing Breesmerch has visited so far in October. By the time Manitoba Ag Ex starts, she’ll have educated more than 175 students about the cattle industry, including the benefits of beef, the business of the cattle industry and how the cattle industry benefits the environment and wetlands.

But the real excitement, Laing Breesmerch said, starts when the students come to Manitoba Ag Ex on the morning of opening day to see the different breeds of beef cattle for themselves.

“It’s wonderful to see that flicker of understanding and appreciation on students’ faces. When they realized the hard work it takes for cattle producers to maintain a healthy herd, that’s our reward,” Breesmerch said.

MooMania gives urban kids a better idea of where their food comes from, Johnson told the Sun.

“They all know hamburgers but, you know, some of them probably don’t know how it comes about. It gives them a chance to see what they’re eating as part of their diet.”

A clipping clinic will take place in Barn Three at 12:30 p.m., followed by a Little Lady classic at 3 p.m. A Jackpot Bull show will wrap up Wednesday’s events at 5 p.m.

From 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, MooMania’s woolly counterpart, EweMania, will educate school children about the sheep industry.

That same day will feature an Angus and Shorthorn show, both happening at 10 a.m, followed by Speckle Park show at 1 p.m. From 3 to 9 p.m. that day, the market lamb arrival and weigh-in will take place.

Market lamb arrival and weigh-in will also start things off on Friday at 8:30 a.m., followed by market lamb ultrasounds from 9 a.m. to noon.

Also on Friday, a Simmental and Gelbvieh show will commence at 10 a.m. and a Hereford and Charolais show at 1 p.m. A supreme breed extravaganza will take place at 6:30 p.m. From 2 to 4 p.m., a panel featuring lamb producers will be held, and the Manitoba Sheep Association’s annual general meeting will run from 7 to 9 p.m.

On Saturday, the final day of the event, the fan-favourite lamb selection will run from 9 a.m. to noon. At 10 a.m., sheep shearing demonstrations will begin.

The junior showmanship cattle contest will commence at 10 a.m., with the winner receiving a $2,000 Twerdun Wealth Management scholarship.

Excitement will be running high as the $10,000 raffle prize gets drawn at noon. A Prospect steer and heifer show will start at 2 p.m.

The jackpot market lamb show will wrap things up for the sheep industry from 2 to 3 p.m. It’s the first time Manitoba Ag Ex has hosted the event.

Having the Manitoba Sheep Association represented at Manitoba Ag Ex is something event co-ordinators have been working on for some time, Johnson said.

“It’s been talked about before, and just never came about. Then early in the summer, late spring, the association contacted us and wanted to know if there was a way we could make it work to have them part of our event.”

Manitoba Ag Ex was eager to have the association take part, and Johnson said everything has worked out well.

“They’re bringing a lot to the show.”

One of the things Johnson said he’s most looking forward to seeing from the sheep side of things is a the sheep-shearing demonstration, which will feature Pauline Bolay of Fairford, Man., 335 kilometres northeast of Brandon.

“She is the world record holder for the most amount of sheep sheared in an eight-hour period, and that’s 510,” Johnson said.

Bolay earned her title in Walkaretu, New Zealand, in 2019, becoming the first North American woman to hold the record.

There is no charge for admission to the Manitoba Ag Ex, and Johnson said he hopes everyone with an interest in agriculture — or anyone who wants to learn more about it — will take in the event.

» mleybourne@brandonsun.com

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