Breeders show off their stock

The name of the game was “breed” for many cattle producers at Manitoba Ag Ex on Wednesday — a chance to show off their stock, plant their flag in the dirt and attract new customers.

The exhibition kicked off Wednesday at the Assiniboine Credit Union Agricultural Centre in Brandon. Until Saturday, cattle farmers, sheep breeders and others in the industry will be at the Keystone Centre for the livestock event that has run more than 50 years.

Cody Nolan, who lives about an hour from Brandon in Cypress River, drove to Ag Ex to market his purebred black angus cattle. The animals were lined behind him as he told the Sun what a success would look like this week.

“If you can have the grand champion bull, that’s what everybody wants,” Nolan said. “That’s what you strive for.”

His 2,000-pound bull rested like a couch on the floor of the Assiniboine Credit Union Agricultural Centre. The cow is under two years old, and in a position to breed a herd of cattle for the next six to nine years. The purchase price, according to the seller, could fall somewhere in the ballpark of $15,000.

Today, a judge will inspect the bull and compare it to several others of the same species, looking for the best muscle, thickness, length of body, depth of body and even factoring in birth weight, Nolan said. The bull that ranks highest across all the categories will be selected by the judge — and that is like having an endorsement on your product, he said.

Winning the competition gets the attention of cattle farmers who want to buy that bull for its genetics and use it to breed their herd, he said. While the basic health of the animal is key to winning, there are also some cosmetic touch-ups that go the extra mile.

“It starts at home, always combing them and blowing them (dry with fans). And then, when they come to the fair, we wash them every morning and use lots of hair products,” he said. “It’s a lot of work.”

Dawn dish soap works best to clean the animal’s fur, he said. When asked about the after-cleaning products, and how he accomplishes the sleek look on all the black angus cattle behind him, he falls silent.

“I can’t tell you that,” Nolan said. “That’s a secret potion, actually.”

Nolan grew up in the 4-H program in Alberta, he said, following in the footsteps of his father. Nolan now has a herd of 30 purebred cattle and 250 other cattle. He is looking to meet people in Brandon this week and make business connections.

P.J. Ruszkowski, a farmer out of Prince Albert, Sask., drove roughly eight hours to be in Brandon this week. It’s the first time he came to Ag Ex — he wanted to promote the breed he’s selling, called PJS Speckle Park, and break in some cattle so they know how to behave in livestock competitions.

He and his wife keep a herd of about 125 of the black-and-white speckled cattle. They brought 13 to Brandon for this week’s show.

The road trip was worth it for the couple, Ruszkowski said, because they want to shake as many hands and meet as many faces in the industry as they can. It can take about 15 to 20 years to build a brand in the purebred industry, he said.

They are building up their show class ahead of the season’s major event, the Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, which takes place next month. The message is that they are in the speckled breed and open for business.

The planning for Ag Ex started about five months ago, Ruszkowski said. Some of the cattle he brought to the show had been drinking milk from their mothers’ udders just this year, he said. And they had to have DNA tests confirmed as a way to authenticate their purebred status.

Damion Seymour, a 15-year-old volunteer at Ag Ex from Oxbow, Sask., told the Sun that he wants to take over his father’s cattle farm. The reason he was dropped off to be an extra hand around the site this week is because he is working toward a career in the field.

“I just love to work with animals, and the show cattle business is something I want to get into,” Seymour said. “I’ve been working with cattle since I was five. I’ve been around them all my life, and I just enjoy doing it.”

While speaking to the Sun, he used a stick to scratch the chest of a speckle park. The scratching sensation calms the animal, he said, so that she doesn’t get antsy while being tended to by the other youth volunteers.

When asked his least favourite thing to do, it’s working in the “wash racks,” getting wet while spraying down cattle ahead of blow-drying and grooming, he said.

Seymour said he wanted to build up his name in the industry — it’s his future. He plans to take up the reins from his father and farm cattle for a living. For the time being, he said his volunteering helps build his name, and his father’s.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com