Organizers say 2014 Agribition ‘best ever’

The 44th edition of Canadian Western Agribition, which ran from Nov. 24-29, was declared by organizers as the best Agribition yet.

The show’s success can be attributed to favourable market conditions and the addition of several new events, according to Agribition’s CEO and president.

The mainstay of the sixday event, beef cattle, saw entries up modestly, but witnessed huge increases in the value of animals being sold as a result of higher market prices. In many instances, cattle prices were 50 per cent higher than the previous year with the top-selling bull fetching a whopping $62,000.

General attendance for the 2014 show was consistent with previous events at approximately 122,000 visitors, CWA said in a press release Friday.

“The show continues to exceed expectations on many levels,” said Agribition president Reed Andrew, adding that an estimated $37 million in economic activity for a volunteer-led event is “something to celebrate.”

New additions to this year’s show included the Agribition Express bus program, chore team competition, full-contact jousting and enhanced stage entertainment.

Marty Seymour, CEO of Agribition, said the Agribition Express in particular exceeded the show’s expectations.

“Early on, we realized the buses were being utilized far beyond our plans,” Seymour said. “The City of Regina Transit team was outstanding to work with and we had more buses on the road right away.”

Of course, not everything went according to plan.

“International buyer engagement was down slightly as a result of a slumping global economy and changes to the Canadian dollar,” Seymour said.

“Exhibitors more than made up for it in domestic sales. People left very happy.”

Other highlights of the show include: ■ The Agri-Ed Program once again hosted more than 6,000 school kids from the Regina area throughout the four-day program; ■ Sold-out rodeo performances on Friday and Saturday night helped boost attendance at the Canadian Cowboys’ Association Finals Rodeo to more than 20,000 fans.

Financial results of the event will be released at CWA’s annual general meeting in April 2015.

Dates for the 2015 Canadian Western Agribition are Nov. 23-28.