Another successful year projected for Canadian Western Agribition
While final numbers won’t be available for a couple of weeks, another successful year is being projected for the Canadian Western Agribition (CWA).
“The show this year is doing what we hoped it would,” said CWA CEO Chris Lane at a Saturday morning media briefing.
“The show is reaching more school kids than ever before this year,” he said. “We’re seeing the work we do abroad paying off in tangible sales to buyers from our target markets.”
With approximately 10,000 preregistered school kids, Lane said they are on track to beat another record for young attendees.
“I see Agribition as a threelegged stool,” said outgoing CWA president Bruce Holmquist. “There’s commerce; there’s education; and there’s entertainment. I think education might be one of the most important.”
Notable international sales include a Charolais heifer calf sold to Mexico for $17,000 and one to Missouri for $26,500.
Two heifer calves at the shorthorn sale went to a buyer from Argentina and Wednesday’s Speckle Park sale saw a bred heifer go to Australia for $10,500 and embryo packages sell to Australia, Wales and Oklahoma.
“Even though this is the last day of the show, we’re not stopping,” said Lane. “In just a few weeks we’re going to open up applications for our brand new mentorship program.”
Announced earlier this month, the Next Gen Agriculture program will receive $100,000 in funding from the federal and provincial government.
It will match applicants ages 18 to 39 with a cross section of leaders in the fields of grain, pulses and oilseed production, livestock, value-added processing, and entrepreneurship.
The aim of the program is to “develop the leadership capacity of young people in agriculture and prepare them to take active roles in industry leadership, governance and efforts to build public trust.”
It will accept eight applicants for an 18-month mentorship beginning in February 2019.
“We’ve added new conversations and ideas about the industry,” said Lane of this year’s variety of events.
He said highlights included Tuesday’s panel discussion with former premiers Brad Wall and Frank Mckenna on agriculture, oil and free trade as well as the mental health workshop and Wild Blue Psychology’s display which aimed to open the conversation about mental health in youth through the use of therapy livestock.
Lane said final attendance and revenue numbers for 2018 will become available in the next couple of weeks at which point the CWA family will already be starting to plan next years events.
A committee is already starting to plan the CWA’S 50th anniversary for 2020. Holmquist, who is completing his final year as president, promises it will be the best show yet.
We’re seeing the work we do abroad paying off in tangible sales to buyers from our target markets.