Sturgeon County bunnies and bovines are in Edmonton this week to compete in one of the region’s top agricultural exhibitions.
Thousands of farmers and animal hobbyists from across North America will be at the Edmonton Expo Centre this Nov. 9-11 for the 48th annual Farmfair International. The free agricultural show is Alberta's largest beef cattle show and gives guests a chance to get up close with purebred animals.
This year’s event will feature some 1,350 cows and bulls from across North America competing in breed-specific shows, said Farmfair International director Leah Jones. Prizes of up to $20,000 are at stake.
“Alberta beef is known globally for having some of the best genetics in the world,” Jones said, and added buyers at Farmfair will watch these shows to find the best animals to add to their stocks.
Guests at Farmfair can also take in honey, rabbit, and photography competitions, barbecue demos, a youth agricultural job expo, and a country music concert by Sawyer Brown and Lonestar.
Sturgeon County hog farmers Daniel and Victor Majeau will get a BMO Farm Family Award at Farmfair on Nov. 11 in recognition for their farming business practices and community involvement, Jones said.
The Majeaus, who run a 6,100 acre grain and hog operation, could not be reached for comment.
Bunnies and bovines
Clayton Elliot, a lifelong cattleman who raises cows north of Morinville, said he will bring some of his Speckle Park cows to Farmfair. The Speckle Park breed comes from Lloydminster and is the only completely Canadian cattle breed in the world.
“They kind of have a speckled black-and-white coat,” Elliot said, and have excellent marbling in their meat.
Elliot said Farmfair is a place where breeders can meet customers and buy and sell products, whether that be embryos, semen, or whole animals.
“The biggest reason we’re there is networking,” he said, as there is no way to tell if the animals will win any competitions.
Elliot said today’s cattle buyers want cows with a lot of meat per carcass. Breeders look for feed-efficient calves to prepare for a show, and make sure to wash and blow-dry them many times so they build up a thick coat.
Elliott encouraged guests to come to Farmfair to check out some top-notch cows.
“This is the start of the product you buy.”
Mike Miller lives near Gibbons and has raised rabbits since 1968. He expects to see about 30 area breeders with about 300 rabbits this week at Farmfair, including his Holland Lops and Dutch rabbits.
Holland Lops are small, floppy-eared creatures known as the clowns of the rabbit world for their playful, gentle nature, Miller said. Dutch rabbits are calm and popular with kids, but also a challenge at shows, as they have to have very specific fur markings to get top marks.
“It’s almost impossible to get a perfectly marked animal,” he said.
Miller said breeders spend lots of social time with their rabbits prior to a show to get them used to being around people. He fed his rabbits crabapples in August so they had shiny coats by the fall, and sometimes added in molasses and oats to boost their weight.
Miller said when it came to rabbits, shows like Farmfair are more about meeting friends than making money.
“We all have the same goal. We all want to improve the animals and make them into the healthiest and nicest animals.”
Visit farmfairinternational.com for details.
