REGINA — There are all kinds of connections made at Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, but the links between family members and fellow breeders took centre stage as the 2022 show wrapped up with the Beef Supreme Dec. 3.
Brother and sister Sean Enright and Lauren Oattes from Renfrew, Ont., exhibited the supreme champion female, a Black Angus, EF Primrose 925 with calf at side EF Oattes Primrose 2234. The cow is co-owned by Oattes Cattle Co. and Ostendorff Farms.
The supreme champion bull was a Charolais, SVY Mayfield 30H, exhibited by Cays Cattle of Kinistino, Sask., and co-owned with Serhienko Cattle Co. of Maymont, Sask.
Cays Cattle co-owned last year’s winning female as well and Serhienko has twice before shown championship females.
Enright and Oattes showed the winning bull in 2016.
“This is the big one everyone shoots for,” said Enright. “Getting qualified was the first step but to win here means the world. This is what everybody kind of dreams of when you’re in the wash rack and blowing on them late at night.”
He said that after winning in 2016, sales increased and so did name recognition of their farm. The world watches what happens at the Supreme, he said, and winning validates the long travel time to get to Regina.
The cow won the Agribition breed show, supreme champion at Expo Boeuf in Victoriaville, Que., and the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto.
“She’s incredible. Everything from her pedigree to her phenotype,” said Jack Oattes. “She’s a unique Angus cow that’s just phenomenal.”
“She’s a beautiful cow and you can see in her baby that she’s raising one just as good, if not better,” added Oattes.
The supreme bull was grand champion at Agribition and at Farmfair International in Edmonton.
Dennis Serhienko said the calf was raised at his farm but sold to Cays at about seven months of age and has spent the last two years with that purebred herd.
There were no shows the year the bull could have been shown as a calf because of COVID restrictions. Cays took him to Agribition as a yearling where he placed among the junior champions.
“But he kind of always had that look where he’d make a great mature bull because he’d stay really sound and he was so good structured,” Serhienko said.
Layne Cay said the plan is to flush the Supreme champion cow from last year to this bull, which could put them back in the winners’ spotlight down the road.
He said he knew the bull would be in the hunt this year, but you never know what the judges will see.
“From our standpoint, you’re always surprised (to win) when you’re with such good competition and all these previous winners at all the other shows,” said Serhienko, adding the barn favourites sometimes create unrealistic expectations.
He added that from a breeder standpoint the bull carries the Serhienko prefix, which shows what their breeding program can do. For the Cays, it shows they know how to pick high-quality animals at a young age to build their program.
Cay said the experience has built a bond with the Serhienko family he doesn’t think will ever break.
The 2022 show, which was held Nov. 28 to Dec. 3, was back to pre-COVID pandemic levels in terms of entries and likely attendance. Although final numbers were not available at press time, organizers said they were tracking well.
“Prior to 9 a.m. yesterday, (Dec. 2), we had reached full 2021 attendance through the gates, which is beyond exciting,” said chief executive officer Shaun Kindopp, who just joined the show in August, as the final day got underway.
“With the livestock numbers being back, the international being back, the guests being back, Agribition truly is back and we’re super excited.”
Show president Kim Hextall said sales to that point were at $1.67 million, with the commercial sale still to come.
“That’s above sales in 2018, 2019 and 2021,” she said. “People are back at the show, people are spending money, genetics are trading and they’re going around the world.”
She said the average price per live animal was about $15,000.
Highlights included a Speckle Park cow selling to an Australian buyer for $48,000, and a heifer calf selling for $30,000. Two Limousin females sold to Texas buyers for $40,000 and $32,500, while a Charolais cow sold for $49,000 and a calf for $41,000.
A $25,000 heifer calf topped the Hereford sale and a bred Angus heifer sold for $35,000.
The show was unfortunately book-ended by sad news. Janet Jackson from Sylvania, Sask., who with her husband, Bob, was a Charolais breeder and operated the Charolais General Store at Agribition for more than 10 years, was killed in a vehicle accident along with their grandson on Nov. 27. Saskatchewan rancher and Canadian Cattle Association president Reg Schellenberg died suddenly Dec. 2 on his ranch.
