Rick Mercer at Agribition

Showing Canada the barns

For those of you who may not know, Rick Mercer is a Canadian comedian and reporter with his own weekly show, the Rick Mercer Report. Rick is famous for his interactive pieces on everything from dog-sledding to bungee-jumping. After this month, he can add one more thing to his list- washing cattle.

Photo

At Canadian Western Agribition, which I attended for a livestock judging competition this year, Rick and his cameraman could be found in the barns speaking with producers and having a little fun with the various ag-related activities. He washed a bull with my friend Nicona Brost, auctioned off a goat, and witnessed a bison sale. 

Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Silly as it is, Rick does a great job of teaching his viewers a little about agriculture in this episode. In my opinion, the more positive exposure, the better! I think he earns the title of "honourary agvocate." Thanks, Rick.

 

Canadian National Junior Hereford Bonanza

The Canadian National Junior Hereford Bonanza was, yet again, a great success.

Champion Sr. Heifer Class

It was hosted in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and boasted our highest numbers ever at 210 head of Hereford cattle showing. Unfortunately, work commitments prevented me from showing there all week, but they couldn't keep me away entirely. I drove out with my dad Friday afternoon to catch show day and the banquet on Saturday. I helped my sister with her cattle and even did a little showing.

Bonanza is one of my favorite events of the summer. I've participated in seven Bonanza's all across Canada, starting when I was 8 years old, and made lifelong friends in the process. I had the great privilege of being selected as one of this year's Future of the Breed Scholarship recipients for my contributions as a junior Hereford member. 

I love Bonanza. And I love Hereford cattle. And I love the people who own, breed, and exhibit Hereford cattle. 

I would strongly suggest any kids under 21 who have Hereford cattle to get involved in this awesome show. It will be in Calgary next year in conjunction with the World Hereford Conference and in Brandon, Manitoba in 2013. Check out the Bonanza section of the Canadian Herefords website.

Prize Lady

I feel like the cattle show Santa Clause.

I've been involved with the Alberta Junior Hereford Association since I started showing cattle at 5 years old. I'm currently serving as secretary, and volunteered for the duty of prize shopping for our summer show in conjunction with Summer Synergy July 12-16.

The loot

This is no small task. I had budget of a few thousand dollars and over 50 seperate prizes to buy. I decided to go for some useful show items, like show sticks, shavings forks, and buckets. After I bought a few of each of those I moved into a few other departments like housewares, camping gear, tools, and other miscellanous things that I decided were awesome.

Cattle shows can get interesting when water guns are involved.
Call me a bad influence.

Rice cooker & Magic Bullet- awesome for our juniors getting close to moving away from home

I bought the loot at Peavey Mart, UFA, Superstore, Wal Mart, Canadian Tire, and Costco. I can successfully say that I would love to keep all of it for myself, but that would kind of defeat the purpose. Youth aged 9-21 at the Alberta Junior Hereford Show will be taking home their chunk of these goodies currently occupying the majority of the space in our living room.

Shiny new show tack!

So how do you win these prizes? Place first or second at the Hereford show in confirmation (cattle quality), showmanship, public speaking, team grooming, or aggregate.

Who doesn't wish they had a Snuggie?

Electronics and appliances are great to win

We're lucky to have some great sponsors behind us. Kids will be given a thank-you card to write before they get the prize to make sure our sponsors know how valued their support is.

Good luck, juniors!

If you'd like to stop by and check out the show,

visit summersynergy.ca for the schedule.

PS: Today is the LAST DAY to enter my giveaway!

Calgary Stampede: The Internship and What You Have to See

The Calgary Stampede is only two days from kickoff.


I've been to the Calgary Stampede religiously since I stomped on my first pair of red cowboy boots. I've done the rides, seen the rodeo and chuckwagons, and spent far too much in the RoundUp Center tradefair. I've shown my cattle with some of the best and even sang in the Karaoke Competition, and no, I don't want to talk about.

This year is going to be a little different.

I'll be there from July 7th to 12th as an intern with the Agriculture Media Committee. I am beyond excited for this opportunity. It's my first real chance to get some hands-on experience doing what I actually want to end up doing. I'll be telling some great stories from around Stampede Park using social media, and promoting the heart of the Calgary Stampede, agriculture.

I've heard nothing but great things about the committee and the experience from past interns. Keep checking the blog for updates from Stampede!

If you're stopping by Stampede, or practically living there like I am, there's one thing you're going to have to check out.

The Cattle Trail. It's exactly what Stampede needs: interactive education about beef, agriculture, and the ranching lifestyle directed right at consumers.

Read the article explaining it all here.

Image from here

The Cattle Trail will allow Stampede visitors to walk through the "pasture to plate" of beef production, with industry experts along the way to answer any questions. Hopefully I'll be able to help out a little in my off-time. It's open daily from July 7 to 18 on the south side of the Agriculture Barn. If you don't know where that is, just follow the smell.

I'll be sure to update you with other must-see events during the week.

And don't forget..

YEEHAW!

Summer Synergy Youth Livestock Showcase

The countdown is on for my favorite Alberta youth livestock event of the summer.

Summer Synergy had it's first year last year, and was wildly successful. The goal of the show is to "synergize" different breeds and species into one collaborative show. This year it will host the Provincial Angus, Hereford, Charolais, Simmental, Gelbvieh, Limousin, and Shorthorn breed shows, as well as the Provincial 4-H Dairy, Horse, and Sheep shows, and the Calgary Stampede International Youth Livestock Show.

It runs from July 9-17 in Olds, Alberta, hosting approximately 200 youth from Alberta and neighboring provinces. There will be nearly $55 000 in scholarship money available for individuals who participate in the required events, in the amount of $2000 down to $500.

Receiving our scholarships on the Grandstand at the Calgary Stampede

For a Senior (15-21) to be eligible for a scholarship, they must participate in Confirmation and Showmanship (show an animal), Show Team Judging, Multi-Species Judging, and Marketing.

I will be participating in all these categories, with the two heifers I introduced you to here as my livestock component. I'll also be participating in a few categories unique to the Alberta Jr. Hereford Show, including public speaking and art & literature.

The marketing component is where this blog comes into play.

This year, Crystal.Cattle and Laura Bodell had the great idea to have Senior members create an Agvocacy blog as their marketing component. There are over 50 blogs that were created for this competition, and you can see the list here.

That's where I need your help!

The more followers, views, and dialogue I have on my blog, the better, as far as the marketing competition goes. Don't fear, the end of the marketing competition is not the end of this blog. I have far too much to say to quit now :)

So if you stop by the blog once in a while, feel free to become a follower! Let me know what you think of the posts in the comments, and any suggestions you have are welcome.

To learn more about Summer Synergy, visit their website.

Meet the Girls

I'd like to introduce a couple of my favorite new ladies to the world.

They're quite hairy, a little attitude-y, and newly pregnant (I hope).

These lovely girls are my summer show heifers.

Introducing:

 XTC Redneck Girl

This is a commercial heifer- meaning she is a cross between two or more breeds, in this case Red Angus and Hereford. 

XTC Impact Arcola 90X

This girl will show in the Purebred segment of the show. Purebred meaning she is the product of a full Hereford mother and father in this case, with no other breeds in her pedigree. 

They're very pleased to meet you. Please excuse them if they lick and/or bunt you. They mean well.

From now until showtime, my free time will be dedicated to getting these girls show-ready. This involves "training" their hair to go a certain direction and have volume, cutting their hair using special cattle clippers, washing them often, and training them to behave and stand correctly in the showring. 

I'm off to give the girls a much-needed bath and haircut!