The Rural Voice, 2002-11, Page 24A cattleman's holiday
Shorthorn breeders from around the globe see Canada coast
to coast in tour hosted bg Belgrave man.
Story and photo by Janice Becker
So, company's coming and
they're staying for a whole
week and you're wondering
what to do to keep them busy? What
would you do if you had 50 people
from all over the world coming and
staying for three weeks? In the case
of Ross Procter of Belgrave and Ian
McRae of Ayr you show them the
country — the whole country.
The two men were the co -planners
of the Shorthorn World .Conference
held in Canada for the second time in
28 years. Every three years since
1974, shorthorn breeders and
enthusiasts along with others in the
beef cattle industry gather for an
international conference on current
issues and concerns.
Procter and McRae, with the
assistance of representatives from
each province, created both a two-
day conference, September 21 and 22
in Prince Edward Island, and a three-
week cross-country tour which
highlighted the agricultural, cultural
and scenic splendor of this country.
Beef producers from Argentina,
New Zealand, Australia, England,
Ireland, Scotland, Zimbabwe, United
States and Canada, began their tour
in Nova Scotia on September 19.
20 THE RURAL VOICE
While there, they visited shorthorn
farmers and attended a county fair in
Windsor at which many shorthorns
and other cattle breeds were on
display.
The conference that weekend was
held at the -veterinary college in
Charlotte, Prince Edward Island.
There were well-known speakers at
the seminar and, according to
comments expressed to Procter, they
were exceptional.
"I wanted to write a note to them to
tell them there was only one problem
with their talks," said Procter.
"Everyone had a hard time sleeping
through them."
Dr. Otto Radostis, DMV, MS,
spoke on infectious diseases and
management vaccination programs
and biosecurity and Charles Gracey,
former CEO of the Canadian
Cattlemen's Association, discussed
new challenges for breeders.
Dr. Rodger Hunsley spoke on
.challenges and opportunities for
shorthorns and Procter talked about
shorthorns being a vital link in the
global beef industry.
Representatives from each country
also provided an update of their
national industries.
With the completion of the
seminar, participants were on the bus
and heading west.
While in Quebec, they not only
visited farms, but also toured some
of the province's historic and scenic
locations.
A feature attraction was the
Shadybrook sale, which drew 400-
500 people, said Procter.
One bull at the auction sold for
$100,000 and the average price was
just over $10,000, he said.
On to Ottawa and a trip to the
Almonte fairgrounds, where local
breeders brought in their shorthorns
for display.
From there they travelled to
Kingston then Collingwood, stopping
to visit with many shorthorn farmers
along the route.
By October I, participants were
travelling through Kitchener and
Brantford before a stop in Niagara
Falls.
The wind-up of the eastern portion
of the tour was held at the farm of
David and Jean Hunt in the Niagar
Region.
The group flew to Winnipeg
October 3 where they began with a
tour of a bull test station.