In a sense, the world of agriculture is a world unto itself.
Almost a group of families bound by the earth and the animals that provide their sustenance -- well, sustenance for all of us really.
There’s something genuine about agriculture. The sweat. The toil. The familial warmth of working together -- there’s also the unmistakable unmentionables, the smell of fresh manure or silage.
These families also share the triumphs as well as the tragedies, and everyone knows too well the tragedies of agriculture in recent memory.
Maybe that’s what makes the triumphs all the more sweet.
For a little more than two decades those tied to the dairy family have celebrated those triumphs in the ever-popular Alberta Dairy Congress -- a testament to those families and their commitment to produce the very best.
This year commemorates the 22nd such Congress as producers, and their charges, converged on the Leduc Black Gold Center June 5 and 6 to compete against each other and to put their best on the auction block.
“It’s a wonderful atmosphere and a wonderful group of people,” enthused Congress chair Orville Schmidt to spectators under the big top erected on the Center’s grounds.
“One of the things I want you to take note of, if you go through the barns, is we have an excellent group of people out there… livestock exhibitors, booth exhibitors, and a wonderful group of volunteers.”
As Schmidt extolled the strengths of dairy, inside the arena last minute preparations were underway for the Junior show. With the precision of the most skilled barbers, exhibitors trimmed their prized animals, curie combed their tails and made sure the coats of their calves were immaculate.
Schmidt wanted the audience to also know of some very special guests appearing at the show. A Saskatchewan-based herd that was one of two Western Canadian herds, the other being Albertan, to compete in the U.S. since the beginning of the BSE crisis.
Competing in Richmond, Utah, the herd dominated, bringing home both Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion, Schmidt beamed.
“We’ve got cattle that can show anywhere in the world.”
Joining the ranks of exhibitors were dairy enthusiasts from Germany, Switzerland and Holland who were working on area farms, and Schmidt urged the crowd to seek them out and hear of their own experiences in the dairy industry.
Schmidt also wanted to thanks the numerous sponsors who make the Congress possible.
Leduc Chamber of Commerce president Debbie Hanson was honoured to be among the dignitaries attending.
A farm girl herself, Hanson said although dairy has gone through amazing and complex transformations since she was a little girl milking one of six of her family’s dairy cows, what hasn’t changed is that consummate work ethic and love of the land.
“Dairy farming, and farming in general, are of paramount importance. Not just to our region, but to the world at large,” Hanson stressed, adding people are finally starting to wake up to that reality.
“Can there be a more honourable profession than to feed the world.”
Leduc MLA George Rogers, Alberta Milk’s Albert De Boer and Leduc city Ald. Dave MacKenzie all expressed their appreciation to the men and women who are the backbone of agriculture.
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