"I was most surprised by how dominating the quality and the quantity of the British cattle were at the show. We were absolutely, totally impressed..." Chad Lorenz 016 Top Stock Magazine / Winter 2015
THE WORDS BY PIPER WHELAN PHOTOS BY TOP STOCK PLACES YOU'LL GO Join three Canadian juniors on a one-of-a-kind adventure as they experience a taste of Argentina s beef industry. This summer, South America was the destination for three young Angus enthusiasts. Chad Lorenz of Alberta, Matt Bates of Ontario and Patrick Holland of Prince Edward Island travelled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for eight days at one of the country s largest and most prestigious livestock exhibitions La Exposición Rural 2015. These three travellers have all served a one-year term as the Robert C. McHaffie Ambassador with the Canadian Junior Angus Association, which provided them with this travel opportunity. Guiding them through their adventure was Mariano Etcheverry, who doubled as their translator. Etcheverry, who worked for Alta Genetics at one time and is fluent in English, helped the ambassadors interact with the Spanish-speaking Argentinian breeders they met. La Exposición Rural in Palermo is a major event for Argentina s agriculture industry, with just less than 1,000 head of cattle exhibited this year, in addition to the other livestock species. The spectator numbers were equally as impressive. It was overwhelmingly busy, says Lorenz. Everything was well-received and there were spectators no matter where you went. It was different from any other exhibition I ve ever been to before. It was a mix between the Royal and Agribition, is how I d put it, Holland explains. People were very enthusiastic about agriculture, and there were tons of cattle, tons of horses, and it reminded me of Agribition in that sense. But then the amount of people there was very similar to Toronto. Photo The Angus Bull show at La Exposición Rural is one of the most competitive shows in the world. Top Stock Magazine / Winter 2015 017
The Cattle of Argentina For the travellers, the main attraction was the cattle exhibited, which all showed outdoors, rain or shine. One of the main reasons I think we selected Argentina as a destination was the quality of cattle in general, says Bates, who notes the high level of substance and style in what he saw. Not only did they get to view eared cattle suited to the climate south of the equator, they were also pleased to see how well their own breed was represented. There were so many Angus entries, the breed show took three full days. I was most surprised by how dominating the quality and the quantity of the British cattle were at the show, says Lorenz. We were absolutely, totally impressed with the Angus and Hereford cattle down there, and even the Shorthorns were very respectable. In regards to the Continental breeds, Lorenz found they had much smaller shows and less quality in relation to their Canadian counterparts. Consistency of those cattle throughout the barns was very low compared to at home. Holland noticed a large amount of North American influence in the Argentinian cattle they saw. They re similar in phenotype, but they re definitely shorter animals, he says. They were explaining that their export market is not as strong, so they want to keep smaller cuts for themselves, and a lot of the British breed animals are a lot smaller than what we re used to but very stout animals, very wide bases, sound, good muscle expression and correct, typically. After seeing what the cattle barns boasted, it was their turn to take the mike. The three ambassadors, who have all excelled in judging competitions at home, had the chance to take part in the Exposición s junior Angus judging competition. Around 20 people competed in their age category. It was not much different in terms of how the evaluation went, says Lorenz. The major difference was that it didn t include providing oral or written reasons. That was obviously great for us, because we would have had absolutely no luck in Spanish, he laughs. That was really neat to see those cattle up close out in the ring and presented nicely, and the chance to 018 Top Stock Magazine / Winter 2015
judge cattle that were different from what we re used to, says Bates. They sure had a lot of substance, and yet on a really moderate frame, so to be able to go out and analyze those cattle was really fun. Not only that, all three placed well within the senior division; Lorenz was the champion judge, with Holland placing third. Touring Around This trip included a visit to Casamu Angus, an operation in Buenos Aires province with the biggest registered Angus herd in the country. With approximately 1,000 head, Casamu Angus holds three bull sales a year, and pays special attentional to genomics and EPDs. They re very much genetically influenced and interested in animals that thrive on being grass fed, says Holland. They were one of the founding Red Angus breeders down there. Although they had about a 60 percent Red and 40 percent Black cow herd, they focused actually on the Red and they were only using the Black genetics as fresh genetics and outcross genetics, Lorenz explains. He notes their focus on EPDs, marbling and carcass quality didn t seem to be shared by all the Argentinian producers they met. Most places, they were more phenotype breeders where this place was very number-based. By going out to a farm like that, you get to ask some questions and you get an idea of how their cattle year works down there, because their seasons are opposite to ours, and so that makes their calving season opposite to ours and makes their bull sale season different, says Bates. It was enjoyable to hear about their operation and hear about how they cope with different things in the wintertime. Top Left Press surrounds the Grand Champion Hereford Female at the 2013 exhibition. Top Right A Gaucho leads his Criollo, the native breed of Argentina known for their endurance and hardiness. Bottom Left & Right The cattle shows at La Rural happen outside, rain or shine! Heavy rains commenced during the 2015 Angus show, leaving the judge and ring staff under umbrellas and the showmen wearing raincoats and rubber boots. Top Stock Top Stock Magazine / Winter 2015 019
Another stop was the Centre de Reproduccion Bovina, a collection facility with around 70 bulls in stud at the time. It was really neat, because compared to our studs in Canada, they had very little infrastructure, Lorenz recalls. At the end of the day, they did the same thing we did, just with a little different set-up. An Agricultural Adventure This experience put a spotlight on the similarities and differences between Canadian and Argentinian livestock shows. For example, Lorenz noticed the influence that North American trends in grooming had on the Palermo exhibitors. Some go to the full extent and full effort of clipping and washing and fitting at show time, as anybody does in Canada and the United States. Then there s some cattle who are just very lightly fit and clipped, he recalls. He mentions how many of the cattle had ample hair, considering the moderate climate. We asked breeders around the barn and some said that those cattle had been worked on extremely hard before the show, and yet some people made comments that they just naturally had that good of hair. Their observations provided an educational experience for the three travellers. I think the three of us took a lot Top Left A Gaucho on his Criollo. Top Right Bates, Lorenz and Holland on tour at the stud in Argentina. out it in terms of understanding a little bit of their culture down there in Argentina, and just the differences in cattle and the differences in the environment they re raised in, says Bates. All three agree on how welcome they were made to feel throughout their trip. It didn t matter where we went if we were ordering in a food line somewhere and struggling with that, or struggling with something else, someone who spoke a little bit of English would come up and help us out and lend a hand to make sure we got what we were trying to order, says Bates. When asked what they d miss about Canadian cattle shows if they were to stay in Argentina, they each mentioned a different detail For Holland, it s the opportunity to show cattle himself. It s very similar to Canadian cattle shows, for fitting and showing. I guess getting in the show ring they have a lot of the guachos (Spanish for herdsman) showing for them, 020 Top Stock Magazine / Winter 2015
Photo This year's Hereford show was also a wet event. Heavy rains affected the majority of the beef shows in 2015. That was really neat to see those cattle up close out in the ring and presented nicely, and the chance to judge cattle that were different from what we re used to. They sure had a lot of substance, and yet on a really moderate frame, so to be able to go out and analyze those cattle was really fun." Matt Bates Top Stock Magazine / Winter 2015 021
Above Stock show food with an Argentinian twist! Many vendors on the grounds sell meat & cheese, and the on-grounds restaurants serve Asado, the traditional dish of the nation (Beef cooked on a grill). so I d kind of miss that aspect of it, he explains. Bates mentioned weather-related issues with showing outdoors. They show in the pouring rain and thunder and lightning, he notes. Which made it a little bit tough for a national show where there s no building to show in. As for Lorenz, he would miss the North American stall set-up. I get the feeling that this is kind of general at all shows in Argentina: they don t have stall signs, they don t have fancy stalls, they don t have fans to keep the cattle cool just kind of general, plain, even sometimes messy stalls, and don t take their own end panels. As La Exposición wound down, Lorenz, Bates and Holland witnessed the high level of public involvement in some of the show s most prestigious moments. You get down to the Friday afternoon, and they divided the big main ring into four smaller rings, and they had the Holstein show finishing off in one ring, the Limo show, the Angus show and one of the horse shows, Holland explains. All of the stands were packed. The Angus show was the last one running, and people who were watching in one ring would come over and watch the Angus show, so there were probably 5,000 people watching the Grand Champion Bull get slapped, and 20 or 30 press people in the ring. The next day, we went for the closing ceremonies, and they bring out all the different breed champions all the cattle, all the horses, all the alpacas and llamas and there was a huge crowd there for that. Just listening to the president of the Rural Society, you could tell that they had an influence there and that people are passionate about agriculture down there. With that, Holland, Bates and Lorenz travelled home to Canada, with new knowledge gleaned from this adventure. This trip was really the trip of a lifetime, says Bates happily. 024 Top Stock Magazine / Winter 2015
CHAD LORENZ, AGE 22 2013-14 Ambassador from Markerville, AB Years showing cattle: 14 Studied Animal Science at Lakeland College in Vermillion, AB Works at Bouchard Livestock, Crossfield, AB Why being a Robert C. McHaffie Ambassador was important to him: "Probably the most important thing was the people I was able to meet within our breed and industry. I got to travel to tons of cool places and do some things I probably would have never been able to do without that opportunity, but everywhere I went and everything I did, it was the people I met that was most exciting. MATT BATES, AGE 21 2014-15 Ambassador from Cameron, ON Years showing cattle: 10 Studies Animal Science at the University of Guelph in Guelph, ON Why being a Robert C. McHaffie Ambassador was important to him: "It s sprung from a passion for Angus cattle, for the breed and beef cattle in general. I thought it would be a neat opportunity to be able to take in the travel experience and the networking opportunities that came from the ambassador experience, so I applied for it and became a finalist and went through that process, and enjoyed that part of it, and from that became the ambassador, and really enjoyed the year. PATRICK HOLLAND, AGE 22 2015-16 Ambassador from Montague, PEI Years showing cattle: 13 Studies Pharmacy at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia Why being a Robert C. McHaffie Ambassador was important to him: I think the Angus breed is pretty unique in that we have the ambassadors. We go out there to get youth involved and breeders involved and continue to grow the breed and strengthen it, especially in a time right now where the beef industry is doing well. I think it s important we continue that and build for the future as well. V I S I T I N G L A EXPOSICIÓN RURAL Witness the moment of victory I think you must be there for the Champion Angus bull drive to see the enormous crowd, and just try to visualize and understand the amount of people that actually are in those stands and peeking around every corner and hanging off the edges of stairways, says Lorenz. Take in a sale Attending the Angus sale was something that you would have to see. Great hospitality, they gave us stew and empinadas and wine and the auctioneering style is completely different from what you would see in North America, says Holland. Check out the trucks There was a demonstration with Toyota and Volkswagon they had all their pickup trucks going through an obstacle course and going up over hills and over rocks, and it was pretty extravagant and actually almost nerve-wracking when you were watching it, says Bates. Meet the producers You certainly have to walk through the barns and get a chance to speak with the producers and just look at the cattle in the stall, Bates suggests. They re really impressive. Go sight-seeing Go downtown and see the town square, says Lorenz. They saw the parliament building, a cathedral and the national bank. There s a ton of history, and there s some buildings on the town square that are hundreds of years old. Try the steak, of course All three are in agreement on the best food they ate on this trip. There was one restaurant that we went to two or three times on the corner close to our hotel, and the beef tenderloin was probably some of the best beef I ve had in my life, says Holland. See the champions on parade I think you must go to the parade on the final morning. I think it was just terrific to see all the other species and breeds out there, says Lorenz. A little Spanish can go a long way They used Hola! (hello), gracias (thank you) and por favor (please) the most, especially as they could point to something and say por favor to ask for it. Muy Bueno, meaning very good, came in handy when walking through the barns. We described everything that looked good we d say, el torro, muy bueno, Holland explains, meaning to compliment a bull. But there s always more to learn They also all agree a general understanding of Spanish would have been helpful, especially to ask people how they are doing. I wish I could have just walked up to somebody and said Hi, my name is Chad, I m from Canada, says Lorenz. Pack a few essentials in your carry-on. They learned this first hand when Bates and Lorenz s luggage failed to show up when they arrived. Definitely deodorant they do not have that, apparently in Argentina, says Lorenz. They also recommend a change of clothes and an extra coat, just in case the temperature dips. When they got their luggage back, Bates found his boots were missing, so Holland gives this advice Always wear your boots when you travel. Top Stock Magazine / Winter 2015 025