The 40th annual Canadian Western Agribition is in the books.

CEO and general manager Jason Pollock says they saw their largest number of international guests ever this year.

"We had 772 delegates representing 82 countries," he says. "When we brand ourselves as an international market place and we post those kinds of numbers, that really is proof to me that we're doing the right things."

He says some of those international visitors sealed deals at Agribition. An Australian buyer payed $4400 for a Speckle Park embryo package while a yearling bison heifer was sold to a Wyoming buyer for $4,750. There were also reports of deals being reached with delegations from places as far away as Mongolia and Kazakhstan.

"Our sales were again strong this year," says Agribition president Marilyn Charlton. "The quality in the barns was exceptional and the shows went very well."

The Angus Masterpiece Sale set the tone for the week, with KBJ Round Farms of Clyde, Alberta purchasing a half interest in a black angus bull for $27,000. A half interest in the Agribition Reserve Grand Champion Limousin Bull sold for $19,000, and the top selling lot in the Charolais sale was the Canadian semen rights on a South Dakota bull, purchased by a group of 10 Charolais breeders for $18,500.

~ Tuesday, November 30, 2010 ~