Alpacas and bison featured at second day of Agribition in Regina

Alpacas and bison featured at Agribition WATCH: Alpacas and bison were featured at the second day of Agribition in Regina. Hallee Mandryk has the details.

There is no shortage of livestock at the Canadian Western Agribition. While many people associate the event with cows and horses, Tuesday featured some less common animals: alpacas and bison.

Amanda Vandenbosch, an international alpaca judge and senior trainer, joined the Saskatchewan Alpaca Breeders Network to judge the harness and fleece shows.

She explained that there is a number of criteria to work through when it comes to judging.

"So, we're judging the conformation structurally. How that [is] put together, looking at all their traits, that they're fit for function and then in their fleece, the qualities of the fleece that are going to be positive, and then taking that fleece to end product,” she explained.

Agribition added a new addition to the show this year, called the Innovative Fleece Assessment. This includes measuring the fiber diameter of the fleece across the whole fleece.

"The breeders here have very much embraced it. It's the first time it's been used in Canada, so that's very exciting. And we measure the samples across the fleece shoulder, mid-sized rump and low mid. And we also measure the lengths of the fibers of the fiber growth over the year, how fast that is,” Vandenbosch said.

“Then also the other visual and tactile traits of the softness of the fleece, the uniformity of the fleece, the brightness of the fleece, the health of the fleece, the weight of the fleece.”

Vandenbosch has judged internationally, recently travelling to Peru for a festival where over 800 alpacas were shown off. She explains that the alpacas in Canada certainly hold up.

"Something that I noticed in the fleece show that was such a positive trait and fantastic for the Canadian breeders and producers, was the actual length of the staple that the animals here were producing,” she said.

“So obviously, selecting genetics that are producing that long staple and they're feeding the animals well because they're producing very healthy, well nourished fleeces."

Alpacas come in 22 natural colours, according to Vandenbosch, and the lighter fibers are often dyed into an even wider variety of colours. The warm fibre is used for a variety of purposes, and Vandenbosh certainly recommends it for all occasions.

"Everyone should own a pair of alpaca socks to really high end, you know, suiting. Even my wedding dress was made from alpaca, so it just is the most incredible, versatile, fiber,” she said.

Third annual Bison Day

Across the grounds, another animal received some attention as Tuesday was named the third annual 'Bison Day.’

"It's obviously like a diverse animal. And it's evolved here over the last ten, 15,000 years over the northern Great Plains. But for our opportunity where we wanted to celebrate the animal, is just out of what it means to so many different people," Robert Johnson, vice chair of the Canadian Bison Association said.

People had the opportunity to learn about bison through some trivia, an Indigenous hoop dance, auction, and some bison brisket.

"This is an alternative when you're out shopping or at the grocery store or the farmers market, that if you see bison out there, it's locally, you can't find a more local food than bison,” Johnson said.

“It's got a really good omega three and a mega six fatty acid ratio. It's higher in iron, it's lean, so for people looking for a good clean protein, you see lots of high-performance athletes choosing to eat bison just because of the way it's digested.”

Johnson went on to say that he is looking forward to spreading more information about bison to folks who may not be as familiar with the animal.

"What we found is just people are just so thirsty and hungry for knowledge, just facts and figures about the animals. So we came up with a trivia game called “Bison or Bluff” that we'll be playing down there and at our CVA booth all weekend,” he said.

“It's kind of designed for all ages, whether you're a school group that's coming through or whether you're a long-time bison producer, there's lots of good, fun questions in there."