There will be bouncing bunnies and beautiful bovines to behold next week in Edmonton as farm fans gather for the 50th annual Farmfair.
The 50th annual Farmfair International livestock show returns to the Edmonton Expo Centre this Nov. 6-9. The free show brings cattle breeders from around the world to compete for best in breed. Some 20,000 guests from across Alberta will likely attend.
An overwhelming number of breeders have signed up for this year’s show, with some 1,350 head of cattle expected to compete, said Farmfair International director Leah Jones. It will be the most they’ve had since 2004.
“We have nine national breed shows,” she said, and tens of thousands of dollars in prize money up for grabs.
Jones said this year’s show also includes a number of side events for those less interested in cow competitions. There will be free cake at 1 p.m. every day to celebrate the event’s 50th, for example, plus a petting zoo with sheep, baby chicks, and other farm animals. Back for the first time since 2018 is the Country Christmas Marketplace, which features some 120 vendors hawking country-themed wares just in time for the holidays.
New this year is AgTech and Innovation Alley, which showcases Alberta’s advancements in agricultural research. One of the exhibitors is Sturgeon County’s Plantae Technologies, which uses surplus straw to remediate damaged soil.
Dogs and bunnies
Sturgeon County rabbit enthusiast Mike Miller will be at Farmfair along with other members of the Edmonton Area Rabbit Society Nov. 8-9 for a rabbit show. Some 300 rabbits representing 22 breeds will compete for prestige and ribbons.
“It’s much like a dog show,” Miller said, in that every rabbit is judged by how close it comes to a standard look.
Miller said guests should expect to see everything from the 17-pound Flemish giant to the two-pound Netherland dwarf at this year’s show. There should also be some angoras, which resemble fluffy mops with eyes and are shorn like sheep for their wool. He personally planned to bring some floppy-eared Holland lops and fuzzy Jersey woollies.
“I’m grooming them each day,” he said, as well as teaching them to get used to being handled by the judges.
Miller said the show is a great place for people to learn more about rabbits before getting one as a pet.
“It is an eight- to nine-year commitment,” he said of rabbit ownership, and it’s not for everyone.
Jones said this year’s Farmfair also features a hot-sauce challenge, wiener dog races, and flyball (a sport where dogs navigate obstacles to retrieve a flying ball as quickly as possible).
Gisela Griesser of Stony Plain’s Pawsome Connection Dog Training will hold several duck herding demos, where her trained stock dogs will guide ducks through tunnels, up ramps, and down slides.
“It’s all about demonstrating how stock dogs work,” she said, as the same skills used to herd ducks also work on sheep.
Admission to Farmfair is free. Visit farmfairinternational.com for details.