Canadian Western Agribition is set to go, the 52nd Annual event opens to the public on Monday, November 20th.

CEO Shaun Kindopp says everything is coming together with cattle exhibitors already starting to arrive on Thursday.

"Last year, we had a little over 2600 head of livestock and we're having about the same this year. We've got breed champions from all over the country and numerous other shows, and it's just the best of the best that are coming to Agribition to compete. The care and attention that come into these animals is absolutely astounding. There's a lot of high quality sales that happen throughout the week. Whether it's your first exhibition or your 52nd , if you haven't been through the barns its something we highly recommend. Taking in some of the livestock shows as again, the care and attention that goes into these animals is is second to none."

Those top quality animals that are on display and competing in the breed shows and sales throughout the week are a key attraction for many in the beef industry not just provincially, but from across Canada, the U.S. and around the world.

For the first time ever CanadianWestern Agribition is offering the Canadian Animal AgTech Awards, presented by Deloitte. The awards will honour forward-thinking companies who have developed technologies to address challenges in the livestock sector. Canadian and International businesses are competing in three categories: Business of the Year,  Most Innovative, and Rising Star. 2023 finalists include Smart Paddock, FarmSimple, Flokk, Dyneval, CATTLEytics Incorporated, OneCup AI, and HerdWhistle Technologies. They will be on-site throughout the week and will each have a booth in AgTechc Alley in the AffinityPlex as part of the tradeshow . On Wednesday, November 22 they will have the opportunity to present to a panel of judges with an awards luncheon scheduled for Thursday.

The trade show is sold out again with something that's sure to satisfy everyone from food and clothing, to kitchen gadgets, tools, implements and more.

Over the last few weeks a group of dedicated staff and volunteers have been working to make sure that everything is in place and ready to go. 

Crews have been working on transitioning the Brandt Centre into a Rodeo Arena which takes about 50 semi loads or 1.5 million pounds of dirt.

He says one of the events that's going to be happening in that arena on Tuesday is the "Bull Fighters Only" Canadian Grand Prix freestyle event.

"We've got six Spanish Bull Fighters coming from Spain. Not your traditional matadors that harm bulls, this is going to be just 100 per cent entertainment. They're going to dodge bulls and they get judged on how close the bulls horn gets to them. There's also going to be members of Bull Fighters Only coming and doing freestyle bull fighting where they get judged on how well they control the bull fight for 60 seconds. They'll also compete in the 'Concurso de Recortadores' and the Spanish bull fighters will compete in the freestyle with points on the line to go and compete in Las Vegas during the NFR."

The Maple Leaf Finals Rodeo runs Thursday through Saturday at 7 p.m.  in the Brandt Centre.

A new element for Agribition this year is the new 'Rodeo Queen' competition which was open to Saskatchewan residents. 

The winner of the Miss Rodeo Agribition Competition will be the official brand ambassador until the crowning of the 2024 Miss Rodeo Agribition.

Kindopp says the 52nd annual show which officially opens on Monday has a key impact on the city and the province.

"It's very important to our economy. As last year our economic impact for Canadian Western Agribition was $96.5 million, which is up 31% from 2017. When you think about it, that's a lot of money for our economy that goes to,  supporting the hotel industry, the restaurants and the shopping. We're proud to be able to play the role that we do in the province."

Canadian Western Agribition runs Monday through Saturday at REAL in Regina.

You can find the full show schedule here.