The Canadian Hereford Association has chosen the Olds Ag Society facilities to host some of the World Hereford Conference events this July.Close to six hundred participants from 17 countries will converge on Olds for three days of cattle shows, from July 16 to 18.ìWe anticipate anywhere between 300 and 400 head of cattle,î said Gordon Stephenson, general manager of the Canadian Hereford Association.ìIt will probably be one of the largest Hereford shows held in Canada this year.îThe event will culminate with a Ranchers' Day pen show.ìAll the exhibitors are inviting as many commercial producers as possible to come and attend that day,î said Stephenson.ìWe could have 700 or 800 people on the last day of the event.îThe association had originally planned to have all the events in Calgary. However, the Stampede facilities were not available, due to renovations. The Olds Ag facilities were chosen due to their proximity to Calgary.The association has been planning the conference for the past two years.ìThe last time this was hosted in Canada was in 1976 in Banff and Calgary,î said Stephenson.ìI don't anticipate this conference coming back to Canada at least in my lifetime.îThe conference will start in Calgary on July 12, where participants will attend technical sessions and Stampede events.ìThe conference at one time was pretty well totally technical in nature. There would be probably three or four days of technical presentations,î said Stephenson.ìOver time, it has changed. Now, there is one and a half days of technical meetings.îStephenson said the conference is now more of a social tourism event. Thus, participants can choose to go on a pre-conference tour of British Columbia and a post-conference tour of the eastern Prairies and Ontario.The association anticipates a large number of Albertan Hereford breeders will attend the conference.
