Gee-Taylor, who has a small herd of registered Charoilais on her parents’ Rangiwahia farm, and Christchurch’s Emma Owen were in Canada as part of the Charolais World Youth Tour, which included 10 days visiting ranches in Saskatchewan and competing in the Canadian Charolais Youth Association’s national show.
Wanting to make the most of the experience, Gee-Taylor flew over a fortnight before the show to spend extra time on a commercial ranch as well as travelling around as a tourist.
The ranch was a cow-calf operation and Gee-Taylor said before spending time there she had not given too much thought to how fortunate NZ farmers are not having to deal with predators like coyotes and wolves.
She went along to a few cattle sales where buyers were few and the number of lots low. Everything sold passes through sale yards so the farmers she saw form no relationship with the freezing works like they do in NZ.
As NZ delegates at the four-day national youth show Gee-Taylor and Owen joined representatives from countries including Hungary, Estonia, Australia, Ireland and the United States and 120 young Canadian competitors aged from eight to 22.
As part of the experience the two New Zealanders competed in the showmanship and team grooming competitions, where they placed third and fourth in the handlers class.
It was the first time Gee-Taylor had competed at a cattle show, though she’s planning to show a Charolais yearling bull at the Hawke’s Bay Show in October.
She found the knowledge of the young Canadians impressive.
“They just know so much about cattle. They have a real eye and can discuss the key aspects,” she said.
That’s because cattle shows in that part of the world are a big part of the farming landscape so young people grow up not only on ranches but around competitions and the knowledge required to take part in them.
“It’s very established there and there’s such a culture around it that does not exist in NZ. It’s a shame it does not happen here because it’s a good way to learn.”
After the show competitors were taken to the slaughter room of a nearby works so they could see what prime animals look like after they have been dressed, something Gee-Taylor said would benefit people in NZ beginning their farming careers because it is an educational experience. It provided a close-up look at what quality carcases look like.
The differences between farming systems in Canada and NZ stood out to Gee-Taylor.
Cattle ranches in Saskatchewan are on prairies, predominantly large expanses of flat land where the temperature drops to minus 30C in winter so there’s no grass at that time of the year with feedlots and barns an important part of the farming landscape.
She gained a greater appreciation of the value of NZ’s pasture-based beef farming system after visiting feedlots and seeing the use of growth hormones and antibiotics in beef feed.
Farmers here are fortunate they can feed stock year-round in the paddock and not have to resort to feedlots, she said.
“It’s important we keep doing that.”
The grass-fed advantage is a vital point of difference.
