The inaugural Canadian Dairy XPO (CDX), which took place during the first week of February at the Stratford Rotary Complex was a success, according to organizers.
Expo founder and general manager Jordon Underhill stated in a press release: “The idea was to drive maximum value and wow factor for the dairy producer and family. After all, these are the people helping to feed the nation and deserve only the best”.
CDX reports 89 per cent of individuals attending were active dairy producers and 86% came with their families to enjoy the atmosphere that mixed big business with a social element of a grass roots meeting place.
Producers came from afar, with 22% traveling over 150km to attend and reported producer representation from six Canadian provinces and 11 countries.
“These dairy producers finally had a chance to experience what was long overdue for our Canadian dairy industry” said Underhill. “Attendance on our first day was 7,900 and the second day was 3,600; representing 11,600 dairy producers and family members. This figure does not include exhibitors, children under 6 or CheeseFEST attendees. That’s a lot of quota passing through in just a 16 hour period”.
The City of Stratford facility manager stated that the complex has never seen this volume of vehicles. Not even for established national events.
Organizers said in the press release this was hard to comprehend when there are just over 4,000 dairy producers in the province of Ontario.
“The family turnout was incremental; they came from both in-province and out of province. We also believe there was a number of producers that attended for both days”, said BriteSpan Cow Coliseum manager, Val Jones.
The BriteSpan Cow Coliseum was a massive free-span structure built specifically for companies to showcase live, their innovation and leading genetics.
Companies such as Drench-mate and Golden Calf Co. traveled across the border to perform live demonstrations with their leading innovations around rumen juice extraction and colostrum management.
Opening night in the Coliseum also hosted a complimentary public CheeseFEST event.
Hundreds of platters bearing high quality cheeses from four dairy species – cow, goat, water buffalo and sheep were available for sample.
Celebrity Chef Jason Bangerter and Chef Lynn Crawford played off each other and performed a candid, live cheese cooking demonstration filled with plenty of comic relief.
A significant fundraising campaign for 4-H youth was conducted throughout the dairy expo, raising over $10,000. Perth and Oxford County 4-H kids were a big help in the BMO Homegrown Kitchen, pumping out homemade milkshakes and grill cheese sandwiches.
GenerVations gave away a high genomic testing heifer calf and in addition donated over $5,000 to the Wellington County Dairy Club. CDX also made a three-year commitment to a dairy youth travel bursary of $2,500 administered though the Stratford Ag Society. The annual winner will get an interactive trip to the World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI.
Canadian Dairy XPO dates for 2014 are Feb. 5 and 6.
For more information visit www.dairyxpo.ca.
