Canadian Western Agribition: The Mexico Edition

By Chase Dobson, Multimedia Communications Specialist, Moose Jaw

This March, the Government of Saskatchewan International Trade Office in Mexico supported the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association and other industry participants to attend the third annual Congreso de las Estrellas in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Held annually each March, Congreso de las Estrellas (“Congress of the Stars”) is a multi-day event where cattle producers gather from across Mexico to promote the livestock industry.

Sound familiar?

For over half a century, Canadian Western Agribition (CWA) has been a world-class event, bringing together livestock producers from around the world. One producer in particular, Rafael Ramirez of Mexico, saw CWA as a source of inspiration and modelled it when founding Congreso de las Estrellas in 2022.

Ramirez comes from a longstanding cattlemen heritage as his father has imported Canadian cattle genetics for more than 20 years. Ramirez first visited Western Canada in 2010 when the Consulate in Guadalajara organized a trade mission to Alberta. Since then, he has been a promoter of Canadian cattle genetics, attending CWA annually along with a delegation of Mexican cattle producers. Throughout his years at CWA, Ramirez has imported Angus, Hereford and Charolais breeds.

One of the industry participants who attended the latest Congreso de las Estrellas was CWA CEO Shaun Kindopp. Kindopp has built a relationship with Ramirez through his years at the show and in supporting the Mexican event.

“The production they put behind it, and the way they incorporate the trade show with the livestock and some of the other elements that Agribition has, is awesome,” Kindopp said. “[Ramirez] is an innovative gentleman. He was recently at Agribition again. He loves the show and what it offers and tries to take that back to Mexico to grow their footprint.”

Their footprint is already growing, from 2,000 attendees in 2023 to 8,000 in 2024. It’s quickly becoming the most important event for Mexican cattle producers, which speaks to the Mexican livestock industry’s desire to improve productivity and quality through genetics. During the CWA event in 2023, Mexican cattle breeders purchased $240,000 in livestock and toured seven Saskatchewan ranches.

“They love the genetics that Canada and Saskatchewan have, to see all the incredible breeds and livestock at Agribition. That’s very important for them and the main takeaway [from Agribition],” Kindopp said. “Everyone is willing to collaborate to take the genetics from Canada back down to Mexico and there’s a lot of them that have been very successful.”

The spirit of collaboration impacts not only the quality of cattle genetics but the events themselves. Since the founding of Congreso de las Estrellas, CWA has supported their production and shared lessons learned in an effort to cross-promote both organizations.

“They do a great job,” Kindopp remarked. “The passion that they have for their industry and their animals is second to none along with the hospitality we receive and the love that Agribition receives when we’re down there.”

The cross-promotion and support between CWA and Congreso de las Estrellas has blossomed, as the two organizations recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding, creating an official partnership. Seeing the impact that CWA has on the world stage, especially through the creation and growth of Congreso de las Estrellas, has meant a lot for Kindopp.

“It’s something we’re proud of, that people are coming to our event and seeing the world-class event that it truly is,” he said. “With people wanting to model their events after Agribition and taking aspects of our event down to Mexico, they’re not trying to cut us out. They want to collaborate and continue to get better, but also continue to come to Regina, to Agribition, to support us as well.”