First place pork quality competition winners Blue Grass Colony, their
carcass was purchased Sollio Ag.

After being cancelled due to the pandemic the last two years Alberta Livestock Expo welcomed back attendees and exhibitors in early October. With over seventy companies representing every segment of not only the hog sector but other species as well.
Genetics to equipment to pharmaceutical to buildings and everything in between.  
Alberta Livestock Expo business manager Katie Tokaruk shared that over the two-day trade show it attracted over 800 attendees. Both herself and husband Chris were very pleased with the turn out. Producers are eager to gather and meet together under one roof again and be able to catch up with industry reps, some they have not seen in years. 
As one fellow exhibitor shared, there are more of us in the room that have aged and even gained more grey hair or in some cases lost more. The hog sector is like a family, many of the exhibitors including myself have known each other for over twenty-five years now. 
The dinner on Wednesday night, while not full house, was delicious with the roast beef sourced from Benchmark Angus. Thanks to AP and Maple Leaf for their sponsorship of the wonderful meal. Chris shared a thank you to all the general and cooler sponsors of the two-day show — Advanced Ag Products, Ceva, Donald’s Fine Foods, Genesus, Hypor, Magnum Swine Genetics, Nutrition Partners, Prairie Livestock Veterinarians, Sollio Ag, TTT Stock Company, Walbern AgriSystems, Zircon Graphics, and Prairie Hog Country. 
One of the highlights of the show is the Pork Quality Competition. As Jim Bourret from Maple Leaf shared the carcasses were graded on certain criteria: Index, Hog Carcass Weight, Back Fat, Loin Eye Size, Loin Eye Colour, Belly and Loin Marbling with a maximum achievable score of 70 points. 
Seventeen hogs were entered into the competition, with all the meat being donated to the Interfaith Foodbank and the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen in total over 1100 lbs. of pork. The top three loins and bellies were displayed at the show in the cooler. 

Second place was secured by Fairlane Colony, their carcass purchased by Friesen Livestock.
Third place
honours went to Livingstone Colony, their carcass was purchased by Fortified Nutrition.


The seventeen participating Colonies were; Armada Colony, Baker Colony, Blue Grass Colony, Delco Colony, East Raymond Colony, Elmspring Colony, Ewelme Colony, Fairlane Colony, Hunterville Colony, Keho Lake Colony, Lakeside Colony, Livingstone Colony, Mayfield Colony, Newell Colony, Rockport Colony, Spring Point North Colony and Starbrite Colony. First place honors went to Bluegrass Colony, second place to Fairlane Colony and third to Livingstone Colony. 
Once the top three were announced Corey French from Perlich Bros Auctioneers took over the microphone and proceeded to auction off the top three. The third place carcass was bought by Fortified Nutrition, with the second being sold to Friesen Livestock and first place bought by Sollio Ag, totaling a $13,500. All monies were donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alberta. Jacqueline Fleischer, corporate sponsorship and engagement officer with Ronald McDonald House Charity was so grateful for the generosity from the auction. 
Initial plans are already starting for the 2023 Alberta Livestock Expo; stay tuned for updates as more details and dates are finalized. •
— By Laurie Brandly