ABP’s Calgary Stampede 2023 highlights

Another Calgary Stampede is in the books, and Alberta Beef Producers was excited to be part of the action! Here’s a brief roundup of a few of the activities we took part in this year:

Alberta Beef Industry Stampede Summit

Along with other beef industry organizations, ABP welcomed provincial and federal politicians to our second Alberta Beef Industry Stampede Summit. Held at the lovely Hotel Arts in downtown Calgary, stakeholders and decision-makers gathered for a fun afternoon of networking, with delicious beef dishes making an appearance.

As part of this event, we announced the recipient of the 2023 Environmental Stewardship Award, Wray Ranch of Irricana, AB. Read more about the Wray family and their operation in this feature. The Wray family was presented with a beautiful sign to showcase this achievement, and award sponsors Ducks Unlimited Canada and Nature Conservancy of Canada were on hand for the presentation.

And through a new opportunity, the Wray family (as recipients of this year’s ESA) is eligible to receive a $10,000 project grant from the Weston Stewardship Incentive Program.  

ABP would like to thank everyone who attended this year’s Summit, and a special thank you goes out to everyone who worked hard to make this event a success.

The Cattle Trail

Agriculture has long been a part of the Calgary Stampede, with visitors from far and wide enjoying the chance to see aspects of this industry firsthand.

This year, ABP teamed up with Public & Stakeholder Engagement, Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Alberta Conservation Association, and other industry partners to take the public through the beef production chain, from pasture to plate, with our booth in the Brandt Cattle Trail.

Those who stopped by our booth had fantastic questions about how cattle are raised in Alberta, and we value opportunities such as this to interact with consumers face-to-face and make connections.

Kitchen Theatre

In partnership with Canada Beef, ABP hosted three Kitchen Theatre events during the final weekend of Stampede in the Big Four Building.

Each event featured chefs going head-to-head to create the best beef dish. Mel Chmilar Jr. of Dark Side of the Grill faced off against three worthy culinary opponents: Xavier Lacaze, Maddie and Kiki of Canada Beef, and Stephen Deere of Modern Steak.

Then, the audience got to sample both dishes and vote for their favourite, with door prizes, beef quizzes, and more throughout the event. It was wonderful to have beef take centre stage for three days, and the audience was thrilled with the delicious results!