This Saturday, cattlemen from the Cariboo and beyond will celebrate a first for Quesnel when the inaugural Continental Connection Bull Sale takes place at Pinnacle View Limousin.
Featuring 33 yearling and two-year-old Limousin and Simmental bulls from Pinnacle View Limousin and KRS Simmentals and six replacement heifers, the sale takes place Saturday, March 30 at Pinnacle View Limousin 4344 Highway 97 S.
The event starts at 10 a.m., with the viewing of the bulls taking place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Lunch and refreshments will be served at 1 p.m., and the video sale starts at 3 p.m. There will be a live auctioneer and people taking bids, and people who cannot make it to the sale also have the option of bidding and purchasing bulls over the Internet.
There will also be a dessert auction at the end of the sale to raise money for the Kersley 4-H Beef Club, whose members will be volunteering at the sale.
This is the first time a sale like this is being held in Quesnel and the first sale at Pinnacle View Limousin.
Pinnacle View Limousin has been selling bulls in Dawson Creek for the last 15-plus years, and Erin Kishkan says they are at a point now where they can have a sale of their own.
“We have been consistently growing our program, and we just got a little too big for our britches and felt it was time,” she said. “We had enough of our own. I’ve been talking with Reanne Sanford at KRS Simmentals about partnering for about five years, and we both felt it was time.”
Kishkan says the agricultural community is excited about the sale, and many of her past clients have wished them well.
“The response has been very positive,” said Kishkan. “We’re very excited — scared, of course, but excited at the same time. We are feeling like we made the right decision for our program, both us and KRS Simmentals, and we’re very excited to host everybody.”
Kishkan is encouraging anybody who is interested in the event to come by the sale to see the bulls, have lunch and meet others who are involved in agriculture, even if they don’t need a bull.
“We just want to open it up as an agricultural event,” she said. “Quesnel hasn’t had an event like this, so it’s nice to have an event to bring cattlemen together and be positive about the industry.”
The Swaan and Kishkan families farm close to 600 acres at Pinnacle View Limousin and calve nearly 100 purebred Limousin mother cows. They started breeding Limousins 29 years ago, and the breed is celebrating its 50th anniversary in Canada this year.
KRS Simmentals has been breeding purebred Simmentals since 1998. The herd began with one cow, which was won in the BC Simmental Association heifer annual draw, and has developed into 70 head of breeding females. KRS Simmentals is based out of Nine Mile Ranch, a family-operated commercial cow/calf operation on Blackwater Road that has been active for over six generations.
All of the lots for Saturday’s sale can be viewed on YouTube by searching 2019 Continental Connection Bull Sale.
“There are always a few standouts in the pen, and we’re really proud of our whole offering,” said Kishkan. “I think we have something to offer every cattleman.”
For more information about the sale, contact Erin at 250-991-6654 or Reanne at 250-991-9496.
Lindsay Chung
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