THUNDER BAY — The Oliver Agricultural Society is ensuring the safety of farmhands while raising funds for a brand-new cattle show ring.
When the old show ring started to fall apart, Murillo’s agriculture society decided it was time for a change, said Lindsey Koslowski, president of the Oliver Agricultural Society.
“So, our old wooden fence started to get pretty wonky and it was not very safe, and it was starting to fall down and it's ability to really hold in livestock was in question,” she said.
With the annual fair less than a month away, community members are being called on by the not-for-profit group for assistance in improving the iconic fairgrounds. Starting with its show ring, sponsors can have their name on one of the new movable cattle panels for two-years at a total cost of $350.
“When we built our equine show ring, we had done a similar fundraising event where we did a panel, like a sponsorship panel program and so we're bringing back that program to have the community support all of our agricultural society in rebuilding our cow show ring.”
“There is a new board (of directors) for the Oliver Agricultural Society and we are working really hard to do repairs and upgrades to the facility to make it safer, and more user-friendly for the agricultural community,” Koslowski said.
The movable show ring will feature fixed post and rail fencing in addition to movable cattle panels, offering a variety of new safety measures while being able to hold approximately 100 cows, she said.
“That ring is important because it is connected to our cow barn, so it offers really safe livestock handling so, it is safe for the livestock, it's safer for the public,” she said.
“There is better control in that ring rather than using the big show ring because you would have to get livestock to cross the busy road where there are people and sometimes cars and carts going across.”
The improved panels offer a flexible solution in terms of needing different sized show rings, she said.
“The reason why we are doing panels and not a wooden fence is because it is more flexible so, if we had a large show, we can do a large ring, a small show, we can do small ring.”
Future upgrades to the fairgrounds include replacing the horse office and a planned partnership with local company Five Star Electrical, where electrical panels, fuses and lighting will be upgraded, Koslowski said.
“We are trying to get a grant to replace the horse office, which is a white mobile office in the middle of our grounds that we use as a first aid spot and information centre, and it faces the show ring so that they can do all their announcements out of there. And so, that will be our next big project is to replace that building completely,” she said.
Other recent upgrades include multiple roadway areas, bleachers, the kitchen, walking paths, computers and biosecurity, she said.
“We did a biosecurity upgrade in all of our barns, which means all of the dirt got scraped out and brand-new dirt was put in to all of our livestock barns, the cow barn, the chicken barn, and the horse barn,” Koslowski said.
After the iconic summer fair is over this year, the agricultural society plans on opening their market up, she said.
“We are also trying to market the grounds for multiple uses, so not just for livestock and fairs and things like that, but if people wanted to have a festival or an event or a wedding or something like that, they could,” she said.
“Lots of things changing and being fixed and upgraded.”
More information on the Murillo Fair can be found here.
