Agribition’s Cow Dome takes kids inside Sask. cattle operations

With a step inside an inflatable dome at Agribition, kids are transported into different cow-calf operations in Saskatchewan.

The Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association’s Cow Dome features a five-minute video teaching children how cattle farms operate.

Glenn LaPointe, the communications and marketing lead with the SCA, likes seeing kids’ reactions when he presses play on the projector inside the dome.

“To see their enthusiasm to get inside … they are actually quite impressed with the beginning of the film to the end of the film, and they actually have some questions at the end,” said LaPointe.

The dome was introduced to Agribition’s agriculture education area in 2022. Before the dome, cattle education was done through virtual reality headsets. LaPointe said the venue was immediately popular with kids.

“We stress the importance of cattle on the land, and how good they are for the environment as well,” said LaPointe.

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Three different videos were filmed at ranches across the province.

LaPointe said there’s an emphasis in the presentation on the environmental effects of cows eating grass in the field.

Cattle grazing plays a part in carbon sequestration, which is just as important as the rainforest in the Amazon, according to LaPointe.

“Because of climate change, it’s something that we want to hit home with them,” he said.

Holding on for dear life for a living

Jacob Gardner has been thrown off the back of a bull many times before, but he still keeps coming back for more.

Gardner, who’s to hit the dirt Wednesday evening for Agribition’s rodeo, spoke to the Greg Morgan Morning Show earlier in the day.

“It’s got highs and lows, but like anything you do that you love, you make the most out of it,” he said of riding bulls.

The professional bull rider from British Columbia travels around in a trailer spending about 200 days on the road every year. When the winter comes, he sometimes splurges on a hotel.

The Agribition rodeo has some of the fiercest competition in the world. Gardner said it’ll be tough, but worth it.

“When it’s going right, you feel just awesome,” he said. “The feeling from it, the adrenaline from it — it’s hard to explain but it’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever felt, and I think that’s what keeps me coming back.

“It just feels like you are with a dancing partner when things are going smooth.”

Every so often, things do not go smoothly: Gardner remembers being seriously hurt more than 10 times. He tries to look at it like an athlete would, with exercising and stretching routines.

“Just take it serious and look after it is the main thing,” he said.