The first-ever Bison Summer Field Day held in Weyburn saw approximately 300 bison producers from across the province, along with people from Alberta, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana, attend the three-day program over the weekend.

"We had tremendous comments from people who attended on how well-organized it was and how smoothly everything went," said local organizer Bernie Kot.

Those who took part in the trade show were also happy, he added, as they told him they did more business at this show than at a larger venue like Agribition in Regina.

"There were four or five handling systems sold, and the exhibitors were happy with the number of people who stopped to talk to them," said Kot.

In the eight years the Saskatchewan Bison Association has held the field days, this is the first time one was held in a community in southern Saskatchewan. Following the success and positive feedback for this field day, Kot said the Weyburn committee would be interested in holding another in about four or five years, if the provincial association is agreeable to it.

There were two days of seminars on the exhibition grounds, including a debate panel discussing many issues of current concern in the industry, a bison roast banquet and dance on Saturday evening and tours of area ranches on Sunday. A fun silent and live auction was held on Saturday evening, and about $9,000 was raised for the bison association.

One of the top issues at the panel discussion was the issue of raising a bison naturally versus the use of hormones or additives in the feed, said Kot. Most of the panelists, and most of those in the audience, seemed to favour the natural production of bison, with as little reliance on additives or genetic engineering as possible.

Due to a heavy thundershower on Saturday afternoon, many of the planned tour stops for Sunday had to cancel, so the main tour went to Bob Schad's farm north of Weyburn, with a few brave souls in 4X4s also going out to Gary Christopherson's and Bernie Kot's farms.

Agriculture Minister Dwain Lingenfelter was a guest at the Saturday banquet, and while it was hoped he would have an announcement regarding bison production, his comments related to generic support of the industry.

"These are tough times for those in grain and oilseed production, so it's exciting to come and see an industry where there is so much excitement in the room," he told the producers, adding their growth has been "spectacular" in the last few years.

He said he is hopeful a stock feeder program, similar to one in place for the cattle industry, will help producers expand their herds. Under the program, producers can use purchased animals as collateral to obtain a loan.

Saskatchewan's bison industry is second only to Alberta in size, and will only get bigger as producers look to establishing a processing plant in North Battleford. Currently all bison are taken to New Rockford, N.D., or to smaller abattoirs for slaughter. The government may get involved in the new plant if they're asked, such as through Economic Development or the Crown Investments Corporation, said Lingenfelter.

"Every producer in Canada is looking forward to the new co-operative in North Battleford. It's definitely going to go ahead, but it can't go ahead yet until we have the market to sustain it. It'll be in reach in about four years, as right now we don't enough animals to make a go of it," said Kot.