Photo by: Laurie Ann Photography
The Russian group on tour at Johnson Livestock Angus Farm looking at a squeeze chute.

Photo by: Laurie Ann Photography
A group of Russian toured Johnson Livestock Angus Farm to see what sort of Angus cattle the farm had to offer.

By Lizz Bottrell, Citizen Staff

A Russian group visiting Canada for the Farm Progress Show, which took place in Regina from June 18 - 20, took a bit of a detour on June 19 in order to take a look at Johnson Livestock Angus Farm. The group also enjoyed a lunch prepared by Anne and David Johnson, owners of the Peebles farm.

The four men from Russia, Mr. Alexei Gorbachev, Mr. Alexei Krivasheev, Mr. Valery Zaitsev and Mr. Nikita Zaitsev, were joined on the tour by Vitaliy Stoyan, an interpreter, as well as two Saskatchewan hosts. Since none of the Russian men spoke any English, Stoyan, the interpreter, played a vital role in all interactions between the Russians and the Johnson family.

Arriving at 11 a.m., the group toured around the farm for approximately an hour and a half, looking at the Angus Cattle. “Our main goal from visiting Canada is to see as much cattle as possible,” said Mr. Alexei Gorbachev, Manager of Regional State Breeding Association in Russia. “We plan on buying some cattle to bring back to Russia for breeding.”

Canadian Beef Breeds Council chose Johnson’s farm as a destination due in part to its close proximity to Regina, but also because the couple has experience exporting cattle out of the country.

This trip to Canada marked the first ever for all four men visiting from Russia. “It’s excellent,” said Alexei Kryvasheev, manager of a farm in Russia that milks 700 cattle daily. “We’ve found lots of good people.”

When asked if Canada was what they expected, Kryvasheev answered by saying, “we get an approximate idea of Canada from t.v.” Although most things about Canada did not surprise the group, they did find a couple interesting differences. “We don’t see a lot of fences here like in Russia,” said Gorbachev. The group informed everyone the fences were in place because of tradition. “Historically, in one place there were a lot of generations all concentrated in one place,” said Gorbachev.

The group did spend time in Regina, however, they still noted that Canada’s landscape is more sparsely populated than Russia’s. “We have many families living in one place, but here it’s a lot more spread out with farms,” said Gorbachev. Beyond the amount of farms in this part of the province, the area where the Russians come from looks a lot different than our rolling hills. “We all live in one region,” said Kryvashev. “It’s a very nice area where the Caucasus Mountain Range starts. It’s 250 kilometers from the coast of the Black Sea.”

The area which they speak of is called Stavropol kray, more specifically, the city of Pyatigorsk. Over 140,000 people call Pyatigorsk home, a city which considers its health spa with mineral springs one of its main industries.

Once the group heads back home, they will decide which, if any, cattle they want the Johnson’s to ship overseas for breeding purposes. Regardless of what they decide, both the Russian group and the Johnson family will have a lasting memory of this very unique experience.