Speckled cow Nina comes through Brandon
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A special cow made her way through town last week as farmers gathered at Manitoba Ag Ex 2025.
Pjs Nina 86N, a cow of the white-and-black speckle park breed, stopped in from Alberta. Less than a year old, she was brought to Brandon as she gets ready to raise money for young cattle farmers across Canada.
P.J. and Susan Ruszkowski bred the cow on their farm in Prince Albert, Sask. They chose Nina to be part of a fundraising campaign in which the cow will join a herd of cattle somewhere in Canada, and the price paid for her will go the Canadian Junior Speckle Park Association.
“We’re just trying to support the youth,” P.J. said during Ag Ex. “Because without these young folks doing this here, we’re not here.”
P.J. pointed to youth volunteers who were grooming cattle at the Ag Ex event in Brandon, supporting it by filling some jobs. The competitions would not be possible without extra helping hands such as these volunteers, he said, and he wanted to support their efforts to grow up as cattle farmers.
The cow in this charity auction last year sold for upwards of $40,000, Susan said. She and P.J. were the random winners, having purchased some of the tickets and being drawn from the pile of buyers. This year, the husband and wife decided to volunteer to donate one of their own cattle, Nina, for the auction. The sale will take place at the Canadian Western Agribition, to be held in Regina in November.
The buyer will be able to add the cattle to their herd, and the funds will go to support the youth cattle association in its annual general meeting, and in hosting events throughout the year, Susan said. By bringing Nina to Brandon for Ag Ex, the couple “broke-in” the cow, teaching it how to behave in livestock competitions. It is a requirement ahead of the Agribition, they said.
» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com