The tenth edition of Ag in Motion is in the books, and numbers provided by organizers suggest it continues to grow.
Exhibitors hit an all-time high of 607 at the three-day show near Langham and attendance was on par with previous years at 30,805.
“Not only was there opportunities for farmers to talk with their suppliers, which are our exhibitors, but there was opportunities for our exhibitors to talk to their suppliers because they utilize the show as well,” said Show Director Rob O’Connor of the activity at the show. “Even different levels of government want to come and listen to the farmers and they want to listen to the manufacturers and talk a little bit about what policies they can move forward with.”
Over 230 international delegates attended the show, the most to date and O’Connor expects that number to grow in the future. Delegates came from countries like Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Ethiopia, South Africa, Germany, France, Pakistan, and the U.S.
“It really highlights how important Western Canadian technology is to the rest of the world. We tend to take it for granted the type of technology we use in agriculture, but it truly is world-leading,” O’Connor stated. “When I get to go and travel to other areas of this globe to look at how they do things, we are in some cases decades ahead of the rest, and they’re coming here — one, to learn; two, to buy; and three, to implement it in their own agriculture networks so that they can do a better job of feeding their population.”
Ag in Motion had a lot going on, from themed areas such as AgTech Alley, Irrigation Alley, Livestock Central, and Tool Centre, to presentations, to various equipment demonstrations and Ride & Drives, the latter of which farmers could test 17 different machines – from skid steers, to tractors with front-end loaders, to high-clearance sprayers – from at three dedicated areas.
Improvements were made to roads around the more than 100 acre Discovery Farm site and O’Connor says improving infrastructure such as underground power and systems for irrigation will continue to be a focus, along with looking at what types of equipment demonstrations and Ride & Drives could be offered, and what else can be done to bring more exhibits and more international visitors.
New crop varieties and products were launched at Ag in Motion, including CLAAS unveiling a new combine and the Agricultural Manufacturers of Canada showing off its mobile skills lab unit.
