By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

Agri-Trade at 40 celebrating the past, present and future of annual expo

Nov 14, 2024 | 2:14 PM

One year after another for 40 harvests, with the exception of a minor blip in 2020, exhibitors and attendees have made the annual Agri-Trade Equipment Expo in Red Deer bigger and better than the last.

From the beginning, it was akin to sowing a seed, said George Code, a territory rep with Saskatchewan-based Bourgault. Code has been representing his company at Agri-Trade for 31 years.

Figuratively speaking, “The seed was planted for this 40 years ago and now we are reaping the benefits,” said Code, speaking to rdnewsNOW on day one of the 2024 edition.

More literally, the machinery of Bourgault and many other companies are planting the seeds for what is a crucial sector — to say the least — as it relates to the livelihoods of all Canadians.

At a Red Deer Chamber of Commerce-led “ribbon-cutting” ceremony, late Red Deer Mayor Robert McGhee and an unidentified woman are seen using a welding torch to cut a metal chain to open the inaugural Agri-Trade exposition in 1984. (Red Deer Archives/Red Deer Chamber of Commerce/P11260)

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This year, Agri-Trade attracted around 500 exhibitors, and boasts a waitlist of an eager few hundred more.

Agri-Trade also has a focus this 40th go-round on what has been, where it currently stands, and what it wants to achieve.

“The children who come here, you can just tell they’ve already got the mindset that maybe they’re the future,” said Code. “For the customers, this show gives us the ability to bring in our latest and greatest products, and engage with our customers who come in from across western Canada.”

The show has an estimated combined impact of $300 million, when you add up in-show sales with local and regional economic spinoff at places like restaurants and hotels.

For Code, the evolution of ag equipment over the course of four decades has been substantial.

Bourgault’s largest tow-behind air cart, its 91300 model, is as technologically advanced as it is massive with a total capacity of 1,366 bushels — good enough to be called the largest tow-behind in the world as of today, Code noted.

The Bourgault 91300 model air cart, as seen up-close and personal at Agri-Trade 2024. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

In 1980, six years after the company’s inception, its first tow-behind was good for 138 bushels, and certainly wasn’t equipped with the computer-controlled precision of its descendant.

“This show gives us the opportunity to talk to the end user, explain our equipment, and what they’re looking at buying,” Code added. “We talk to customers here whom we’ve dealt with for 40 years.”

A unique part of Agri-Trade is the international flair, with companies attending from locales such as the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany — and there’s no shortage of innovation.

The German pavilion, a fixture for three years with multiple companies, features Wolf System, a company which has revolutionized barn construction and brought that tech to Canada. From P.E.I. to Manitoba, and hopes of soon expanding to western Canada, there are 280 Wolf System barns across the country, plus thousands in Europe.

The German pavilion has become a crowd favourite at Agri-Trade over the last two expos. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

CEO Andrea Reyers explained why German and European ag tech is so well-suited for Agri-Trade, and why Alberta is their next step.

“Our system was not known here in Canada; conventional was all there was. But in 2008, we sold our first barn to a customer in Quebec, and since then, everyone who’s seen it has wanted it,” she said, noting that price-wise, they’re similar due to ease of labour.

“The pavilion here is a great idea because there are so many Europeans here who want this product, and they want European product because they know it — they are Dutch, German, Swiss, Austrian, and so on.”

The world’s largest agricultural equipment expo — AgriTechnica — takes place biennially in Germany.

Picture Agri-Trade, but four times larger.

On hand representing AgriTechnica was Doyle Steinke, a local sales rep for German-based DLG, and he heaped high praise on Agri-Trade.

An unidentified woman and Pat Kennedy, who started Agri-Trade in 1984 — Kennedy remained show manager until 2013. (Red Deer Archives/P11259)

“With the consistency of running for 40 years, this show has turned out to be the premier indoor agricultural trade show in Canada,” said Steinke. “The time of year is very good for producers because they’re done harvest, and winter usually hasn’t deeply set in yet. Agri-Trade has a very strong impact.”

With all Agri-Trade, and the people who operate it — those being the Chamber of Commerce and Westerner Park — are doing right, the question remains how it can become an even greater event on the calendar despite it already maximizing Westerner Park’s space, including outdoors.

Show Manager Krissy Fiddler said the expo’s growth is two-fold.

“We want to make sure we keep the best quality and new products coming, which will ensure we stay relevant within the industry. We started off servicing central Alberta, then we grew to service Alberta, then western Canada, then North America, and the future is the world,” she said

Attendees check out a drone-spraying exhibitor outdoors at Agri-Trade 2024. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

“The future is limitless when it comes to the brand that is Agri-Trade because of the respect it has and the relationships with businesses which we’ve formed.”

Fiddler also believes attendees are as crucial a part of the show as the exhibitors.

“Our tried and trues are the fourth-generation farmers who are 15 minutes down the road, but we also have contingents coming from Northern Ireland and Nigeria,” she said.

“Furthermore, everyone in the agriculture industry has a role to play in ensuring our story is told. Whether it’s the producers who are stewards of the land, the salesman selling the combine, or the bank doing the lending, the people who need to be telling the story of agriculture are the ones who are immersed in it.”

Agri-Trade runs from 9-5 on Nov. 14 and 15 after opening Nov. 13. Tickets are available at the entrance to Westerner Park.

More information is at agri-trade.com.

This story was originally published Nov. 14 on rdnewsNOW.com