LANGHAM — Farmers across Western Canada are making the trip to Ag in Motion, near Langham, as the annual outdoor agricultural event gets underway on Tuesday.
The site in the R.M. of Corman Park, located northwest of Saskatoon, is in great shape, according to Show Director Rob O'Connor.
"The moisture that we received really helped it. It was actually quite dry at the end of May, beginning of June, and all this moisture just really popped everything, got things back on track nice and green," he said. "The crop plots look fantastic and the site looks good. The biggest issue I have right now is getting rid of a bunch of mosquitoes."
The forecast for the Saskatoon area for all three days of the event is sunshine and temperatures in the high 20s to low 30s. There are a number of tents and semi-permanent structures should people need a break from the sun.
Hundreds of exhibitors – from the big companies to small businesses – have moved in and are ready for the week.
A big component of the outdoor farm show is equipment demonstrations. O'Connor said there will be plenty for attendees to experience from drone demonstrations to the ride and drive programs.
"Whether they participate in the tractor ride and drive, the sprayer ride and drive, the grain truck ride and drive, which is new this year, or the material handling ride and drive, where you can get into the cab of a skid steer…move some things around and see how you feel with those machines and which ones you think you should probably invest in." he said.
For people coming to the site, it's a lot of ground to cover as it occupies more than 100 acres of land.
A dedicated app is available for download so people can easily navigate the site as well as pre-plan their day, O'Connor said.
And with help from SaskTel, bandwidth has also increased, he added.
"So the goal there is so that we don't ever drop a call and with SaskTel's help, I think we're going to get there," he said. We were there last year, but with the increased usage, we don't want to fall backwards. We want to keep providing that great, great service."
Ag in Motion is also the place where companies use the occasion to launch new products.
"There's dozens of product launches," says O'Connor, "It ranges from companies like Honeybee, who are bringing out a new flex header, to companies like (PTx) or Agrifac…who are showcasing the next generation of autonomous equipment. We've got several companies with new technology in that drone space. In fact, I think we have eight or nine companies that are at the show. In fact, about half of those companies are part of our drone demonstration program as well."
The event not only attracts people across Western Canada, but also internationally.
O'Connor credits this to partnerships with Global Affairs Canada and the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP), among others.
For this year, he expects about 300 people from 20 countries to attend "including big delegations from countries like South Africa, India, and Australia"
Over the last few years, the show has attracted a total of 30-thousand people over the course of three days.
O'Connor says the challenge with increasing that number is the limited number of farmers across the Prairies.
There's only 90,000 farmers in the Prairie Provinces, so for us to attract large numbers of farmers from outside our jurisdiction is a challenge," he noted. "But when we do, for instance, on the international business side, one of those buying delegations can probably buy as much as 20 or 30 farmers at a time.
"So we may not see a huge number in attendance increase, but I think as we bring in people from farther outside of our jurisdiction, that just increases the amount of opportunity our exhibitors have to make larger sales at the show or because of their participation at Ag in Motion."
The last day of Ag in Motion is on Thursday.
