Farming, agri-business community readies for Ag Days

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This article was published 18/01/2025 (243 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The economy is top-of-mind for farmers as Manitoba Ag Days starts next week, with local farmers and agri-business stakeholders saying they are looking for stronger leadership at the national level to protect their farming interests.

Farmers from Dauphin and Virden told the Sun on Friday that the top issue for farmers will be finances going into Brandon’s three-day Ag Days event. U.S. president-elect Donald Trump will be sworn into office on Jan. 20, the day before Ag Days kicks off, potentially following up on his threat to impose steeper tariffs and worsening the financial headwinds farmers are already experiencing.

Darren Chapman — co-owner of the Chapman Bros. Farm — told the Sun that the consequences of certain missteps by Canadian political leadership have been felt acutely at the ground level in Manitoba. He said farmers are concerned about how deeply they are impacted as a result of the issues the government is engaged in.

The Virden-area farmer cited the example of an issue with China, which began to “step back” from Canadian canola in 2024. Chapman said he believed this was a retaliation against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said he would charge a 100 per cent surtax on Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles.

“That one little comment about putting tariffs on has cost the farming and agriculture sector millions of dollars,” Chapman said. “They got to realize they are speaking for us as a country.”

China has historically been the largest canola seed destination, with $3.8 billion in value exported in 2023, the Government of Canada wrote in a press release last September.

Chapman said canola prices subsequently dropped by $2 to $3 per bushel, adding that the main driving force of this was the politics from higher up. This is something that hurts the ag sector, even though the farming community had nothing to do with it.

Along with trading conflicts, the impending threat of tariffs and a high interest rate borrowing environment are making matters worse, he said. Chapman told the Sun that penciling in a canola crop on his balance sheet barely adds up to a profit margin for this year.

“We’re hoping that this is the bottom end of things and then it is just recovery.”

Chapman is not the only local farmer who thinks economics will be at the forefront for Ag Days. Dauphin-area farmer Ernie Sirski also told the Sun that financial issues continue to garner the maximum attention.

He said the proposed tariffs on Canadian exports are a pressing concern, pointing out that this would hurt soybean growers — a crop he himself has invested in — as they partner heavily with the United States.

While Sirski is directly involved in that industry, he said the consequences of the current economic realities would spread to other areas of agriculture and to even across Canada.

“I think as a country, not just an ag sector, we have to be concerned.”

When it comes to local concerns however, he said the agriculture industry is looking for solutions. People in the soybean sector are seeking other trading partners now, Sirski said. One example is lobbying Japan, as he said a representative is heading there in February to promote Canadian exports as a way to offset the impact of American tariffs.

However, due to America’s market size and its closeness to Canada, Sirski said, “It would be really tough to substitute (the United States) with something else.”

Sirski said he served on the Ag Days board for roughly eight years, but has now stepped back.

While discussing economics is top-of-mind for many farmers heading into Ag Days 2025, several also told the Sun that socializing is another big draw at the annual event.

Erickson-area wheat and barley farmer Scott Gray told the Sun the event serves as a way to connect with people.

“For me it is a social event, that’s the main reason I go,” said Gray. “You run into just about everyone from the farming community when you’re there.”

He said he has brought his children to Ag Days since the age of three, and they are now adults. His daughter works in canola research and his son is taking over the family farm. During the last few years, he has gone to the event with his family members and farmhands.

Gray has been attending Ag Days for about 25 years, but won’t be able to make it this year as he is busy helping a friend with a health condition.

Chapman said he sees the event this year as more of a social event than anything else. He told the Sun it’s a chance to catch up with people across the province.

“That’s usually one of the places where I run into the guys I went to university with,” said Chapman. He said he’d attended the University of Manitoba, and now connects with people who have moved all over the province.

With an eye on economic and social factors ahead of Ag Days, the local farmers also mentioned that education is also a big focus going in.

Sirski told the Sun that even after being in the business for two decades, he is still learning about farming. Ag Days has been a place to discuss equipment and technology for his own work, saying the industry is “changing all the time” and that he needs to keep up with it.

“That’s the place to learn,” he said. “It’s definitely the best indoor show in Western Canada, and I think the best in Canada.”

The Dauphin-area farmer said he is particularly interested in the seminars that take place at the event. He said many great speakers attend and that they add a lot to the event.

This year, seminars will be organized around three main topics: canola, livestock and farm entrepreneurship. More than 30 speakers are scheduled to attend, Ag Days’s media co-ordinator told the Sun earlier this month.

The event is set to take place Jan. 21 and runs until the end of day on Jan. 23 at the Keystone Centre in Brandon.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com