Ag Days cancellation an economic, social loss

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This article was published 25/01/2022 (1527 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Organizers have pulled the plug on the 2022 Ag Days due to COVID-19 public health restrictions and scheduling conflicts.

The cancellation of the show will have social and economic impacts on Brandon and the agricultural industry as a whole, said Ag Days general manager Kristen Phillips.

The event was slated to take place from Jan. 18-20 at the Keystone Centre and was previously postponed owing to restrictions.

Canada’s largest indoor farm show encompasses a diverse cross-section of the industry, Phillips said, bringing together exhibitors accompanied by the latest technologies, speakers celebrating the sector and sponsors supporting agriculture.

“We always joke that people gather on the red carpet at Ag Days,” Phillips said. “The networking and socializing that happens throughout the three days of our event have been a really huge part of the show.”

She noted the timing of Ag Days played a role in preventing the event from moving forward in 2022. As a January show, it is well situated during a period that is slow for both livestock and grain producers.

The organizers explored hosting a potential three-day event in February or March but due to the limited availability at the Keystone Centre, it was near impossible to find a time that worked.

Organizers did not want to push the show into April or May because it is an extremely busy time for producers, and if the event moved into the summer, it would be competing with other agriculture conventions.

“There is really not a lot of time between April and October where farmers will have the opportunity to take in a farm show,” Phillips said. “January really is the best time to host an ag show.”

The event attracts visitors to Brandon and fills the Keystone Centre with 10,000 to 18,000 guests each day.

Ag Days is a key driver for Brandon and Westman’s economy — it contributes about $350 million annually to Manitoba and Western Canada, and each year there is about $300 million generated in agriculture equipment sales and related services, and about $50 million in ancillary spending, such as tourism and shopping in Westman.

Phillips noted Ag Days remains committed to finding ways to have an impact in the industry, including through its Ag Gives Back program, which provides funding to communities where patrons and exhibitors live.

“We know COVID has impacted so many communities,” Phillips said. “We really want to focus on community development, community support and helping those that are being affected in these trying times during the pandemic.”

Ag Days will still crown its 2022 Innovation Showcase champions but at a later date. The show has 33 entries vying in seven different categories. Visit agdays.com/innovations for more information.

Rivers grain producer Ron Krahn has been attending Ag Days for more than two decades.

“Ag Days has been a tradition since my last year of university, [in January 1999] … I haven’t missed one since,” he said.

“Sometimes we’ve got a list of things that we are wanting to buy or do for the farm and going to Ag Days is the place to meet those people.”

Seeing the event cancelled two years in a row does have an impact on his operation, Krahn said, even if the results are tangibly difficult to measure. One of the major effects is the loss of a one-stop-shop for supplies and equipment.

He will now have to make multiple day trips to different businesses across Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

“There’s more time, there’s a lot more fuel and time spent in the vehicle,” he said.

The cancellation is also a forfeiture of face-to-face connections and in-person information sharing.

“It’s hard to recreate that just by going online.”

Blair McRae, of Mar Mac Farms, based 10 miles south of Brandon, has not missed a show in 25 years, excluding the cancelled events in 2021 and 2022.

The connections forged each year are critical in helping build and maintain his business, McRae said. The pure-bred cattle producer hosts a bull sale each March and the show is an important place to meet new people and showcase his products.

“If they see something they like, then that translates into business for us because they’ll come and buy a bull at the sale,” McRae said. “There’s really nothing like Ag Days in this area. There are similar things out in Alberta and northwestern Saskatchewan. But Ag Days for us, it’s local and it’s close and this is where we get the most bang for our buck.”

Wilco van Meijl, the director at Farm Credit Canada (FCC), echoed these sentiments.

“Ag Days is just such an integral part of the ag industry coming together for ideas and perspective and connection — that’s probably the biggest loss,” he said.

FCC is proud to be partners with Ag Days because the company is invested in all things agriculture.

“It’s a chance to connect with absolutely everyone we work with,” van Meijl said.

The cancellation has been understandable given the pandemic, he said, adding he knows it was a tough decision for the organizing committee.

For now, he is looking forward to 2023 Ag Days, and appreciating how people are finding new and unique ways to stay connected.

“There’s still that ability to connect, it just becomes harder without everyone at that one-stop-shop. We’re still encouraging people to make those connections that you would normally make, it just becomes a little bit more work for everybody.”

Ryan Boyd, of Boyd’s Beef, located north of Brandon near Forrest, tries to attend Ag Days every year.

“You never know what you are going to find wandering around the halls of the Keystone Centre,” he said. “There’s still lots of networking going on throughout the industry at smaller meetings or online meetings or simple phone conversations, but I do think there is no replacement for a face-to-face conversation.”

» ckemp@brandonsun.com

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