A celebration of agricultural history

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This article was published 28/07/2017 (3171 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AUSTIN — With a focus and appreciation for the innovations that have changed agriculture over the last 150 years, The Manitoba Threshermen’s Reunion and Stampede was full steam ahead yesterday.

In addition to the vintage vehicles, steam engines and tractors that make an annual appearance, more than 125 pieces of John Deere equipment are on display in celebration of the iconic green tractor’s 180th birthday.

“We really wanted to bring out and put on a great display to show the evolution of the machinery that the company made,” said Elliot Sims, the event’s marketing co-ordinator.

“We’ve got horse-drawn machinery going back as far as the 1880s and 1890s, right up to some of the cutting edge technology with their 2018 pre-production S790 combine — there’s only one or two of them in the province at the moment. You can trace the company’s lineage from yesteryear to today.”

Tractors of all ages, shapes and sizes were brought in by people from across the country, volunteer Scott Alton said, pausing for a moment while organizing John Deere tractors set to go in the Pioneer Power Parade.

“Some people collect flowers, people collect books, these people collect tractors,” Alton said with a laugh. “I’m proud to be part of it. It’s like a big family reunion, really. Sometimes it’s the only time you see some of these people all year.”

Being able to get up close with such a wide variety of equipment from throughout the last century is important in understanding our beginnings in agriculture, Sims said.

“It gives us a better appreciation for what our forefathers and foremothers went through in terms of trying to settle the Prairies, create a living for themselves and to help feed the world,” Sims said. “Every year we try and do something special to really go much further into detail with a specific type of innovation or company to talk about how they’ve changed the world.”

For Colin Farquhar, who comes back to Austin every year from Chilliwack, B.C., keeping the knowledge of steam engines alive is the best way to honour its legacy.

“I love the fact that it’s all very elemental — you’ve got fire, you heat water, and you can transfer energy that way,” Farquhar said. “This was the industrial revolution. It’s a very hands on technology.”

Farquhar started working on steam engines when he was nine years old and never stopped, he said, adding that it’s what got him into engineering, his current profession.

“It’s simple in its complexity or complex in its simplicity — you’re always learning,” Farquhar said. “Sometimes we end up having to almost reinvent tools, techniques and technologies that haven’t been used in 100 years.”

It’s also a way to stay connected to history. Farquhar knows what each piece of machinery was used for in its time, including the one he was driving, which was used to build Highway 10 through Riding Mountain National Park.

“These were hugely instrumental in breaking the ground,” Farquhar said. “Modern agriculture as we know it would not have ended up without the steam tractor.”

It’s important to pass this history down to future generations as well, volunteer Dean Redman added.

“A lot of these skills are being forgotten about, and the younger generation in particular doesn’t understand what it took to build this country,” Redman said. “To be able to teach that to the younger generation and be able to show them just how hard the work was that our forefathers have done, that’s important. It’s a really important part of our history.”

The Manitoba Threshermen’s Reunion and Stampede will be in full swing through to Sunday night. For a full list of activities visit threshermensmb.ca.

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