By the time this issue of the Manitoba Co-operator is off to the printer, I will, like many others in the sector, be headed to Brandon for Ag Days.
Like most other attendees I’ll enjoy the opportunity to see the latest and greatest in agriculture technology and catching up with old friends and business associates in the hallways. As always there will be a full panel of speakers to keep us busy, offering up everything from market outlooks to the latest in production techniques.
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Anticipating it has caused me to ponder the unique role of the trade show in this equally unique industry. Certainly other sectors have trade shows. They’re an established part of how business is done and ideas are exchanged. But few industries embrace it in the same way as agriculture.
No doubt much of that relates to the historic and demographic nature of agriculture. This, more than any other major sector of the economy I can think of, is driven by small independent operators organized around the basic family unit. They also are geographically dispersed across a vast landscape that is increasingly devoid of farmsteads.
We who grew up in it of course have another name for this — home. Back in my grandparents’ day, when they were busy carving out a farm from the bush of northeastern Saskatchewan, the isolation must have been incredible. The nearest town is more than 11 miles away and in the winter, the choices were horses and sleighs to get around or staying home. I’m sure that, despite the presence of many more neighbours than you’ll ever find today, it felt terribly isolated and lonely at times.
In my parents’ time, when I was a kid, that isolation had definitely lifted a bit. Better roads and vehicles kept farms accessible year round. The telephone, which is a recent enough arrival in our isolated corner that I still have clear memories of life before and after it arrived, made contacting the rest of the world a breeze.
I am convinced that this relative isolation is a big part of why farm shows like Ag Days and their spring and summer equivalents have historically been so important to the farm community. They represent, not just a chance to see the latest innovations, but also a rare social opportunity. As much as anything, I think they are an excuse to bundle the kids off to the city for a couple of days. My memories of farm shows and meetings as a child are happy ones.
While the equipment representatives might not have been all that pleased with it, there’s nothing quite like climbing all over the latest farm machinery and checking it out. I will confess to still having a weakness for it to this day, which perhaps tells you all you need to know about the big kid inside of me.
I also have happy memories of swimming and watersliding at the hotel later, of eating out in a “fancy” restaurant like Earls at least once each trip, and of many passing friends I made among the other farm kids that were also out for the show.
That was also true of my parents, who met people who became lifelong friends at these sort of events. They are an opportunity to surround oneself with other people who know and understand the farm lifestyle, culture and business.
In the time since I have left the farm everything from the widespread availability of relatively affordable satellite television to the dawn of the Internet, has driven a wave of change that has broken this isolation. The world is growing smaller by the day, and nowhere can the effects of this be felt more than down on the farm.
To cite just one example, back in my teen years as a young music lover, I had extremely limited options for pursuing this passion. The only place I could buy a record in my hometown was from the 2×3-foot wire rack at the local pharmacy. My radio listening was limited to just a small handful of predominantly country AM stations.
These days with streaming services and downloads, a farm kid can access pretty much any music they’ve ever heard of — even if they have to wait until they’re in town to find Wi-Fi and a fast Internet connection. Because of this connectivity and information availability, it’s not really necessary to meet face to face in the same way anymore.
You would think that in light of this, attendance at these shows might be falling. But they’ve proven to be surprisingly durable, with attendance growing every year. There’s even been room for new ones, such as the summer outdoor show Ag In Motion (owned by our parent company), now entering its third year and proving very popular with Prairie producers.
In an age of constant change, it seems the farm show will remain an anchor.
