Speaker lineup underlines advocacy pitch

More than 60 presenters educate, entertain and inspire at this year’s event

If your show’s theme is to tell the world about agriculture, it sure doesn’t hurt to assemble 60 world-class speakers to help get the agriculture message across, which is exactly what Manitoba Ag Days has done. “It takes a lot of time, preparation and planning to bring in a speaker lineup like we have for

The crowds that flock to Ag Days every year could be a powerful voice advocating for agriculture, show organizers say.

Ag Days organizers urge farmers to speak up

Only the people of the industry can tell their own story

The organizers of Manitoba’s Ag Days are throwing down the gauntlet to the thousands who will be attending the show this year — it’s time for them to start telling their own stories. While recently unveiling yet another ‘bigger than ever’ 42nd annual show, with more than 550 exhibitors, to run Jan. 22 to 24


Is a soybean-canola rotation worth rolling the dice?

Is a soybean-canola rotation worth rolling the dice?

Most farmers aren’t jumping on a soybean-canola rotation, but explosive growth of soybean acres and their westward spread into canola country have some asking the question

Farmers better study up on the hurdles of a soybean-canola rotation before trying it in the field, Manitoba Agriculture specialists say. Soybeans have been a growing story in Manitoba, rising over the last decade to become one of the province’s main crops with almost 2.3 million acres planted in 2017. Combined with canola, another high-value

canola field

Speaker urges a change of pace when chasing maximum yield

Don’t think about what to add, Ag Days speaker says — think about what’s possible and subtract from there

Single changes won’t cut it if producers really want their best possible yield. Jarrett Chambers, president of ATP Nutrition, wants producers to be radical when it comes to testing management tools. “We have to figure out in a grower, what is their maximum yield for their farm and figure out, what is the potential? Where


ACC student Brodie Hunter leads his group through agriculture and trade facts during Agriculture in the Classroom’s Manitoba Ag Days Adventure 2018.

Agriculture in the Classroom gives students a taste of Ag Days

Over 400 Grade 7/8 students joined the Ag Days crowds Jan. 16-18 through 
Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) and its Manitoba Ag Days Adventure

Even for some of the farm kids, it was their first time at Ag Days. Canada’s largest indoor trade show bolstered its attendance by 415 Grade 7/8 students this year with Agriculture in the Classroom’s Manitoba Ag Days Adventure. Sue Clayton, executive director of AITC Manitoba, called the Ag Days tie-in one of its “flagship

Tips on growing 70-bushel-an-acre canola

Tips on growing 70-bushel-an-acre canola

Good agronomy, higher input costs and more work, including split fertilizer applications, are the key, says farmer Florian Hagmann

When growing a 70-bushel-an-acre canola crop it’s the “little things that matter.” That’s advice Florian Hagmann, who farms at Birch Hills, in north-central Saskatchewan, offered farmers attending Ag Days here Jan. 16. Hagmann, whose 2017 canola averaged 70 bushels on 5,000 acres, emphasized good agronomy is more important than new equipment. So is hard work


Kim Keller speaks at Ag Days 2018. The trade show dedicated an afternoon to mental health in agriculture.

Bringing farm mental health issues out into the open, one tweet at a time

Mental health and agriculture has exploded in the last year, and a lineup 
of this year’s Ag Days speakers have been leading the charge

Lesley Kelly can tell you all about how mental health affects the farm. She can tell you about watching the self-destructive spiral as anxiety and negative thoughts build on to each other. She has intimate knowledge on the weight of life crashing down around harvest. She knows how it feels to suddenly burst into tears.

Soy bean seeds on a white background

Management practices go head to head in Soybean Challenge

The AAFC station in Portage la Prairie was home to a little friendly 
competition between soybean management systems last year


It was the battle of the beans in Portage la Prairie last year, in the hope of shedding some light on best practices for soybeans. Results from the 2017 Ultimate Soybean Challenge were presented at this year’s Ag Days in Brandon. Three teams, with three very different management strategies, looked to outshine their competition at


Manitoba agriculture minister, Ralph Eichler.

Lower premiums for crop insurance in 2018

The unpopular pre-harvest deductible on corn and soybeans is gone, 
there’s coverage for novel crops and hail coverage options have been raised

Insuring soybeans in Manitoba will be a lot cheaper this year, with premiums dropping an average of 17 per cent. That’s the biggest move in an across-the-board premium drop that sees an average reduction on all crops of seven per cent, Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler said while speaking at Ag Days here Jan. 16. Other

The hockey ice at Brandon’s Keystone Centre was replaced with ag company booths during the 2018 Manitoba Ag Days Jan. 16-18.

Ag Days holds the course on exhibitor numbers

This year’s Ag Days lines up with previous years in terms of size

It wasn’t a milestone anniversary year for Manitoba Ag Days, but the 2018 show matched numbers from last year’s 40th anniversary expansion. Last year, the show added both footage and exhibitor slots after opening up the over-19,000-square-foot Brandon Curling Club for booths. This year, the show once again topped 540,000 square feet and over 800