New technology featured at Saskatchewan farm show

O’Connor said AIM doesn’t do any promotion outside Western Canada, but governments and arm’s-length government organizations promote the show through trade offices and embassies around the world.

“To see the great technology that we have here in Western Canada, and I say it time and time again, the technology we have, because we’ve done such a great job of getting it implemented into our system of agriculture, that we take it for granted. But when you travel around the world, they’re still a decade or two behind us in most things, and that’s why they come to Saskatchewan,” he said.

Ag in Motion is being held as many Prairie regions deal with unfavourable weather and market instability brought on by geopolitical events beyond farmers’ control.

O’Connor said producers and exhibitors coming to the show are guardedly optimistic.

“We don’t have any drought situations. But on the other hand, there are some flooding situations. So there’s parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan that maybe have different issues than we’ve had in the last four or five years. So, those need to be overcome. Commodity prices are good, but they’re not as strong as they had been in some past years, while our costs for fuel and fertilizer have gone up due to international concerns. There are still things out there we have to deal with that can impact the revenues that will come this fall.”

The hope is that the weather cooperates for all three days of Ag in Motion. O’Connor said if the weather turns hot again, organizers are prepared.

“It looks like we’re going to see anywhere from 27 to 30 degrees, which is just perfect for July. And, you know, we’ll have about 200 tents out there. So if it gets hot, you need to get out of the sun. There’s lots of indoor exhibits. And if it’s a little cooler, there’s lots of outdoor exhibits for people to walk around and see as well.”

AIM is located on roughly 100 acres northwest of Saskatoon in the RM of Corman Park. O’Connor said the event app has everything visitors need to plan their day.

“Download that app because it gives you an interactive map which allows you to actually see where you are on the site and helps you to understand how to get to the next stop you want to get to,” he said. “It’s really a long walk to get from one point to another. If you don’t know where you’re going, you don’t want to take those extra steps. There’s an opportunity for you to actually pre-plan your day and to make some appointments with the exhibitors. So there’s that great feature.”

O’Connor said visitors should plan ahead, with one increasingly popular event being the AgTech Breakfast.

“Over the past four or five years, we have really worked hard with groups like Connexus and Cultivator, FCC, and what we’re doing is we’re trying to bring those new startup companies, give them an opportunity to interact with farmers, get some of their products out there so that farmers can see what’s coming down the pipe,” he said.

AIM now hosts two AgTech breakfasts. The first, on Wednesday, will focus on companies ready for commercialization. The second, on Thursday morning, focuses on what’s new and in the startup stage.

“We’ve seen great uptake from those startup companies and those in the industry. In fact, to the point where Wednesday is booked with other events around the breakfast. That’s why we started a second AgTech breakfast program on Thursday.”

Ag in Motion gets underway tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. and continues until Thursday afternoon.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

by Pattison Media

New technology featured at Saskatchewan farm show

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