Manitoba Ag Days: Building on 40 years of success

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Published on Monday, January 16, 2017

By Miranda Leybourne

Submitted

The City of Brandon is looking excitedly ahead to the 40th anniversary of Manitoba Ag Days, going so far as to officially proclaim Jan. 17-19 “Manitoba Ag Days”. But it’s not just Brandonites that are gearing up for the big event -- people from all over the province, the country and even the United States will be flocking to the Keystone Centre to take part in the historic event, including over 550 exhibitors and 60 speakers, including CBC’s Terry O’Reilly, the Little Potato Company’s Angela Santiago, Oil World’s Thomas Mielke, World Weather Inc’s Drew Learner and more. In addition, 17 new products will be marketed at the show this year, all revolving around the theme “Agriculture -- Think Global, Act Local”.

Forty years ago, the show started out as a one-room “weed fair” and has grown into the nation’s largest indoor farm show, taking place in over 19,000 square feet of space. Andrea Guthrie, Manitoba Ag Days media coordinator, says the show is expected to attract upwards of 45,000 people.

“It’s certainly been a busy year for our general manager and her support staff,” Guthrie explains. “We start planning for the next show as soon as the current show ends, so as soon as last January’s show ended we started planning for this. It’s been a big task.”

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the show, some special events have been planned, including a contest where exhibitors display old-fashioned items in their booths, with the top three winners set to receive a cash prize of $1,000, $500 and $250, respectively. They can also choose to donate their winnings to a local charity, in which case Manitoba Ag Days has promised to match their contributions.

“We are also encouraging every patron to wear something nostalgic to the show,” Guthrie enthuses. “We will be handing out prizes to every patron we see participating in this years’ celebration, so be sure to dig through those closets ahead of time!”

Another new aspect of this year’s show will be a farm safety feature competition, where exhibitors are challenged to highlight a farm safety message in their booth. Guthrie says farm safety is of utmost importance to Manitoba Ag Days, which is why they’ve worked with the Canadian Agriculture Safety Association (CASA) to unveil their new grain entrapment/suffocation demo trailer, which Manitoba Ag Days provided the funding for.

“We used to have a safety area, and this is the first year where we’ve expanded that,” Guthrie notes. “We wanted all our exhibitors to get involved in the safety message [as well]. It’s so important in our lives.”

Regular favourite attractions will be at the show again this year, including The Bull Congress, where visitors will get to meet the producers and bulls. The investors showcase will be highlighting 17 new inventions from many different companies.

Guthrie says she hopes that Manitoba Ag Days showcases the real value agriculture brings to people all over the world.

“Agriculture is such a big part of Manitoba and the prairie provinces,” she extolls. “We’re not exactly [geographically] close to each other, but it’s a small, tight network of people. And certainly, to kick off the year with a show is important, and to celebrate our success and the importance of agriculture. It’s important not just to those involved but to the general public to convey our message.”

Guthrie says that everyone involved with Ag Days is excited not just about the big 40th anniversary celebration, but to see how the event will grow and change over the next 40 years and beyond.

“We hope to continue to have the largest indoor agricultural show that kicks off the agricultural year here in Brandon, Man.,” she says. “Who knows where we will be in forty years, but certainly we change the show to what is happening in the industry and what our patrons and exhibitors want.”

The show will include a 50/50 draw and a bonus draw for a trip to Las Vegas, an annual breakfast kickoff at the Canad Inn’s Roadhouse on Jan. 17 starting at 7:30 a.m., and a social on Jan. 18 at Houston’s Country Roadhouse.