Set around the events of the 2024 Ag in Motion, which takes place every July near Langham, Sask. and is one of the biggest farm shows in Western Canada, the first episode is called “Working Cattle,” and focuses on the cattle producers who attend Ag in Motion and the equipment that is shown at Ag in Motion for the cattle sector.

Rob O’Connor, show director of Ag in Motion, said at the launch that he was very excited to see the first episode of the documentary go live.

“To have something this dedicated to the show out there for people to see, and to listen to the different people who participate at the show and how it affects them, it’s kind of cool,” he said following the premiere.

The first episode features O’Connor both on his ranch and at Ag in Motion, working to make the event run smoothly. It also features Canadian Cattlemen editor Lisa Guenther, Glacier FarmMedia lead of exhibit sales and programming Melonee Ochitwa and many people within the industry.

O’Connor said Ag in Motion is a pinnacle of the agriculture industry, and so it is important to showcase it in this way.

“I think it’s an opportunity for the industry to showcase what’s out there for the people who are investing in that industry and producing the ingredients that go into our food,” he said.

“I just really like the focus on how the different aspects of the livestock industry, whether it’s the manufacturers or the livestock producers, are benefiting from (Ag in Motion). The trade show aspect is about business, but it does more than that. It’s not just creating business, it’s also supporting the lifestyle of those people.”

The episode went live on YouTube Nov. 27 following the launch event. The second episode, focusing on equipment, will be privately launched at the Western Canadian Crop Production show in January, with the third episode to follow in February.

“I’m really excited about how we’re going to probably see the next two episodes evolve into how many more people are affected by the show, and the positive outcomes that it gives to the community and to those people’s businesses,” O’Connor said.

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Glacier FarmMedia digital editor Greg Berg takes in the 2024 EIMA International Agricultural and Gardening Machinery Exhibition in Bologna, Italy.

During a press conference the evening of Nov. 5, 2024, before the opening day of the show, officials with FederUnacoma spoke to several challenges in the global agricultural sector such as weak farm equipment sales, labour shortages, how climate change is hurting productivity and how new technologies are one piece of the puzzle to help overcome these challenges.

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That was obvious at the Ag in Motion Innovation Awards Monday night, in which a rich crop of innovative agricultural products were judged by a crowd of creators and manufacturers.

“The pace of change has accelerated,” said Richelle Andreas of S3 Group, which was involved in the Innovations Award Program.

“The world looks to Canadian agriculture as the most sustainable and innovative in the world.”

The competition was made up of five categories, each including three contestants. Their innovations ranged from a giant manure bio-gas tank-trailer to a simple plastic calf castration card, from analytical management systems to hand-held leaf-scanning apps.

The innovations generally arose from the eternal creator’s notion that there must be a better way to do this.

“I designed my TestiGrip to help me,” said Jodi Suchoplas of Durban, Man., whose simple plastic castration-aid card won the award in the Livestock category.

The winners were:

• Agronomics: CropScan Ag for its On-Combine Grain Analyzer;
• Business Solutions: Ultimate Yield/The Rack for its Hedgehog fuel price hedging program;
• Environmental Solutions: Lemken Canada with its Equalizer Air Tine Drill for vertical banding;
• Livestock: TestiGrip with its self-named castration aid device;
• Equipment: Advanced Tank Production for its Bio-Gas Manure Tank Trailer.

Ag in Motion’s ten-year anniversary was noted and celebrated by a number of speakers, with the growth of the show lauded as a sign of the strength of the Western Canada agricultural economy.

AIM Manager Rob O’Connor recalled when he and Glacier FarmMedia President Bob Willcox sat together in a car and talked through what AIM could be, before there ever was a show.

O’Connor noted that in its first year, AIM had 200 exhibitors. The next year it had grown to 320. Last year it had 580. This year it has swelled to 607.

Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit said his province is the hub of a world-renowned ag-tech industry, something AIM highlights.

“It’s not a myth. It’s fact,” said Marit.

The post Ag in Motion Innovation Awards handed out appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Equipment ran up and down the laneways, an impact driver sounded from a nearby display and everywhere you looked, there was activity.

Rob Makowsky, of Bayer, was busy at the lifescience firm’s display, where crop plots waved in the light breeze. Staff buzzed around the tents and plots like bees.

“We’re just getting equipment and displays in place and getting things ready for a great three days,” he said.

Makowsky, a digital account specialist with Bayer, said the show’s become a mainstay of Prairie agriculture since its launch in 2015.

“Everyone just loves the atmosphere of this show,” Makowsky said. “We’re able to meet with people here outdoors, with our crop plots right there to look at.”

Rob O’Connor, show director, was likewise occupied getting things in order prior to the show’s opening on Tuesday.

“The day before a show is always pretty busy and exciting, getting all those last minute details nailed down,” O’Connor said. “But we’ve got a great team and we’re excited to see the show drawing near.”

Organizers say attendee and exhibitor interest has been high this year.

“We’re still awaiting final exhibitor numbers, but we’ll be very close to having a record,” O’Connor said.

In 2023, the show hosted a record-breaking 31,166 guests, and O’Connor is optimistic the figures for this year will be similar, or better.

O’Connor also noted that more than 200 of those visitors would be coming from far-flung locales to see Prairie agricultural first hand.

“We’re very excited about the growing complement of international visitors from around the world, including Australia, Africa and Europe,” he said. “We’re expecting more than 200 international visitors this year. They’re drawn here to gain insight into Western Canadian agiculture and see the region’s world-leading equipment in the field.”

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Glacier FarmMedia — Day one of the 2024 Commodity Classic is in the books and a few interesting themes emerged from the annual gathering of U.S. corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum growers.

U.S. farmers are clearly annoyed about a number of new pesticide regulations.

Growers felt blindsided by a federal district court ruling in Arizona vacating the 2020 registrations for a variety of dicamba products used on 50 million acres of U.S. corn and soybeans.

The ruling meant growers couldn’t use the product for the 2024 growing season.

However, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has since ruled that growers can use existing stocks of the product that were packaged, labeled and shipped prior to the Feb. 6 court ruling.

That is a big relief to the country’s soybean and cotton growers, but they wonder what’s in store for 2025 and beyond.

Farmers are also concerned about the EPA’s response to numerous other court rulings that determined the regulator has continually failed to meet its Endangered Species Act obligations.

Farm groups say the EPA’s proposed Herbicide Strategy, which will bring registrations into compliance with the act, is going to cost them a fortune.

A survey conducted by the American Soybean Association (ASA) indicates 80 percent of producers would not comply with the EPA’s proposal and would face “moderate to extreme” costs to become compliant.

“The proposal would likely require billions of dollars for farmers across the country to implement and could prevent some farmers from using certain herbicides entirely,” the ASA stated in a press release.

A petition it circulated collected 1,500 signatures from growers, applicators and other agricultural stakeholders calling for withdrawal of the proposal.

Soy growers were pleased that the EPA recently announced it has extended the deadline to finalize the strategy by three months to August 30, giving it more time to consider their criticism of the strategy.

Another big topic of conversation at the convention is the 2024 Farm Bill, an omnibus package of legislation that covers everything from school nutrition programs to farm safety nets.

Grower groups are lobbying hard for a bill that “does no harm” to crop insurance programs and sets higher reference prices for crops that will trigger direct payments sooner under today’s falling price environment.

The U.S. Congress is still debating and designing the bill, which was originally supposed to be in place for 2023.

There was plenty of talk about markets at the conference as well.

Al Kluis, with Kluis Commodity Advisors, had good news and bad news for farmers.

The good news is that he thinks corn and soybean futures prices have bottomed out, at least temporarily.

The bad news is that if the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s yield and acreage forecasts for 2024-25 are correct, it doesn’t bode well for prices, especially for corn.

“We could see extremely low prices in the fall,” he said.

The soybean outlook doesn’t look nearly as bad, and he is extremely excited about the long-term future for that crop due to looming demand from the sustainable aviation fuel industry.

PepsiCo and Walmart talked about their US$120 million joint venture to support sustainable agriculture in the U.S. and Canada.

The program aims to accelerate the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices on more than two million acres of farmland in the U.S. and Canada, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by four million tonnes by 2030.

Monitor the pages of The Western Producer and other Glacier FarmMedia publications for full stories on these and other topics from the 2024 Commodity Classic.

––Sean Pratt writes for the Western Producer. 

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The Agri-Food Hub and Trade centre is a 268,000 square foot facility that opened its doors this summer, replacing three outdated pavilions at the Exhibition Park on the east side of the city.

“This year, we expect to see a full house, as we have a sold-out show and a brand-new venue,” wrote show manager Peri Price in the annual show guide.

She noted farmers in the region are coming off a year of extremes that saw drought, softball-sized hail and extremes of heat and cold.

“But we were blessed with good weather through harvest, and across the Prairies, for the most part, yields were better than expected.”

Mike Warkentin, then-CEO of Lethbridge and District Exhibition, told this summer that the new facility would aid Ag Expo’s efforts, giving it a new base from which to grow.

One highlight of the facility is its 104,000 square feet of exhibition space, which Warkentin said will be a perfect fit for Ag Expo.

“It’s specifically capable of holding any element of agricultural equipment that is transportable on a provincial highway today,” he said. “You’ll really see an impact (of that) on our existing signature events and how we grow those.”

Speaking of Ag Expo, Warkentin said the sheer size of the exhibition area will make the event more competitive with other popular western Canadian farm shows such as Canadian Western Agribition, Canada’s Farm Show (both held in Regina) and Red Deer’s Agritrade Equipment Expo.

“It provides us an opportunity to greatly expand the demographics coming to the show just because the centre is so much larger.”

The hub also has 13,000 square feet of convention space, 5,000 square feet divided into four meeting suites, and several banquet halls.

“We created some gala space which didn’t exist in our urban park before, very specifically to elevate event experience and our hosting opportunity here in southern Alberta,” Warkentin said earlier this year.

Price said Ag Expo looks forward to hosting farmers at the event.

“The City of Lethbridge and the Province of Alberta are pleased to welcome farmers from across the Prairies, and we are also expecting visitors from around the globe as we celebrate the business of agriculture,” she wrote.

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Just ask Colette Masterson of South Africa. She and her husband, Andrew, first visited the Edmonton event five years ago. They’ve never looked back.

“When we visited Farmfair for the first time in 2018, it was the start of our Charolais program,” she said.

“We never thought Charolais was part of our future. We had Simmental and Angus and after visiting Farmfair, we fell in love with specifically the Canadian Charolais and we left Farmfair with some Canadian embryos. The start of our herd was 100 per cent Canadian-bred Charolais.”

Added Andrew Masterson: “Canada is pretty much the home of our genetics. We really value the quality of Canadian genetics. We think that the Canadian cattlemen set the standard for the rest of the world.”

He came to Farmfair this year to participate in the Champion of the World competition in the Simmental division, which he won.

Rachael Wheeler of Australia first came to Farmfair in 2010 and has returned as often as possible ever since.

“That’s where we established our love of the Angus cattle that the Canadians are breeding,” she said.

“From that we took genetics back and built our whole herd on them. We transitioned from what we were doing into straight Canadian Angus embryos, all from Miller Wilson Angus.” Miller Wilson Angus is a Bashaw, Alta., based Black and Red Angus operation.

The 2023 edition of Farmfair International took place Nov. 8-11 at the Edmonton EXPO Centre. The nearly half-century-old event is billed as one of Canada’s top agricultural shows and Alberta’s largest beef cattle show.

For four days in November, Farmfair is home to exhibitors from across Western Canada who demonstrate their livestock genetics to purebred producers, local ranchers and international buyers.

One of its premier events is the inbound buyer program, which introduces delegates to a cross-section of Canadian breeders, genetics companies and agri-businesses. Both Andrew Masterson and Rachael Wheeler were introduced to Farmfair through the program in 2018 and 2010 respectively.

The Mastersons raise Simmental, Angus and Charolais cattle in Humansdorp on the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The first Canadian Charolais embryos they purchased from a breeder at Farmfair would, according to Andrew, become the first of their kind in the country.

“If we weren’t at Farmfair as part of the inbound tour, these genetics wouldn’t be in South Africa.”

Perhaps the main attraction of Canadian Charolais is hardiness, he added.

“South Africa is a challenging country. Our climate is very diverse; we’ve got areas which are very arid and then we also have areas which are very tropical, so different types of cattle actually fit into different areas.

“But the breeds we’ve selected — like the Angus, Charolais and Simmental — are pretty well adapted to any climate in South Africa and they do really well.”

The adaptability of Canadian cattle in general is another attraction, said Colette.

“What we see here are cattle with lots of hair. We’ve got a lot of tick worm diseases (in South Africa) so you don’t want a lot of hair because that’s what you need for your climate.”

However, the Mastersons’ Canadian-built herd has not had that problem.

“It’s amazing how you take genetics from Canada and put them in South Africa and have smooth-coated cattle,” she said.

This adaptability is all the more impressive because Canadian Charolais are bred for the cold but adjust to South Africa’s climate with ease.

“What stood out was how these cattle actually survive in these freezing conditions. How they survive and actually thrive is very impressive,” said Andrew.

Wheeler raises Angus cattle in New South Wales, a state on the east coast of Australia. Angus are already popular in the southern and central regions of Australia, but she thinks the Canadian Angus traits give her herd an edge.

“We just really like the type and kind and we really like the maturity pattern,” said Wheeler, who also runs a sheep program.

“These cattle have got lots of natural mass and middle. They’re really correct cows that make great mama cows. These are the cattle that we were really looking for and that fit into what we do.”

Although the hairiness of Canadian cows initially made the Mastersons nervous, Wheeler was searching for that trait.

“We live in the colder part of Australia so we want cattle that can hair up, hold condition and survive. It’s nowhere near as cold as what you guys get, but we definitely get snow days and things like that. We’re up in high country.”

Wheeler also praised the adaptability of her Canadian Angus cattle.

“What we found is that the genetics can work across a range of environments and they’re performing across the board. Our clients are coming back wanting more and more,” she said.

She’s impressed by the intensity of Canadian cattle production.

“You guys, especially the purebred side here, spend all summer making feed to feed it out all winter. You’re very intense here. We can generally calve all year round and have cows out on grass all year round. We’re not putting them in pens and having to bed them and all that sort of thing.”

Unlike 2010, when she was a guest of the inbound buyers program and had most of her expenses paid, Wheeler came to this year’s Farmfair under her own means. Why does she keep returning?

“I think it’s awesome because you get a tremendous lineup of cattle to the show. You get a range of people who travel from all across the world. It creates a really nice atmosphere in the barns,” she said.

“It makes it really easy when you’re an international visitor to be able to get around and tour lots of herds and programs.”

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The show is huge – 27 buildings of equipment. To give you an idea, most of the buildings are the size of the AgriPlex at Western Fair in London, Ont.

This is where much of the new crop farm technology is showcased first – often as a concept or prototype.

I’ve seen hybrid, electric and methane-powered tractors, but one of the biggest releases of the week an even-bigger capacity combine from New Holland, the CR11 (photo at top).

The engineering of the CR11 won the gold medal in the Agritechnica innovation competition, scoring first out of 218 entries from around the world. New Holland believes that the new CR11 will break the world grain harvesting speed record set by its CR 10.90 combine.

The CR11 adds more horsepower, rising to 775 hp, more threshing, bin holding and unloading capacity.

What impressed the Agritechnica jury is that the company did it without increasing weight and The combine has already been in the field, tested in Western Canada. As Geert Nerinckx, global product manager for CR series combines told me, the New Holland CR11 needs Western Canada and Western Canada needs the CR11.

Watch soon for my upcoming story and video on the new CR11.

I also got to see the mind-bending Nexat in person today. The Nexat machine is a German-designed power unit that hooks into implements, so the machine can do pretty much all functions of crop production, including tillage, planting, fertilizing, spraying and harvesting all while reducing compaction by following dedicated tram lines.

The size of the Nexat is something else. Between two drive engines, it is powered by 1,050 horsepower. The engines drive the wheels electronically, meaning the system is set up for future options, like hydrogen power cells.

– John Greig is a senior editor with Glacier FarmMedia. Watch for much more detail on these and many more stories and videos from Agritechnica in our Glacier FarmMedia newspapers and websites.

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Organizers say the event has been Alberta’s largest beef cattle show for nearly 50 years, at which exhibitors from across Western Canada gather to show their top livestock genetics to purebred producers, local ranchers and international buyers. 

Boasting the largest purse in Canada, Farmfair International offers more than $300,000 in prizes for beef programs alone. Cattle shows and sales, international buyers and a trade show attract producers from across the province. 

The event hosts 12 breed shows and more than 1,000 head of cattle. 

Purebred beef shows:

• Black Angus
• Charolais
• Gelbvieh 
• Hereford
• Limousin
• Maine Anjou
• Red Angus
• Salers
• Shorthorn
• Simmental
• Speckle Park
• All Other Breeds 

The Ultimate Legends bracket show will continue this year after a strong showing in 2022. It’s open to any purebred calendar year heifer or bull calf that is also entered in a breed show. 

The bracket divisions are organized by breed. Each breed champion will compete against the other breed champions to name the Ultimate Legend Champions. It will begin Nov. 8 at 3 p.m. 

There will also be a junior futurity show featuring younger exhibitors in four age classes: pee wee (eight and under), junior (9 to 11), intermediate (12 to 14) and senior (15 to 21). 

A prospect steer and heifer show, a bullpen show and commercial cattlemen’s luncheon are part of the event. 

The show will host elementary students in grades four, five and six, through the Farmfair Field Trip. Students will learn about agriculture in Canada through a curriculum-linked program and will see demonstrations and educational stations. 

Only registered schools can visit on Nov. 8 in two morning and afternoon slots. On Nov. 9-11, the experience will be opened to the public. Families and youth groups are invited to learn about agriculture through animal meet-and- greets, live demonstrations and educational stations. 

They’ll also be able to browse the trade show, see cattle and cattle shows and view BBQ pit masters at work. 

The Alberta Honey Show is part of the event, giving registered producers a chance to showcase their honey and honey products. 

Discover Your Future in Ag aims to bring employers in the agriculture industry together with Alberta’s youth to discuss career opportunities. Employers are asked to register by Oct. 20. Youths who register before Oct. 27 will get a free lunch. 

The event wraps up Nov. 11 with a concert featuring Tom Cochrane, Trooper, Sass Jordan and the Cam Student Band. Tickets are on sale now.

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In that sense, the Agri-food Hub and Trade Centre, which opens to the public Aug. 10, marks a return to the Lethbridge and District Exhibition’s roots, said the CEO of the 126-year-old ag society.

“This organization has always been about bringing the world together to showcase agriculture,” said Mike Warkentin.

“This facility is a throwback to those original roots of bringing the world together to celebrate agriculture and showcasing the natural advantages and the advantages that we built for ourselves here in southern Alberta.”

Construction of the trade, convention and ag centre, which replaces three of Exhibition Park’s pavilions, began in March 2021 on the Exhibition grounds at the east side of the city.

The $80 million project was enabled through a combination of federal, provincial and municipal funding as well as partnerships with companies such as MNP, which received naming rights to the meeting centre and one of four meeting suites.

“It’s a good opportunity for driving investment and opportunity for local farmers, an opportunity for the world to understand the importance of the local southern Alberta producer and how far the products they produce actually reach into the world,” said Warkentin.

The unique makeup of southern Alberta’s agricultural sector will make the Hub an ideal destination for commodity meetings and other industry events, said Warkentin, particularly commodities with a large presence in southern Alberta that lack facilities elsewhere to hold national meetings.

“Southern Alberta plays a large component in a lot of different commodities and a lot of processing — obviously in commercial cattle production, corn production and potato production. There’s a significant component of the national ecosystem of all those commodity crops that come out of southern Alberta,” he said.

“(The Hub is) that connection point to attract those events that traditionally don’t have agriculture-centric markets to hold their events and conventions.”

One highlight of the facility is its 104,000 square feet of exhibition space, which Warkentin said will be a perfect fit for Ag Expo, an agricultural and equipment show held every spring.

“It’s specifically capable of holding any element of agricultural equipment that is transportable on a provincial highway today,” he said. “You’ll really see an impact (of that) on our existing signature events and how we grow those.”

Speaking specifically of Ag Expo, Warkentin said the sheer size of the exhibition area will make the event more competitive with other popular western Canadian farm shows such as Canadian Western Agribition, Canada’s Farm Show (both held in Regina) and Red Deer’s Agritrade Equipment Expo.

“It provides us an opportunity to greatly expand the demographics coming to the show just because the centre is so much larger,” he said.

Expanded demographics are important to the goals of the Exhibition, which envisions the Agri-food Hub as an incubator to spur more than $90 to $100 million in economic activity in the region every year.

“What that means is more people are going to be coming to this market, which means there will ultimately be overall growth — not just the money that people come in and spend, but ideally growing the population, growing the tax base, driving new dollars into the southern Alberta economy that do not exist today,” said Warkentin.

The hub will also be home to 13,000 square feet of convention space as well as 5,000 square feet divided into four meeting suites.

“Those are really amenity spaces that didn’t exist here before,” said Warkentin.

In addition to three salon rooms and pre-function lobbies, the Hub will feature banquet halls where locally sourced “farm to table” cuisine will be served.

“We created some gala space which didn’t exist in our urban park before, very specifically to elevate event experience and our hosting opportunity here in southern Alberta,” he said.

The Hub’s original budget rang in at around $71 million: just under $28 million from the Alberta government, $25 million from the City of Lethbridge and just shy of $18 million from a loan taken on by the Exhibition.

A March 16 Global News story reported the overall budget had grown to just under $80 million due to rising costs.

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