Contingent of farm implement manufacturers from Germany one highlight of agricultural equipment expo in Alberta
An official German pavilion of farming-related companies chose the recent Agri-Trade Equipment Expo in Red Deer to make its first-ever appearance in North America.
“The German manufacturing industry is famous from Volkswagen to BMW,” said David Fiddler, Agri-Trade’s show manager.
“And now we’re seeing all the agricultural innovations that they’ve developed — from building construction to components for manufacturing — that are amazing, and I was honoured that the Germans chose Agri-Trade as their show to launch their North American ventures.”
This year marked the full return of visitors to the expo two years after the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to be cancelled in 2020 for the first time since it was founded in 1984, said Fiddler. The three-day event, Nov. 9 – 11, was expected to attract as many as 30,000 people, up from about 75 percent of that total last year, he said.
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They came to see about 475 exhibitors in nearly 500 booths scattered across numerous halls, pavilions and outdoor exhibits, said Fiddler.
“The beauty of this show is it’s after harvest, so for a farmer, it’s fresh in his mind the issues and problems he may have had with equipment, or things that he might want to do differently for next year. He knows what he’s got in the bin or the bank, and so he’s ready to come here and do some business and do some shopping.”
Among the visitors was Riley Newsham, 25, a farmer near Innisfail, Alta., who was profiled with his grandfather at the expo by a local TV station when he was only about three years old.
“And it’s really cool to be here all these years later, 22 years later, taking the same show in with my dad as well.”
He said he still gets as much of a kick out of climbing into agricultural machinery as he did when he was a child, although there is now a serious purpose behind it.
“It’s nice to be able to see things that, ‘hey, I might never use this’ and get to check it out, and it’s cool to see things that, ‘hey, I’m interested in buying one of these in the next year.’ And I talked to the salesman, I talked to the product specialist, I learned the information I need to better the decision when it comes time to upgrade.”
Germany’s decision to have a pavilion at this year’s expo was made by its government and embassies, said Frank Michielsen, owner of PGS Equipment in Taber, Alta. Russia’s war with Ukraine has disrupted an important market for German agricultural companies, he said.
“Canada, if you look on the world map, a lot of companies, not only Germany but a lot of companies, a lot of countries are looking toward Canada for more growth as a market to sell machinery, but also as a market to produce more food and energy.”
