Ag In Motion 2025 organizers are pleased with this year’s attendance.
“We’re very pleased with attendance, response from exhibitors and the overall tone of the show this year,” said Rob O’Connor, Ag In Motion show director.
“It amazes me how important Ag In Motion has become to all levels of the agriculture industry.”
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O’Connor also noted the growing trend of international visitors attending the outdoor farm show.
“We saw three times more international visitors than last year,” he said.
He also said the ride and drive programs continue to draw huge crowds, and many companies have begun to use the show as a customer appreciation event.
Trade supercharger
Canada’s chief trade commissioner says Ag In Motion is a one-of-a-kind venue to introduce international buyers to Canadian farm equipment and the companies that make and sell it.
“I’ve never been to an outdoor show like this before,” said Sara Wilshaw July 16 after touring the show site and speaking to equipment manufacturers.
“This is amazing. Incredible. And the live demonstrations are so important, I think.”
In her role, Wilshaw is responsible for helping Canadian businesses secure and explore international markets, find new customers and partners and grow Canadian exports.
Wilshaw told the Western Producer that the buyers she met at the event welcomed the opportunity to escape the meeting room, observe equipment in the field and touch and test it.
“The feedback I’ve gotten has been so positive,” she said.
Wilshaw said the current volatile trade environment means it’s more important than ever to take a systematic approach to growing trade and exports.
“This is why we need partnerships, and why you’re hearing folks talking about our trading partners,” she said.
Wilshaw said Canada has 15 trade agreements covering 51 countries and spanning the globe. She also noted that the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement remains in effect in North America, and trade continues to flow between the three countries, even in the face of tariff threats.
“It is still working, there’s a lot going in CUSMA-compliant to the United States,” she said.
“It is still, and always going to be, an extremely important trading partner for us.”
When asked about Canada’s canola trade to China, she said she’s not directly involved in it, but that the entire Canadian government is aware of the issue and working on it.
“The government, and ministers, are acutely aware of it, up to the prime minister,” she said.
Fun events
A show highlight was the first run of the daily junior cattle show.
“That was really fun to watch and a lot of those participants and their families were really happy with things,” O’Connor said.
He also reported a packed tractor pull and enormous interest in drone demonstrations.
“I was thrilled to see how many people went to the southeast corner of our show site to watch those drones,” he said.
High profile vistors to the site included Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe. provincial agriculture minister Daryl Harrison and many prominent agricultural business leaders.
Cruising the grounds of the event, a common sight was families walking hand in hand to explore the show. O’Connor noted those scenes are a clear reflection of the unique culture of agriculture in Western Canada.
“Ag in Motion was developed because of the business of agriculture, but the business of agriculture means families,” he said.
“It’s a family business.”
Kids get to explore equipment, sitting in tractor cabs, becoming comfortable with agricultural technology. They play corn hole, which is becoming a rural family staple at many of the exhibitor booths, as their parents get more information. Agronomists do their best “Bill Nye the Science Guy” as youth learn about how their family’s crops thrive on the best farming practices and technology.
The show intentionally creates opportunities for multi-generational farm families to make decisions together, which helps maintain agricultural interest across generations. The event aims to create an engaging environment that can inspire young people about agriculture’s future and their own.
“It’s not like we’re directly trying to attract children, but we certainly do want to attract families,” O’Connor said.
“We want them to come here as a family to help make the decisions that improve their farm.”
“This is sort of giving kids a positive impression of our business and of the exhibitors here of what they have to offer. I think by having the next generation here, it also gives them that comfort level as they get older and have to start thinking about their life.”
Innovation awards
Another show highlight was the annual innovation awards, granted over five categories.
Jeremy Matuszewski of Thunderstruck Ag Equipment didn’t mince words when asked what winning an innovation award at Ag In Motion 2025 felt like.
“It’s like winning an Oscar,” Matuszewski said.
He noted that AIM is one of three key outdoor farm shows in North America, including Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, set for September near Woodstock, Ont., and the U.S. Farm Progress Show, set for Decatur, Illinois, in August. Winning an award at that level made it all the more meaningful, he said.
The founder and president of Thunderstruck was celebrating recognition in the equipment category for the firm’s new Razor’s Edge concave line that’s been designed around individual combines.
It eliminates the need to change from crop to crop and increases the separating capacity and cleaning efficiency of the machine by balancing the separating area with the bar spacing.
— With files from Greg Price