The 44th edition of Canada’s Farm Show in Regina is underway, beginning with the announcement of the 2022 innovation winners.
Three products were recognized, including VeriGrain’s sampling and information management system, Lucent Bio’s crop nutrients called Soileos, and SeedMaster’s Ultra SR seeder.
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A digital record is created using the VeriGrain app to which grain characteristics can be added and shared.
Grain samples are stored in bar-coded containers and tamper-evident bags for easy management and traceability.
Soileos is a suite of bioactive crop nutrition products. Lucent BioSciences’ patented process upcycles agriculture and food processing cellulose-rich co-products such as lentil, pea, wheat, and oat hulls into a delivery agent for nutrients.
SeedMaster’s Ultra SR seeder is a single rank, 60-foot-wide toolbar with an on-frame commodity tank that has 750 bushels of capacity.
Tim Reid, chief executive officer of the Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. (REAL), said the highlight of this show is that it’s in person after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve waited two years to be back to this place. Some of us didn’t know that we’d actually get back here,” he told reporters as the show opened.
For the first time ever, the show is completely indoors. Reid said REAL has the largest interconnected space in Canada and it makes sense to use it.
There are about 400 exhibitors on site. Reid said 42 previous exhibitors did not return after the hiatus but there are 100 new ones.
Organizers expect attendance of about 30,000 people.
“We’re incredibly pleased to announce that there’s over 55 countries in attendance. I think what we’re seeing is the technology that we have here in our manufacturing industry is a solution that is needed globally,” he said.
“It’s a time in this world where frankly we need to feed the globe differently than we do. These are not easy economic or geopolitical times.”
Traditionally the value of business done at the show is between $200 and $300 million in GDP output, Reid said.
Doing business face-to-face is still the preferred method in the industry, he added.
Several new product launches are taking place before the show ends on Thursday.
Kirk Westgard, the new vice-president of agriculture at REAL District, said the first launch is Prairie Clean Energy’s new biomass fuel pellets made from flax straw and other residue. The company already has sales lined up to Europe, where biomass energy has a strong presence.
He also said REAL was established in 1884 as an agricultural exhibition association and is getting back to that.
“My job is to bring agriculture to everything we do,” he said.
Ag in the Classroom will be present at this show and others throughout the year.
Contact karen.briere@producer.com or robin.booker@producer.com
