Progress is defined as advancing or developing to a better state.
A mouse bait that’s better than peanut butter and a vertical access generator that uses wind power are two examples that were on display at the Western Canada Farm Progress Show in Regina last week.
Bet’r Bait, of Montmartre, Sask., and VBine Energy, headquartered in Moosomin, Sask., won new invention awards at the show, indicating that long-standing issues such as rodent control and energy sources continue to, well, make progress.
Bet’r Bait won the people’s choice award.
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A panel of judges named VBine the most outstanding new invention.
“This is our first show in contact with farmers,” said VBine president Barry Ireland.
“There’s been tremendous interest. We’ll probably be two years catching up on orders.”
He developed the generator to take advantage of factory smokestacks.
There are about 60 million industrial smokestacks in the world that could generate electricity through the updraft and wind around a cylinder.
The company is also looking at putting the generators on top of cellular communication towers.
Farmers could use them on existing structures such as silos or grain bins, he said.
The power can be used on the farm or go into the electrical grid.
Kevin Shiplack, half of one of the two farming couples who started Bet’r Bait, said the company’s goal is to have its product hanging beside each mouse trap in a store.
“It’s safe, easy to use and convenient,” he said.
The food-grade ingredients mean it’s non-toxic and clean.
And the family aspect – the partners and their children filled the first 20,000 syringes themselves – likely appealed to consumers.
That said, the company has become more mechanized and signed on with a distributor to move the bait into more stores.
About 40,000 visitors would have seen these and the other displays from more than 700 exhibitors at last week’s 31st annual show, which was the largest ever.
Show manager Rob O’Connor said attendance was nearly identical to 2006.
A precise number will be released after an independent audit.
But he also noted there are 45,000 farmers in Saskatchewan and not all attended the show, so the traffic came from other provinces as well.
He said 129 new products debuted and exhibitors booked most of the space months ago.
There were several indoor spots that weren’t filled after some exhibitors failed to show up.
“A number of Alberta companies couldn’t find people to work in their booths,” O’Connor explained. As well, personnel from several companies in India didn’t receive their visas in time.
Demand for the outdoor space was strong; an exhibitor called the night before the show opened and asked for 360 sq. metres anywhere on the grounds.
More than 500 international visitors from 30 countries attended.
Olexandr Bilytskyy, manager of the seed processing plant for the Science and Production Agrarian Corp. of Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, was looking for new plant equipment during his first trip to Regina.
“We’ve heard too much about farming in Canada,” he said.
A neighbouring company installed Canadian equipment from Bridgeview Manufacturing, and Bilytskyy had to compare it with that of another company before making a decision.
“I believe we’ll succeed,” he said of the negotiations.
Show chair Larry Gregga said exhibitors were happy that the show traffic was mainly from qualified buyers.
Next year’s show runs June 17-19.
