The sun shone and that kept farmers away from the Western Canada Farm Progress Show.
Attendance figures were not available, but the crowd was definitely down from 1998 when it rained throughout the show.
Smaller numbers didn’t necessarily make organizers unhappy. Show chair Lynette Evans said the hot, dry weather was exactly what farmers needed after a cool, wet spring.
“Farmers are out there doing their thing while the rain stays away,” she said.
Evans said exhibitors reported the number of people visiting their booths was lower, but they were sincerely interested in the products. And exhibitors had more time to talk with potential customers.
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Several said visitors were more interested in smaller items than bigger, more expensive equipment.
At the Walinga Agri-Vac display, the smallest model of grain vac was drawing the most attention.
Nestor Mechor, Saskatchewan sales representative, said late on the third day of the four-day event that he had about half the number of leads he had last year.
“If they came, they wanted to see you,” he said. “There are some that want to see me right away.”
About half of his leads want to trade their grain vacs, he said, and about one-quarter want theirs rebuilt.
“Sales are down, but the service is unreal,” Mechor said.
At the New Holland booth, Roland Singer said most people appeared to be “just looking” and couldn’t say when they might buy new equipment.
Singer, who is with New Holland Credit out of Calgary, said traffic through the booth was slow for the first two days and picked up only slightly on the third.
“They’re still out seeding and spraying and I don’t blame them.”
While some farmers are battling excess moisture, most of the province has benefited from the spring rain.
“It’s nice and green out there this year and that breeds optimism right there in itself,” Singer said.
A group calling itself the Bengough Rally Group, which is trying to pressure Ottawa and provincial governments to offer more disaster assistance to farmers, had called for a boycott of the trade show. With the variable weather, it’s difficult to tell if many farmers joined the boycott.
