DAFOE, Sask. – Bourgault wasn’t there. Flexi-Coil wasn’t there. John Deere wasn’t there. Neither was Morris or Conserva Pak or Concorde or Haybuster.
Most of the leading manufacturers of direct-seeding equipment opted out of the fourth annual Direct Tech, which moved to a new site near Dafoe, Sask., and went to a two-day format.
Seeding equipment manufacturers that did attend the June 1-2 event included Harmon International of Saskatoon, Melranda Manufacturing of Manitoba, Seed Hawk of Kennedy, Sask., Ezee-On of Vegreville, Alta., and the Barton No-Till Disk System of Conquest, Sask.
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Makers of straw and chaff equipment, high-clearance sprayers and heavy harrows also demonstrated their equipment. Kramer, Inc. of Regina, launched Caterpillar’s Challenger 45 rubber-track tractor.
According to the organizers, attendance was 1,800 on June 1 and 2,600 June 2.
One-on-one conversation
Ken Crowter, president of the LeRoy, Sask., community association which organizes the show, said moving to a two-day format made it easier for participants to talk one-on-one with those demonstrating equipment, as well as making the scheduled events run more smoothly. But the decision to run for two days was cited by some manufacturers as the reason they decided to take their equipment elsewhere.
Kelly Johnson, Saskatchewan territory representative for Concord Inc., of Fargo, N.D., said many dealers told organizers they had misgivings about event length.
“If you stay more than one day, it’s too hard to man,” Johnson said, adding the costs for exhibiting equipment at the event were “getting out of hand.”
Manufacturers were charged a $1,500 fee for each piece of machinery actively demonstrated.
For local manufacturer Bourgault Industries, lack of standing stubble at the demonstration site was a factor in the decision not to attend.
“The field conditions were the biggest thing,” marketing manager George Blair said. “It would have done us no good.”
Crowter said while the new site was selected over the winter, “we didn’t realize so much had been worked.”
It was the second year Jim Halford of Indian Head, Sask., maker of the Conserva Pak, has skipped Direct Tech. “We haven’t found them to be really useful,” Halford said of demonstrations in general. “It’s not money well spent.”
Flexi-Coil sales manager Don Henry in Saskatoon said his company decided to “draw the line” on the number of demonstrations it would attend this year, but added that doesn’t mean the company won’t be back at Direct Tech in future years.
Crowter acknowledged the fund-raising event has gone through some awkward growing pains this year, but added: “We’ll be around next year.”
He confirmed the costs of Direct Tech ’95 doubled over last year, totaling about $60,000.
