Farm shows are an excellent barometer of the agricultural economic weather.
Strong crowds can form the right kinds of clouds for the ag business.
At Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina last week there were good crowds on the middle of the three days. On the last day, I ran into dozens of producers I know, including folks from Alberta, Manitoba, North Dakota and a group from Montana who truck-pooled in two vehicles and a drop-deck trailer, just in case they found something small they could take home.
Read Also
Determining tariff compensation will be difficult but necessary
Prime minister Mark Carney says his government will support canola farmers, yet estimating the loss and paying compensation in an equitable fashion will be no easy task, but it can be done.
I find farmer demographics at a farm show are a good measure of the business.
Last week, crowds showed me that, while things are likely slower, it is still looking fairly positive for the ag business in Western Canada.
There were plenty of farm couples older than 50 at the event. These are decision makers and often the cheque writers, a necessary demographic if you are selling products and services. They don’t come to town together and wander a show unless they feel it is worthwhile from an investment point of view or they are feeling optimistic about their business.
Often, accompanying these folks, or one of these folks, were the next generation. This is especially important because it speaks to the health of these family businesses. Even better, there were often young couples with younger children appearing to be about six years old or younger.
Contrast this with those who attended the events in 2007 or 2008. At that time, after surviving the previous 15 years of mostly tough times in dryland, prairie agriculture, the shows mainly saw men older than 50, often with other men older than 50, browsing the booths and displays.
Their partners generally remained home making off-farm money to support both the trip to town and the farm. There were few folks from younger generations because they would have been in school learning not to farm or earning a living not farming.
The shows at that time continued to market tools and technologies, but it was a slower market.
Companies that make and deliver the tools have made significant investments in research and development, meaning there is more to invest in at a farm show.
Those good years have changed the faces of prairie agriculture for the better.
