Winnipeg’s downtown is a slightly crazy place. Once you get off Portage and Main, roads swoop and curve in various directions. One way streets may drive you mad.
There’s a fascinating mixture of arts, business, retail and beautiful old buildings complete with ancient-looking columns.
If you’re in agriculture, though, the really interesting thing about downtown Winnipeg is its critical mass of ag-related businesses, a tradition approximately as old as the city itself.
Winnipeg’s location at the confluence of the Assiniboine and Red rivers, also directed its future. It became the main trading post for the region, and when the Canadian Pacific Railway came through in the late 1880s, its hub status was elevated – especially since the Canadian government was anxious to settle the West.
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Its importance to the western economy was not lost on business or government, despite the ups and downs of the Depression, floods and the vicissitudes of agriculture.
Today, Richardson International is smack in the middle of downtown, not quite a block away from the Canadian Wheat Board. The Canadian Grain Commission is nearby, as are Cargill, the Grain Exchange, Pulse Canada and others.
There has been a bit of attrition, such as the disappearance of Agricore after being swallowed by Viterra. But Winnipeg is maintaining its ag-hub status as agriculture marketing becomes increasingly complex. Over the last several years, a number of start-up companies have made Winnipeg their home and they are now starting to mature.
They’ve seen the opportunities as farms have grown, and marketing has become an even larger part of farm planning. The future is in technology, and young bright minds are all over it, providing market intelligence and up-to-the-minute reporting to their clients.
FarmLink is a good example. Started in 2004 by Brenda Tjaden Lepp and Mark Lepp, it now has about 30 employees providing specific advice on selling grains and oilseeds.
The businesses may not remain entirely the same, but Winnipeg seems to be maintaining its stature as Chicago North. That’s a good thing, not just for the city and Manitoba, but also for the rest of Western Canada. We’re keeping, and developing, a Canadian agriculture braintrust.
