For veteran reporters who like to dabble in production, attending the world’s largest farm show is kind of like taking a sip from a firehose with the valve fully open.
You have to be careful or you might drown without ever swallowing a drop of water.
Worse yet, your head might pop off.
Agritechnica in Hannover, Germany, is an event where the agriculture world shows off its wares while farmers and industry gather to watch. I have said before that every Canadian farmer should make the trip at least once in their lifetime — it would be tax deductible — just to get an idea of how their farm fits into the world of international agriculture.
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Despite tight times in the ag business, a record 2,900 exhibitors have displays here. More than 450,000 attendees are expected.
A lot of great ideas can be gleaned from an information field this big.
But there is also a lot of chaff: machines aimed at types and styles of farming that don’t fit with our large-acre, dryland, short season production. That said, however, most of the shallow tillage systems that we use in Western Canada were pioneered in Europe. Much of the best forage equipment in the world is born here, because to put up a crop in tough conditions like northern Europe requires very efficient tools.
The most exotic transmission designs that we rely on were developed here, and, it turns out, Quebec.
I found out about a very interesting continuously variable transmission made in Canada because it won an award at Agritechnica. We previewed it so look for a story about it in coming weeks.
Events this size bring out great ideas from other farmers and ag engineers from around the world.
After attending this event several times, I know to focus on one thing, a picture of each of you that I keep in my head. I ask myself “what would you be interested in learning?”
Even better, you should come see it for yourselves. You might find solutions to problems you didn’t know you had, or get a clearer picture of how your farm fits into the very big world of agriculture.
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I am passing along a mea culpa from editor Brian MacLeod, in reference to last week’s Editorial Notebook. Of course, it’s 50 percent of Holland’s intact males, not the sows, that are no longer being castrated.
