ANNIVERSARY
40
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40 Years in Red Deer I
t was a Wednesday in October — the culmination of months of hard work.
Agri-Trade founder Pat Kennedy had given the pitch of his life the previous year to secure funding from the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce and succeeded. He was to put on Red Deer’s first farm equipment show, and in the fall, no less.
brings over 550 exhibitors and over 30,000 attendees annually, generating an estimated $300 million in equipment sales and tourism. Visitors from as far as South Korea, Hungary, the UK, Australia, Nigeria, Brazil, Ireland, Uruguay, and Ukraine come to connect with the Canadian agricultural equipment market at the event, which consistently sells out.
Who would have known an early snowstorm would come to Red Deer that year? “They said you could shoot a cannon through those halls the first day,” says Krissy Fiddler, Show Operations Manager for Agri-Trade Farm Equipment Exposition. Fiddler has heard the story told plenty of times. In 1984, a nasty southern Alberta blizzard closed multiple roads and highways, preventing exhibitors and attendees from getting to Westerner Park in Red Deer for the first two days of Agri-Trade’s inaugural show. The situation wasn’t looking good — until Friday came. “They came in droves,” Fiddler says. Miraculously, the weather cleared up, or at least enough to allow for attendance. The team knew right away the show was a winner. Red Deer, located right between Alberta’s two largest cities, was a uniquely apt location for the event. “It’s in the heart of some of the best farmland in Alberta,” says Fiddler. It’s like the tagline says: “Right Show, Right Time, Right Location.” Jump forward to 2024, and AgriTrade is recognized across Canada and around the world. The show @AMCshortlinecda
prepared with specialists on site so producers can get the answers they need for the next growing season. AgriTrade is held just after harvest, so the growing season is still fresh in farmers’ minds. “Everybody knows what’s in the bin,” Fiddler says. “They’ve put everything away. They can celebrate.” However, the real success comes from the Exhibitors and Attendees as they are who make the show. The show, the industry, and the world have changed significantly in 40 years. The Expo’s growth has prompted Westerner Park to undergo major expansions and builds more than once, including a 70,000-squarefoot exhibition hall. “When those were built and ready to go, AgriTrade was right in there with more exhibitors eagerly waiting to get into the show,” Fiddler says.
In 2022, the German government brought a delegation of businesses to the Exposition for the first time, choosing Agri-Trade as their only stop in Western Canada. In that first visit, one of the German companies found their Canadian partners and sold out of all its inventory. The German Pavilion has since come back in 2023 and will return in 2024. “(AgriTrade) way more than exceeded their expectations,” Fiddler says. Where do successes like these come from? Primarily from the exhibitors and attendees, who, through their connections, help define the show year after year. Exhibitors come
@Agricultural Manufacturers of Canada (AMC)
Meanwhile, technology continues to advance, with AI and manufacturing innovations changing the landscape of the agriculture industry at a mile a minute. “Some of the stuff we have now still blows my mind,” says Fiddler. “Wherever (the industry goes), we can’t even imagine how far it takes us. Through fair weather and snowstorms, Agri-Trade will be there at the forefront, showcasing the best of Canadian ag manufacturing innovation and ingenuity — like it’s been doing since 1984.
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