The 2013 edition of the Agri-Trade Equipment Expo is still nearly two months away, but some early results are in.
Organizers announced on Monday the winners of its Ag Innovations program.
They are a John Deere loader that can be programmed to return to set positions and angles; Devloo Roto Mud Scrapers that are used for seeding operations; Gatco Manufacturing’s Cross Flow aeration for grain bins; Westfield Industries’ STORM seed treater; FarmLead’s Marketplace applications that assists farmers with marketing; and Farmers Edge’s Geospatial Yield Mapping system. Winning in a new Ag App category was Farm At Hand, which allows farmers to keep track of operations on their smart phone.
“For the first time since Ag Innovations became part of Agri-Trade six years ago, we decided to announce the winners before the show starts,” said Agri-Trade show manager Dianne Smirl in a release.
“We wanted to help attendees in planning their show visit while giving the exhibitors with these great ideas a little extra exposure.”
There were more than 20 entries in this year’s Ag Innovations competition, which is held to showcase new farm equipment and technological advances.
“The Ag Innovations award allows Agri-Trade visitors to see where manufacturers are at, and what’s coming for new ideas,” said Rod Bradshaw, the Ag Innovations committee chair. “The more we can highlight innovations in agriculture, the better off producers will be.”
Agri-Trade, which is operated by the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce and Westerner Exposition Association, will run from Nov. 6 to 9 at Westerner Park.
This will be the show’s 30th year, with founder Pat Kennedy passing the management reins to Smirl this year.
Speaking at the Red Deer Chamber’s annual general meeting on Monday, Kennedy reflected on the first Agri-Trade in 1984. He remembered a weather expert assuring him that it never snowed in Central Alberta before Halloween.
“So we launched our show the third week of October; the first day of move-in, you couldn’t move for snow.”
Kennedy said he has mixed feelings about stepping away from Agri-Trade after three decades. He’s excited about the future direction of the show but sad he won’t be directly involved.
“I’m sort of like the young groom who had mixed emotions because he saw his mother-in-law driving over the cliff in his new Cadillac,” joked Kennedy.
“I’m leaving the project, but my heart never will.”