Low attendance but high morale as Agribition 2021 wraps up
Attendance at the Canadian Western Agribition (CWA) is down compared to previous years, but organizers said spirit and morale is up.
In 2019, 121,000 attended the week long event.
Chris Lane, CEO of CWA, said the final numbers for this year’s event aren’t in yet, but he is expecting lower numbers because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Proof of vaccination requirements, travel restrictions and not having children coming through on school tours are factors causing the low attendance according to CWA.
Lane said there are still approximately 10,000 people expected to come through the gates.
“The people who are making the effort to be here are coming specifically to do business. We have never had better attendance in our conferences from the Grain Expo and the Indigenous Ag Summit,” said Lane.
International participation is also down this year.
There were 100 producers from 20 different countries at the 2021 event, compared to the 1,000 that usually participated in previous years. Chris Lees, President of CWA, said this has caused an increase in online participation.
“They watch the shows, they watch the sales and they’re participating in it,” Lees said.
Despite the lowered attendance, livestock sales have been very good this year according to Lees.
He said pandemic fallout and the summer drought caused an increase in sales. Livestock is selling for $50,000 to $80,000 or more, putting them on average or above previous years.
Even with the low attendance records, the CWA is calling the event a success because of the positive morale.
“I have never walked through those barns or the trade show were people just stop and talk and say ‘we are glad we’re here and thanks for putting this on and getting it up and running,’” Lees said.
Lane added it’s important for CWA to bring the sense of positivity and community that has filled this week into future Agribitions.
“The first show back after COVID-19 had to start somewhere and I don’t think as an organization we could be happier or prouder of where Agribition has started back up,” Lane added.
Agribition 2022 is scheduled for Nov. 28 to Dec. 3, which is one week later than usual to accommodate Grey Cup 2022 festivities.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.