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Spring
2017
Grains
West
14
THE
FARMGATE
BY GRIFFIN ELLIOT
Photo:OldsCollege
BACKTOTHEFUTURE
CATCHAGLIMPSEOFWHAT THE FUTUREOF FARMINGHOLDS
THE FIRST EVER FUTUREFARM
Canada Expo, organized by dmg events
in partnership with the historic Olds Col-
lege, will be held this July.
“We had a vision to try and develop
something new for central Alberta that
focused on the future of farming,” said
Wes Scott, executive vice-president at
dmg events.
According to Scott, the trade show
will use Olds College’s unique facilities—
which are equipped for everything from
meat packing to brewing to growing crops
for exhibitor demonstrations—to dissect
the future of farming, while taking aim
at innovation, precision and the new
generation of young farmers who will be
the mainstays of Canadian agriculture for
many years to come.
“Having it out at Olds College gives us
an opportunity to add a lot of educational
elements and focus on that millennial
farmer,” he said.
Scott added that, as an added bonus,
the partnership with Olds College and the
show’s summer timing make it possible for
exhibitors and visitors to stay in student
accommodations at the college for a rea-
sonable price.
Olds College president Tom Thompson
was quick to get onboard with the idea for
the FutureFarm Canada Expo, Scott said.
“They have a lot of the infrastructure and
facilities that we needed and an appetite
to deliver that educational content, and
we’re a large event organizer that’s accus-
tomed to organizing large-scale events. So
it was a bit of a marriage made in heaven.”
Tanya McDonald, vice-president of ad-
vancement at Olds College, shared Scott’s
sentiment that the partnership between
the college and dmg events made perfect
sense, and expressed her hope that the
show will be more than a one-time event.
“The opportunity here at Olds College is
really that whole farm-to-fork approach—
we can showcase production right through
to the process and the enjoyment of the
food experience,” McDonald said. “We’re
really excited about how it connects with
our current programs and how we can
integrate students over the long run in
enjoying and learning and participating in
this event, which will hopefully become
an annual event.”
The FutureFarm Canada Expo is sched-
uled for July 6 to 8, overlapping with the
first few days of the Calgary Stampede,
but the organizers are hoping that the tim-
ing will actually work out in their favour.
“We always wanted to be close to the
Calgary Stampede because we felt there
was an opportunity to work with their
International Agriculture and Agri-Food
Committee to host a number of interna-
tional groups at the Calgary Stampede,”
Scott said. “The idea that we can work with
that group to bring delegations into Olds
so that they can meet with farm producers
from Alberta, as well as see some of the
di erent innovation being developed in
agriculture, seemed to be a win-win for us.
“Then reversing that, we saw great
opportunities for people that are coming
from outside of town to actually stay at the
venue,” he added. “They can even bring
their campers in to stay at the campsite
and then we can put the families on buses
and take them to the Calgary Stampede so
they can have a bit of a family getaway, as
well as attending FutureFarm Canada.”
The first FutureFarmCanada Expo will make the most of Olds College’s unique facilities tomaximize value
for attendees.