'Reinvigorate the show': Canada's Farm Show exhibits on the decline since pandemic

Canada’s Farm Show returns WATCH: After 46 years, organizers of Canada’s Farm Show are seeing a slight decline in vendor participation.

Exhibitors participating in Canada’s Farm Show (CFS) have decreased since the annual agricultural technologies event returned to full operations following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Farm shows took a hit during COVID,” said manager Jeanine Nazarchuk.

In 2022, the show welcomed around 400 vendors and 18,000 farmers to the REAL District for the three-day long event.

While ticket sales increased to over 22,000 in 2023, only 350 exhibitors registered for the event.

Nazarchuk hopes attendence increases again but said there are only 250 vendors at the International Trade Centre for the 46th annual CFS.

“It’s natural for all trade shows, including Canada’s Farm Show to go through that,” she added. “The pandemic really took a hard hit on all exhibit shows.”

In an attempt to increase both developer and producer participations, organizers have made a decision to switch the CFS’s dates for the next three years.

And for the first time ever, the event will be held in March.

“We need to reinvigorate the show,” said acting President and CEO for Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. Roberta Engel. “We did a lot of research and talked to industry leaders and farmers.”

“This is an important change,” she added.

Since its inception nearly 50 years ago, the former Farm Progress Show has been where producers are introduced to the latest tech to help them on their farms.

Nazarchuk believes that will not change.

“We’re always building relationships to make [CFS] better,” she said. “And how to make the new market even more successful for Farm Show and building out for the future.”

Canada’s Farm Show will return in 2025 from March 18-20. The show will run from March 17-19 in 2026 and March 9-11 in 2027.