‘Agribition’ trip lauded by participant

More than a dozen district residents returned home Saturday from a four-day bus trip to Regina, Sask. where they attended the annual Canadian Western Agribition—one of North America’s largest agricultural marketplaces.
“It went really well,” enthused Angela Halvorsen, a business investment officer with the Rainy River Future Development Corp., which initiated and partially funded the trip.
“Most people had a really good time,” she said. “It was a jam-packed two days.”
The purpose of the trip was to give those interested in agriculture a chance to see what is going on in the western provinces, and Halvorsen noted they got exactly that.
“There was lots and lots of things to see, such as a rodeo and trade show booths,” she remarked, adding she thinks participants received a lot of information—and perhaps even some that can be applied to the district down the road.
Jan Halvorsen, who always has been somewhat interested in agriculture, agreed.
“There are a lot of things they do differently than we do here,” she noted, referring specifically to how horses are used for roping cattle out west.
“I don’t know if it is knowledge that could be put into use here, but I’m sure some people came back with a few new ideas,” she said.
She also said she enjoyed a booth about farm diversification, which offered some interesting ideas.
“It provided a lot of information on different ways to earn money on the farm,” she stressed. “Such as organic farming, farm management, and agri-tourism.”
She even took interest in Alpacas, which she thought could be raised in this district.
Attending the event for the first time this year, Jan Halvorsen said she was really impressed by just how big “Agribition” was.
“There is certainly lots to see at every avenue of agriculture—animals, equipment, products—and there were trade show booth after booth with everything you could want,” she enthused.
She also attended the rodeo both nights it was there, saying she enjoyed the excitement and professional calibre that were showcased.
“There was also mini-chuckwagon races, which I had never seen before, so it was fun.”
While there was a lot of walking involved to see everything, Jan Halvorsen said it is an event she would like to attend again—and would recommend it to others.
“It is a melting pot for anything and everything that’s out there. In fact, I can’t think of anything that wasn’t there,” she noted, adding even if someone is not really interested in agriculture, it is still “a good little get-away.”
Organizer Angela Halvorsen said based on evaluations of the trip, it was a success, but added she would like to have more people from the district attend next year.
“We will certainly try do some more promotion for it or maybe try to hold it in conjunction with another event,” she remarked, though adding the RRFDC has been trying to generate more interest in “Agribition” for years.
“We will take comments into consideration and maybe look at planning a trip to the Calgary Stampede or Brandon Winter Fair,” she noted.