WELLINGTON COUNTY – The Drayton Farm Show isn’t just one of the most successful agri-business showcases in the province, it’s also a place for the agriculture community to connect and socialize, says one local farmer.
“I think the big part of the farm show is the community piece now,” said Centre Wellington dairy farmer Janet Harrop.
“All your neighbours farmed [but] that’s not so much the case anymore,” she added.
In the past, shows would be a place to chat with dealers about purchasing decisions and plans for the year.
“There would be more deals made at the farm show, whereas now, with social media and online research and that type of thing, it tends to be more of where they go to get ideas,” Harrop said.
Harrop and her husband Ian are life-long dairy farmers and crop 350 acres of corn, soybean, wheat and alfalfa at Harrcroft Acres in Centre Wellington.
The days are busy for the family, including their son Ryan, who also works full-time on the farm.
The number of cows milked at Harrcroft each day has increased in the past two decades, from 65 to about 120.
“We don’t have a lot of downtime,” Harrop said.
The pandemic also underscored just how isolating farming can be.
Farm shows can provide some reprieve from the routine of daily chores.
“You do see some of your neighbours, and some other people in the industry that you’re part of,” Harrop said, adding shows provide a chance to find out how everyone is doing.
Farm shows all happen around this time of year, before the weather truly warms.
“Once the weather warms up and the fields start drying up, we’re busy,” Harrop remarked.
The Drayton show provides access to several local vendors at once, and Harrop said farmers “really try to support local businesses as much as we can.”
The show also draws a crowd from outside the county as well.
“We’re so fortunate here. Half an hour, at the most, you’re at pretty much any dealer you need to be at. But we have friends in the Caledon area that come up this way all the time for their equipment because they (dealerships) all left the Caledon area – because agriculture has left,” Harrop said.
“We have a robust agricultural system. And we need to support those local businesses.”
Harrop is the past president of the Wellington Federation of Agriculture (WFA), which conducted an agri-food economics study and found equipment dealers and suppliers are a “big part” of the economics and supply chain surrounding agriculture, according to Harrop.
The WFA will have a booth at the Drayton Farm Show.
“It’s important for all aspects of agriculture to be represented there … the agricultural groups that represent farmers, that advocate for farmers, it’s great for them to be there,” Harrop said.
The booth provides an opportunity for WFA members to have conversations about the issues, which can then be relayed to the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
“They have the ear of the ministers, and the people making some of the policies and rules that impact agriculture,” Harrop said.
The Drayton Farm Show, she added, is a “great conduit to get that information to Queen’s Park, so that producers have a voice.”
The WFA’s field service representative, Lisa Hern, has fixed “a bunch of problems” that producers have brought to her at meetings or farm shows, Harrop said.
Harrop said farms shows, like the Drayton Farm Show taking place at the PMD Arena from April 10 to 11, serve as “a way for people to connect.”