by PAUL RAYNER

In some ways, the latest edition of Farm Focus may have been the best yet.

Held as a partnership between the Boissevain & District Chamber of Commerce, Turtle Mountain Ag Society, Turtle Mountain Community Development Corporation and the local office of Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Initiatives, Farm Focus was first run in 2005 to highlight agriculture and its important position in the community. Always a successful event, the 2009 edition, held at Boissevain School on Friday, February 27, was no different.

“It was probably the most successful one we have had,” said Rhonda Coupland of MAFRI and the secretary of the Chamber of Commerce. “The numbers were up to around 500 which is excellent. Our speakers were probably the best attended we’ve ever had.”

Part of the reason for the success, Coupland feels is due to the weather. Although it was cold, it was not the traditional blizzard/ice storm that Farm Focus has become famous for. In fact, the icier temperatures might have been helpful.

“It was cold but nice – no storms. The sun was shining. If it was a –3 day, people might have been out working in their yards or hauling grain. The cold might have been a benefit. Certainly there are the people calving, but they are the only ones we really missed.”

In the trade show, the event once again was able to bring in over 50 booths. The home based business section, located this year on the stage in the north gym, grew this year and there was a new addition. Cherry Creek Angus attended as a breeders booth, something they would like to expand in the future.

“It was something that we thought about close to the event,” Coupland explained. “We would like to have a breeder’s room in the future, to have more of them. It would really enhance the event.”

Coupland said the event opener, Ellen Martens and Anna Glover performing a skit about a city girl moving to the country, was well received and standing room only.

They cut down to four speakers this year, and with short breaks between them, they found it worked out well.

“We found the trade show busier without the programs back to back. There was a suggestion of having one in the morning and one in the afternoon, to cut it down, but it was just a suggestion.”

Coupland added she had not had an opportunity to read the evaluation forms as of yet. However, she heard the speakers were well received.

“They were timely and pretty good speakers.”

John Heard of MAFRI spoke on different fertilizer options, while Todd Birkhan and Karen Cartwright discussed the ins and outs of succession planning. Keith Edmunds of Pennywise Books discussed different marketing options and Scott Day of WADO talked about their experimental crops and new agricultural opportunities. This year, organizers amalgamated the agricultural speakers with business development ones, and Coupland felt they found a good mix.

“I think the mix of speakers was excellent,” she stated. “Each drew a different crowd.”

They added the school’s loudspeaker this year, with Ivan Strain as emcee. Coupland said they were happy to have the school on board to that degree this year, and appreciated their efforts, as well as those of the sponsors and the others like the Youth Group who took charge of the children’s program again.

Although they tried to move the traffic completely through the east doors this year; they were only partly successful. However, it just means that their numbers might be higher than what they are estimating.

Interestingly, Farm Focus may be bucking normal trends. Often events start going downhill after the first year or two and then linger for a while before folding up. Farm Focus, however, seems to be moving in the opposite direction.

“It’s growing not declining. The numbers are all up, and I would say we’ve been getting quite a few out of towners. We have reached out to the farming demographic. It was a well put together show and people came to support it, which is great.”

Coupland added that originally the event was planned as a one-time thing. However, it has worked well and with tweaks and changes, it has grown.

“Until it declines, I don’t think the Chamber will lose interest,” she said. “If it improves every year, it’s a really good thing.”