by PAUL RAYNER

By all indications, the third annual Farm Focus will continue to develop on its past success.

Set for February 23 at Boissevain School, the event will continue to involve a combination of trade show and informative seminars on the agriculture theme. The response, always strong, has continued to be so this year.

“There are a lot of new people showing,” stated Development Officer Shirley Bell regarding the trade show. “As of now there are 35 signed up. We’re so overwhelmed by the response. Everything is looking really good.”

New displays will include Farmer’s Edge Precision Consulting from Pilot Mound, and Farmers Independent Weekly newspaper. They are looking for 50 displays and are well on their way. Bell said they are still sending out applications to businesses in the area. All are based on the wide-ranging agricultural theme.

“Basically, it is a traditional ag show with ag related businesses. That is what it is geared towards. Banks, accountants, dealerships, seed companies. We live in a rural area. Everything is touched by agriculture.”

As well, the day will be filled with seminars on a wide range of topics. Committee chair Karen Harilstad congratulated Cathey Day of Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI) for finding the presenters with a focus in mind.

“We look for timely topics of a broad interest to farmers,” Harilstad explained. “That is the criteria. Getting people to do them is not really a problem. People seem quite excited to do it.”

The speakers for the day are all confirmed. First on the docket is Tom Henry of Small Farm Canada Magazine at 10 a.m. He will be speaking on eaters and farmers working together for profit. Kenton Lobe of Canada Foodgrains Bank will speak on the common ground of farmers around the world, followed by Roy Wood of PAT inc. of Killarney regarding Global Positioning systems.

Lunch will again be served by the Turtle Mountain Ag Society.

From AgChieve of Winnipeg, David Drozd will begin the afternoon program with his presentation titled “Market Face Off”. David Rourke of Minto will speak about the integration of crops, livestock and energy production, while Wayne and Therese Heinrichs of Carroll will discuss innovations in grazing. The speakers end with Ian Wishart of KAP, who will discuss alternative land use.

The day will include announcing the winners of the Small Farms Challenge. Launched at last year’s Farm Focus, the initiative of the Turtle Mountain Community Development Corporation’s Agriculture Committee, the challenge is intended to collect workable small farm models from applicants. Presently there are around 25 entries, with winners announced at 4:45 at Farm Focus.

A new book on the subject is also planned to be ready at the event. Collecting the best from the challenge with summaries from their previous release, “Successful Small Farms”, it is to continue their work to bring more people to the land.

In fact, small farms will be getting a fair bit of attention on the weekend. “Reversing the Trend”, a conference on the subject, will be held on February 24 at the school. Speakers and workshops will be held around the subject of farm size. The event dovetails with Farm Focus through a supper on the 23rd and evening entertainment for those involved.

“We’re very pleased to be partnering with the Small Farms Challenge,” Harilstad stated. “We’ve extended it to a two day event, and I think it gives it a good extra focus.”

Bell said the event is growing more popular all the time. She and Tourism Coordinator Aggie Buhler will be traveling to different shows to promote Farm Focus, with an eye towards increasing attendance.

“There is really no way to say how many people will come,” Bell said. “The people who have come in the past have been excited about it. I hope it becomes more and more of an outside draw. It is a way of promoting Boissevain agriculture and business. Instead of it being just local people, it can become more and more of a southwest region event. It is definitely becoming something people mark on their agricultural calendar.”

Harilstad confirmed this. She said the Manitoba Food Charter people are holding their annual meeting in the school at the same time, with about 50 people, and will be attending some of the events. The annual Farm Focus, presented by the Chamber of Commerce with assistance from numerous sponsors and partners like MAFRI and the Development Corporation, is growing while continuing its original focus.

“The Chamber sees it as important because it is doing something for our farmers, who are so important to our businesses. It is a way to present learning opportunities, and it seems to be getting bigger every year.”