Gear up for Agribition

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Preparations are well underway for the 36th annual Canadian Western Agribition (CWA) in Regina.

“It’s a huge machine that kicks into gear, and we are now gearing up,” said CWA General Manager Leon Brin.

“Right now we are into set-up mode. As we get closer and closer to the 20th, we bring more staff on. There are barns to be set up, the tradeshow component is established, there is lots of work to do,” said Brin.

“Thankfully, we are blessed with a staff that is highly experienced. Most of the people are into the double-digits in terms of how many years they’ve spent here. There aren’t too many surprises.”

By the numbers, the show is pretty impressive: 4,000 head of livestock, 186,000 square feet of tradeshow with 450 exhibitors, and over 140,000 people expected to go through the turnstiles during the run of Agribition.

The theme of this year’s show is “A World of Opportunity.” Brin says that theme will be demonstrated by the number of international guests.

“I think the international profile that Agribition has built for itself over the past few years is going to pay off this year. I think we are going to see a bigger number of international visitors. We are getting a lot of inquiries from around the world,” said Brin.

Brin says they won’t know what the actual number will be until the international guests arrive and register, but they know the importance of putting international buyers together with Western Canadian sellers.

“If you look at the beef sector, for example, recent developments have led the industry to understand that it has to diversify its marketing. You can’t just concentrate on one market,” Brin observed. “The beef industry is focused on marketing itself to international clients, and are looking to Agribition to do whatever we can to encourage [international] potential buyers to attend in order to make the connections with exporters.”

In 2005, 385 international guests representing 46 countries and 17 American states registered in the International Business Centre.

The full schedule of events for Agribition can be found at www.agribition.com. Agribition 2006 officially opens November 20 and runs until November 25 at Ipsco Place in Regina.

For more information, contact:

Leon Brin, General Manager
Canadian Western Agribition
Phone: (306) 924-9600
Website: www.agribition.com