One of the many things that allows The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth to live up to its name is the visitors it attracts from around the world, year after year.
If you stop by the International Agriculture and Agri-Food booth in the Nutrien Western Event Centre, you can see thousands of dropped pins on a global map spanning six continents, showing how far agricultural producers travel to experience, participate in and do business at the Calgary Stampede.
Around 2,000 farmers, agri-food manufacturers, and people who work in food production attend the Stampede every year, meeting with the International Agriculture and Agri-Food Committee.
Mark Croucher, a Dairy Farmer from north of Auckland, New Zealand, loves to make agriculture central to all of his global travels.
This year, he chose to make a trip to the Calgary Stampede with an agri-travel company based in New Zealand.
“We've got a couple of dairy farms, totally different from Canadian ones, basically all farmed outside. We're in a semi-subtropical area,” says Croucher.
This trip has included visits to several farms in Alberta and BC.
“We’re having a good trip around Canada, and this is a good program and we've enjoyed it here in Calgary."
Keith Jones, who is the Past-Chair of the International Agriculture and Agri-Food Committee, says they hear many stories from their countless international guests every year.
“The best stories are when we get people talking about their farming operations, whether it's in New South Wales, Australia, Argentina, or the UK to name a few, but it’s having one-on-one conversations with people both in the agriculture business and the farming side, or in the agri-food business. We get lots of food processing companies, food manufacturers visiting," says Jones.
He adds that these conversations lead to business deals, which is why the Stampede is known as the premier international networking event on the calendar.
“There are lots of follow-up meetings and lots of new business opportunities where we connect some of the visitors with others in the Canadian ag business who have an interest in the things they're doing."
The vast number of people involved in agriculture and food production who attend the Stampede shows that agriculture remains at the heart of the event and will continue to do so for generations to come.
Article courtesy of Craig Lester, Agriculture & Western Events Media Committee volunteer.
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