(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By rdnewsNOW staff

ANOTHER BLOW FOR LOCAL ECONOMY

Agri-Trade Equipment Expo cancelled for 2020

Sep 24, 2020 | 10:35 AM

Uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 health pandemic has led to the cancellation of this year’s Agri-Trade Equipment Expo in Red Deer.

After announcing on Aug. 26 that this year’s show would be going ahead, officials announced Thursday that they have made the difficult decision to cancel their 2020 show that was to be held November 11 – 13 at Westerner Park.

Although Alberta’s Relaunch Strategy guidelines do allow for trade shows to take place, considering all factors, Agri-Trade felt they had no choice but to cancel the show.

Agri-Trade worked closely with all stakeholders to come to this decision, with officials noting they all worked together to do what they felt was best for their exhibitors during the pandemic. In addition, corporate policies have introduced restricted travel that would impede both exhibitor participation and attendance for the event.

“With so many concerns around the current situation with COVID-19, many companies have implemented restricted travel policies,” said David Fiddler, Agri-Trade Expo Show Manager. “With a significant number of companies having to cancel, we felt that the show would not be representative of the Agri-Trade brand. This was not a decision that was made lightly. We left no stone unturned as we were making this decision.”

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“We know that in a normal year, millions of dollars of business takes place and almost $300 million in economic impact is created as a direct result of the show,” added Rick More, Chief Executive Officer, Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce. “We recognize that many people and businesses will be impacted by this decision. We appreciate the Government of Alberta, and Alberta Health Services for providing an environment that would allow trade shows such as Agri-Trade to be a part of Alberta’s recovery plan.”

“After hundreds of event cancellations over the past six months, we wanted to try everything we could to safely and successfully host Agri-Trade, once we were given the green light for trade shows by Alberta Health Services,” said Westerner Park CEO Mike Olesen. “But as we monitor the environment and the ongoing challenges and feedback from exhibitors and stakeholders, we feel that the risks outweigh the reward in pushing forward this year.”

Agri-Trade officials say the agriculture community is resilient and has already persevered through a number of challenges this 2020 plant and harvest season. Agri-Trade looks forward to once again being the place to do business in agriculture in western Canada in November of 2021.

Since 1984 Agri-Trade has been a joint venture of the Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce and Westerner Park, attracting farmers and ranchers to view the newest equipment, technologies and the latest information to boost productivity and profit their operations.