Canada's Outdoor Farm Show

Gigantic annual farm show is in Woodstock, Sept 13-15The signs of autumn are everywhere.
It can be considered a change of seasons -- baseball to hockey.
The discovery of September on the calendar can be depicted in junior hockey training camps . . . children returning to chalk . . . and tall corn awaiting its harvest.
In Oxford County, the many signs of fall are directional signs, leading everyone and anyone with a connection to the agricultural economy to Woodstock for the annual Canada's Outdoor Farm Show.
Marking its 18th year, the farm show continues to burst at its seams with exhibitors and rural innovations. The 3-day trade show is this week -- Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. each day). Farmers don't need directions as they have been attending for many years, but the show is located in Woodstock's northwest corner at County Road 17 (Tollgate Road) and Oxford's 11th Line. Arriving from the north, it's just west of Highway 59. From the west on Highway 2, it's north on County Rd 11, which is the last road before entering Woodstock.
The evolution of the show has seen it live up to it's slogan: 'Where Farmers Meet' as there are now more than 700 exhibitors. It simply is Canada's largest outdoor agricultural trade show, and it's in my backyard of Woodstock and Oxford County.
Look for more details at www.outdoorfarmshow.com, but this 3-day gathering has certainly put Woodstock and Oxford on the rural map. My hometown area has always been known as the Dairy Capital of Canada, but the farm show is about more than the latest in dairy parlours, robotic milking, and efficiences. Milk production is just the tip of the iceburg lettuce. The latest and best in seeds, machinery, productivity, solar, fertilizers, livestock, automation and conservation.
"We believe that R & D should be R, D & D -- research, development and demonstrations. That's how you can implement R & D at the grass roots level," said show president Lorie Jocius in the website.
Admission is $17 per day, but organizers realize many attendees will return for a second visit so the next visit is $10. There are discounts for students and youth, and parking is free on site with various lots.
The promotional website continues by saying: "As our nation's premier outdoor agricultural showcase, Canada's Outdoor Farm Show offers "one stop shopping" for farmers and highlights the most innovative and technologically advanced agricultural products and services available."
This year, the show expects to receive additional exposure -- not due to reaching any particular milestones, but to the fact that as many as 150 journalists from more than 30 countries will attend as part of their participation in the International Federation of Agriculture Journalists conference.
Woodstock is an interesting community as anyone living inside the city thinks with an urban frame of mind and relates to other larger communities along the 401 like London and Kitchener-Waterloo. However, immediately north of the traffic circle at Tollgate Road and Hwy 59, you leave a subdivision and a large soccer complex, and enter rolling fields and farms.
Some of the info I've included in this submission, was lifted from a letter distributed to people who reside in the immediate area. These neighbours of the show are invited to attend the opening ceremonies. The organizers have certainly covered the bases in planning.
If you attend, be sure to stop by the Lions Club food tent as 10 area clubs, including the Woodstock club I'm a member of, serve breakfast, lunch and dinner to exhibitors and everyone attending. I'll be there all day Thursday and will likely have on a purple golf shirt.