Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, one of the largest agricultural trade shows in North America, is taking place this week in Woodstock.

“For any professional farm family this is the place to come and see the new technology that’s coming down the pipe,” says Doug Wagner, president of the show.

The show is in its 24th year, and has grown to cover 100 acres showcasing more than 750 exhibitors.

“For a lot of farmers it’s a two day show,” says Wagner.

It’s a chance for those in the agricultural industry to see what’s new, and talk to exhibitors about what’s on the market.

“I think people that are coming to the show are looking for information,” says Carl Heinlein, general manager of sales and marketing at Kubota Canada. “They’re probably potential purchasers and are looking at farm equipment, and they’ve got a lot of questions. We bring quite a big team to the event and hopefully we can answer those questions.”

A team of six work year round to plan the show. They try to make sure that every part of the agricultural world is represented.

“We’ve got all the leading crop seed companies here and they have five, 10, 20 different varieties of the same crop on display here. The guys want to know what’s going to give them the edge next year,” says Wagner. “It’s almost like going to a library except for this one’s living.”

Horizon Seeds is one of those companies. They say the dry weather earlier this summer has customers looking for seeds that are more resistant to drought.

“There are a lot of conversations around drought tolerance on crops and insect pressures because of those drought stresses,” says Rick Van Laecke of Horizon Seeds.

There are also opportunities for farmers to see the crops from those seeds in the ground.

“I like to go over and look at the plot demos,” says Mike Vereecken of Kitchener. “You get new genetics, new varieties coming forth and you get to make new decisions moving forward with your operation.”

Farmers use the show not only as an opportunity to stay on top of the changes in the industry, but also as a chance to network.

“It’s a good time to see people that take the day to come out where you normally wouldn’t see them,” says Harold Johnson of Belmont.

Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show wraps up Thursday afternoon.