Attendance way down at digital outdoor farm show

WOODSTOCK — Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, the biggest outdoor farm show in the country, has changed shape in more ways than one this year.
On the first day of the three-day show, Sept. 15, the province announced it planned to sell the grounds to Glacier FarmMedia, the company that runs the show.

Most public farm events in Ontario have been cancelled or at least altered, and the farm show was no different, going totally online for the first time.
The goal was to simulate the real-life experience as closely as possible, said communications manager Amanda Macfarlane. That included exhibitor showcases where farmers could chat with company reps and check out their products, as well as equipment showcases. The online event was free for farmers.

There were 5,405 users online during the show, Macfarlane said, a far cry from the nearly 40,000 that were expected to walk the grounds last year.
Nevertheless farmers can probably expect at least some online component to next year’s show, she said. “I think it’s quite likely we’ll see a greater video element in our future shows.”