OTTAWA — To honour John Deere’s 100th anniversary, there will be antique and miniature JD tractors at this year’s Ottawa Valley Farm Show, the largest outdoor farm show east of Toronto and Ontario’s longest running agricultural trade show.
The theme of the tractors will be the 620, produced from 1956 to 1958. Not only will Navan’s Glen Edwards exhibit his John Deere 620 at booth 3227, there will also be 124 collectible miniature model 620 tractors selling for $100 each in Hall D. The first miniature 620 off the production line will be auctioned at the Prestigious Pedigreed Seed Sale on March 15 at noon.
The toys are always a hot item. Two years ago, 50 miniature 460 Farmall tractor collectibles sold out in under an hour, with the first miniature selling for $4,000 at the auction. Last year’s 125 miniature D-14 Allis Chalmers tractors were sold out by the end of the show’s second day, with the first in the series auctioned off for $4,005.
Last year’s auction and seed sale raised a record-setting $18,000 for Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), bringing the total money raised for CHEO to almost $150,000 over the past 26 years.
New at the show is a lineup of six guest speakers on issues such as heat stress on Jersey cows, the importance of soil health, farm succession and planting insights vs 20/20 hindsights. The schedule and speakers are on page B18.
There will be 351 exhibitors at the show, hosted by the Ottawa Valley Seed Growers Association, with seed show winners to be announced on March 14.
The show offers free wi-fi and parking and will be held during the school March break.
The farm show takes place March 13-15 at the EY Centre at 4899 Uplands Dr. in Ottawa near the international airport. The show runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 14, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 15.
Tickets are $9 if purchased online at www.ottawafarmshow.com or $12 at the door. Kids 12 years old and under are free.
