Alberta Barley, Alberta Canola, Alberta Pulse Growers and the Alberta Wheat Commission have announced a new farmer-focused event set to take place at the Edmonton Convention Centre on January 24 and 25, 2023.
The four organizations have previously been involved in hosting the FarmTech conference. The Alberta Seed Growers are the one Farmtech partner that will not be involved in the new event.
This new event marks an “evolution in the event space for the FarmTech Foundation of Alberta,” says Todd Hames, chair of the FarmTech Foundation of Alberta and Marwayne, Alta.-area farmer.
In a discussion with RealAgriculture, Hames says the new event will be more intimate, provide more networking opportunities and feel different than FarmTech.
The inaugural CrossRoads will feature 15 concurrent sessions on sustainability, policy, market development, and farm management, and also host three high profile keynote speakers, including Chris Koch, a local farm boy turned motivational speaker.
Delegates will notice less of a focus on agronomic topics and the absence of the tradeshow that was part of FarmTech. There will also be fewer concurrent sessions and a targeted attendance of 700 delegates instead of the 1,700 at FarmTech. Hames believes that all of these changes will provide the opportunity for a more intimate event.
“The commissions are extremely proud to announce CrossRoads as a premier two-day crop conference for Alberta’s vibrant agriculture community,” says Hames. “With the shifting agriculture event space in recent years, the FarmTech Foundation of Alberta decided to evolve the traditional FarmTech format and reinvent its premier winter farm show to CrossRoads.”
Asked why rebrand what many have seen as one of the most successful winter conferences in Canada and Hames replied “it’s time to reimagine the future.”
Registration for CrossRoads will open in the early fall with single day and two-day tickets.
