Antique tractors welcome at Farm Progress one last time

The Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) has had a change of heart around antique tractors at this year’s Canada Farm Progress Show.

After getting pushback from collectors following a letter sent out last month that announced antiques were axed from this June’s show, REAL contacted exhibitors Thursday saying the association has reversed its decision.

“The antique exhibitors were incredibly passionate and proud to be at the show, so we wanted to give them an opportunity to come back one last year to bid farewell,” said REAL spokeswoman Shalyn Kivela.

This is welcome news for longtime collector and Farm Progress exhibitor Lloyd Wolfe, who worked all winter on his 1944 Massey Harris tractor to display this year.

“I went through all the expense and the work of restoring it, so it will be really nice to go out and show it,” he said.

Wolfe added he plans to take an extra two tractors to this summer’s show, “just to make the best of it and to show them one last time.”

Though most collectors are pleased with REAL changing its mind, Wolfe said many are also feeling disappointed that the tradition stops after this year.

“It’s not what we were really looking for; we thought that we would have something that would last forever, but I guess that’s not reality,” he explained.

While it’ll be the end of the road for antiques at Farm Progress, Kivela said it’s REAL’s hope a new tradition will bloom at the Queen City Ex parade this summer.

“We’re incorporating a lot of agricultural elements into the fair this year that’s taking us back to our roots,” she said. “So we really do hope our exhibitors choose to take part in that because it will expose them to a whole new audience, and give them that opportunity to share their history and their story.”

Even so, Wolfe said he plans to “sit this one out,” saying he’d rather watch and see how much agriculture is really incorporated in this year’s Queen City Ex before he jumps in.

He noted the best place to see the advancement of farming is at the Farm Progress Show.

“You could go to one of those shows and see the antiques and the new stuff,” Wolfe said. “It’s just a one-stop place where you can go and see the evolution of where we came from.”