London Farm Show cancelled

Jan 21, 2022

No plans to instead create a virtual show – entire 2022 event is cancelled.

Despite it being nearly two months away, the 2022 London Farm Show has decided to cancel the expo, opting to not have it replaced with a virtual event.

Originally scheduled for March 9-11, 2022, in a pandemic scarred world and with the Omicron COVID-19 variant bulldozing its way throughout the global populace, event organizers, Western Fair District, discussed the show’s viability with many of its show exhibitors, sponsors and attendees.

Feedback was established with concerns about staffing the exhibits at the show, and after also considering also that the Western Fair District Agriplex facility continues to be utilized as a vaccination clinic, the decision to cancel the event was made.

The decision trumps a January 20, 2022 notice that Ontario provincial public health measures and restrictions would begin to be cautiously and gradually eased over the next few months if Omicron infections continued to trend downward.

With no definitive timeline as to when full restrictions might be relaxed, even event organizers were reluctant to try and put on a first-class event within the narrow timeline remaining—successful trade events can take a full year to prepare.

The organizers have indicated that all payments made for the towards the tradeshow will be refunded as quickly as possible.

As noted, a virtual tradeshow event is not in the cards. However, organizers do plan to offer a #Plant22 Snack Box for sale, with opportunities for companies to sponsor a swag item or locally-sourced snack item in the box. Boxes will go on sale in early March, 2022.

A similar program, ‘Ag in the East’, ran at Ottawa Valley Farm Show last year, to which the London Farm Show event organizers acknowledge for the idea.

To book an opportunity with the #Plant22 Snack Boxes, click here: https://www.westernfairdistrict.com/sites/default/files/snack_boxes_sales_sheet.pdf

Organizers are hopefully of a return to a semblance of normality by the time the 2023 London Farm Show rolls around, March 8-10, 2023.

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.