Excite Lethbridge’s Ag Expo reached new highs in guest attendance and exhibitor count last month at the Lethbridge Trade and Convention Centre.
Southern Alberta’s largest annual showcase of the agriculture community featured a total of 313 agricultural exhibitors, showcasing their latest equipment, technologies and services, including 38 new exhibitors.
Guest attendance was up more than 10 per cent from 2025, with over 7,800 guests, which is the highest total since recent records began in 2018.
This year’s Ag Expo highlighted companies and technologies from six countries, six Canadian provinces and eight American states.
Machinery Row in the south parking lot expanded this year, with 22 companies exhibiting large equipment, while the North American Seed Fair featured more than 185 entries in 25 classes.
Director of Event Development Paul Kingsmith says Excite Lethbridge is focused on bringing in high-quality, relevant exhibitors who are moving agriculture forward.
“We take pride in seeing the connections made and the business that is done, not just over these three days, but throughout the year. We’re committed to continuing to grow the event and finding new and innovative ways to celebrate the local agriculture community,” he adds.
Ag Expo is an event that really does bring the agriculture community together in southern Alberta. “And supports the economy here, which is so important to the region. Agriculture is the driving force of so much of the economy of southwestern Alberta.”
The increase in attendance and exhibitors visiting Lethbridge generates millions of dollars in direct revenue, says Kingsmith.
“Through people coming to the city, eating in restaurants and staying in hotels. It’s also generating tens of millions of dollars for the agriculture industry directly, as deals are getting done, equipment is being bought and relationships are being made. While it’s a show to check out new technologies and see things, it really is a business show that’s helping to drive the economy forward and create partnerships and create innovations that support agriculture,” he explains.
With any large event, Kingsmith notes organizers start to wonder what can be done differently or better next year.
“We’ve started to look at our space. We had over 310 exhibitors here this year, but the wild thing is we have just as many waiting to get into the show on our waiting list. We want to find ways we can get more exhibitors involved and more new technology showcased,” adds Kingsmith. “We’re looking at the layout of the floor plan to see if there’s an extra space we can fit people in or better use to make sure there’s even more companies. We want to keep growing that way. We do want to have more people come to the show, more guests come visit, so we’re really looking at not just southern Alberta, but beyond.”
