Coaldale and District Ag Society sees record attendance for Open Farm Days

Posted on August 27, 2026 by Sunny South News

By Kristine Jean
Sunny South News

Over the past four years, the Coaldale and District Agricultural Society has welcomed an increasing number of participants for Open Farm Days, and this year was no exception. 

“This is a record attendance year. It’s grown every year,” said Brody Curtis, president of the Coaldale and District Ag Society. “We’ve really seen success in word of mouth and (through) social media. Our attendance is set to go over 100 people this year, which is a record for us.” 

Every year, Open Farm Days tours have gained in popularity with local residents and people outside the area, including those from the City of Lethbridge. 

“There’s a lot of great agriculture in the Coaldale area that we’re happy to help showcase,” said Curtis. “We did our first tour four years ago and we’ve continued with our involvement ever since.”

Coaldale and area residents took part in Open Farm Days on Aug. 15, which included a bus tour that visited several farms in the area. This year they stopped at four local farms, focusing on different types of agriculture. They included a beef feedlot at Kasko Cattle Company, a fresh cut flower farm at The Lilac Row, a potato farm at 845 Spud Farms and Hejo Sheep Farms. 

Ag societies across Alberta participate in Open Farm Days every summer, noted Curtis, and engage area residents about local agriculture. 

“We sell tickets online and we keep our ticket costs quite low because we don’t want it to be cost prohibitive,” said Curtis, noting many Ag Society members are primary producers or are directly involved in ag-related industries.

“We’re really passionate about getting people to the farm (so they can) ask the producers questions they have about their food and how it’s produced.”

The full-day bus tour included two stops in the morning and two stops in the afternoon with a lunch break provided as part of the tour, where participants enjoyed local beef hamburgers and French Fries supplied by McCain Foods and Cavendish Farms. 

“Each stop is about an hour and a half long, and we totally give the reins to our hosts,” said Curtis, pointing out each host is able to share what their operation does and share their story. It’s an opportunity for farmers to open their farms to the public.

One of those in attendance this year was Ralph Corey from Lethbridge, who was participating in his second Open Farm Days tour with his wife Pat. 

“It’s fantastic. The first year we were here (two years ago), there was 30 of us and now there’s over 100,” said Corey. ”One of the things that impressed both my wife and myself is the number of children that are here and children from the city,” he added. “What a better education it is than to be out here on the farmland, and having children understand where our food comes from, how it’s produced and learning about the wonderful people that facilitate growing our food.” 

Curtis also noted many who grow up in a city or commute from city to city every day, may not have an opportunity to learn about agriculture, and pointed to the important role Open Farms Days has for many people today, sharing about local farmers, local food and what happens from field to table.  

“There’s a lot of people that don’t know where their food comes from … they might drive past a field of carrots or a field of potatoes or a field of wheat, but not know what that translates to when it hits their table,” said Curtis. “We really see Open Farm Days as an opportunity to help bridge that gap – to show people where their food comes from and hopefully that’s a message they can share with their friends, their family and create a broader awareness for the importance of agriculture and the role it plays in people’s every day life.”