UFV was front and center at the 26th annual Pacific Agricultural Show, held last week at the TRADEX in Abbotsford. The trade show brought together people from every area of the agriculture industry, providing networking opportunities for UFV students and faculty. The university had a booth showcasing the work and educational offerings of the Agriculture Technology Department.
“This is the big agriculture event for the valley, and really the province,” said Renee Prasad, UFV Agriculture Technology department head. “It brings together all aspects of the industry and provides an opportunity for our students to see all the different career paths that are available to them. For Agriculture Technology faculty, we bring back to our classrooms some of the new things that are happening in our subject areas.”
This year’s show included a new addition with two UFV connections. Lenore Newman, director of the university’s Food and Agriculture Institute (FAI), was a judge for Farmer’s Den, a pitch competition inspired by Dragons’ Den but tailored specifically to entrepreneurs in the agribusiness sector, especially agritech. UFV student Mwenda Dyck competed in the “seedlings” category — for students or recent graduates with emerging agricultural companies or ideas for an agri-business. The winner received $10,000.