By KEVIN BERGER, Local Journalism Initiative
In exchange for providing roughly $24,000 in services prior to and during the event, the RM of Corman Park will be named a gold sponsor of the Ag in Motion trade show, which will be held near Langham on July 21-23.
During their July 7 meeting, Corman Park councillors voted unanimously to accept the gold sponsorship package from Ag in Motion instead of invoicing the event organizers for the cost of services rendered.
Ag in Motion is the largest farm expo in western Canada, bringing together thousands of farmers, industry leaders and agriculture experts at a showcase of the latest advances in agricultural technology.
The trade show, which was first held in 2015, was named the Business Event of the Year at the 2025 Canadian Tourism Awards.
Ag in Motion offers four levels of sponsorship packages, ranging from Bronze sponsors who contribute between $3,000 to $4,999 towards the event up to Platinum sponsors who contribute over $25,000.
The Gold package comes with 100 admission passes; the sponsoring organization’s logo being featured on the event website’s sponsor page, the official show guide and the Map Your Show sponsor directory; and the hanging of a sponsor flag on the perimeter of the show site, if provided.
As noted in an administration report at the July 7 council meeting, the RM typically provides about $5,100 in service to the event each year, which takes the form of grass mowing and grading roads.
However, this year, the Corman Park Police Service (CPPS) are recommending the provision of $18,700 in policing services. This amount is based on the hourly wages paid to officers and the use of their vehicles.
During the July 7 council meeting, CPPS chief Robert Duttchen explained there will be three aspects to their policing during the three-day event, with the first aimed at reducing speed along the nearby highway. “We find that if we don’t proactively police there, we end up dealing with accidents in the reduced speed zone,” he said.
The second aspect of their policing involves patrols around the event in order to catch motorists who were drinking at Ag in Motion and try to leave by travelling on secondary roads.
Finally, they maintain a presence at the event to discourage people generally from over-consuming alcohol.
Duttchen noted the $18,700 figure doesn’t represent a full cost recovery, since they are partnering with the Saskatchewan Marshals Service for this event.
While the RM has traditionally absorbed the $5,100 service bill in the past, this time around Ag in Motion offered to make Corman Park a gold sponsor in recognition of its increased contribution.
Again, if the RM did not accept the gold sponsorship, they would then reach out to the event organizers to be reimbursed for the $24,000.