At Brandon's winter fair, consumers facing economic worries look to buy straight from the farm

Chelsea Kemp · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 05, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

As the Canada-U.S. commercialized warfare drags on, some consumers are turning to section farmers for nonstop purchases successful hunt of both prime and economical stability — including visitors to 1 of Manitoba's premier yearly events.

With market prices climbing, Royal Manitoba Winter Fair co-chair Clint Swain says he's seeing much radical astatine the Brandon exhibition trying to find retired however they tin bargain straight from farmers, some to enactment Canadian producers and assistance support currency successful their wallets.

"The terms of nutrient and nutrient is skyrocketing successful the store. So I deliberation much and much families are going to benignant of look for that avenue," Swain said.

That includes his own family, who buy astir of their beef straight from a shaper they cognize done the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba— the non-profit enactment that hosts the wintertime fair.

"My household isn't immune to the rising outgo either. So arsenic a family, we're taking a look astatine what we tin bargain much and much straight from producers."

Experts accidental the commercialized warfare is apt to thrust up market costs, and could besides mean a smaller enactment of goods arsenic the importing of U.S. products slows down.

But the fair puts shoppers face-to-face with the farmers down their food, bridging the spread betwixt producers and consumers by offering insights connected wherever the nutrient comes from and however to root it affordably.

Simon Atkinson, a sheep livestock trader and seat of the Manitoba Sheep Association, says he's seeing a increasing involvement successful radical wanting to acquisition nutrient straight from farms, who want to cognize wherever their food is coming from portion besides cutting costs.

At this year's fair, which started Monday and wraps up Saturday, Atkinson said helium got a batch of questions astir nonstop sourcing Manitoba products. He thinks ongoing economical uncertainty volition likely drive much radical looking for unchangeable pricing to bargain straight from producers.

Cattle shaper Melissa Atchison also makes immoderate of her income straight to market consumers.

Her southwestern Manitoba farm, Poplarview Stock Farm, has a six-month waitlist of customers looking to take location a quarter, fractional oregon afloat cow.

That tin beryllium cost-effective for immoderate people, but she said there is an concern successful having the close retention for meat, and being capable to spend buying beef successful bulk.

But the existent clime has created a propulsion to bargain section astatine a level she's ne'er seen before, said Atchison, with much radical wanting to beryllium definite their beef is Canadian — whether that's astatine the market store oregon buying straight from a section cattle producer.

"There has been a precise large patriotic propulsion to guarantee that we're utilizing Canadian products," Atchison said.

"I'm not definite whether it's related to economical uncertainty oregon it's that patriotism of wanting to enactment Canadian beef, but I volition accidental there's conscionable been super-strong enactment for the Canadian beef products."

Fair visitor Meradith Anderson said she likes connecting with antithetic producers to amended recognize however she tin champion enactment them with her spending, which she said helps not conscionable her budget, but farmers and the system arsenic a whole.

"Regardless of the tariffs and worldly that's been going on, we privation to help," said Anderson. "We cognize that it's from here, the wealth goes backmost into the system."

The travel to the wintertime just helped pass her family's buying habits, truthful they tin enactment radical arsenic adjacent to the root arsenic possible, she said.

Swain expects buying straight from producers volition lone go a much fashionable choice.

"Everyone is struggling close now. And with the U.S. tariffs, we don't cognize wherever we're headed present — not today, tomorrow, adjacent for the adjacent 4 years," he said.

"Everyone's benignant of looking to benignant of get their feet successful the soil and benignant of formulate a program for the future."