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The Better Farming Trains began as an initiative of the Agricultural Extension Services and the Manitoba Agricultural College. They were conceived as a means of spreading information about new agricultural methods and scientific farm and home management techniques. They also emphasised the importance of soil conservation through the implementation of good soil moisture condervation practises and the establishment of shelter belts.
There were two trains, sponsored by the Department of Agriculture and the Canadian Pacific and Canadian Northern Railways respectively. The trains toured the province for four summers between 1911 and 1914.
Each train consisted of four demonstration cars which contained displays and information about livestock management, field crops, dairying and home economics. They travelled for about two months of every year, visiting as many communities as possible. At each stop, lectures and demonstrations, often by professors from the Agricultural College, were arranged. By the Department's estimates, nearly one hundred and fifty communities were visited over the course of this project, and more than 35,000 people attended the lectures and demonstrations.
Page revised: 28 August 2009
