Photo by Jim Ruen Farm shows are a great way for hobby farmers to collect new farm tools and ideas. |
We are in the midst of winter farm show season, nationally as well as here in the Midwest. A week and a half ago, I was in Sioux Falls, S.D., for their show. Last week, there was a big show in Des Moines, Iowa. And this week, the two largest shows of the season take place in Louisville, Ky., and Tulare, Calif. Meanwhile, I’ll be attending a show in Toronto.
I’ve been fortunate enough to attend both the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville and the World Ag Expo in Tulare several times. Both are great farm shows with thousands of exhibitors and tens of thousands of visitors each of three days. If you can’t make either this year, plan ahead for next year. They are well worth the trip.
I’m looking forward to the Toronto show with its 2,000 exhibitors. I know I’ll come home with some nifty tools and lots of ideas. What I love about farm shows is seeing the new equipment and talking to the exhibitors. Often times, the stuff I really like is in the back or off to the side. While the big equipment is front and center, there is plenty for farmers of all sizes. Truth be known, if these companies only wanted to talk to a few thousand mega farmers, a farm show would be a pretty inefficient way to do so.
I guess that’s one reason I keep going back. I’ll never be in the market for that $400,000 tractor, but I can always buy that nifty scrub brush that fits my electric drill, like I did in Sioux Falls. Oh, and wait until you see the guy with the super tape that will bind anything!
See you there.
