The 45th National Farm Machinery Show (NFMS) in Louisville, Ky., was held Feb. 10-13, 2010. You need your map handy when you are navigating the aisles and halls of the Kentucky Exposition Center, where the show is held.
Indoors, it covers 27 acres! I think the shoe companies have to profit from shows like this too! My strategy was to weave through the sea of visitors carrying goodies in their bags and to dodge the occasional yardsticks tapping a trail, as I made my way from one end to the other.
According to Sandra Kendall, media manager for the Kentucky Exposition Center, it has been a tradition for the businesses and the attendees for years. Many of the businesses who set up there started out a small “mom and pop” and attribute the NFMS for their growth into a 100-plus employee company. There is a long waiting list of vendors to get into the show.
The weather, as we can all attest to, hasn’t been too travel-friendly lately, but neither the snow nor the economy seemed to slow down here. Over 300,000 people made the trek to see what the vendors had to show off. And right in the middle of it all is Freedom Hall, which at night is covered in dirt and clouded with smoke during the Championship Tractor Pull – a real crowd pleaser.
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At the Farm Show you will find up to date ag services and products from trusted name brands to visit. From new equipment, tractors and parts, grain bins, fencing, buildings, mowers, seed, livestock, and more. And that includes items specifically for you antique equipment enthusiasts too.
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I saw some familiar faces to Farm Collector there. Like John Harvey of Classic Tractor Fever, Steiner Tractor Parts, the I&I Antique Club booth, Oliver Heritage/Heritage Iron, All States Ag Parts, Bates Corp., and Max Armstrong signing autographs in the McCormick booth. I also saw some other nice displays who offer products for both worlds. Worthington, Bootheel, Rock Valley and A&I Tractor Parts, Buzzard Gulch, Drill Bit City, K&M Mfg., T.H.E. Company, and Toy Tractor Times. And I am sorry if I missed anyone – the booths were all crowded by visitors at one time or another, and it was just a matter of timing to see everyone. I thank everyone I talked to for your time.
This show is a little different than most of the antique shows and swaps I travel to, but the new technological ag industry definitely has a connection with the nostalgic collectibles.
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For more information about the show, go to www.farmmachineryshow.org.
See you down the road!
