The slogan this year for the National Farm Machinery Show was “We’re like Candy for Farmers”. That definitely fits for this show as well as the other tractor shows in the country. Tractors, new and old, bring a smile to our faces. Held at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, I mean Lu’val (you gotta say it right when you’re there!), admission is FREE. Hey, Free Candy!
According to Ellen Anderson, Kentucky Exposition Center Public Relations, this year’s show saw the fourth highest attendance total of all time! 302,424 people attended this year’s big event. It’s really amazing how many people are walking the aisles and how many trucks are in line to get in every morning. With the show and the Championship Tractor Pull, I could only imagine how much revenue the city sees that week! And I found out! The show generated a $21.5 million annual economic impact across the area.
Farmers and business owners, getting ready for the upcoming farming season, can see free seminars, innovative technology, new product launches, alternative energy and many more ideas for their business.
I snapped a few pictures of some of the booths at the show:
And I stopped in to visit with a few friends in the antique tractor world too.
Here’s the IH Collectors booth, of course that’s how I saw it! Since I am vertically challenged and there were so many people in the aisles, I only got the top of the booth, sorry guys!
John Harvey with Classic Tractor Fever was selling calendars and books. One of the books was his “Big Bud 747 World’s Largest Tractor” book. You can order yours from John at 1-800-888-8979.
I also visited with Steiner Tractor, Bates Corporation, Heritage Iron, THE Company, Drill Bit City, Great Lakes Ag Parts, Worthington Ag Parts, Rock Valley Ag Parts, Rim Guard, A & I Products and many more.
The general consensus from most people was upbeat and positive regarding sales. More people, more sales. Sounds like a good sign to me!
And if you go, there are a lot of neat tourist attractions to take in when you aren’t at the show. This year we toured the Louisville Slugger Museum.
If you want to learn more about the event or see a list of exhibitors, go to www.farmmachineryshow.org.
This just got me kick-started on another year of tractor shows. I look forward to seeing you…..down the road!
