The Indiana Farm Equipment & Technology Expo concluded on Thursday. The 3-day event was held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Expo President Gary Truitt, also the president and founder of Hoosier Ag Today, says attendance at this year’s show was up from previous years.
“Those of you who have been coming to the show for a long time realize that in the past few years the attendance at this has really dwindled. We stopped that bleeding last year by retooling the show, and certainly we’re on the upswing now.”
In an ag economy that is not the best right now, Truitt says, “Our attendance was above last year. We had a great day on Wednesday with around 2,000 people through the door. In total, we’re going to top 4,000 farmers coming through the show, which is twice what we were just a couple of years ago.”
It was announced in 2018 that the Indiana-Illinois Farm and Outdoor Power Equipment Show would be ending after 39 years. That was before Truitt and Gary Thoe, President of Farm World newspaper, decided the Indiana tradition needed to continue. Truitt says that the show, now renamed and retooled, will return in 2020 after seeing that upswing in attendance.
Dates for the 2020 show have yet to be determined. After receiving valuable feedback from farmers and exhibitors, Truitt says to expect new ideas and some surprises at next year’s show.