MachineryLink

This is National Farm Machinery Show (NFMS) week in Louisville, Kentucky. The 51st annual show runs February 10-13 at the Kentucky Exposition Center.

The 1.2 million square feet of the Kentucky Exposition Center will be completely filled this year with more than 880 exhibitors. This is an increase in the number of exhibitors from last year's show, and NFMS continues to be the largest indoor farm show in the nation.

The thing that I always appreciated about NFMS is the ability to see all products, both big and small, under the same roof. You have the large manufacturers front and center, but you see smaller equipment producers there as well. You can compare and contrast different pieces of equipment by taking a short walk.

As an ag reporter at NFMS, I always tried to find interesting equipment to write about. Sometimes it was the newest release from the big boys like Deere, Case IH, AGCO, etc. But sometimes I discovered interesting products from farmer/inventors.

Two products from the latter group stick in my mind. I saw the first a number of years ago when manufacturers started making mobile fuel carts. I remember interviewing a couple exhibitors -- one from Indiana and the other from Iowa -- who were farmers but who had also engineered and were selling mobile fuel carts.

In later years as I went to NFMS, many different companies where producing these types of carts. Today they are common on farms. Back then -- 10-12 years ago -- they were a new concept.

Another interesting item I found at the show many years ago was a three-point system for utility vehicles (UV) created by a vegetable farmer from Ohio. This device allowed an already useful product to be even more worthwhile by allowing the operator to pull small plows or planters with the UV.

Later, I noticed several more folks selling their own version of the three-point system for UVs. I hope that Ohio vegetable farmer had a patent on his system.

I think having products like these, which were created by actual farmers just trying to make their lives easier (and make a profit selling them), is why these farm show are so popular. It's one reason people drive from all over the Midwest and South to Louisville.

I also enjoyed going to the show and attending the different seminars which are held there every year.

Every year DTN/The Progressive Farmer's Senior Analyst Darin Newsom and Senior Ag Meteorologist Bryce Anderson speak about market and weather strategies. They are set to speak Wednesday February 10 at 2:30 p.m. EST, Thursday February 11 at 8:30 a.m. and Friday Feb 12 at 10:00 a.m. The seminars will be in the South Wing C, Room 101

In addition, DTN/The Progressive Farmer will have two presentations of a seminar entitled, "Grow World Record Corn and Soybean Yields." The first one will be Thursday at 11:30 a.m.; the second is scheduled for Friday at 11:30 a.m. Both meetings will be held in the South Wing C, Room 101.

Another interesting seminar is: "AEM Ag Executive Outlook" on Wednesday 2 p.m. in the South Wing C, Room 201. The meeting, hosted by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), will feature leaders of some of the major farm equipment manufacturers. They will discuss several different farm equipment issues and take questions from the crowd.

For more information about the AEM meeting visit http://updates.aem.org/…

(JP/CZ)

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