After taking a few days off and talking to a few more people about the Farm Progress Show, I have begun to finally realize the scope and magnitude this show actually offers. Farmers from across the world travel to a remote field in the middle of nowhere Iowa to see what the new face of agriculture has to offer. I was blown away by the amount of international visitors that I saw and how important this show was to them. Its hard for me to grasp the scope of the show as just a college student, but talking to all of the production agriculturalist helped to give me a better appreciation for all the hard work that goes into making the Farm Progress Show run.
I also noticed the demographics of the show changing. No longer is the Farm Progress Show just a place for 60 year old white males, but also women and people of all ages and race. This is refreshing and promising for the future of ag.
Overall, I had a great experience at the 2008 Farm Progress Show! I met some wonderful people from around the world, got to get a sneak peak at what agriculture will look like in the near future, and enjoyed the extravagant displays from companies across the industry. I am sad to know that next year it will not be right in my backyard but as will tens of thousands of people, I too will travel for the experience of the 2009 Farm Progress Show.
