At the recent Husker Harvest Days in Grand Island, Nebraska, several large manufacturers were notably absent from the trade show maps. AGCO and Claas deferred their traditional corporate show presence to dealers Butler Machinery and Nebraska Harvest Center, while John Deere was absent altogether.
After the cancellations of the field demos a few weeks ago at Farm Progress (adding insult to injury after manufacturers trucked in thousands of tons of hard-to-locate inventory that could not take the field), the value proposition of the national farm shows was once again a popular topic as executives passed away the show “downtime” from wide-open exhibit lots.
As farm shows dwindle in influence for new product launches and new farm show attempts have come and gone (including but not limited to AEM’s failed attempt to introduce the European-style show model), is the farm show of 2022 an anomaly due to supply chains and low machine inventory (some manufacturers called in favors with customers just to have “some” equipment on display)? Or is it a permanent change in new product launches and machinery marketing in the virtual and internet age?
Editor’s Take:
Interesting questions to ponder – are traditional farm shows ready for the history books, or is 2022 a transitory year due to supply chain issues? While CAD really doesn’t want to enter that debate, we remind you that AgRally 2023 (March 21, 2023) will be bigger and better than ever. The 2022 AgRally, by all accounts, was a huge success. This event takes advantage of both local and national venues and offers the latest and greatest in technology straight from executives in the “know” at the companies involved. The show also features in-depth discussions of agricultural topics that attract farmers and ranchers through the reach of our partners RFD-TV and The Cowboy Channel. Equally important, the entire event brings a huge audience interested in learning more about the CAD program, including AgPack and AgTruckTrader.com. Now is the perfect time to contact a member of our team to find out how you can take part in this exciting event!
