The Kentucky State Fair Board announced that attendance for the 50th National Farm Machinery Show was up more than 16,000 from the previous year. The 2015 event saw the second highest attendance total of all time as 310,589 attendees, including exhibitors and agribusiness professionals, traveled to the Kentucky Exposition Center to participate in the nation’s largest indoor ag tradeshow.
Show managers said more than 850 exhibitors, including delegations from Argentina, Italy, Germany, England and China, filled the 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space of the Kentucky Exposition Center during the Feb. 11-14 event.
“For 50 years, the National Farm Machinery Show has always been focused on showcasing the best in agriculture, offering firsthand looks at what’s new and highlighting the economic stakes and challenges within the industry,” said Clifford “Rip” Rippetoe, president and CEO, Kentucky State Fair Board. “We want to create a gathering place for the latest technologies and education for the ag industry and these numbers affirm our place as one of the most important agricultural shows in the nation.”
In conjunction with the National Farm Machinery Show, the 47th Championship Tractor Pull continued to draw a cheering fan base to the nation’s oldest indoor tractor pull with remarkable increases over the previous year in attendance and revenue. More than 66,000 people attended the pull, an increase of 7 percent from last year.
The National Farm Machinery Show started in 1966 when a few hundred farmers, salesmen and crop experts gathered in Louisville to organize a farm show. Now the show has grown to one of the largest economic impact events of the year, generating a $21.5 million impact across the community and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Planning will soon get underway for the 2016 National Farm Machinery Show, which is set for Feb. 10-13, 2016, in Louisville.
For more information, visit www.farmmachineryshow.org
