Two shows shaped the beginnings of the National Farm Machinery Show – an electricity exhibit for farmers and the Kentucky State Fair.

In 1963, the University of Kentucky sponsored an electricity demonstration and exhibit for farmers in Lexington, Ky. That initial show opened the door, eventually expanding to include more types of power including agricultural power.

During this time, power equipment valued at more than $500,000 were on exhibit on 30 acres at the Farm Implement Show. This, too, took place at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds in Louisville.

The two groups joined force in 1965. A few hundred farmers, salesmen and crop experts gathered at the Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center to start a different farm show – the National Farm Machinery Show. The new show then added an entertainment element four years after its inception with the Championship Tractor Pull.

In 1969, the first Championship Tractor Pull was the first major indoor event in Freedom Hall and attracted 66 tractors in three classes. Now the nation’s oldest tractor pull continues to enjoy popularity with people whose heroes are farmers and whose obsessions revolve around machinery and horsepower.

Louisville’s location in the agriculturally rich Midwest and Southern corridor was attractive to farm equipment manufacturers and dealers from across the nation. The once tiny farm show formed by farm implement enthusiasts and electricity demonstrators has become the nation’s largest indoor ag trade show.