LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For a half a century, farmers and agricultural enthusiasts have made the National Farm Machinery Show (NFMS) a rite of passage in getting a glimpse of the biggest and best in the farm machinery business.
The event has become a destination for families, FFA and other organizational groups and a host of visitors that eagerly await February each year. This 50th show promises to be just as exciting, with hundreds of exhibits, learning seminars and activities – including the Championship Tractor Pull, one of the more popular of NFMS’ events.
Mike Sausman is the executive director of operations for the Kentucky Fair Board, which runs the Kentucky Exposition Center, home to the NFMS. He said the show brings in about 300,000 people each year. "We fully expect it to be that again this year," he said. "It never ceases to amaze me, of the people that want to come in and be a part of it, from the manufacturers to the farmers and the technology gurus who put all the new things on the tractors. The implements and the technology just blows you away."
Sausman also made note of the number of exhibits that use electricity for their technology-pumped displays and how that number has grown from almost none 25 years ago, to having electricity available every 30 feet in an 800,000 square-foot area with communication closets every 120 feet, along with Wi-Fi throughout the show.
But there is a total of 1.25 million square feet of indoor space on one level available at the Expo Center, and that doesn’t even include Freedom Hall where the Tractor Pull is held or Broadbent Arena, where fans can get a close-up look at the massive machines that will compete in the pull.
If it is machinery attendees want to see, Sausman said just about anything one could want for agriculture will be on display at the NFMS. In his nearly 25 years of shows, he has seen it grow and change. "With the technology, the implement change and the space that is required to display that type of equipment, it’s a lot different than it used to be," he noted. "Whoever thought you’d start your tractor using your telephone?"
In addition to providing space for all those exhibits, another challenge has been to provide food for all those people, something that has been done including plenty of healthy food choices. "Feeding that many people once you get them in to the show every year has become more and more a challenge as people go toward the healthier foods that we offer," Sausman said.
The Expo Center has enough parking space to park 20,000 cars and 1,100 buses at one time, something that also makes the venue an ideal place for not only the NFMS but also events like the North American Livestock Expo, the National FFA Convention and the World’s Championship Horse Show that is part of the Kentucky State Fair. "We have folks who have dedicated their whole work careers to being in a facility like this, where you see the same people come back year after year after year. They take personal pride and personal ownership of the facility," he said.
