One thing is for certain — the 2021 host farmers are ready to be back at the Farm Progress Show in person.

With the pandemic limiting in-person events last year, this year’s show will allow for a sense of normalcy, host Marc Padrutt says.

And nothing beats the real thing, says fellow host Colby Schwarze. “Online shopping is wonderful, but the hands-on experience is a valuable tool, too,” he says.

This year, the field demonstrations consist of 87-day corn compared to 94-day corn in past years. The host farmers are hopeful this will lead to three full days of field demos, which mean more chances for farmers to watch equipment at work in the field.

Here’s more on the updates and insight from the Decatur, Ill., host families and landowners since the 2019 show:

Brix family. The Brixes have been involved since the first show in Decatur in 2005. At the time, David and Dawn’s daughters, Briana and GaBrielle, were 10 and 8 years old, respectively.

When it comes to the farm, David Brix has updated equipment since the last show, with a Class 8 Case IH combine and new planting technology.

“We are full-out precision on our planter now,” Brix says. “In my almost 30 years of farming, I think the new planting technology is by far the best thing to happen in farming.”

On the home front, Briana, a radiologic technologist, married Travis Mayfield at the Case IH building on the show site last year. And after graduating from Illinois State University in 2019, GaBrielle now works at ADM as an accountant analyst.

Padrutt family. Marc Padrutt says he has not implemented new technology in the last two years, but a building addition has been a long time coming for his farm.

In June, workers began building a shop for Padrutt. The 80-by-120-foot, heated shop will have enough space to park grain trucks and work on one or two projects.

“I have always worked in a smaller building that Dad built in 1976,” he says. “We got by with space heaters, but I wanted to be more productive and have my grain trucks out of the weather in the winter.”

Padrutt says he planted his corn with an ExactEmerge planter provided by John Deere and was pleased with the outcome.

The corn went in and emerged well, Padrutt says. Good rains came after planting, followed by a dry spell. But the end of June brought more rain, which should help the crop finish strong.

Schwarze family. Mark Schwarze spearheads the farming for the Schwarze family, while brother Mike handles the excavating business and father Colby leads the trucking company.

New chemistry has been the latest change on their farm. “We are utilizing the new Enlist bean this year,” Mark Schwarze says. “With our model of farming, that program is working wonders.”

In past years, the Schwarze family has used field demos to determine new equipment for their farm, such as a Geringhoff corn head and a vertical tillage tool.

Schwarze says he looks forward to watching the equipment in this year’s demonstrations. Specifically, he is eager to see the differences of the new high-speed disks.

He will also be on the lookout for the latest services. “More than anything, it’s always the small technologies that help you out,” Schwarze says. “I’ve more than doubled my grain storage capabilities now, so I’ll be looking for new technology for grain and monitoring systems.”

Voorhees family. Bill Voorhees is also expanding facilities on his farm. At the end of June, he was working on replacing two grain legs and adding another grain bin and storage building.

On the equipment side, Voorhees switched to the new Claas combine since the last Decatur Farm Progress Show.

Periods of dry weather in Illinois from time to time sparked his interest in the 360 Rain system.

“I’m excited to learn more about the product and if it could work for us,” Voorhees says.

Like many others, he encourages farmers to watch the field demonstrations.

“Seeing something parked is one thing,” Voorhees says. “When you can see it go through the field and actually look at the work it is doing, that is a benefit for farmers and manufacturers.”

Zinn family. Inheriting his mother’s land in 2016 began Jeff Zinn’s involvement in the Farm Progress Show as a landowner. Farmer Marc Padrutt helps Zinn maintain the 80 acres by renting and farming it each year.

While Zinn may not be a farmer, he is celebrating an update to his land since 2019. This year, the land will reach Centennial Farm status.

“My great-grandfather purchased the land around 1920,” Zinn says. “We are looking forward to celebrating the land being in the family for 100 years.”

He is also looking forward to the equipment at this year’s show. “The show in 2019 was kind of referred to as the year of the midsized tractor. I’m anxious to see what the focus is on this year.”