Perhaps some of the world stopped for the COVID-19 pandemic, but agriculture kept moving ahead. Companies made adjustments, but the technology was so vibrant, they couldn’t shut it down if they tried! Instead, they continued churning out new innovations.

Even though many of you took the opportunity to view new products a year ago through the Farm Progress Virtual Experience, there are now products that some of you haven’t seen up close and personal in two years. So come join us for the 2021 Farm Progress Show, from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 in Decatur, Ill., to see what companies have introduced since the last live Farm Progress Show in 2019. The latest ag advancements will be on display, with some in the field working.

That’s been the legacy of the Farm Progress Show since 1953, when the advertising manager of Prairie Farmer thought it would be a win-win to gather the makers of the latest and greatest in agriculture with the farmers who use the products. The Farm Progress Show was born.

Although the format has changed, the commitment to making the Farm Progress Show a world-class event hasn’t wavered from the start. If anything, it’s grown more intense. The addition of permanent sites allows companies to build buildings and permanent structures, which make it easier to display some of the products they want you to see.

Here’s a teaser: FBi Buildings will display perhaps the greatest advancement in pole-barn building since the pole itself. Using the new procedure Qlyft, the company builds a barn on the ground, roof and all, and then raises it into position. The company is raising and lowering a building, which will eventually remain on-site, each day at the show.

New products galore

A team of Farm Progress editors will comb the grounds, looking for all the new products. I’ll be leading the team, and together we will uncover up to 200 new products that either were introduced since the last Farm Progress Show or are coming soon.

Make the short drive and see for yourself. You’ll find a wide range of new equipment, products and ag inputs. Knowledgeable people will be on hand to explain their products and services. Companies bring their best and brightest people to talk to you. It’s a chance to ask questions of people who not only sell products and services, but also test and design them from the ground up.

Agribusinesses and manufacturers are hard at work designing and building future products for you. COVID-19 may have slowed down how quickly they could show and tell you about them, but it didn’t shut down their work. For a glimpse of tomorrow’s agriculture, join us in Decatur!

— Tom J. Bechman, editor of Indiana Prairie Farmer magazine

Welcome back, friends

For many of you, just as it is for many of us, the Farm Progress Show has come to be a rite of passage — an annual event we look forward to, like the county fair or a summer vacation. And tucked in just after the start of school, it’s also a great educational experience for the kids, with some of the biggest, best and most fascinating tools in agriculture — all just before the crush of harvest begins.

It’s also a good chance to expose your teenagers to one of the most exciting and diverse displays of agricultural career opportunities they’re likely to find anywhere. Sidle up to anyone wearing an official polo in a tent and ask them what they do. I guarantee they’ll enjoy telling you about it.

And whether it’s your first show, your fifth or your 50th, welcome back, old friends! For a lot of the staff here at Farm Progress, the show is old home week — a chance to catch up with far-flung colleagues, the exhibitors we’ve befriended and those readers we love to hear from.

If it’s your first show, have we got a show for you. For years now, we’ve been writing, “This year’s show promises to be the biggest and best yet.” And each year, it really is. Somehow, national events director Matt Jungmann and his team manage to best the year before, wowing us with better facilities, more exhibits and a bigger experience.

A time to celebrate

And frankly, we’re just glad to be back together. In person. Celebrating agriculture and innovation, in the nation’s largest outdoor farm show.

The companies themselves are to be commended for their commitment to better exhibits and more information for you, the farmer-visitor.

This year, there’s even more to see because, despite a global pandemic, innovations have still rolled out. And there’s no better way to learn about what’s available in agriculture than to go booth to booth, talking to each exhibitor.

And stop by the Hospitality Building, too, located in the center of the exhibit field. Get a cool drink and say hello to the editors on hand. We’d love to hear what you think of the magazine, the latest story and the stories you’d like to see us cover. We look forward to hearing what’s important to you.

So to our old friends and those yet to be made, we say welcome home. It’s good to see you again.

— Holly Spangler, editor of Prairie Farmer magazine and a senior editor for Farm Progress