The 66th annual 3i Show is coming to Western Bank Expo Center in Dodge City from March 19-21.

The show is a salute to industry, implements and irrigation. Organized and managed by the Western Kansas Manufacturers Association, the show provides an opportunity for exhibitors from all over the world to showcase their agribusiness products.

The 3i Show has its origins in the Western Kansas Karavan, a traveling exhibit in 1950 that had members loading their products on trucks and making one-night stands in various Kansas towns. The modern 3i Show is the largest free exposition of its kind in the entire state of Kansas, and it has attained nationwide recognition.

Exhibitors each year showcase the latest equipment, technology and services. The show features both indoor and outdoor exhibits of machinery and equipment as well as informational booths by providers of ag products and services along with educational programs.

Find a worker or find a job

At a time when employers are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit the talent they need, the 3i Show is bringing back its Agribusiness Hiring Event to March 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Kansasworks and Kansas WorkforceONE will be on site in their Mobile Workforce Center to match contracted exhibitors’ job openings to potential qualified applicants.

Staff will be on hand to assist job seekers with applications, resume preparation and match them with job assistance services and training opportunities.

Exhibitors will have signage at their booth and their logo displayed at the mobile unit identifying them as part of the hiring event. Businesses wishing to participate, but have not yet contracted show space, should contract space today. Complete exhibitor information, and all forms, are available on the 3i show website.

Steak cookoff is new this year

New at the show this year is a steak cookoff March 20 at 10 a.m. on the outside exhibit grounds.

In partnership with the Steak Cookoff Association, 20 teams will compete in a sanctioned cookoff for winnings including cash and trophies. The cookoff will feature a $1,000 first-place prize, with the top ten placements receiving payout.

“Our goal is to create a fun, relaxed environment and a fair competition,” reads the official SCA website. “SCA events provide the steaks to ensure a level playing field for the teams. Our double-blind judging process adds to the integrity and best cook that day wins.”

Interested participants can go online to sign up for the 3i Show cookoff. Steaks for the event will be provided by Cargill Meat Solutions in Dodge City. Any exhibitors looking to help sponsor the cookoff should contact WKMA directly.

What has the soybean checkoff done for you lately?

The Kansas Soybean Association and the Kansas Soybean Commission will be offering a seminar on the soybean in Kansas. “Impact of the Soybean Checkoff” will be presented March 20 at 11 a.m. by Jancey Hall, program manager for Kansas Soybean. The presentation is free.

Hall will share the story of why the soybean checkoff at the local and national level was created, how it operates today, and the value it brings to those in the industry.

The focus will be on how soybeans are being utilized in Kansas and around the globe as well as the research, marketing, and education being invested in by and for soybean farmers. Hall will also briefly discuss the differences between the association and commission and discuss the various ways to get engaged and how farmers can share their input.

Learn more about the weather

The National Weather Service is presenting “Weather and Climate” on March 20 at 2 p.m. The seminar is free and will be held in the “Presentation Area” on the concrete side of the Expo Center.

Jeff Hutton, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service, will provide a review of 2019 weather and discuss the variability of weather in the High Plains. He also will provide an overview of large-scale forcing mechanisms driving the current weather pattern and an expected evolution of large-scale patterns.

The presentation will include factors that contribute to the complexity of forecasting weather in extended periods: weekly, monthly and seasonally. He also will discuss the availability of forecasts, many with minimal validity, that appear on social media and across the web. The session will conclude with an outlook for the upcoming growing season.

Hutton received a Bachelor of Science in meteorology from the University of Oklahoma in 1983 and began his professional career in weather during the same year working for a private firm in Oklahoma City. Hutton is now the warning coordination meteorologist for NWS in Dodge City, actively working with city, county and state officials to promote weather awareness and safety. Go online for more information on NWS.

Show off your skill at pitching horseshoes

The Kansas Horseshoe Pitchers Association, a charter member of the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association, will host a sanctioned tournament March 21 at 10 a.m. on the dirt floor side of the Expo Center. Interested participants can contact Jim Newboles at 620-694-9463 to reserve their spot.

With a mission to inform people in Kansas and beyond about the relatively unknown sport of organized horseshoe pitching, KHPA will be hosting smaller events throughout all three days of the show. No matter the skill level, attendees can participate in pitch offs, a small non-sanctioned tournament, and even a dollar pitch where whoever has the most points within the hour wins the pot.

Multiple NHPA regulation portable courts will be set up to allow those who want to try out the sport can try their hand at pitching without entering a contest.

Kansas Horseshoe Pitchers Association members will be on hand to answer questions and oversee safety. For more information on KHPA and NHPA, visit kansashpa.com and horseshoepitching.com.

Bull sale is set for final day of show

Sutphin Cattle Co., of Lamar, Colo., will host the first 3i Show bull sale on March 21 at 1:30 p.m. in the Special Events Arena. The sale will feature 30 two-year-old bulls with four different breeds including Charolais, Red Angus, Angus, and Lim-Flex. Bulls will be on display all three days of the show. All bulls have been trich and fertility tested.

Sutphin Cattle Co. started in 1987 with just a handful of high-quality registered cattle but has since bloomed into the sixth largest bull producer in the U.S. with about 2,500 head of registered cattle, spread throughout Colorado and Oklahoma.

Sutphin’s goal is to provide superior genetics to the commercial industries and to provide cattle that work for the cow-calf operator, the feedlot, the packer, and the consumer. For more information, visit Sutphin Cattle’s website.