If you have ever moved, part of the process is sifting through boxes of “stuff” — some of which was moved from previous residences and is still untouched — to see the contents and determine if it really needs to make the move, again, or if the box can be donated to Good Will, or the trash pile.

In a recent business move, a friend found a box from a meeting some 40 years ago, with slides focusing on the issues of the day: growing world population, increasing demand for food, and an anxiety among farmers of the need for better seeds and better production techniques to meet the demand and feed the world. There’s not much difference between the issues of the day then, and now. And there’s no reason to think this will be the last time we experience this, says Tim Price, manager of the 63rd Annual Mid-South Farm and Gin Show.

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“We know agriculture is a cyclical business,” he says. “One cycle gives us high prices, and in another cycle we’re trying to figure out how we’re going to make it to the next year. Whatever the cycle, it’s important for farmers to take advantage of the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show, where the critical issues facing our industry are addressed.”

The 2015 Mid-South Farm & Gin Show is set for Feb. 27-28, at the Cook Convention Center in downtown Memphis.

“The 2015 show is full in terms of exhibitors who will be on hand for our annual exhibit,” Price says. “Companies know well this is the first big farm show of the season, and they want to take advantage of face-to-face conversations with farmers as they finalize their plans for the coming crop year.”

Likewise, farmers can get the first look at the latest innovations and new services companies are offering that can enhance farmer profitability.

Biggest and best ever

“We say each year it’s the biggest and best show in our history, and it’s true again this year,” Price says. “We have many, many returning exhibitors, plus a long list of new exhibitors anxious to be part of this annual agricultural event.”

Sponsored by the Southern Cotton Ginners Association and Foundation and Delta Farm Press, the South’s largest indoor farm show will include more than 400 exhibitors. In addition to seeing the latest innovations in machinery, equipment, and crop genetics, farmers will have direct access to industry experts who can provide valuable information.

“Regardless of what’s going on in any individual operation, or the larger global environment, in many cases it comes down to what a farmer can do to enhance profitability,” Price says. “The Mid-South Farm & Gin Show gives farmers opportunities to interact with those who have the knowledge about the products and services they need to be productive and profitable. Add to that the invaluable connection that occurs between and among farmers, and this show becomes an event not to be missed.”

Informational Ag Update education seminars will be held Friday, Feb. 27, and Saturday, Feb. 28, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The sessions will feature outlooks for cotton and grains, as well as comments from cotton industry officials — information designed to address key industry issues.

“We have a new farm bill, and questions remain about how it will change the acreage mix in the Mid-South,” Price says. “Will it impact cotton acreage? How much land will be planted to grains? Will it impact other programs as well? Farmers should plan on penciling out their questions to ask the experts at the show.”

More than 20,000 domestic and international decision-makers are expected at the event. Admission is free, but registration is required to visit the show areas. Online registration (www.farmandginshow.com) is available and farmers and other attendees are encouraged to register online for easy access to the show. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

For additional information, contact Price at (901) 947-3104 or visit the official show website at www.farmandginshow.com.

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