11 Best Agriculture and Farming Trade Shows in the USA

Date: 7 – 9 December 2021
Location: DeVos Place Convention Center and The Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan

The trade show will have an estimate of over 4000 attendees and 380 exhibitors. The trade show is a great opportunity not only for professionals in the industry to sell products and network but also for people who are interested in farming and agriculture. The event has dedicated sessions for educational content on greenhouse crop production and marketing, marketing and ideas on farming, organic production, and marketing,

If you need assistance in building cool trade show booths for an upcoming trade show event, look no further. Our team of dedicated professionals will help you out. Contact us today for more details.

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF FARMING SHOWS IN THE U.S.?

Do you know that many agricultural inventions debuted at large expositions?

In 1881 at the International Cotton Exposition, an innovator by name Eli Whitney introduced the first model of the cotton gin. 

Farming Shows are a great way to see the latest innovations; exhibit your products/services; and network with like-minded people and prospects. If you’re a farming business or a farming professional searching for the perfect place to showcase your offerings; spread brand awareness; and network with people who matter, then you need to make your presence at farming shows in the United States. You will also get the opportunity to attend various educational seminars and workshops covering topics like innovative technologies and financial planning.

In the United States, a number of agricultural and farming shows are held every year; and they are among the best of their kind in the world. Some of the biggest farming shows in North America and the world are held in the United States; they include National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky; Farm Science Review in London, Ohio; Fort Wayne Farm Show in Indiana; Topeka Farm Show in Topeka, Kansas; and North America Farm & Power Show in Owatonna, Minnesota.

The farming shows are a great way o make your name count in the world of farming; network with people ready to sell and share their ideas; check out the latest of farm machinery and technologies; and above all, stay abreast with the latest industry trends.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO?

Farming Shows in the United States offer a fabulous platform to those in the agriculture and farming industries to showcase their wares, spread brand awareness and reach out to people who matter, and above all, interact with top-notch professionals and experts in the agriculture and farming industries.

If you’re taking part in the faming shows, then use the opportunity to make the most out of the farming shows and extract maximum benefits. 

SELECT THE RIGHT FARMING SHOWS

Several farming shows are held in the United States annually. 

This does not mean that you should take part in all of them, unless your business happens to be a successful one with a proven reputation in the market.

When talking about this, let us look at two scenarios wherein you take part in a farming show and then realize that it 

• Does not attract many people who form the backbone of your target-audience. 
• Has a regional appeal with a specific segment of audience attending the show.  

In either case, you will not be connecting with your type of target-audience. As a result, the very purpose of taking part in the faming show will be a waste of time, money, and efforts.

To avoid landing-up in such a scenario, be selective about farming shows and know your options. 

• Check out the event calendar for the year. This will give you a clear picture of different farming shows for the year.
• Do a meticulous research about the farming shows in the United States. This will give you an indication which among the shows relate to your kind of farming business. When done, you will be able to narrow down the list to a select few shows.
• Find out which exhibitors had appeared in the narrowed list of farming shows in recent years.
• Find out how established the farming show is and how much media attention and publicity does it attract.
• Find out about the reputation of the farming show. This way, you will get to know whether the show enjoys a clean and healthy reputation or not. If the show enjoys a clean reputation, then find out whether the show attracts your kind of target-audience.

Also, make it a point to get-in-touch with the farming show organizers about what kind of audience does their show attract. You can also ask them to provide demographic information of the attendees for the farming show.

BE CLEAR ABOUT YOUR BUDGET

Once you’re clear on which farming shows to attend, next up you should be clear about your budget upfront and have a clear budgetary figure.

Having a clear budgetary figure will help you to 

• Know what type and size of booth rental will best suit your needs for the farming show. If you’re not clear then the booth designers will not be able to get the right booth design that matches your specifications. 

• Define your design concept and theme. This will help the booth designers to develop a booth design that conforms to your requirements and delivers the requisite ROI of your expectations.

PLAN IN ADVANCE & STAY PREPARED

To make the most out of the farming shows, the key to success is to plan well in advance. Don’t make the mistake of putting off until the last minute promotion of your attendance at the farming shows. 

• Begin planning your promotional campaign at least six to eight weeks before the farming show event. This will give you sufficient time to build momentum for the event and generate interest among prospects.
• Get a map of the farming show, with vendor/display locations, beforehand. This way, you will be able to highlight those you want to visit and then plot the next moves.
• Gather inputs that are critical to craft a cohesive strategy for the event. When you have them in place early, you can work out the modalities for designing and fabricating your booth. In case, you start at a late stage, you could end-up with having to do with last-minute changes which can go wrong at times. Last-minute planning can also result in missing out on budget-friendly incentives like discounts, etc, if any provided by show organizers to early birds.  

PUBLICISE YOUR PRESENCE AT THE FARMING SHOW

Just as you need to plan well in advance and stay prepared, so too you need to effectively market your attendance at the upcoming farming show. 

CREATE A LANDING PAGE

Create a dedicated landing page on your website that speaks about your attendance at the upcoming farming show. 

The landing page should include,

• Information related to the farming show and your booth location on the farming show floor; and what the attendees can expect to see at your booth. 
• High-quality images or videos of your farming products/services. They should be presented in a way that will grab the attendees’ attention and convince them to visit your booth. 

HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media is a great way to reach out to more people including those who may not be able to attend the show. 

To make an effective impact on them, 

• Create social posts about the farming show event. Make the most of it by highlighting your attendance at the event and where the attendees can find your booth and what they can expect from it. 
• Share the posts on your social media channels like Faecbook, LinkedIn, X, etc. 
• Use relevant hashtags of the event. They will make it easier for more people to find your posts and create buzz around your brand and booth at the farming show. 
• Run a social media contest or giveaway. This will encourage more attendees to share your posts and also engage with your brand.

Make sure to tag the farming show event social media accounts and hashtags to every social post. You will be able to reach out to more people including prospects and guarantee further coverage of your brand and booth.

RUN AN EFFECTIVE EMAIL CAMPAIGN

An email campaign if creatively crafted and implemented can work as effectively as an advertising campaign. 

Target the email campaign to your current customers’ and prospects detailing your attendance at the upcoming farming show and where they can find your booth at the show. 

To make it impactful enough,

• Ensure the email is visually pleasing to the eye and includes quality images/videos highlighting your booth and offerings. 
• Use an enticing subject line with a catchy tagline. Additionally, include vial information relating to your booth location and what the attendees’ can expect from it.
• Highlight any special promotions or discounts you will be offering to attendees who visit your booth at the event.

ADVERTISE IN TRADE PUBLICATIONS

Advertising your attendance at the upcoming farming show in trade publications, especially agricultural and farming (online as well as offline), will help you to reach out to a greater number of people across geographical boundaries. 

When you reach out to more people, your brand will get more visibility and generate interest. 

• Highlight the upcoming farming show and its significance. 
• Highlight your booth and brand profile. Additionally, mention what the attendees can expect from your booth. 
• Highlight special promotions, if any, like discounts on your offerings, etc, to readers of the publication. This will encourage them to visit your booth.

PAID ADVERTISING

Leverage the power of Paid Advertising like Google AdWords, LinkedIn Ads, Facebook Ads, etc, creatively to promote your booth and brand. 

To make it effective enough, use

• Attractive visuals and images with creative text that highlights your attendance at the upcoming farming show and encourage people to visit your booth at the show.
• Targeted keywords and demographics to ensure your ads are seen by the right people that matter. This will help to drive traffic to your landing page.

Make sure that the text is displayed in fonts easily visible to viewers from afar and be read by them.

CULTIVATE INDUSTRY INFLUENCERS

In the era of social media and Smartphone, the views of industry influencers make a great difference. 

To make it count, 

• Identify influencers expected to attend the farming show.
• Reach out to them to let them know you will be taking part in the event.
• Cultivate their favor and convince them to visit your booth at the show. Then get them to share their experience and impression on social media or their blog, if any they have. 

When done appropriately, they will go a long way to generate buzz around your brand and booth; and increase the visibility of your presence at the event.

FOCUS ON MAKING THE RIGHT IMPRESSION

Your investment in booth for the farming show should be worth its weight in gold. 

To make it count, get it designed by professional designers who know what makes a design count and what it must have to catch the eyes of the audience at the farming show. 

Using their experience and knowledge of past farming shows, they will come up with a standout exhibit design that incorporates the latest booth design trends relevant to the farming industry.

GET YOUR TIMING RIGHT

Timing is everything in life. 

To be better prepared for the event, arrive at the event venue in the morning on the first day. If it is a multiple-day event, crowds will usually grow the next day. So, make your presence on the first day early enough to gather vital details that matter to effect last-minute changes. 

This will also help you to get critical information of value from event representatives who will only be too eager to provide inputs that can impress the audience and attract more of them to your booth. 

STAY SHARP AND OBSERVE

Stay alert, keep your eyes wide open and observe what is going around on the show floor.  This way, you will be able to gather insights including those from show-goers, exhibitors, and even organizers. 

Know that farming shows like all trade shows will be filled with like-minded people on the lookout for solutions. Use the opportunity to 

• Interact with them, and talk about your challenges. If you are lucky enough, you can come across someone with a solution to your challenges; and reveal likely opportunities that will benefit your brand in the long run. You could also come across people willing to share information that you might have not heard off before.
• Visit brands at the show that you are not familiar with. This will give you a fresh perspective of what they have to offer and how it can be used to benefit your target audience. You will also gather more insights along the way that can be incorporated to make your products/services better.

CONCLUSION

Like all trade shows, farming shows too can be highly competitive. To succeed and make your presence count, you need to put on the best show.  

With meticulous planning and smart thinking, you can generate buzz around your brand and lure more attendees to your booth; and earn qualified leads and positive conversions. This will help to maximize your return on investment and finally, make the most out of your farming shows experience.