Friday, February 22, 2013

Center Pivot Irrigation a Hit at National Farm Machinery Show | by Jill Zwiener


The National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, KY, wrapped up last weekend. It was my first indoor trade show for Valley Irrigation, and I was not disappointed. It’s the largest indoor agricultural show in the country, filling up a whopping 1.2 million square feet of space! Once again, Valley Irrigation was among the 800+ exhibitors at the show. With 306,706 people in attendance, we were certainly busy! It’s a good thing we had awesome dealers from Scates Valley (Carmi and Shawneetown, IL) and Wolf Creek Company (Trotwood, OH) working the booth with us.

NFMS attracted people from all over – KY, IN, OH, TN, MO, MI, MD, WI, VA, NM, and Ontario. We saw a little of it all: next generation growers shopping around with their dads, veteran growers who own 20+ pivots, and those interested in irrigating for the first time!


We used our iPads to demo our remote monitoring and control products, TrackNET™ and BaseStation2. We talked with growers about center pivot options, corners, DropSpan™, sprinklers, VRI, and we showcased our Pro2 control panel. Not to be missed was the video highlighting the Made in the USA Valley gearbox (after all, we are the only center pivot manufacturer who can make this claim)!


Mark your calendars! The 45th National Farm Machinery Show will be held February 10-13 next year.


The Top 3 Things I Learned About the National Farm Machinery Show

  1. Don’t just go looking for a booth…consult the show guide. This place is huge!
  2. The cookies and cream waffle cone hits the spot after a busy morning.
  3. Yes, dogs are welcome.
Top Show Quotes:
  • “Turn the water ONNNNNNNN!” – Scates Valley Dealer
  • “Valley pivots are the BEST because I like blue.” – 7 year-old boy
  • “My dogs are barking!” – Valley Irrigation employee