People, products make farm show fun

Tens of thousands of people are expected to visit the Stormont Vail Events Center this week for the capital city's annual farm show.

The 2020 Topeka Farm Show began Tuesday and runs through Thursday. Organizers of the event say the show, now in its 31st year, allows attendees to explore the latest products in the farm industry and socialize with familiar faces in Kansas' farming community.

"They come back year after year to buy again from a familiar face, to find out what new products are coming to the market and to see how the new technology is impacting the ag business," said Jeff Thill, co-owner of Tradexpos Inc., the company that organizes the show.

Thill said improvements in technology have resulted in some big changes in farming over the past 20 years, including drones, soil testing and new irrigation methods.

"Those are the kinds of things that are important, and we have a strong customer base," Thill said.

Nearly 24,000 people attended last year's farm show in Topeka, and Thill expects that number to rise again this year.

More than 260 businesses set up a total of 617 booths at this year's show to cater to a growing number of attendees. Seventeen of those vendors, Thill said, have been regulars at the Topeka Farm Show since its inception.

"Year after year, we have very little turnover — probably less than 10% turnover each year," he said. "It's the same vendors bringing new products to the market and selling their old products to customers on an ongoing basis."

Ken Dubois has been going to the Topeka Farm Show "ever since it started."

Dubois is a farmer who lives about 25 miles south of Topeka. He says the show is an important event for farmers in Kansas.

"It's a good social gathering, and I see a lot of new products all the time," Dubois said. "I enjoy meeting the people and everything."

Dubois' wife started joining him at the farm show about 10 years ago, and he said she has loved it ever since.

"She met so many people that I can't come now without her with me," Dubois said. "She enjoys it so much — seeing all these people."

Jessica Cheney and her husband haven't been attending the show quite as long as the Duboises.

"We have a few cattle," Cheney said, "so we just started out a few years ago coming every year to find things we need to take care of them."

The Cheneys live just north of Topeka and end up staying at the show for a couple of hours if possible.

"My husband will talk to anybody, so he'll stay for a couple hours or as long as we can," Cheney said. "I'm not from a farming family, so this is all new to me. I decided to just come along and see what's going on."

Cheney and her husband have three young children — a daughter and two sons. Cheney hopes to one day bring them along to see the rows of machinery, tools, decor and much more on display.

"My boys would love to see all the tractors and those things," Cheney said.

But as Thill notes, you don't have to be a farmer to enjoy the show.

"There's things here for everybody," Thill said. "There are some home and garden type things. ... On one end we've got tire-changing things. We've got valves — hydraulic valves and liquid manure-handling valves for other applications. We've got purses here and billfolds for people who are looking for gifts. There's just a wide range of things available at the show."

The Topeka Farm Show will run from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday. Parking and admission are free.