There's a lot more to agriculture than planting seeds and waiting for Mother Nature to put water on it. The technology involved in agribusiness is in full display this week during the 30th annual Peoria Farm Show at the Peoria Civic Center.
John Sampson is marketing director for Midwest Shows. "Farming is a capital-intensive business," Sampson tells 1470 WMBD. "You can get an idea on how much this equipment costs. There's nothing to put half-million dollars into a combine or there are tractors here that cost $200,000 to $400,000 that allow a single farmer to farm an enormous amount of ground."
Sampson says there's something for everyone -- even if you're not involved in agribusiness. "There is a bad rap on the environmental concerns everyone has, particularly when it comes to runoff," says Sampson. "All the mechanisms in place to deal with these problems are on display here and you can learn how really concerned farmers are."
Sampson says everything new in agriculture is on display from large farm implements to farm business management software. "(Farmers) can do some comparative shopping here without putting a lot of miles on a truck," Sampson says. "They can see three or four different approaches to the same problem."
"It's like a giant agricultural equipment mall."
Sampson says there are over 300 exhibitors this year. Admission is free to the Peoria Farm Show through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. each day.
