By DOUG GRAVES

Ohio Correspondent

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The National Farm Machinery Show (NFMS) offers the most complete selection of cutting-edge agricultural products, equipment and services in the farming industry. Today it covers more than 1.3 million square feet of indoor exhibit space with more than 850 agricultural displays. Highlighted is every major line of farming equipment under one roof, attracting 300,000 people to this four-day event.

This annual show came to life actually thanks to two shows. In 1963 the University of Kentucky (UK) sponsored an electricity demonstration and exhibit for farmers in Lexington. That show eventually expanded to include more types of power, including agricultural power.

The following year the Farm Implement Show was formed and this gathering highlighted power equipment valued at more than $500,000 and took up more than 30 acres of the Kentucky State Fairgrounds. Allis-Chalmers was the first major agricultural machinery exhibitor at this inaugural event.

Then in 1965 a few hundred farmers, salesmen and crop experts gathered in the Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center to start a farm show. In doing so the previous shows merged at the Expo Center. But it was in need of an all-encompassing name.

“When the planning committee at that time saw what it all looked like, we wanted to expand it into a larger farm show to include all agricultural areas,” said Blaine Parker, former head of the UK’s ag engineering department who coordinated those first electric demonstrations and exhibits.

“I told them if they wanted to attract farm people from outside Kentucky, we ought to call it the National Farm Machinery Show.”

The show came to life in 1966. That year commodity prices were high and farmers were experiencing record-high profits. Organizers even added an entertainment element with the Championship Tractor Pull. The first pull was the first major indoor event in Freedom Hall and attracted drivers of 66 tractors in three classes.

In 1967, major ag equipment manufacturers converged, but visitors were also bombarded with an assortment of other items, such as gun safes, metal polish, breakaway tractor mirrors, cattle chutes, seed, corn, soil additives, shirts, toys and samples of Udder Cream. That same year UK hosted its first precision agriculture conference during that show, focusing on break-even considerations, capital costs, farm size, tools and more.

The 1969 NFMS highlighted the zero-turn mower. A key transaxle patent provided the technology for this mower, which was one of the highlights at that show.

In 1974, Monsanto Co. developed a new herbicide using glyphosate as its active ingredient. Farmers flocked to the NFMS to learn more about this product as a way to control weeds in their fields. Sales of that product skyrocketed.

One of the highlights at the 1975 NMFS was the first twin-rotor system combine, which was created by Sperry-New Holland. This allowed the crop to be cut and separated in one pass over the field. For corn, it not only separated the husk and ears, but shelled the kernels and chopped stalks.

Seminars became all the rage and dotted the NFMS landscape at the 1978 show, as farm debt for equipment and land purchases soared. High interest rates and high oil prices were issues facing farmers at this time, and seminars helped attendees understand such issues.

In the early 1980s record production led to a drop in the price of commodities. Exports fell due in part to the 1980 U.S. grain embargo against the Soviet Union. Attendees to the show that year were intrigued by related seminars.

In 1980, John Deere was also showcasing its four-row cotton picker, which was the first in the industry. The contraption increased operators’ productivity by 85-95 percent. Visitors from the southern states flocked to Deere’s display to check out this contraption.

In 1985 a major Midwest snowstorm blanetked the area, but that didn’t stop vendors or attendees. Nearly 800 exhibitors showed up, as did roughly 120,000 patrons. Parking was just $2 at the time and admission was free.

GMOs on display

At the 1985 show, growers learned about the first genetically modified (GMO) plant cell, thanks to scientists at Monsanto. It took researchers five years and many trials to finalize a product that farmers could use on tomatoes that was resistant to agricultural herbicide, insects or viruses.

The tractor pull itself was the highlight of the 1990 show, as it featured 12,200-pound Pro Stock tractors. Not only was the show getting bigger, better and stronger, so were the tractors at the competition.

The 1992 show may be remembered most for the abundance of powerful tools and modern plant science exhibits on hand. Genetic manipulation was the talk as a way for finding alternative means of controlling pests. And while farm runoff is an issue today, even in 1992 there was growing concern for water and the environment.

At the show in 1994 farmers were able to learn about satellite technology to see their farms from overhead, allowing for better tracking and planning.

In 1996, show attendees were presented with the latest in planting contraptions, but GMO crops took center stage after Monsanto’s first batch became commercially available. GMO soybeans provided tolerance to Roundup herbicide and the GMO traits in cotton provided protection against cotton bollworm, tobacco budworm and pink bollworm.

For the shows between 2000-05, software and mobile devices were newest fashion, as farmers acquired devices that helped them with better harvests. Farmers began carrying these, which allowed them to stay connected to colleagues while in the field. This also meant they now had access to data needed on-the-go, including the ability to place orders for seed or fertilizer at any time or place.

It was a banner year for the show in 2006, as a record 312,206 people attended.

For the 2012 show attendees could download a mobile app, which provided users with an interactive map and schedule of seminars and speakers.

In 2014, the talk of the show was John Deere’s new planter, Precision Planting’s speed tube, dual hybrid meters and Geringhoff’s new corn head it called Independence.

In 2015, the NFMS celebrated its 50th anniversary and was bursting with the latest planting devices and largest tractors imaginable; however, the highlight at that year’s show was how data were revolutionizing farming potential. On display was Climate Corp.’s Climate FieldView, a digital platform that brings together data collection, agronomic modeling and local weather monitoring.

The NFMS garnered worldwide attention and hosted delegations from China, Argentina, Germany, Italy and England during the 2015 show.

The agricultural industry has continued to evolve. Rural family farms marked the landscape before big business boomed. Americans, who once relied on subsistence farming, shifted to large-scale, industrialized, vertically integrated “agribusiness.” Yet through the boom and bust, the traditions and the new conventions, the NFMS has found a niche that satisfies the changing needs of developing farmers.