LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For nearly a decade, a 42-foot-long, 8-foot-wide miniature farm display has anchored the South Wing of the National Farm Machinery Show (NFMS), fascinating onlookers of all ages. The display has changed from one year to the next, so no two shows look the same.

This year’s display includes 14,000 scaled acres of customized farm equipment, storage facilities, livestock and crops.

The miniature is the collaborative creation of young Tennessee farmers Colby Counce and Chase Long, and they call their display “The American Dream.”

This endeavor started roughly 20 years ago. Counce, now 29, said that he and Long got their first exposure to miniatures when they were roughly 9 years old and Long received a model train set. Model trains led to scenery, which led to farm miniatures.

Fast-forward a few years to when they were teenagers, and both agreed that a farm setup was more than appropriate. That’s when they began working on the new miniature agricultural display on a larger scale using a plywood board at Long’s house.

The pair, both of whom were raised on family farms in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., eventually grew out of playing with the toys, but they continued building farm displays to a 1/64-scale. Fun was the driving factor behind this effort and the two enjoyed enhancing their creations to a point that they decided to display their layouts for others to see.

“Our initial display was only about 6 feet by 8 feet, and everyone, old and young, loved looking at it,” Long said. “After that, Colby wanted to be more involved and help me put together larger displays, and we’ve been partners in this ever since. Building these scenes turned into a fun hobby. We loved replicating scenes we saw on the real farm, and before long, I was building things from scratch. If I wanted something and it didn’t exist or I couldn’t buy it, I’d just make it.”

For example, when they wanted to replicate old matured corn stalks on their large farm layout they purchased more than 1,000 toothpicks to replicate the corn. They worked together on Long’s farm design.

Counce, though, wanted a miniature at his place so they built a second one.

In 2015, Long took his display to the Crossroads of Dixie Antique Tractor & Engine Show in Lawrenceburg. Word of their layout reached those at the NFMS and they were asked to display it during the NFMS in 2016. That’s when they combined their layouts.

“We didn’t realize it was going to be that big of a hit that first year, and neither did the farm show,” Counce said. “So, it was initially kind of a one-year thing, but once the dust settled, they decided that everybody and their brother had talked about it and was interested in it. The show wanted it back the following year. So, the second year we took mine down there and put both layouts together. That’s when we united all our efforts.”

The two kept expanding on their models. Long’s was a 5,000-acre row-crop farm that included cattle, while Counce’s is a 15,000-acre operation that has morphed into a commercial granary. They built a creek between each side so that there could be a distinction between each piece of the agricultural vision, without actually feeling like it was two separate entities.

While they have purchased many of the models in the display, Counce said that they like to make as much of it as they can by hand or by using a 3-D printer. The country road, for example, is wood that they have meticulously painted to run almost the full length of the display. Long worked as a machinist coming out of high school, and during his free time he used a lathe to make pieces like the grain bins and barns.

“He still creates things for the display that way,” Counce said. “I don’t, because my patience is a little thinner than his. He’s turned out a lot of grain bins using the lathe. He grabs a piece of aluminum and starts turning.”

Their display tables live in an enclosed trailer most of the year, ready to be worked on or showcased as needed.

As the two have aged, they’ve found it harder to find time to work on the layout.

“Since we farm for a living, we’re very busy, but when we can we get together and start sharing ideas with each other,” Counce said.

“We’ve modeled our dream farms, and that’s why we call our display ‘The American Dream’,” Long said. “We’ve put in a lot of time and work, and we’re proud of what we’ve built. Even people who have nothing to do with agriculture admire and appreciate our displays. That’s pretty cool.”