The Farm Progress show is a demonstration of new crop hybrids, new equipment, ranch equipment, and demonstrations of equipment with agricultural speakers. Every other year, the show is either placed in Boone, Iowa, or Decatur, Illinois, and this year’s 2024 show was August 27th-29th in Boone, Iowa, The first show was held in 1953 on the Earl Bass Farm in Armstrong, Illinois. The show attracts over 30 countries as well as exhibits from over 600 companies.
During the day at the show, you can sit in brand new equipment. I sat in the brand new 715 Case IH tractor, with the inside being a lot different than the equipment from previous years. This includes more buttons and a full iPad screen.
There were two brand new combines AF11 and AF10 which were a big staple in the agriculture world over the summer. With the new technology, the People of Case IH and CHN were able to make the largest grain tank that holds 567- Bushel. The engine has 775 horsepower as well as a 50-Foot draper head, and a 16 row corn head.
There were a ton of speakers and meet and greets. I met Ross Chastain, a NASCAR driver that is sponsored by Kubota. Chastain is known for watermelon farming. I listened to the soil sisters speak at the Case IH booth, The two girls Dr. Alison Bryan and Lily Cobo, who are CHN agronomists. They talked individually about what they do for the CHN company, Dr .Bryan mostly works as a Soil Management Research Agronomist, and Cobo is a Planter Research Agronomist.
Agronomy is the science of soil management and crop production. Both Cobo and Dr. Bryan majored in agronomy, Dr. Bryan went to Illinois State University to major in agronomy, and Alison has her Doctorate and Masters degree. Cobo earned her bachelor’s degree at Iowa State University, then continued at Northern Illinois for her Master’s.
We walked through the corn hybrids and saw a hybrid that is short statured corn. Typically, a regular corn brand has a seed that will grow between 90-130 days with a maximum of 12 feet tall.
Short statured corn is seven feet tall making it a lot easier to put chemicals and fertilizers on it. People would be able to customize the corn to specific needs and some benefits could be toleration of higher plant populations, and increased resistance to lodging. If you have very flat land with no hills, you should consider short statured corn.
The farm progress show is overall a fun learning experience for those who are interested in farming or equipment. You see a little bit of everything during the three-day show and get a lot of cool souvenirs and merchandise of your favorite brands.
