This year’s theme at the World Ag Expo: Ag is Essential. Presentations will center on how the industry has pivoted to continue operating during a pandemic.
Jennifer Fawkes, marketing manager for the World Ag Expo, hopes the event will help people better understand how food is grown and transported during the pandemic. Many exhibits will focus on tools and technological innovations in the ag industry.
“Just our system, our logistics system in this country. People driving trucks and transporting things every day in a timely manner is amazing,” she says.
The show runs Feb. 9-11. Visitors are encouraged to sign up on the World Ag Expo website for full access to demos and zoom chats with exhibitors. Videos will be archived on the expo’s website. And users will be able to access the information year round.
Fawkes says the website will become a library of information that will be continually updated. But Fawkes says one of the biggest reasons to tune in this week is the live interactions.
“That will open up a world of possibilities to you with live chats and emails. And of course in our seminars and live demonstrations, being able to watch and learn and interact with exhibitors,” she says.
For the first time this year, the event will be free. Fawkes says allowing everyone to attend and moving the event online will open it up to a wider audience.
“One thing that we’ve seen is just how many people from around the world and around the country that might not normally get to come be in Tulare in February are getting a chance to access this information and really see what all our exhibitors have to offer,” she says.
Fawkes says the World Ag Expo decided to cancel the live show back in September last year. She says the decision gave them time to adjust to planning a show online. A normal live event features more than 1400 exhibitors. This year, there will be over 750.
