THE NORTH PLATTE TELEGRAP
SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2020
Up to 5,000 expected at Farm and Ranch Expo By TIM JOHNSON tim.johnson@ nptelegraph.com The Buffalo Bill 2020 Buffalo Bill Farm and Ranch Expo
Farm & Ranch Expo is expected to attract a crowd of 3,000 to 5,000 to the D&N Event Center Feb. 5-6. “We kind of have a hard time tracking how many visitors we get exactly, because we don’t charge ad- mittance and there are about five doors you can come through to get in,” said Kathy Swain, the vice presi- dent of the North Platte Area Chamber and Development Corp. “But I usually judge how busy it is by the sound in the D&N. There is a lot of people in there visiting and talking about business. You can really hear it in that big metal build- ing. “We get some visi- tors that will come into the expo to visit their vendors three or four times during the two days. They will come in during the morn- ing, then come back in the afternoon to talk to their vendors and make their deals.” It is the 29th year for the expo in North Platte, and Swain has been a part of the plan- ning for all but 10 of them. “It is something that has been successful every year, whether the weather has been good or bad,” Swain said. “It is so import- ant to our farmers and ranchers around here because it’s a chance for them to meet up with their seed dealers and equipment people and anyone else who is here.” A total of 125 vendor booths and equipment lots will fill the D&N.
What: 125 vendors showcase latest in tech for farm and ranching industry, as well as booths offering financial and education re- sources to attendees. When: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 5, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Feb. 6. Where: D&N Event Center, 501 E. Walker Road, North Platte.
For a list of vendors, please see pages E2 and E3.
learns something from each year of the expo as well. “My folks were farmer/ranchers and even the way you take care of your fields is different now with all the no-till, watering and (irrigation) piv- ots,” Swain said. “I grew up kind in the foot of the Sandhills and it was like, ‘We will never have piv- ots.’ Now you look and it’s all there.”
businesses, and farm- ing and ranching is no different,” Swain said. “It’s no longer like ‘let’s just go out and drop some seeds (in a field).’ Everything is so geared in technol- ogy for the crops and water (usage). It is all state of the art and we have a lot of vendors out there who want to make sure everyone knows what to do.” Swain grew up in the industry and said she
Telegraph file photo Two Hereford bulls from XA Cattle near Moorefield munch on hay in Bull Alley outside North Platte’s D&N Event Center during 2017’s Farm and Ranch Expo. The 2020 Expo will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 5 and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 6 at the D&N Event Center.
about 40,000 square feet and we use every inch of it that we can,” Swain said. “If we had more room there, we would have more ven- dors.” One element will be missing for the sec- ond straight year — the bull alley, a popular exhibit in the past for which local ranchers would donate a young bull or two for one day of the event. Swain said sched- uling issues are one reason the alley has not been a part of the expo the past two years. She did not rule out its re- turn in the future. It did result in one of the more memorable mo- ments of the event’s history. “There was a year in which one of the bulls got feisty and got out (of its pen),” Swain said. “Thank goodness
ber of our committee members who are also ropers. “(The bull) didn’t get too far, but the fact that we were so close to the interstate and Highway 30, it presented some anxious moments.” Swain said the expo
booths will include fi- nancial and education resources for attend- ees along with those that highlight the latest technological advanc- es in the farming and ranching industry. “We are seeing tran- sition in all kinds of
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