Friday, February 1, 2013
Returned home last night from a few days of travel that included a day at the 2013 AgConnect trade show in Kansas City. It was a great show, in a beautiful venue. Perhaps it was a bit smaller in scale than the National Farm Machinery Show (NFMS) in Louisville, Kentucky, but the quality of the individual exhibits was high. Also notable was the increased number of company representatives on hand to interact with customers. I was able to view a new air drill at C-IH, visit with a John Deere rep about a new draper platform, and see up close and personal the MacDon FD75 flex platform. Yesterday at breakfast, I had a nice conversation with two professionals from Germany who were in the cutterbar-component business. It’s always a treat to see the latest farm machinery and visit with those who know the most about it.
There also were some antique machines on display. The old combines from the 40s and 50s struck me as being very small. I guess we forget.
Pat stands before a 50s-vintage Claas combine. The header cut width was 8 feet.
I discussed this new John Deere flex draper platform with a company representative. This one cuts a swath of 40 feet!
This station in the very sophisticated CaseIH exhibit allowed visitors to experience the inside of their newest combine cab.
The AgConnect show is a development of recent years, and unlike the Louisville-based NFMS, the location moves around the country each year. A year or two ago, it was held in Orlando, and Ross attended there. I understand that Indianapolis will be the host city AgConnect 2015.
One of our french ‘sons’ –Victor Pichot –is traveling the Americas this winter. He is coming to visit us and attend the NFMS in two weeks. He will arrive here from Brazil or Agentina. He grew up on his family’s central France farm, and now imports farm machinery to sell from his ag retail location. He is eager to experience NFMS.
The trip home yesterday from Kansas City was eventful, especially the last couple hours. From St. Louis on, I was driving in a moderate-to-heavy snowfall, and the last 60 miles were hazardous! It got dark, and the blowing snow and mid-20s temperatures made the roads very slick. I was truly grateful to make it home.
This is what I experienced on US Highway 50 for the last two hours of the trip home. From Flora, Illinois to home, it was very slick and slippery. 30 mph tops!
We enjoyed our visit to Kansas City. We sampled the famous barbeque at Oklahoma Joe’s. I have never before had supper inside a gas station! But the food was fantastic. The city was impressive, with the Convention Center, the new Kemper Arena, the National WWI Museum, and the Kaufmann Performing Arts Center. This is a place where I’d return to take in some more of the local attractions. I guess everything really is “up to date in Kansas City.”
While Pat and I were away from the farm, John used the time to get one of the MacDon headers into our shop, where he rebuilt the knife system. He replaced the guards and sections. It will cut just like a new one when we put it to use in the wheat fields.
