Highlights from last week's World Ag Expo

The 2019 World Ag Expo came to a close on Thursday, February 14, 2019, with busy attendee traffic, a visit from NASA and wet weather. Celebrating its 52nd show, the world's largest annual agricultural exposition was held at the International Agri-Center and featured 1,452 exhibitors on 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space. The three-day show hosted 102,878 attendees representing 48 states, the District of Columbia and 65 countries.

Wind and rain played a large role in the slight dip in attendance from 2018, but early reports from exhibitors indicate the number of decision makers and quality leads were up from the year before.

"The traffic to our booth was amazing!" shared Mitch Malek of Eco Transportation Products. "It was such an honor for Eco Transportation Products to exhibit at the World Ag Expo and win a Top-10 Award in our first show. We are looking forward to following up with all the great contacts we made and we are counting the days to exhibit at World Ag Expo 2020 and beyond."

Attendees came from all over the world to network and learn about the newest ag equipment, services and technology. More than 50 educational seminars were held over three days and covered a variety of topics ranging from irrigation to livestock to agribusiness.

"This was a great show," said Jerry Sinift CEO of the International Agri-Center. "We had some wet weather, but ag decision makers came out in force to network with exhibitors, research new products and make purchases. World Ag Expo continues to provide a high-quality platform for agriculture education and industry innovation."

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine was on hand opening day to speak at Opening Ceremonies and held a press conference providing an overview of the ways NASA is supporting agriculture. A full video of the press conference is available at http://bit.ly/NASAatWAE19. Bridenstine was joined by California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson throughout the morning, and both took a tour of World Ag Expo that focused on technology applications in agriculture.

Other popular attractions at the 2019 World Ag Expo included the Ride & Drive areas, Wine and Cheese, and the new Demonstration Pavilion.