PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Four State Farm Show kicks off Friday and runs through Sunday. We spoke with organizers about some changes made at the show and why it’s so important to the area.
47 years…that’s how long the Four State Farm Show has been popping up in Pittsburg. For 41 of those years, Lance Markley has been involved in managing the show and has seen things grow and change. “The Farm Show for many years was on a farm south of town, that enabled us to have some demonstrations and that type of thing and that was great, but as time evolved, it became time to be able to sell a lot of indoor booths.”
As the farm show has changed, there’s a key element that remains, it’s ability to educate anyone and everyone. “I think everyone needs to know where their food comes from, which is agriculture, and they get a taste at the show of where it comes from and they get to see a lot of ag products.”
A number of changes took place this year, including adding more food trucks and shuttle services for parking. There’s also some new booths adding to the experience. Aaron Owen with the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds says “We’ve got a nice array of urban living booths that have grown a lot since last year, so when we say farm show, we’ve got something for the wife, while you’re looking at buying a piece of equipment or power washer or whatever, there’s some nice shopping for them to do that’s really been enhanced since last year.”
In the 21st century, you can do almost anything online. But Owen says there’s benefits to coming to the farm show in person. “One, is you’ve got that sales person there, but you can also, you can deal with the form, fit and function, you see something online and it’s a picture of it, you see it run in a perfect scenario of a video, but to be here and you’ve got that technical sales person that can talk about the pros and cons and show you how to adjust stuff.”
Nathan Lesley is the Location Manager for Pittsburg’s Heritage Tractor. He says they value their online customers, but there’s something about that in-person connection. “The people in our community and the people in our business and the relationships we make are very important and that’s what makes us successful.”
The Four State Farm Show
The show runs Friday through Sunday.
Hours are:
- Friday & Saturday: 8:00am-4:00pm
- Sunday: 8:00am-3:00pm
The show is located in and around the Plaster Center at Pittsburg State University. More information can be found at www.fourstatefarmshow.com.
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