MORGAN, Minn. — Rural Minnesota's largest annual gathering of farmers gets underway on Tuesday after calling it off last year because of the pandemic.
Minnesota's Farmfest back after a year off
The yearly farm show in southwestern Minnesota starts Tuesday after a year off
August 2, 2021 at 11:09PM
Farmfest, the three-day farm show in Redwood County that has typically drawn tens of thousands of visitors from around the Upper Midwest, runs Tuesday through Thursday on a 50-acre site about 10 miles southeast of Redwood Falls.
The site was buzzing Monday afternoon with organizers and exhibitors as they set up equipment and put final touches on their displays.
"Folks are anxious, especially in the rural communities, to get back out and engage with their neighbors," said Melissa Sanders Carroll, the executive director of the IDEAg Group, a promotions and marketing company established by the American Farm Bureau to put on Farmfest and several other agriculture trade shows around the country.
Troy Beam, a salesman for Delux Manufacturing, which makes grain dryers, was setting up his display and wondering what the scene would be on Tuesday. Beam said he was at a farm show near Eau Claire, Wis., two weeks ago and was surprised by the strength of the turnout.
"People just seem excited to be out and about," he said.
Recent years have seen about 25,000 people visit Farmfest over its three-day run, Sanders Carroll said. But last year as the COVID pandemic raged, organizers canceled the in-person aspect of Farmfest completely, limiting it to a handful of virtual events.
Sanders Carroll said organizers were very motivated to bring back Farmfest this year but that the decision to go ahead was not made lightly. It's mostly an outdoor event, but she said masks would be available at the gates and hand sanitizer stations spread around the grounds.
In addition, the Minnesota Department of Health is setting up a vaccination clinic at a site adjacent to Farmfest on Wednesday.
"We hope it's an opportunity for folks who might not be vaccinated to take care of that, too," Sanders Carroll said.
By the end of last week, 55% of Redwood County residents had received at least one dose of vaccine.
In addition to displays by a variety of vendors and exhibitors — from farm machinery dealers to seed and fertilizer companies to farm credit services to various state agencies — Farmfest features programs on the hour with presentations on farm safety, environmentally friendly farm practices, the next federal farm bill and others.
