Opening day of the Colusa Farm Show on Tuesday brought the usual flood of visitors through the gates of the Colusa County Fairgrounds to learn about the latest in farm equipment and agriculture-related services.
Farmers who attended the show opening day said the recent wet weather bodes well for agriculture this coming year, but they were pleased the rain held off for them to enjoy the show.
“It’s been a tough few years for agriculture all around, what with the weather and the cost of doing business,” said Mark Stephenson, a partner in a Northern California walnut operation. “The region was particularly hard hit on almonds, rice, and walnuts with the freeze, drought, and September’s high heat. We lost our walnut crop. The heat cooked them.”
Visitors were greeted at the Colusa Farm Show by manufacturers and retailers of farm equipment and other vendors who provide one-stop shopping for all farm services.
Sweepers, sprayers, combines, tractors, shakers, scrapers, tillers, mowers, risers, and farm vehicles were just some of the equipment on display outdoors.
Farm credit and banking services, nursery and seed suppliers, water, soil and conservation experts, insurance agencies, and other service providers held court inside the exhibit buildings.
How well they do by the end of the show remains to be seen, as the effects of drought is projected to have impacted California agriculture this year by $1.2 billion in direct farm activity, $845 million in losses to the food processing industry that rely on farm products, and the loss of 19,420 jobs, according to recent report conducted by the University of California (Merced) and the Public Policy Institute.
Despite less than usual optimism, vendors did their part at the Farm Show to acquaint agriculturalists with the latest in farming equipment and techniques, and offer them special Farm Show prices and deals on services and equipment that will meet their farming needs in the coming year, which is posed to have more cooperative weather.
The Department of Water Resources announced Jan 26 that storms in recent weeks have helped fill reservoirs and dramatically increased the Sierra Nevada snowpack, which will allow for water allocations to resume beyond what was predicted just two months ago.
The Colusa Farm Show, billed as the “granddaddy” of farm trade shows, was established in the mid 1960s as the Orchard Machinery Fair, and was the template for the World Ag Expo, which runs Feb. 14-16 in Tulare, and is now the largest outdoor exposition of its kind.
The 57th Colusa Farm Show concludes today at the Colusa County Fairgrounds, 1303 10th St., Colusa. Gates open from 9 AM to 3 PM.
The show boasts about 150 indoor vendors and 250 vendors spread across the grounds. Food concessions stands are located near the front entrance and inside Festival Hall. Free parking and admission. ■