Annual farm show to bring latest agricultural technology to Moultrie
File Photo: Alan Mauldin
By Alan Mauldin
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MOULTRIE – The show must go on, and for the Sunbelt Ag Expo, that means gates will be open and the hope will be for sunny weather when the 46th annual edition of the massive farm show kicks off on Tuesday.
As everyone in this part of the world was focused on the expected landfall on Wednesday evening of Hurricane Milton, Expo organizers had the weather in mind. Each ticket booth will be accepting donations to assist those affected by the storm.
“Obviously, our hearts go out to the people in the path of Helene from Florida to the Appalachian Mountains,” Expo Executive Director Chip Blalock said. “Our hearts go out to those who have been affected and are recovering, and those who are preparing for Milton.”
At the Expo, billed as “North America’s premiere farm show” and the site each year where some 1,200 exhibitors show their wares and services in both indoor and outdoor spaces, Hurricane Helene did not make much of an impact. The show brings about 50,000 visitors to southwest Georgia over three days.
“We had minimal damage from Helene,” Blalock said. “The cotton crop got twisted up a little bit, nothing terrible. The peanuts survived.”
Due to the drenching from the storm, drone aerial sprayers were used to defoliate cotton and apply other chemicals, so it is expected that the big equipment will be on demonstration in the large farm area.
The show draws exhibitors from all over the country and visitors from a number of states, especially the Southeast.
The hurricanes are expected to dampen attendance somewhat.
“That’s to be expected,” Blalock said. “But one of the things we found out in 2018 after (Hurricane) Michael is some people just wanted to get out and feel normal for a little while, to see people and family. Farmers are family to us.”
The Expo has teamed up with the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) South Georgia, located in Moultrie, to bring a rural health initiative to the farm show this year, and one emphasis will be on the mental health of farmers and others who live in ag country.
Over the past several years, farmers have faced a roller coaster of stress, with high prices for crop inputs and low prices for their commodities creating a stress-inducing double whammy. Studies have shown those conditions can be factors in an inflated suicide risk for farmers.
The PCOM South Georgia exhibit at the Expo will include information on topics and issues including stress management, managing type II diabetes, hypertension, treating high cholesterol, as well as the benefits of osteopathic manipulative treatment and more.
The rural health initiative exhibit, which also will include health screenings, is open to all visitors and will be located in Agribusiness Building 4 for the three days of the show.
For those who come to see the latest in farm equipment, the Expo won’t disappoint. Among the cutting-edge technology on display in 2024 will be autonomous tractors.
Tractors that can make their way through a field for plowing and harvest have been on the market for some time, but they required a driver inside to turn around at the end of the rows.
“It’s a tractor that does not need an operator,” Blalock said of the latest technology. “That’s been perfected so it can turn itself around.”
Demonstrators who will bring that equipment include Ag Technologies of Cordele and John Deere.
“It’s labor-saving,” Blalock said. “You know how everybody is talking about how hard it is to get labor. You’re talking about efficiency. That tractor can run 24/7 without worrying about operator fatigue. You can set these babies up and turn them loose.”
Aerial drones also will be on display for the show, as will a variety of tractors harvesting during the field demonstrations.
Expo has something for nearly everyone, not just farmers. Other demonstrations include big trucks and ATVs being put through their paces, hunting and fishing exhibits, and lots of food vendors. There also will be an equestrian demonstration of horses being put through their paces, cows and a petting zoo that is always a popular attraction.
“We’re looking forward to having everybody come to see us Oct. 15, 16 and 17 for the 46th annual Sunbelt Ag Expo,” Blalock said.
Gates open at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, and at 4 p.m. on Thursday. Admission is $15 at the gate, $12 for advance tickets and $30 for a multi-day pass. Children 10 and younger are admitted free with a parent.
For more information or to purchase tickets, go to https://sunbeltexpo.com/.
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