This Week in Agriculture, 2.21.2018

Welcome to This Week in Agriculture. We will bring you interesting, out-of-the-ordinary finds going on in agriculture. Not the big headlines, but the curious, funny, and inspiring stories across the land.

In this week’s installment, we share the agriculture related highlights from trade shows across the country. Believe it or not, the first corn of the 2018 planting season is in the ground.

1. Trade Show Season Is Here

Two massive farm shows attracted farmers to opposite ends of the country over the last week. See how interest in these events compared according to the Google Trends graph below. The visual shows how users have been searching for National Farm Machinery Show and World Ag Expo from February 8, 2017, to February 15, 2018. Web search traffic for both shows has been very cyclical. Google explains, “Numbers represent search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the given region and time. A value of 100 is peak popularity for the term. A value of 50 means that the term is half as popular. A score of 0 means there was not enough data for this term.”

2. A Memorable Trade Show

Trade shows are a great time to escape winter weather, learn about the latest technology, and catch up with friends in the agriculture business from around the country. For this couple, a trip to the National Farm Machinery Show marked a new chapter in their lives.

You'll never guess what happened today at #NFMS18! Congrats to Jacquelyn and Logan. pic.twitter.com/umxnY8GdPJ
— John Deere (@JohnDeere) February 16, 2018

3. Other Trade Show Attractions

While parents and grandparents browse machinery and meet up with friends, kids find their own fun around trades shows. Collecting company swag, shoulder rides, and hosting puppet shows seem to be popular choices.

@KYNFMS #NFMS18 #KUBOTA puppet show! pic.twitter.com/lUs9y1F7Us
— Martha Hennigan (@marthahennigan) February 16, 2018

4. Get Your Steps In

Trade shows are also a great place to get a little exercise. Did anyone else keep track of their steps while browsing National Farm Machinery Show or World Ag Expo?

Thanks @World_Ag_Expo for the workout. Amazing!#WAE18 #Worldagexpo pic.twitter.com/DU737l2UvY
— George M. Villagrana (@gmvillagrana) February 15, 2018

5. Excuse Notes

Any school excuse notes like this come from your farm?

6. FFA Week Celebrations

Hundreds of FFA students and alum are taking to social media to celebrate National FFA Week. Many chapters are hosting events or dress-up days at their local schools. FFA alums across the country are changing their profile pictures to throwbacks from their younger years in the blue corduroy jackets. Companies and individuals are financially supported the 90-year-old organization on Tuesday as part of #GivingTuesday.

National FFA Week is NEXT week! Check out the dress up days @WakelandHS to promote agriculture & student leadership @wakelandffa @wakelandcte #WHSFFA #FFAweek #CTEMonth @TexasFFA @NationalFFA pic.twitter.com/syuADNsQY5
— Olivia Dodson (@msoliviadodson) February 15, 2018

In honor of #NationalFFAWeek, I challenge others to post your FFA pictures #NDFFA #ForeverBlue pic.twitter.com/h1OCYwZnsP
— Bridgette Readel (@bmreadel) February 18, 2018