DAILY
August 18-20, 2015 opens daily at 9am Schlaffman Farm • Mitchell, SD
Dakotafest bigger, better than ever By CANDY DENOUDEN
This year’s Dakotafest will be bigger and better than ever, organizers say. Ray Bianchi, senior director of expositions and events for IDEAg Group, which owns Dakotafest -- said this year’s Dakotafest will span 1.35 million square feet and feature 581 exhibitors. He said that’s up from about 520 exhibitors last year, making this year the biggest Dakotafest yet. The event runs Aug. 18-20 on the Schlaffman Farm near Mitchell Technical Institute. “It’s just a really good community and a good show,” Bianchi said. “We’re really excited, it’s
going really well.” Bianchi said Dakotafest was recognized as No. 24 by the Trade Show News Network as one of the top 250 trade shows in the United States. He described Dakotafest as one of the fastest-growing trade and ag shows in the country, seeing a 34 percent increase in the past five years. The annual trade show had about 30,000 people attend last year. In past years, the show has drawn people from the Dakotas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas and even Canada. “Dakotafest is one of the best shows in the country,” he said. He attributes the steady growth to a number of factors,
including Dakotafest’s strong mix of products catering to animal agriculture and crop ag. He also credited the show’s strong partners, like South Dakota State University Extension, as another reason for Dakotafest’s success. Each year, SDSU Extension provides educational programming, which Bianchi said has been revamped this year to include more shorter (30-minute) sessions, with topics such as “New Opportunities for Beginning Farmers & Ranchers” and “Avian Influenza Update.” Bianchi said the new format should work better for the average Dakotafest attendee. “We find that the Dakotafest audience are more interested in
shorter stuff,” Bianchi said. For exhibitors, Bianchi said attendees should expect to see familiar faces, along with some new ones. He said this year’s show has added a few major pharmaceutical companies for animal ag, and vendors selling bulls and other livestock. He also said Dow AgroSciences has joined with a new, large exhibit this year, as something to look forward to. The final schedule will be posted online at http://www.ideaggroup.com/dakotafest. “On the whole, I think you’re going to find the event is new things and old things, and people will be happy with what they see,” Bianchi said.
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