Love for Ag on Display at National Farm Machinery Show
Farmers Hot Line was live on the ground at the 58th annual National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky, during Valentine’s week (the show was Feb. 14-17). Over 300,000 people with a love for agriculture are believed to have attended the show.
“The National Farm Machinery Show 2024 was an awesome opportunity to see so many companies presenting their new products and services,” Catalyst Communications Network VP of Sales, Kevin Janson, said. “It was a great learning experience, and it offered us the ability to have many great face-to-face conversations with current and prospective clients."
The show occupied the Kentucky Exposition Center and came with a ton of financial benefits for Louisville. The 2024 event was expected to have an economic impact of $24.2 million, and hotels in the area exceeded 90% occupancy during the course of the four-day event.
Over 800 exhibitors showcased the latest, greatest and most innovative farm equipment. The show also featured over 30 educational seminars on various topics related to the agriculture world.
“It was great to see many familiar faces — customers and friends — as well as make new contacts with prospective business partners for years to come,” Chet Frahm, sales specialist for Catalyst Communications Network, said. “New technology continues to flourish, helping producers grow their products more efficiently.”
As you can expect, there were a lot of equipment manufacturers showcasing their newest and/or best products. Here are just a few of the things we saw at the show.
New Holland showed off their fully upgraded four-tracked T9s with boosted horsepower. Fuel capacity on the T9s has increased by 45%.
In addition to the T9, New Holland was getting a lot of traffic with people wanting to catch a glimpse of their new flagship combine, the CR11. The 2024 National Farm Machinery Show was the first time the combine was revealed to the public in North America.
“The two biggest impacts are productivity — how fast we can harvest — and the second is, if you over speed, will you over loss?” said J. Cole Sanford, cash crop product specialist for New Holland.
The CR11 combine builds off the success of the CR10.90, which holds the record for tonnage of wheat harvested in eight hours (797.656 tons). That record was set in August 2014.
New Holland believes the CR11 — with its 775-horsepower C16 engine, 2x24-inch rotors, 567-bushel (20,000 liters) grain tank and a 6 bushels (210 liters) per second unload rate —will significantly increase productivity to never-before-seen levels.
Kinze Manufacturing unveiled its 5670 pivot-fold, split-row planter for the 2025 planting season. “We are excited to release this latest generation of the pivot fold, split row planter,” Susanne Veatch, president of Kinze Manufacturing, said. “Since their initial release in 1983, our push row units have provided unmatched trash flow through a narrow-row planter and versatile and flexible planting solutions on countless farms.”
The 5670 is billed to provide enhanced productivity, increased operator convenience and efficient serviceability.
John Deere, as you might expect, had a big and popular station at the show. When Farmers Hot Line visited their booth, they put emphasis on their Precision Ag Essentials kit. Jon Ebert, a representative at the show for John Deere, took the time to explain that kit to us and our audience in this video made exclusively for our readers.
Precision Ag Essentials wasn’t the only thing John Deere wanted to talk about, though.
“One of the key products that we’re here to talk about this week is how to upgrade your existing planter, so that you can get more ROI and benefits from the machine you already own,” Ebert said.
One of those products was ExactShot, which the company claims helps farmers reduce the amount of starter fertilizer needed during planting by more than 60% by using sensors and robotics to place starter fertilizer precisely onto seeds as they are planted in the soil rather than applying a continuous flow of fertilizer to an entire row of seeds.
“John Deere is excited and has a full team waking up every day thinking about costumers … we’re excited to continue on this journey to continue to offer farmers more value,” Ebert concluded.
Case IH’s red AF11 combine shined as people stopped by their booth. It is equipped with a double threshing rotor, which has been seen in some New Holland CR combines, but it’s a first for Case IH. In addition, its grain tank capacity is said to be nearly 40% more than previous models.
Fuel Pro is another booth we made sure to stop by during the show. We met with Ken Martsolf who was kind enough to show us one of their best-selling trailers. These trailers come in a variety of sizes and can be customized to fit your unique needs. Watch the video below to hear from Martsolf.
If you’re not familiar with Fuel Pro, these guys are extremely helpful and personable. They have a long history in the agriculture industry, and they claim to only sell equipment that they have used or would use on their own farms.
Kioti was one of our last stops before spending the majority of the fourth and final day of the event at our own Farmers Hot Line booth. The highlight of the Kioti booth was the prototype of the new RX40 tractor they had on display, which should be out later 2024.
“The big changes are in the cab — excellent visibility and easy to get in and out of,” Kioti Product Manager Joel Hicks told us.
The RX40 also incorporates a sunroof, which helps operators keep an eye on the loader.
“A lot of products — when you get up two-thirds of the way, or close to the maximum lift height — you have to duck down in the seat and look up under the window to see the loader, but with this one, you can see the loader in any position,” Hicks said.
It’s fair to say the 2024 National Farm Machinery Show was a success for everyone, not just Farmers Hot Line. It’s also important to note that the companies and products mentioned above are just some of the many great ones that we had a chance to see and visit with while in Louisville.
And, while we loved seeing and visiting all the great companies on display at the show, what we enjoyed more than anything was getting the chance to meet with everyone who stopped by our booth.
Next year’s show is already on the calendar for Feb. 12-15, 2025, and it’s a safe bet that Farmers Hot Line will be there again!
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Article written by Brian Ethridge, Head of Content, Catalyst Communications Network.
