The World Ag Expo (ie: The Farm Show)

Last Tuesday afternoon we left for an Adams family vacation to California.  We drove from Mesquite to Bakersfield, CA that first night (about a 5 & 1/2 hour drive - Daphne was a fantastic traveler - thank heavens!) and went straight to bed so we could get up early to drive 1 more hour to Tulare for The World Ag Expo.  Now, I'm not a farm girl myself, but I was still amazed by the colossal undertaking it must have been to organize this event.  Here's the event description from their homepage.

"World Ag Expo is the world's largest annual agricultural exposition.  More than 1,400 exhibitors display the latest in farm equipment, communications and technology on 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space.  Free seminars focus on a variety of topics important to dairy producers, farmers, ranchers and agribusiness professionals." (found here)

As we walked through miles of equipment and displays, I kept wishing I knew a bit more about the machinery, because most of the time all I could do was gape at a shinny looking contraption and wonder what the heck it was used for.

Clearly, the menfolk were way more excited about being here than the gals, but I was still very impressed and enjoyed the experience.  The technological advancements in farming is simply mind boggling and the expense for some of the equipment available is jaw dropping.  One quick example - there was an electric chip/tag you can now insert into the ear of your cows that can measure their exact weight, how much milk they have produced (for their entire lives if you tag them when they are calves) and when they start being less efficient so you can know when it's time to sell them.  That's just one example - there were so many neat things on display.  

Nap in the stroller = grumpy baby.

A good time was had by all - although Daphne took her tractor driving a big more seriously than we had anticipated. :)