It won’t be long before the 2010 incarnation of the Farm Progress Show welcomes a multitude of visitors to the Boone area. This year’s event kicks off Tuesday and will run three days.

The show is a highlight of summer for farm folks and others with a business interest in agriculture. It also attracts a diverse assortment of others from all parts of the world who simply want to remain abreast of the latest trends in farming.

With good reason, organizers characterize the Farm Progress Show as the “World’s Fair of Agriculture.” It has few rivals as a source of state-of-the-art information about just about anything related to farm life and as an opportunity to take a close-up look at the latest technology. The 2009 show boasted more than 500 exhibitors. All indications are that 2010 could be even bigger.

The Farm Progress Show has been a popular event for more than five decades. It got off to a fast start on Oct. 2, 1953, on the Earl Bass farm in Armstrong, Ill., and has continued to evolve. In recent years, the show has alternated between two sites – Boone and Decatur, Ill.

The 75-acre exhibit field will include displays and demonstrations by top agribusinesses not only from across the United States, but also from abroad. The three-day event will include:

• Field demonstrations of harvesting and tillage;

• New product introductions;

• GPS displays and demonstrations;

• Seed and crop technology plots;

• Marketing seminars;

• Cattle handling demonstrations;

• Equine events; and

• Much, much more.

Mark your calendars now.

The 57th annual Farm Progress Show is an event no one with even a casual interest in the world of agriculture will want to miss.