Gary Truitt said it wasn’t an easy decision to cancel the Indiana Farm Equipment and Technology Expo, but the COVID-19 pandemic continued longer than many expected.
“We also found out from the (Indiana) state fairgrounds all the kind of restrictions on health and security we would have to implement to hold a show of this nature, and they were pretty strenuous,” said Truitt, president of Hoosier Ag Today. “We just really felt the farmers and the exhibitors would not have a positive or beneficial experience with the kinds of health screening and security we would have to put in place. We felt it was better to not do it at all than to do it in a bad way.”
When the expo returns in December 2021, it will be at Grand Park in Westfield.
“We have been considering and working with Grand Park for close to a year now, and so this was just a good time to make it happen, so it was a good opportunity to make a move at the same time we were taking a year off from the show,” Truitt said.
Truitt said Grand Park’s location was attractive. He said getting large farm equipment to the Indiana State Fairgrounds could be difficult due to traffic.
“There’s new developments taking place and entertainment venues and hotel opportunities and restaurants (in Westfield), and that’s just a lot. (It’s) more attractive for people to come to,” Truitt said.
The 2021 expo date is Dec. 14 to 16. The 2022 expo also will be at Grand Park, and those dates are Dec. 13 to 15. The contract is for two years, but Truitt expects Grand Park will be the expo’s new permanent home.
For more, visit indianafarmexpo.com.
