Porterville Recorder

World Ag Expo® Online finishes successful first week

- recorder@portervill­erecorder.com

A very different World Ag Expo® opened February 9. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the annual internatio­nal Ag trade show was held entirely online for the first time in show history. The new online show boasted 752 exhibitors and an impressive 24,639 visits over three days from users in 70 countries, 49 states, and the District of Columbia.

Exhibitors engaged visitors through customized pages, live demonstrat­ions, seminars, live chats, and Zoom calls. They were able to highlight products and services with photos, videos, and giveaways.

“This is a very different way to do a farm show,” said Jerry Sinift, Internatio­nal Agri-center® CEO. “Our exhibitors worked hard on their pages and it shows. We had a strong first week and quality attendees. We have another ten months to share seminars and promote our exhibitors before we’re back to a live show.”

Still hungry for Ag informatio­n and a chance to interact with exhibitors, attendees flocked to the show website from all over the United States and around the world. More than 120 educationa­l sessions were held covering water, dairy, sustainabi­lity, hemp, technology, and more. The seminars are now available on-demand at https://bit. ly/wae21semin­ars.

Representa­tives from the U.S. Commercial Service were on hand to assist with business matchmakin­g throughout the week. As requests for help came in, the team researched exhibitors to fulfill the needs. More than 60 business introducti­ons were made over three days and matches will continue to be made. Attendees can request business matchmakin­g at https://bit.ly/ Waebizmatc­h.

With the change to the traditiona­l show format, organizers decided to

make the online show available throughout 2021 and will provide new content to exhibitors and attendees each month. To get alerts of new content and show news, subscribe to the email list athttps://bit.ly/ Waeupdates.

World Ag Expo® staff has also added an Exhibitor News section to the website so attendees can stay up-to-date all year long. Get the latest Exhibitor news athttps:// bit.ly/wae21-exhibitorn­ews.

World Ag Expo® will return to the live show format February 8-10, 2022 in Tulare, CA. Current exhibitors are in the renewal process. New exhibitors can request space for the 2022 show in April. Join the exhibitor interest list at https:// bit.ly/waeupdates.

 ?? RECORDER PHOTO BY ALEXIS ESPINOZA ?? In this photo from the 2019 World Ag Expo, guests walk around exhibits learning about the latest ag technology. This year, the World Ag Expo went completley virtual and are hoping to host the expo in person in 2022.
RECORDER PHOTO BY ALEXIS ESPINOZA In this photo from the 2019 World Ag Expo, guests walk around exhibits learning about the latest ag technology. This year, the World Ag Expo went completley virtual and are hoping to host the expo in person in 2022.

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