Kewaunee County Grows During Farm Tech Days

Ebert Enterprises of Kewaunee County was the host site of 2017 Farm Technology Days. Photo by Len Villano.

After three days, the Executive Committee for Kewaunee County Farm Technology Days 2017 is proud to report the event at Ebert Enterprises was an overall success.

Kewaunee County is the first to host Wisconsin Farm Technology Days and have more individuals attend the three-day event than the county’s total population, as far as records show. In the first two days alone, the show nearly attracted the number of the county’s residents.

Additionally, organizers were excited to learn the first day of the show attracted more than 10,000 visitors, the highest attendance on day one in several years. The official opening ceremony had a record-breaking 550 attendees, including Governor Scott Walker and Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Secretary Ben Brancel.

Along with welcoming visitors, vendors, exhibitors and people from across the Midwest, there were a number of interesting stories to come out of the week.

• An all-time record of nearly 1,900 volunteers from Kewaunee County and the surrounding areas came together to work on 18 committees and subcommittees during the three-day show to make it a success.
• All 1,000 of the Kewaunee County Farm Technology Days commemorative toy, a Gehl 800 Forage Harvester, were sold out completely before the show opened. The last time the commemorative toy was sold out was 2012, when Outagamie County hosted the event.
• A fundraising goal of $500,000 was exceeded from in-kind donations alone due to the overwhelming support of local businesses and families of the 2017 show. Additionally, with final numbers still pending, the show is expected to exceed the net profit goals of the Executive Committee.
• More than 567,000 people were reached with information about the show on Facebook before the show started.
• Algoma was rained on heavily in the early morning of day two, and the show still opened on time due to the pre-planning and quick decision making from the Grounds Committee and volunteers. These individuals worked three vacuum tanks to soak up water and spread wood chips to ensure visitors had dry roads to walk on.
• Tram rides to tour Ebert Enterprises farm were enjoyed by more than 50 percent of attendees. Nearly 1,500 tram rides were provided for field demonstrations, which only ran for half of the show due to weather conditions.
• 15,000 hamburgers and cheeseburgers were at the event, along with 11,250 bowls of ice cream (the ice cream purchased for the entire event was sold out before closing time on opening day).
• The grounds of the show were made beautiful thanks to the Greenscapers committee who planted 289 flowerpots and floral displays.
• Kewaunee County Farm Technology Days was supported by 67 Landmark Farms located in Kewaunee County and surrounding townships in Door, Brown and Manitowoc counties. The Landmark Farms were not just dairy-related, but included beef, hog, crop and other kinds of farms.
• This was also the first year a county incorporated a Farmers Market, with sellable goods and food/drink tastings.

Executive Committee chair Amber Hewett and host farm owners Randy and Renee Ebert have expressed their overall satisfaction with how the show went this week. They are excited to learn new friends were made and the grounds were a true place of networking and connection for those involved and interested in agriculture.

“The Kewaunee County brand is ‘Everything Grows Better Here,’ and with the permission of the Kewaunee County Economic Development Corporation, we incorporated that tagline into the Kewaunee County Farm Technology Days logo and marketing. Through the three years of planning and executing the show, it is abundantly clear that everything does truly grow better here in Kewaunee County, most importantly, our relationships,” said Hewett.

For more information, visit wifarmtechnologydays.com/kewaunee or find them on Facebook.