PITTSBURG, Kan. —
In the shade of an exhibit tent Friday at the opening of the Four State Farm Show, Jim Duggan marveled over the design of a telescoping flagpole.
“These are really great,” said Duggan, of Franklin. “I like the locking system; it’s such innovative engineering.”
He was talking with David Kranz, owner of Great Plains Flagpoles, who came to the show from Minnesota.
“You don’t have the problems associated with ropes and pulleys, and look, you can drop it down and pull it out of the ground and take it inside,” said Duggan.
While he was sold on the engineering and the price — $309 for a 20-foot bronze model — he didn’t leave with one.
“Let me talk to my wife,” he said.
EXPOSURE
He was one of thousands of visitors to the Four State Farm Show who would leave Friday with just a handful of brochures from some of the 700 vendors.
But Steve Smith, a representative for Case Tractors, said that for many vendors, it’s not about making sales so much as it’s about planting a seed.
“We support as a company a number of farm shows each year, both regional and national,” he said. “And our philosophy is the same for all — the main impact on us as a company and our dealers is that it is promotional. It’s a venue to showcase a lot of our products.”
Many of the 16 large red tractors at the Case exhibit had children crawling up into their seats and men admiring their features. None had price tags.
“We are not here putting prices on tractors,” Smith said. “This is a venue to plant the seed with customers, who then might go back to their local dealer at some point to make a purchase.”
In the John Deere-themed tent manned by Lisa Banks, an owner of Legacy Farm & Lawn in Lamar, Mo., however, it was a different story.
“We sell a lot of caps and toys every year,” said Banks as she rang up a sale of a miniature farm set and a child’s bike. “That’s our big thing, and that’s why we keep coming back.”
Her grandfather, Jack Purinton, started the business in 1956, and “John Deere is still as popular today as it was then; we have a lot of kids and their parents stopping in here to add to their collection.”
Pineapple Whips
Food vendors also were doing a brisk business, including Maggie’s Curbside Barbecue of Pittsburg, which dished out pulled pork and brisket sandwiches well before 11 a.m., and the nearby Pineapple Whip stand, from which Mike Fortner, Springfield, Mo., has been selling the cold concoctions to fairgoers for 25 years.
“Our dad created the recipe and started at the Ozark Empire Fair, and now we probably sell 800 to 1,000 a day here,” he said. “It’s worth our time to come and park here; we have people coming to buy them by 8:30 each day.”
Lance Markley, advertising manager with the show’s sponsor, Farm Talk Newspaper, estimates that the show will attract 25,000 visitors this year.
Markley said the first day of this year’s show saw a good turnout despite rapidly climbing temperatures and a heat index value of 104 by afternoon.
The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for Crawford County that remains in effect until 7 p.m. Monday.
“We’re encouraging people to come out early, as the show opens at 8 a.m., and see everything before it gets really warm,” he said.
Going?
The Four State Farm Show is a half-mile east of the four-way intersection of Highway 69-400-171 junction south of Pittsburg. Gates will open at 8 a.m. today and Sunday, and close at 4 p.m. each Day. There is no admission, and concessions are available.
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