QC Farm Show showcases drones, high-tech tools

“In order to keep up in the field, you’ve got to keep up with technology.” That’s the word from Chase Gripp of Sweetwater Drone Services / Gripp Custom Farming of Sheffield, Illinois, as he showed the benefits of using drones to help farmers with agriculture jobs. Mr. Gripp was being kept busy Sunday morning, Jan. […]

“In order to keep up in the field, you’ve got to keep up with technology.” That’s the word from Chase Gripp of Sweetwater Drone Services / Gripp Custom Farming of Sheffield, Illinois, as he showed the benefits of using drones to help farmers with agriculture jobs. Mr. Gripp was being kept busy Sunday morning, Jan. 15, during the opening hour of the annual Quad Cities Farm and Equipment Show at the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island. The show started Sunday, and continues from  9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, Monday, Jan. 16, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17. The show has free admission.

Hundreds of people were already packing into the QCCA Expo Center just minutes after the doors opened on Sunday morning. The show features many of the traditional agricultural displays of tractors, planting equipment and many farm-related services. But it is also a time and place to showcase the latest advances in ag technology such as drones. In the opening hours on Sunday, dozens of people were looking over Mr. Gripp’s display to see how drones can help their farm operations. He said this is the first time his company has been to the local farm show. According to the company’s website: “We specialize in drone and aerial application, also referred to as crop dusting. The main purpose of this process is to spray crops with fertilizer and other crop protection products from overhead aircrafts. However, it can also be used for surveillance, mapping, and inspection purposes.”  Other new technology featured at the show includes solar energy for the farm, computer software, computer control systems for the tractor and much more. “We’re here trying to show people that they will get a return on their investment in technology,” said Mike Hofer, president of Park Farms Computer Systems of DeWitt.

The company, which began in 1982, specializes in computers and ag-related software. Parks Farms dvertises systems to make precision farming easier and more profitable. Not far from the Park Farms booth, Nathan Wilheim, a manager with Case IH, was showing the latest developments from his company. New features include a new planter and a computerized armrest digital control system for Case’s new tractors. On Sunday, dozens of people crowded around an armrest display.  But even with new technology being featured, Mr. Wilheim said the Farm Show is really about a much older concept – connecting with the customers.  “We’re here visiting with the customers. Sometimes, we learn just as much from them as they learn from us. … It’s all about communications,” he added. For many customers, seeing the new technology for the farm is great. But they still come to the show to see the classics. Some of those classics included Bobcats, Massey Ferguson tractors, New Holland tractors, John Deere equipment and much more. At the P&K Midwest booth, Dustin Smith was busy showing off several pieces of Deere equipment. For him, the show is also all about connecting with customers. “For us, it’s about showing what we got. … We want to be visible in the community,” Mr. Smith added. On Sunday, many potential customers said they liked what they were seeing. For instance, Lucas Willi of Davenport was at the show with his two children. He said his kids enjoyed climbing on the tractors, and he really enjoyed the fact the show has free admission and free parking. “It’s also about the comradery of being around other business people. … All the people are workers,” he added. In another corner of the QCCA Expo Center, Greg Rothbardt was hard at work showing people radiant heater systems being offered by his employer – Hanson Industrial of Moline. He said his goal of the day was simple: “It is to see the customers. And it’s just great we have one place that brings everybody together.” Other businesspeople at the show said they hope the customers will pay close attention to the latest developments in agriculture such as those drones. “People need to realize that using technology is part of adapting to the future,” Mr. Gripp added.