Kanon Howe, 5, pretends to ride an all-terrain vehicle around the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island on Monday morning, Jan. 20, during the 2025 Quad Cities Farm and Equipment Show. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Kanon Howe was having a great time at the 2025 Quad Cities Farm and Equipment Show on Monday morning, Jan. 20. The 5-year-old climbed on a $13,500 all-terrain vehicle – called a TGB Blade 600 LTX EPS – and was pretending to ride the vehicle around the farm showroom inside the QCCA Expo Center in […]
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Kanon Howe was having a great time at the 2025 Quad Cities Farm and Equipment Show on Monday morning, Jan. 20.The 5-year-old climbed on a $13,500 all-terrain vehicle – called a TGB Blade 600 LTX EPS – and was pretending to ride the vehicle around the farm showroom inside the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island.
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Brian Carr shows one of the drones on display at his booth during the farm and equipment show.
Carter Broek, left, sales rep for Tenacity Ag, shows an ag drone to a potential customer during the 2025 Quad Cities Farm and Equipment Show on Monday, Jan. 20, in the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
People look over farm equipment at the show.
Visitors talk to one of the vendors at the farm and equipment show.
This is one of the tractors on display in the Roeder Brothers section of the 2025 Quad Cities Farm and Equipment Show. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
A boy plays on a small Bobcat tractor at the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island on Monday morning, Jan. 20, during the 2025 Quad Cities Farm and Equipment Show. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
James Wetzel is shown at his Animal Lamps vendor booth at the farm and equipment show,
Kanon’s dad – Tyler Howe, a farmer in the Clinton, Iowa, area – was also having a good time at the show, but he wasn’t really interested in ATVs.“It’s a cold day here, and we were looking for somewhere warm. …I wanted to see all the new things they have for the farm,” Mr. Howe said.Thousands of other people were also looking for everything from new technology to old school tools and services during the three-day farm and equipment show, which started Sunday, Jan. 19 and ends late Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 21.The show traditionally gets a big attendance because it has free admission and free parking. It also has something for just about everybody in the ag field, said Robert Junker, QCCA show director.Around 100 vendors were at the show on Monday, showing everything from small tools to massive combines and tractors.The Roeder Brothers farm implement business, with sites in Maquoketa and Bellevue, Iowa, had one of the largest vendor areas in the show. The ag machinery business had about 15 pieces of machinery on display. That machinery included everything from a massive Fendt Idea combine to small Bobcat tractors and everything in between. All of that machinery was shining. Even the black tires on the ag equipment were shiny and sparkling.“We’re here to get our name out and show people what we have,” said Steve Ruff, a salesman for Roeder. “We’ve had a good crowd today. (Sunday) was also a good day.”Mr. Ruff even gave away the secret to getting all those tractor and combine tires sparkling for the crowd. He said the Roeder employees use a product called 1st Ayd Cover-All to give tires and other tractor parts a glossy shine. “That stuff does a nice job on the tires,” he added.Not far from the Roeder Brothers display of machinery, Carter Broek, a sales rep with Tenacity Ag, was giving show-goers lessons on using drones on the farm.Tenacity, which has four offices around the upper Midwest, offers ag drones for field mapping, fertilizing, seeding and other services. Some of those drone packages cost more than $40,000.“A lot of people think drones are just for spot spraying. … We’re trying to get the word out that there’s more,” Mr. Broek said.He added that while drone technology is still new, many people are familiar with it and getting more comfortable using drones on the farm.“It’s really generational. The old guys, like grandpa, are still running the farm. But the nephews and kids are more used to drones. … They’re comfortable with them,” Mr. Broek said.In addition to drones and shiny tractors, the farm and equipment show featured several vendors that didn't exactly have a direct link to the ag world. Some included doggie treats and cookies offered by the Diggity Dog Bakery of Dixon, Illinois; almond treats from the Almond Hut, pocket knives, edging stones for the yard and golf carts for people who want an alternative transportation vehicle.But most of the people at the farm show didn’t seem to mind the variety of vendors and items for sale.“It’s nice to get out of the cold and see all the things they have,” said Mr. Howe.