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A permanent site for Wisconsin Farm Technology Days?

Should Wisconsin Farm Technology Days decide to go to a permanent site, one group would like to see it in Clark County. Clark County Economic Development Director, Sheila Nyberg and Owen Mayor Tim Swiggum made a presentation to the Wisconsin Farm Technology Days board of directors onWednesday offering a home for the show as part of an agriculture innovation center being developed along State Highway 29 at Owen.

The City of Owen is moving forward with development of an ag campus designed to host businesses, education and innovation facilities on thecity’s east side on both sides of “29”. As part of the plan, they are offering to provide a permanent home for the annual farm show. The city would put up the land and install roads, water, sewer and other utilities. WFTD would have the option to lease or buy the property. Hopes arethe creation of a permanent site would prompt exhibitors who participate in the show every year to construct permanent buildings on the site and maybe utilize those buildings year-round. Nyberg addressed available hotel space, traffic flow and the concentration of agriculture in the area. Thegroup pointed to the fact there are three major farm shows in Wisconsin each year; The WPS Farm Show in Oshkosh, World Dairy Expo in Madison and Wisconsin Farm Technology Days. Were WFTD located in Owen, it would put most of the major farm areas in the state in close proximity to at least one ofthe major shows.

The idea first came up when Clark County hosted the annual event in 2005, at that time WFTD was in the midst of a comprehensive study to determine if it was in the best interest of the show’s exhibitors and attendees to continue to move around the state orchoose a permanent site. That study eventually prompted the decision to keep the current format of moving the show. Dodge County will host it this year, Pierce County will host the 2010 show and Marathon County has the 2011 exposition. On Wednesday, the board accepted two more bids, OutagamieCounty will host in 2012 and Barron County in 2013.

WFTD Board Chair, Rick Klemme says the Clark County proposal has certainly given them food for thought. He says the bids from Outagamie and Barron Counties means they will continue to operate under their current strategicplan which is to continue to move the show around as long as they have counties willing to host the show. However, since they now have the show booked for the next four years, it gives the board time, “To revisit our strategic plan.”

Klemme says they will visitthe Clark County site sometime this summer to gather more information. “The 2014 show now becomes a decision time for us.” WFTD meets with a group of exhibitors each January to get their input on what can make the show better and what must be done to keep it successful, “Soexhibitor input will be very important to us in this decision.” He stresses they are not committed to a permanent site at this time and they are not committed to county rotations from 2014 on.

The Clark County group points out they are not taking a stand on whetherthe show should move to a permanent site, they’re just saying if it does, they would love to have it in Clark County.