More than 7,800 farmers, industry leaders, commodity groups and ag exhibitors participated in Commodity Classic 2022 last week in New Orleans. The show is the largest farmer-led agriculture and education event in the United States, featuring the latest innovations, equipment and insights to advance the agriculture industry and support farmers and growers.
The 2022 Commodity Classic featured more than 50 educational sessions, a sold-out trade show with nearly 400 exhibitors, a keynote address by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and policy meetings of the sponsoring commodity associations. Attendees enjoyed a wide variety of presentations from top farmers and well-known industry leaders along with tours of popular New Orleans attractions. Guests were also treated to the Saturday night Evening of Entertainment with country music entertainer Sara Evans.
“We were so excited to be live and in-person in New Orleans after a digital event last year,” said Gerry Hayden, 2022 Commodity Classic co-chair and soybean and corn farmer from Kentucky. “The energy of seeing everyone together after being separated for two years by the pandemic was amazing. What a great start to 2022.”
As part of the show’s general session, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack gave the keynote address and shared the priorities for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and his thoughts on trade, climate and fertilizer, among other topics. In addition, AEM’s Ag Sector Chair and Senior Vice President of Kubota Todd Stucke represented equipment manufacturers on the main stage and talked about the importance of technology and data, as well as their impact on OEMs and end users alike.
Prior to the General Session, Vilsack met with Association of Equipment Manufactures President Megan Tanel to learn more about AEM priorities and what the association is doing to support the agriculture industry. Some of the additional highlights of AEM’s involvement with Commodity Classic include the partnership with the Agriculture Electronics Foundation (AEF) to bring the North American Plugfest 2022 to the show, featuring a first-ever demonstration of the High Speed ISOBUS that offers greater bandwidth and faster connection speed that will provide new opportunities for innovation and interoperability.
The fifth annual Davidson Prize for ag innovations was also announced by AEM and ASABE at the show. The Davidson Prize was designed to celebrate breakthrough innovations in areas of agricultural, food and biological systems engineering.
Winning entries are:
- AGCO Corporations’ Fendt Rogator 900 Series Applicator
- VeriGrain’s Automated Sampling & Data Management System
- John Deere’s See & Spray Select
AEM Senior Vice President Curt Blades. “The energy and excitement of being back together in-person was felt throughout the show, and the face-to-face interactions provided a perfect opportunity to make lasting and meaningful connections.”
Established in 1996, Commodity Classic is America’s largest farmer-led, farmer-focused agricultural and educational experience. It is presented annually by the American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Sorghum Producers, and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. The 2023 Commodity Classic will be held March 9-11, 2023, in Orlando. For information, visit the Commodity Classic website.
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