Cadott prepares for Wisconsin Farm Technology Days

Attendees can expect an immersive experience dedicated to helping farmers meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Set to unfold Aug. 13-15 at Close Farms in Cadott, Wisconsin Farm Technology Days will offer nearly 500 vendors, each showcasing the latest in farm technologies at 24447 Highway S.

The show, anticipated to draw an audience of around 50,000 visitors, will feature interactive demonstrations, educational seminars and workshops. The event is the largest agricultural show in Wisconsin and features the work of hundreds of dedicated volunteers as it rotates to a new community each year.

Jamie and Renee Close are hosting the event at Close Farms alongside the neighboring Chippewa Valley Music Festivals grounds. The event will have activities at both the farm and festival grounds.

The location is known for hosting other large gatherings in Chippewa County, such as Rock Fest and Hoofbeat, formerly called Country Fest.

Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation executive director Charlie Walker said organizers have sold out of commercial space with 497 vendors scheduled to show up Aug. 13.

“It’s a good indication there is interest. It’s what we felt we could accommodate. It’s a good sign,” Walker said.

Jerry Clark, Chippewa County UW-Extension associate professor, said the event is in high demand and he finds that encouraging.

“Everything’s been sold. That kind of is a good indication that the interest, at least from the industry trade show, is very, very positive. There’s something somebody wants to see, hopefully they see it here,” Clark said.

Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection Randy Romanski said Wisconsin Farm Technology Days highlights how agriculture and farming has evolved. He said the showcase helps farmers continue their story through education, networking and the sharing of technologies for farming.

“One in nine people in Wisconsin has a job related to agriculture. Farm technology is celebrated and you all get to kind of help tell that story. The great thing about events like this is telling the story of agriculture,” Romanski said. “It’s a great way to celebrate the past, present and future of Wisconsin agriculture.”

Walker said a team of volunteers have worked to get the host farm ready. The three-day outdoor event is the only farm show of its size in the U.S. organized by and run entirely by volunteers.

This year’s show will feature 19 food trucks in a major change for Farm Technology Days. In past years, food tents have been run by hundreds of volunteers.

“I think what’s going to be interesting is the food trucks,” Clark said. “In the past, we always had six tents stocked with a lot of volunteers, but it’s hard to get them. I think this is an innovative way to try to address that, a nice new twist.”

Organizers said Monday that it used to take 1,500 volunteers to put the show on. This year they are able to reduce that number to 400 volunteers, largely due to food trucks replacing the food tents.

While food is an important aspect to any multi-day event, the show is focused on highlighting the latest developments in production agriculture, including practical applications for farming, recent research findings and technological developments in the industry.

Attendees will see exhibitions of state-of-the-art farm machinery, and leading manufacturers will showcase their latest equipment.

In addition, event-goers will have access to educational seminars and workshops. Area experts will conduct informative sessions covering a wide range of topics, including precision farming, sustainable practices, crop management and more.

Interactive demonstrations can also be expected at the event. Live demonstrations of the newest farm technologies will allow participants to see innovation in action.

Matthew Holub is overseeing field demonstrations this year. He said a full set of demonstrations is planned.

“Mowing, tedding, raking, merging and baling in the mornings, and then in the afternoon, we’ll do wrapping demonstrations, both the line wrappers and individual wrappers, as well as combination balers,” Holub said.

Holub said this year there will not be a wheat harvest demonstration because they are going to have to harvest the wheat before the show. But there will be plenty of other demos, he said.

This year’s demonstrations may focus on some of the smaller technologies used by small farmers rather than large, flashy equipment that may be impractical for smaller operations.

One new technology becoming widely available is drones.

“The drone demonstration should be very good. Drone technology is growing every year,” Holub said.

Wisconsin Farm Technology Days shows off some of the latest technology used in agriculture, such as how drones can be used for farming.

Jeramy Williams is the owner of American Drone. His company will be on site at Wisconsin Farm Technology Days to discuss drone capabilities and aerial applications.

He said drones are increasingly used in the agricultural world alongside other industries like forestry, orchards and food plots.

Attendees of the Wisconsin Farm Technology Days show can take part in demonstrations with drones on an obstacle course.

“So they’ll be able to fly these drones and see how that works and how easy they are to use in agriculture,” Williams said.

Amber Gonske of WJMC in Rice Lake tried out one of the drones Monday with the aid of Marshfield Drones owner Nick Wayerski.

”It was challenging. It was interesting,” she said. “It was fun, too.”

There are two ways that Williams said farmers can easily use drones.

“One is sensor drones so we can actually eyeball the crops and we can get their crop health very, very quickly over large areas,” Williams said. “Then if there is a problem or certain crops need nutrition or something like that, we have big spraying and spreading drones. You can actually go out and put the product on the field.”

Drones can be used to deliver fertilizer, pesticides and cover crops.

Spraying and spreading drones are big business for Williams. He said he’s in it with clients throughout all of their drone education if needed.

“We’ll start at the beginning and go all the way to the end, where they’re comfortable using drones. They are safe, effective and efficient for agriculture use.”

His company also helps farmers and other users become remote pilots so they can use the technology safely and legally.

Farm Technology Days is hosted by a different farm each year. It was first held in Waupaca County in 1954.

Chippewa County last hosted the event in 2004 outside of Bloomer, when it was called Farm Progress Days.

In 2021 it was held at Huntsinger Farms in Eau Claire. Huntsinger Farms welcomed over 52,000 people to the 66th Wisconsin Farm Technology Days.

The 2022 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days show was held on Roehl Acres of Loyal in Clark County. Sauk County hosted the event in 2023.

In 2025, Wisconsin Farm Technology Days will take place in Waupaca County. No Joke Dairy will serve as the site of the 2026 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days, located in central Wisconsin near Stratford.