World Ag Expo: Lock it up in your pinstriped, rhinestoned safe

Protecting your valuables is serious business. But no says you can’t have a little fun. How about a safe with pinstriping on the outside and leopard-print lining on the inside? Or one with camouflage print?

“That is my kind of decor,” said one World Ag Expo visitor admiring the products from Kodiak Safe Company in Fresno.

The company was one of nearly 1,500 attending the expo at Tulare’s International Agri-Center. The three-day event wrapped up Thursday.

Kodiak Safe owner Cookie Tanney can design just about anything you want, inside and out. Her own personal heavy-duty safe has her name on the door, framed in pink stripes. Rhinestones encircle the keypad lock.

She uses hers to protect her rifles, jewelry and purse collection.

“You know, just ’cause it is pink does not make it any less safe,” Tanney said.

Wrapping it up: As the final hours of the World Ag Expo wound down Thursday, show chairman Charlie Pitigliano reflected on the past three days of the greatest farm equipment show on Earth.

“This really is an amazing event,” said Pitigliano, who farms almonds, pistachios and clementines. “With the help of 1,500 volunteers we turn this dirt lot into what you see today, this massive show.”

And what a show it was. Ag expo officials say that while they don’t have a final tally, they expect to break attendance records this year.

Pitigliano said the expo’s 35-plus acres of parking were at capacity. Cars were even parked along Laspina Street, which fronts the International Agri-Center, the expo’s home.

“We had cars parked in an alfalfa field,” he said. “And we never had to do that before.”

Pitigliano said mild weather and an improved agriculture economy helped boost the number of visitors.

“And just wait until next year,” he said. “It will be our 50th year and we plan a few surprises.”

More sights from Thursday’s expo session:

Robert Rodriguez: 559-441-6327, @FresnoBeeBob

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 2:22 PM with the headline "World Ag Expo: Lock it up in your pinstriped, rhinestoned safe."