Record attendance closes out successful World Ag Expo

Good weather and a stable agriculture economy contributed to record attendance for the 2016 World Ag Expo in Tulare.

A record-breaking 106,349 visitors attended the three-day event that ended Thursday. Last year, the expo attracted 102,867 attendees. The 49th annual show benefited from sunny skies and daytime temperatures in the low-to-mid-70s.

Held at the International Agri-Center in Tulare, the expo includes visitors and exhibitors from throughout the U.S. and several countries. This year, more than 1,500 exhibitors attended the show that is spread out over 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space, making it the largest event of its kind.

The expo brings together the latest in agricultural equipment and technology.

“There’s nothing like it in the world. Tulare nearly doubles in size during the week of World Ag Expo,” said Jerry Sinift, the International Agri-Center’s chief executive officer. “This year was a great success for everyone involved. Our exhibitors are happy. Our attendees were awestruck. World Ag Expo maintains relevance through showcasing everything from massive tractors to smartphone applications – all to improve ag operations of our attendees and educate the society at large about agriculture.”

Elizabeth Millar, commercial sales manager for The Water Saving Granules Co., was pleased at the response from visitors.

“We chose the World Ag Expo to launch our Australian Water Saving Granules product into the USA,” Millar said. “We could not have achieved a better response or more overwhelming exposure elsewhere.”

Millar said the company has reserved its exhibit space for 2017.

Next year will be the show’s 50th.

This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Record attendance closes out successful World Ag Expo."