The gates opened and the crowds began arriving at the largest annual farm equipment show in the world. Attendees are expected from across the nation and from 70 nations to see the latest in agricultural products, services and technology over three days.

World Ag Expo continues Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Opening ceremonies included a wide variety of dignitaries ranging from Miss Tulare County to the governor of a region in Nigeria. Patty Colson, chairman of the 2012 World Ag Expo, recognized the volunteers and past chairmen, and the exhibitors, noting that the event could not happen without them.

“World Ag Expo 2011 is themed Tools for Agri-Business, and our new app is just that – a tool for success at the expo,” said Lee Coito, 2011 Chairman. “Our app adds another free option for our attendees, building on our success in providing tools to help attendees identify in advance the exhibitors and seminars they want to see.”

By coupling with the Digital Show Grounds feature on worldagexpo.com, the app provides a mobile option for attendees to use to search products by category, explore the exhibitor directory, learn more about the seminars, view the Top-10 products and more. The MyShow Planner feature helps users organize and plan an agenda, making sure that they get the most out of their trip to World Ag Expo.

World Ag Expo is the largest of its kind and generates an economic impact of $1.2 billion with over 1,600 exhibiting companies on a footprint of 2.5 million square feet! California agriculture generates $31.7 billion of farm-gate revenue. $4 billion of this is attributable to Tulare County, which is up from $2 billion when I arrived in the San Joaquin Valley from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in 1990. During this time I have seen the Tulare County ag economy shift towards a heavy dominance by the dairy industry with an average today of over 2,000 cows per dairy (compared to 750 in 1990) and total revenues of over $1 billion.

It was a treat to renew acquaintances with Heather Baumgardner and learn that Fastline will celebrate their 30th anniversary next week. Congratulations to Heather, Joe McWilliams and Bill Howard on this landmark accomplishment!

I was very impressed to see many FFA youth in their official dress. Congratulations especially to the Livingston FFA members who I observed on Median Street at about 2 p.m. They were very polite, dressed very sharp, and good representatives of a fine organization.

Over the many years of the World Ag Expo, many dedicated industry professionals have put their stamp on its production. One of my fun conversations this year was with service contractors Jim Gilroy, Frank Craig, Gil Montano, and Lee Oliphant. These guys are real pros and I salute them for the extraordinary work they do.

Candy Hansen of the Center for International Trade Development-Fresno and Eduardo Torres of the United States Department of Commerce have worked tirelessly over the years promoting World Ag Expo to many international trade delegations and this year was no different. Today I observed Eduardo with a Latin delegation while Candy hosted a delegation from the Henan Province in China. Both Candy and Eduardo and their hard-working staffs should be thanked for their tremendous efforts.

2009 World Ag Expo Chairman Paul Simon will take the reins shortly. He brings to the show an immense experience with the exhibitors, unloading and delivering freight. He is a great leader of volunteers and a very deserving chairman. Congratulations, Paul, and good luck.

Whoever was in charge of praying for good weather did a great job.

The Budweiser Clydesdales were again on-hand and were a popular feature for young and old alike. World Ag Expo veteran Norlan Sapp, formerly with John Deere and now with Gehl Corporation, indicated that their prime exhibit location on Median Street would hopefully attract the buyer-prospects and the potential dealers necessary to make for a successful show.

One of the “Top 10 New Product” winners, Pure Sense of Emeryville, CA, experienced robust traffic in their exhibit space in Pavilion B as a result of heavy crowds and a comprehensive pre-expo marketing campaign coordinated by the Lockwood Agency of Visalia that included a mailing to current customers encouraging their visit to the booth. According to John Williamson of Pure Sense, the “Irrigation Manager” technology and software enables and empowers the grower to monitor in real-time field conditions in remote locations in order to minimize labor, energy and water use, and to maximize yield and quality of commodity. Studies during the 2007 crop year found that the Pure Sense investment was returned “pre-harvest”, that is, the cost of the technology, installation, and subscription paid for itself in savings of energy, water, and labor, with increased yield and quality “icing on the cake”! This is all “good stuff” for California growers experiencing the challenges of water cutbacks, increased costs for electricity, and an increased minimum wage.

World Ag Expo Chair-woman, Shelly Khal, was under the weather with a flu bug, but continued to do her duties of media interviews, special events, and visibility to the nearly 1,200 orange jacket volunteers.

Congratulations to the management and staff of DairyBusiness Communications for another fine World Ag Expo magazine. It serves as the major promotional tool for the expo and its quality as well as page count has steadily grown since DBC assumed the responsibilities for selling ads, design, production, and distribution under the careful guidance of Stan Bird, ad sales by Jackie Machado, and leadership by corporate leadership like Joel Hastings and John Montandon in the mid-’90s.

Primary ag issues creating a buzz at the expo included water supply cutbacks, new water quality and air quality regs, including a “NO on the 2/9″ rule that would severly regulate diesel trucks used in California based on their manufactured date. Steve Kost of the Far West Equipment Dealers Association, Manuel Cunha of Nisei Farmers League and Roger Isom of the Cotton Ginners Association are lead proponents of modifying the proposed regulations.

World Ag Expo continues to impress with its large turnout of international attendees and the service provided by the many orange jacket volunteers. They are everywhere and are doing a great job!