I have been to quite a few trade shows in my time and the International Poultry Expo could very well be the biggest I have ever seen, with nearly 900 booths. In fact, it ranks 58th out of ALL the trade shows in the United States – not just ag shows, all shows. That’s pretty impressive.

The man who makes it happen is show manager Charlie Olentine, who says the poultry expo has grown throughout its long history. “The show’s been here in Atlanta every year for over sixty years,” Charlie told me. “We’ve kind of grown up with the convention facilities in the city. We got our start in the lobby of one of the local hotels in the late ’40s.”

Three years ago, the poultry expo made a move to diversify by co-locating with the International Feed Expo, which has increased both their number of exhibitors and attendees. This year, despite the economy, Charlie says their numbers are only down about 10 percent from last year’s record attendance. “Last year we had about 20,000 people come through, this year probably about 18,000,” Charlie said. “We have a very strong international contingent, anywhere from 4-5,000, the majority of them coming from Latin America.”

Listen to my interview with Charlie here: ipe-09-charlie.mp3

You can also download the interview here: DHA Interview (mp3).

International Poultry Expo Photo Album

AgWired coverage of International Poultry Expo is sponsored by: