For growing up on a farm and showing cattle since I could ever remember, I thought going to the cattle handling demonstration would be something of interest.
I thought I knew quite a bit about handling cattle from classes and my own experience, which I still do but companies have come out with a lot of new machinery to move cattle safely, quickly, and easier.
I’ve only known of this old squeeze chute that my dad has always used and wow, does that thing seem ancient now. Now all the squeeze chutes are run by hydraulics and have added features to help vaccinate the calves. Most of the chutes on display have head guarders, which move the calf’s head from one side to the other to hold it in place. You can see this in the pictures above with a calf in action.
Another thing they talked about is RFID, which is a labeled mechanism. An electronic chip is placed into the ear so you can read which calf it is, load data on your computer about the history of the calf and most importantly, when it goes to the slaughter house, consumers will know where the meat came from.
Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto: 
When I saw the 
It seems like the number 17 Team Ethanol Indy Car is all over the place. It’s here on display at the Farm Progress Show courtesy of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC).
I asked Alan how it’s going here at the show. He says the line has been long at times with people waiting their turn driving the car. As a farmer he’s very proud of the work being done in the renewable fuels area to make America independent of foreign oil. He doesn’t mind the hard work and long hours driving this demonstrator around the country to promote ethanol which he firmly believes is good for America, the environment and farmers like himself. He not only grows corn that’s turned into ethanol but feeds the by-product (DDG’s) to his cattle.
I finally got to tour the Monsanto exhibit last night. All I can say is “wow.” It’s got to be the coolest exhibit I’ve seen at this show. I know they’re my sponsor but you’d have to see it to believe it.
At the Chevrolet exhibit you’ll find 
On Tuesday, the demonstrations were canceled due to all the rain but they started up yesterday in full force! I was able to see the combines harvest the corn; it was really nice to see the operation set up for the public to watch the demonstrations. All the combines all line up along the right side of the field and it is all roped off so people can watch them slowly. A combine runs about every 3-4 minutes so you are able to see each combine by itself.
Ag in America Tour goes around to different schools across the Midwest promoting agriculture. It is up to the younger generation to determine how our future goes. They will be the ones filling our shoes later down the road. 
It’s a beautiful morning here on the final day of the Farm Progress Show.
By the time we got to the media tent the balloon was almost on top of us. 
I had the chance to talk to Greg Webb, Vice President of Public Affairs. Greg was very knowledgeable about the direction ADM was heading. Technology is always changing and it is up to them to keep up with it!