For WIU Ag Mech Club students, Farm Expo is a time to show and shine

MACOMB, Ill. — When members of Western Illinois University’s Ag Mech Club arrive early on Friday morning to set up the Farm Expo, they won’t just be showing up for a club activity. They’ll be showing up for prospective employers.

“I encourage all of our students to come out and help with move in and also with tear down on Sunday. It is an excellent way to have an informal conversation with a potential employer and get to know them in a more laid-back atmosphere. It’s a great way for students to start networking or build on their networking,” said Jana Knupp.

Knupp is the adviser to the WIU Ag Mech Club and instructor of ag communication in the WIU Department of Agriculture.

The WIU Ag Mech Club’s Farm Expo returns for a 52nd year Feb. 17-18 at Western Hall on the WIU Macomb campus. The show hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

The show was canceled in 2021 and 2022 due to the pandemic and pandemic recovery. Last year’s show reflected that continuing recovery as exhibitor numbers were down.

Knupp said numbers are up this year.

“We did experience some economic and pandemic impacts. We had fewer vendors because they were unable to get enough employees to staff their booths,” she said.

“This year, we still are feeling a little bit of that, but not quite to the extent we were last year. We have more vendors returning to the show this year and we are very excited to have them back.”

This year, the show will feature around 100 vendors with everything from the latest in farm machinery and technology, products and services to home and garden products.

“We always have the east arena in Western Hall full of the newest machinery and that is always exciting to see and we are happy to showcase that,” Knupp said.

“We have a lot of companies bringing lawn and garden equipment and products as we start to get anxious to get outside as we move toward spring. We have a couple of bakeries coming.

“Several of our WIU student organizations will be in the show. The WIU School of Engineering will be there, showcasing some of the products they make.”

Knupp said the youngest members of the family won’t get bored as their adults browse the show.

“We have a lot of things for kids, a balloon artist, face painting, glitter tattoos, hair tinsels, bouncy houses. The Masonic Lodge will be at the show on Saturday to do child ID packets. Parents can get a video, photo and fingerprints of their children to keep on file,” she said.

The show bills itself as the largest student-run farm show in the United States. Members of the WIU Ag Mech Club are responsible for every aspect of the show, from registering vendors and soliciting new vendors, to preparing Western Hall and helping vendors move in on Friday and move out on Sunday.

“Our membership is up. We have 30 really great club members who are excited about putting on the show. They are all very involved,” Knupp said.

“We say this is a student-run show and it truly is. They are making the decisions, before the show and on the floor, they are the ones helping vendors move in. It’s awesome to see and to see them so excited about it and it’s all hands on deck.”

The president of the Ag Mech Club is no stranger to the Ag Mech Farm Expo nor to WIU.

James Bierman is a sophomore. Bierman, grew up in Macomb, while his father, Matthew Bierman, a WIU alumni, worked at WIU, most recently as the vice president for administrative services, from 2017 to 2022.

“The show is nothing new to me. I remember going as a kid and seeing all the cool machinery they had,” said Bierman, an ag business major at WIU.

Now that he is on the organizational side of the show floor, Bierman said his favorite part of the show is watching the members of the community, from his fellow WIU students to Macomb and area residents, enjoy the show.

“It means a lot, that people respect us, when they come out to see what we have been working on and preparing for,” Bierman said.

“Our vendors put themselves out there and it’s great to see the interaction between the retail side of the ag industry and people who come out to the show.”