MAGIE show Aug. 26-27

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Known as the industry’s premier outdoor trade show, the 45th Midwest Ag Industries Exposition will be held Aug. 26-27 at the McLean County Fairgrounds.

MAGIE, hosted by the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association, will feature over 80 vendors showcasing all of the latest innovations from iron to software and from the interactive ride and drive to the exhibitors’ innovations in building, blending, measuring and applying agri-chemicals.

“We’re really excited to have the best of equipment and people in the application business. We will have a whole variety of vendors,” said Jenny Webb, IFCA president. “What really draws people in is our ride-and-drive feature where applicators can test out some of the latest in equipment offerings.”

The ride and drive has been called the jewel of the show. Nearly 30 acres at the show are dedicated to drive the new applicators from various companies.

MAGIE draws visitors from throughout the Midwest and beyond to the show that runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 26 and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 27.

“I just talked to one of our members the other day who’s bringing in 300 to 400 of their applicators from all over — Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois,” Webb said.

“We really like to bring people in and give them a chance to see some of the latest and the greatest in the equipment that they’re operating and then they can go back to their locations and tell them what they’ve seen and what might be worth looking into.

“We will also be announcing IFCA’s Applicator of the Year at the MAGIE Tailgate party on Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 26. We’ve got several awards we give out, but that’s one of the ones that people look forward to finding out who the custom applicator of the year is.”

The Illinois custom applicator finalists this year are Kevin Barth of CHS, Newark; Tony Glenn of Sun Ag, McNabb; Dalissa Moser of Helena Agri-Enterprises, Steward; and Brian Wilson of BCS, Arrowsmith.

Last year’s Custom Applicator of the Year honoree was Jeff Reffett of Nutrien Ag Solutions, Galesburg.