LOUISVILLE, Ky.– In a joint announcement on the show floor of the 52nd  annual National Farm Machinery Show, Kentucky State Fair Board CEO Jason Rittenberry and Assn. of Equipment Manufacturers President Dennis Slater, shared with exhibitors and attendees that the two organizations have a verbal agreement on a future collaboration.

Beginning with the 2018 show, AEM will assist with management and co-production of the show, and have an equity position in the future growth of the show. 

“Every year, hundreds of exhibitors are wait-listed for America’s largest indoor farm show,” said Kentucky State Fair Board President and CEO Jason Rittenberry. “This partnership will bring new opportunities for current and future exhibitors, and expand the experience for our attendees.”

“This is a first step in a partnership that will benefit all the stakeholders in the National Farm Machinery Show and the Ag industry,” said Dennis Slater, president of AEM. “AEM’s commitment to its core services like public policy and our success in leading tradeshows, naturally lends itself to our new partnership with the Kentucky Fair Board and the National Farm Machinery Show.”

The NFMS brings manufacturers and their customers face-to-face to connect, talk shop, share ideas and join voices on the issues that affect everyone in the agriculture industry. Slater noted that this endeavor will allow more facets of the ag industry to more easily work together to advance and strengthen the agriculture sector for the benefit of all.

About The National Farm Machinery Show

The National Farm Machinery Show (NFMS) is the nation’s largest indoor farm show and features the agricultural industry’s most comprehensive display of equipment, services and technology. Held annually at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, it attracts 300,000 attendees from the U.S. and around the world. The country’s oldest indoor tractor pull, the Championship Tractor Pull, accompanies the show and provides an added element of entertainment and competition. NFMS contributes $20.1 million in economic impact to the Commonwealth each year, and is owned and produced by the Kentucky State Fair Board.

About the Assn. of Equipment Manufacturers

AEM is the North American-based international trade group providing innovative business development resources to advance the off-road equipment manufacturing industry in the global marketplace. AEM membership comprises more than 950 companies, including 450 in the agriculture sector, and more than 200 product lines in the agriculture, construction, forestry, mining and utility sectors worldwide. AEM is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., with offices in the world capitals of Washington, D.C.; Ottawa, Canada; and Beijing, China.