Sweep crouched low in the weeds. His tail was stiff and flat between his hind quarters as he intently eyed a flock of sheep near Mount Hope Road, awaiting his cue.
And then it happened. He heard the familiar two-toned whistle call from his trainer, shot up and took off to chase the six demonstration sheep back to his master.
The border collie’s performance was just one of hundreds of things to see at MSU’s 23rd annual Ag Expo, which began Tuesday and runs through Thursday.
“There’s a lot of work for a dog to do,” Hudsonville dog trainer Lyle Boyer said. “The good thing about dogs is that they’re willing to do anything you want, and they listen - you don’t have to hire people.”
Boyer’s stock dog show goes on twice daily and is one of the dozens of educational exhibits at the farm festival.
And if the dogs aren’t enough to keep expogoers’ attention, there are more than 300 farm equipment and supply booths to check out on the 35-acre site near Mount Hope Road and Farm Lane.
“We want to show all the current models,” Bill Wassner, owner of a Mason lawn and garden company showing at the festival.
Farm equipment dealers from across the Midwest suffered through Tuesday’s 90-plus-degree heat to set up booths and display their latest makes and models.
“We hope for lots of people to be able to check it out - but with this heat, what can you expect?” Wassner said.
Expogoers tried to beat the heat as they walked dusty paths, took tractor rides around the area and sat on horse-drawn trailers hoping to enjoy any slight breeze generated by the movement.
The blistering sun reflected its gleaming rays off the exposed steel panels of countless green John Deere tractors.
“It’s hot at home too,” said MSU alumnus Brad Gernaat, who traveled two hours with his 11-year-old son from their McBain home to tour the Ag Expo.
“We like looking around at all the different products,” the farm owner said as his boy rested on a large red plow. “Being hands-on with the equipment is good also.”
Although Gernaat said he enjoys seeing the Ag Expo displays, he doesn’t usually make purchases while visiting the annual event.
“We stick with our local dealers,” he said.
But while all the farming gadgets and gizmos caught people’s eyes, it seems Sweep and the rest of Boyer’s stock dogs stole hearts.
“They’re super-smart dogs,” MSU alumnus Dave Richardson said as he watched Sweep.
But the Fowlerville resident had something else in mind for the dog’s talent.
“I’m thinking for kids,” Richardson said laughing. “You could let the dogs out at recess and herd them back in.”
In addition to Sweep, Boyer brought three other border collies with her to the Ag Expo to demonstrate the art of stock herding.
Her demonstration will be shown at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m today and Thursday.
After Sweep had brought her his flock Tuesday morning, Boyer whistled again to signal him to return the sheep to the field.
“The goal is to bring them to me in as straight a line as possible,” she said. “He could be doing cartwheels behind them to bring to me, as long as they come.”
Whether watching sheep chasing or checking out the latest in farm equipment, Richardson said MSU’s Ag Expo is the place to be during the dog days of summer.
In fact, Richardson isn’t even a farmer, he said he stopped out at the festival because, “I just like farming.”
