For people who don't know how to manage manure or handle cattle, the MSU Agricultural Expo can help.
The Ag Expo will be held until Thursday at the commuter lot on the corner of Mount Hope Road and Farm Lane, providing more than 250 exhibits and scheduled demonstrations designed to attract farmers and the general public.
"It was started as a way to demonstrate farm equipment, new research and new extension programs," spokesperson Laura Probyn said. "This is part of what MSU does."
MSU is credited as the first land-grant university in the nation with an agriculture-base. At 26 years old, the Ag Expo is the largest in the state, Probyn said.
Along with farm and livestock equipment displays, information booths and agriculturally-specific demonstrations, there will be an MSU Sesquicentennial cake-cutting event on all three days, a steak cookout and tractor pulls.
"We get people of all ages and all walks of life that come to the show," Probyn said.
Sheila Burkhardt, director of the Michigan Milk Producers Association, said she has seen different kinds of people come to her tent, including both MMPA members and the general public.
"We've been here pretty much since the beginning, showcasing the role dairy has in Michigan's economy," Burkhardt said.
Agriculture is one of Michigan's leading industries, she said.
The expo allows people to explore many agriculture aspects throughout the state, such as soil research and crop management.
Dennis Fulbright, plant pathology professor and chestnut research exhibitor, said chestnuts could be a growing industry in Michigan.
"Aside from the song, 'Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,' people don't know about it," he said. "It's something that can grow widely throughout the state and add profit to farming ventures."
There are about 100 chestnut growers in Michigan, Fulbright said.
In the MMPA, there are about 2,400 members, Burkhardt said.
"We have some (members) in Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin," she said. "We market their milk for them."
Fulbright said the Ag Expo offers a venue for farmers from all over the state to come and share their expertise of different kinds of crops.
"Michigan has the second greatest diversity of crops," he said. "These things go on all over the country."
The expo also provides a place to make contacts for products and services.
Greg Brondstetter, an exhibitor and owner of BFF Livestock Equipment Sales LLC, said the expo provides an opportunity to show farmers his wares.
"We don't always necessarily make sales here," he said. "Most are further down the road."
Probyn said the Ag Expo is expecting a crowd of 10,000 to 15,000 people during the three-day period. She said the number of people who participate has been consistent and steady throughout the years.
Interest in agriculture is changing, Fulbright said.
"What you have are generations that are changing," he said. "People who have made a living off the land are retiring and handing the farm down to their children."
Fulbright said in many instances, the land is more valuable than the crops.
"We get to the countryside and find it harder to find the countryside," he said.
The need for agriculture has not waned, rather, it has grown, Fulbright said.
"I can't remember a time in the last 25 years where there's been such an interest in food," he said, referring to many of the cooking shows on television. "We have to decide whether we want to grow food or houses."
For more information on the expo, please visit www.agexpo.msu.edu.
