PLAYING HARD TO GET?
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 -- 10:22 AM
It would be quite a coup if a group working to start an agribusiness park near Owen could convince [url=http://www.wifarmtechnologydays.com/]Farm Technology Days[/url] officials to permanently locate there.But, to hear the General Manager of FTD tell it, it?s hard to see where it would make a lot of sense.
Since it started in 1954, Farm Technology Days has moved from county to county. Glenn Thompson is quick to point out the benefits of such an arrangement, including the free volunteer labor.
"When you move to a different situation, why, you're moving from a volunteer system to a paid employee system," Thompson notes.
It takes upwards of 800 volunteers to run FTD every year.
Thompson concedes it?s sometimes difficult to find host counties given the large sacrifices of time and capital needed to host the event.
"You don't get a lot of applications, but we have enough connections that we find enough counties that are willing to support this opportunity, so, we usually have one or two good ones each year," Thompson says.
FTD is a ?not for profit? operated by a 15-member board.
They recently spent ?big bucks? to look at whether a permanent site would be better. The group determined it would be better to keep the show on the road.
Thompson says he?d ?never say never?, but there would have to be a lot of ?freebies? for the board to take the plunge.
For instance, the 75 acres plotted out on a conceptual map of the park wouldn?t be enough.
"That hardly takes care of our Tent City requirements, which are, right now, 65 acres," Thompson claims.
The show would need another 100 acres for parking and an area for equipment demonstrations.
"I know, you'll get the word out from those people that adjoining farmers may be willing to cooperate, and that may be true. When you talk about purchasing land at $4,000 or $5,000 per acre, nowadays, you need a lot of bucks just for a land base."
Plus, Thompson says there are few hotels in the local area.
It?s not all negative: Thompson says shows in the central part of the state tend to draw better crowds, the proposed area near the Clark County Health Care Center is right on STH 29 and the group from Clark County is the only one pursuing FTD at this time.
Sheila Nyberg of the Clark County Economic Development Corporation said last week their goal was to have Farm Technology Days move to Clark County by 2013.
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