Coronavirus and Events: The Shows Must Go On . . . For Now
March 30, 2020 With people in numerous states sheltered at home or actively avoiding any large gatherings, one of the causalities has been trade shows. According to most estimates, business-to-business trade shows annually generate billions of dollars in revenues for their sponsors, organizers, and host cities. However, as the coronavirus pandemic has spread across the U.S. since the first of the year, many large trade shows have been postponed or outright cancelled for the 2020 calendar year. This includes some that I used to cover with my previous trade magazines such as the National Restaurant Association Annual Meeting and the Sweets & Snacks Expo. Both of these events, which attract approximately 60,000 attendees combined, were originally scheduled to take place during May in Chicago, IL.
For the agricultural marketplace, the trade show timing is a bit more forgiving. The 2020 Commodity Classic was held at the end of February in San Antonio, TX – approximately two weeks before most states started issuing their “stay-at-home” orders to residents. Furthermore, since field work and plantings take precedent during the spring months for most of agriculture, the trade show schedule tends to be relatively light until July rolls around.
Right now, most ag retailers and their grower-customers are likely looking forward to two late summer trade shows – the 2020 InfoAg Conference in St. Louis, MO, at the end of July, and the 2020 Midwest AG Industries Exposition (MAGIE), slated for the end of August in Bloomington, IL. For the time being, both of these events are planning to go on as scheduled.
Loading ...Now owned by The Fertilizer Institute with assistance from Meister Media Worldwide (CropLife magazine’s parent company), the 2020 InfoAg Website displays the following message regarding the coronavirus pandemic and its event timing: “As our member community makes plans to join us in July, we want to assure our exhibitors, attendees, speakers, and partners that we are proceeding as planned to hold a safe, productive, and successful event. The safety of our show community remains our highest priority and we continue to monitor the COVID-19 developments closely, following the guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.”
As for the 2020 MAGIE show, event sponsor the Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association (IFCA) continues to plan for the gathering to take place. “We did talk about contingencies with COVID-19, but decided that we could make such a decision in early July if needed and that would still be plenty of time to cancel if we had to,” says IFCA President Jean Payne, regarding the association’s recent 2020 MAGIE planning conference call. “I sure hope that doesn’t happen.”
So, for now, the trade shows ag retailers know and love that take place later in the summer are still on schedule. Here’s hoping that remains the case as the calendar turns from spring to summer and the aftereffects of the coronavirus pandemic have started to pass.
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