Crowd power

The crowd surrounding the Hamilton-Maring Auction Group booth in 2025 helped Andrew Hamilton decide that the North American Farm & Power Show in Owatonna was worth coming back to.

“(We) had a really good response,” Hamilton said. “We don't want to miss it now.”

Hamilton’s auction company sells ag land, residential real estate, equipment, vintage toys and antiques. His business is one of 160 showcased at the NAFPS.

In their first year at the show last year, Hamilton said they were kept busy talking with customers who wanted to catch up with himself or Matt Maring.

“We get to hear about stories from years ago, … what's going on and what they're looking for,” Hamilton said. “There (were) times where there (was) over 20 people standing around there. … We just got a lot of traction out there and had a lot of nice things said about us.”

Like Hamilton, Justin Ness, president of Root River Equipment LLC, also appreciates the steady number of customers who attend the show.

“There's no other place that you're going to have so many people that are interested in equipment,” Ness said. “You get in a position to sit in front of people and get asked questions that you're not normally going to get. It's going to keep you sharper, and it's also going to help the customers know who you are.”

Ness started attending the NAFPS in 2023 at the request of his customers. For Ness, the value of attending the NAFPS is more than the potential sales.

“The best thing is seeing our customers come to visit with us and then seeing our customers interact with (other) potential customers,” Ness said. “We like our equipment and our customers to speak for us.”

Root River Equipment sells and rents equipment, does repairs, and sells parts for tree and landscape equipment as well as agriculture equipment. Ness started his company while in the military. Since then, the company has grown, and Ness retired from the military.

Farm-Tech Inc. in Adams has been a consistent exhibitor at the NAFPS for years before Hamilton or Ness and their companies started attending. John Krull, general manager, said the company has been attending NAFPS for over a decade. Like Ness and Hamilton, Krull said the show is a good place to interact with his customers.

“Being able to … talk to (our customers) all in one day versus scattered throughout several smaller appointments is sure nice for us,” Krull said.

Farm-Tech offers soil sampling and fertilizer recommendations as well as selling irrigation moisture monitoring services, irrigators and precision agriculture automated steering technology.

To keep their booth fresh, Krull said they try to switch up what customers see each year while maintaining a similar booth location year to year so their customers can find them.

“Our technology is really going to showcase at the booth this year,” Krull said. “I'm excited that we're going to display a lot more technology than we ever have in the past. … Hopefully, we can get some people to play with our toys.”

The booth will be interactive. Education is part of what Krull and other staff at Farm-Tech focus on during customer interactions, he said.

“We get out and show people the new technologies and the new things that we can offer and the ways that we can basically improve their (return on investment) or improve their way of farming,” Krull said.

Like Farm-Tech, Ness said the Root River Equipment booth also gets refreshed each year. This year, they have two new lines of equipment to display, and their booth will include their new lawn mowers, snow blowers and more. Ness said his business connects with a variety of customers from homeowners to companies and government contracts.

“It doesn't matter the size,” he said. “It could be one guy with a push mower out mowing lawns or up to the government level. … Everybody gets treated the same.”

As a recent business to join the NAFPS, Hamilton said he encourages other businesses considering attending to be prepared with a well-executed booth.

“Have a booth that represents your company well and can answer some questions and bring people in,” Hamilton said. “Something that can set yourself apart from the next person.”

Attending the show is educational for him and his staff, Hamilton said.

“We also farm ourselves, so it's nice for us to go out there and see what our customers are liking or wanting,” he said. “It keeps us up to date (and) current with things that are going on around us.”

The show also allows the company to connect with people they normally do not visit with.

“It's nice to see them at that level, and we can spend a little more time with them and give them more service,” he said.

Farm-Tech, like many other businesses, attends multiple shows and conferences each year. The NAFPS however, sets itself apart through the amount of foot traffic, Krull said.

“It's probably one of our most well-attended shows,” Krull said. “They do a really good job of getting the variety of different things at the show for bringing in clientele. … (Also) business-wise, I feel like it's very versatile and well-represented.”