Nearly 300 companies will fill the Denny Sanford Premier Complex in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for the 2016 Central Plains Dairy Expo March 29-31.
The Central Plains Dairy Expo has become one of the largest all-dairy trade shows held between World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, and World Ag Expo, in Tulare, California. It has become a trade show for everyone in the dairy industry – milk producers, calf and heifer growers, dairy-beef feeders and dairy forage and grain growers.
This year, country music singer and hit-maker Craig Morgan kicks off the Central Plains Dairy Expo. He’ll perform in concert at the welcome reception Tuesday, March 29. The welcome reception begins at 5:30 p.m. The concert is at about 7:30 p.m. Morgan is perhaps best known for his song, “What I Love About Sunday.” The welcome reception and concert sponsors include Valley Queen Cheese Factory, First Bank and Trust, Agropur, Farm Credit Services and Land O’Lakes.
The all-indoor trade show on Wednesday, March 30, begins with an ag prayer breakfast at 7:30 a.m., hosted by the Western Iowa Dairy Alliance. Tickets to the prayer breakfast are $20 each.
Free, free, free
Nearly everything else at the Central Plains Dairy Expo is free. Parking is free. Trade show admission is free.
Admission to the welcome reception and concert is free to dairy producers, calf and heifer growers, dairy-beef feeders and forage growers and their families, their employees and their employees’ families. Tickets for exhibitors and sponsors are included with their booths and sponsorships.
Many hotels are running free shuttle service to the welcome reception and concert.
The food at the welcome reception is free. (There is a cash bar.)
Much of the food at the trade show is free. Several companies are providing lunch on Wednesday for their customers. Concession stands will also be open in the trade show. At the end of the trade show on Wednesday, a free wine, beer and cheese social will be held in the exhibit halls.
Fifteen companies are presenting free seminars each day of the trade show. There are also three free workshops presented in Spanish – one Wednesday and two Thursday.
Easy to get to
The Central Plains Dairy Expo is easy to get to. It is held at the Denny Sanford Premier Center, which is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, south of the junction of Interstates 90 and 29. Take I-29 exit 81 and follow the signs to the Denny Sanford Premier Center about 1 ¾ miles east of the interstate. If you are flying into Sioux Falls, the venue is easy to find. It is located only about five minutes from the airport.
Name badges
You can pre-register for your name badge, which is your VIP pass to everything at the Central Plains Dairy Expo, by visiting the expo’s website.
You can also register for a name badge on-site all day Tuesday, March 29, and also during the trade show Wednesday and Thursday, March 30 and 31. PD
—From Central Plains Dairy Expo news release
PHOTO: Country music hit-maker Craig Morgan kicks off the expo with a concert on March 29. Photo provided by Central Plains Dairy Expo.
