Sunbelt Ag Expo history

The 1980 show also featured the addition of 20 new shuttle wagons to transport visitors to the harvesting and tillage demonstrations.

Cotton module builders were a new innovation used for the first time during the 1981 Expo.

A new special exhibit section during the 1982 show introduced farmers to wide variety of information available from then-new desktop computers.

The 1987 Expo also saw Kelley Manufacturing Company introduce the industry’s first four-row peanut combine.

The 1988 show featured a new pavilion to house beef cattle exhibits.

Cutting horse demonstrations were a new attraction during the 1989 Expo.

Young Farmer chapters competed in the first barbeque pork cooking contest during the 1991 Expo.

Another new exhibit section saw the debut of antique farm tractors during the 1992 Expo. Based on exhibit numbers in 1992, the Expo became the second largest farm show in the United States One new exhibit section in the 1992 show welcomed ostrich, emu and rhea birds.

Former President Jimmy Carter visited the 1996 Expo.

The 1997 Expo featured a fourth new permanent agribusiness building.

A new exhibit during the 1998 show featured 12 colleges represented in the Land Grant University tent.

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College also opened a new permanent exhibit building during the 1999 Expo.

The 2000 Expo featured new exhibits from Mahindra that had recently entered the United States small tractor market, along with new models of the Mule all terrain vehicle from Kawasaki.

In 2002, the Expo’s beef cattle pavilion was named in honor of Patten.

A new cotton picker from John Deere helped to pick some of the Expo’s cotton that was planted in 15-inch rows in 2004.

The first broadband cloud allowing quick, wireless access to email and the internet was provided for visitors attending the 2006 Expo.

A new aquaculture exhibit section was one of the highlights of the 2007 Expo.

One of the highlights of the 2011 Expo was a new exhibit building near the show site’s main gate sponsored by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and Georgia Farm Bureau.

The 2014 Expo saw the introduction of a new Rural Lifestyle exhibit section with displays and seminars geared to backyard gardening, backyard poultry, locally grown food crops and organic crop production.