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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Ag Expo highlights trends in data use, outdoor technology

Marcus Lung with Soucy International cleans up the track system for a Case Magnum 340 tractor during exhibitor setup Monday for the 2015 Ag Expo and Pacific Northwest Farm Forum at the Spokane Convention Center. (Colin Mulvany)

Bigger digs for the Spokane Ag Expo this year means more room for a variety of technological innovations.

“It’s not just about the tractors,” said David Dobbins, president of the Ag Expo’s board of directors.

There are tractors filling the Spokane Convention Center’s expanded exhibit space. But the more than 280 companies and organizations exhibiting in the expo’s 38th year have more than just hulking farm equipment to show off.

Spokane Valley-headquartered Berg is trying to enter the commercial market after providing camping equipment to the military for more than a century with “The Rugged Cabin.” What appears to be a simple shipping container from the outside is actually a cozy, 160-square-foot, plywood-finished cabin the company can customize to your liking. The $12,000 bare-bones unit on the trade show floor is just the beginning of the company’s plans to provide an array of options to outdoors enthusiasts.

“We have solar, we also have wind energy capabilities,” said Andy Brunsch, director of consumer sales at Berg and one of five workers who moved the container from a flatbed trailer into the convention center on wheeled platforms Monday afternoon. “It’s basically whatever you want to do, we can do it.”

The shipping container design was chosen for its ability to withstand extreme weather and its nondescript appearance. While the model expo-goers will see this week has a side door built into the frame of the shipping container, Berg is working on a model that will have a false wall that will completely conceal the fact that there’s a cabin inside.

“Out in the middle of nowhere, you don’t have to worry about a bear breaking in here,” Brunsch said. “No guy can break into this thing.”

Dobbins said the Ag Expo is embracing new ideas in its slate of programming as well. One of the scheduled panels addresses the collection of data by computerized combines, and who owns that information. It’s a talk that could just as easily take place at a techie conference around the region.

“Whose data is that? Does it belong to the landlord, the operator, the government?” Dobbins said. “When you rent a piece of equipment, does it belong to that company? It’s a question that’s starting to be asked around here.”

Those seeking traditional tractor and combine fare will have plenty to choose from. John Deere, Case IH and Gleaner have hillside combines on display, with other companies displaying a wide array of sprayers, balers, stackers and tillage machines.

Devin Thompson, a sales representative with Gleaner, stepped down from one of the company’s S78 models to show how the combine’s air blast system levels grains on sloped surfaces. Thompson has been attending Ag Expo for 20 years, and said the new setup in the expanded convention center will give attendees a better experience.

“Before, half of the expo would be over in another building,” he said.

Dobbins, a third-generation family farmer on land near Cheney, said the goal of the event is to provide an engaging experience for a new generation of growers. The Ag Expo board expects to attract about 5,000 people to the Convention Center this week.

“Times are changing,” Dobbins said. “A new generation is coming back to the farm.”