At left, a young visitor investigates a field of corn, one of nine crops
  featured at Agri-Land, a new exhibit at this year's Minnesota State Fair.
  Above, fair visitors inspect the "old iron" of antique farm equipment.
  Many are Minnesota-made, including the 1912 kerosene powered tractor
  shown at upper right.

By Dan Lemke

St. Paul, Minn. -- They came to the Minnesota State Fair in record-breaking numbers this year -- 1,683,454 people attended the once-a-year event, one of the top five fairs in North America.

Thousands of those visitors trekked to the north end of the fairgrounds to visit Agri-Land in its inaugural season. Agri-Land, the fair's newest permanent exhibit, displays the connection between ag technology and consumer products.

"We tried to focus on an aspect of agriculture that hadn't been showcased at the fair before," says State Fair marketing director Susan Ritt. "We've shown the grass roots agriculture with the livestock, and the end product with more than 300 food booths, but we hadn't shown the high tech and new uses aspect."

AURI, the University of Minnesota Extension Service and the USDA Agricultural Research Service were the leading exhibitors in Agri-Land. Many of the products and processes AURI has championed were featured, including paper pulp made from corn stalks, natural campfire starters utilizing ag byproducts, and an experimental gradient-force grain mill.

With antique tractors and crop plots as a backdrop, visitors to Agri-Land could see new products made from farm commodities, learn how technology helps keep their food supply safe, and test their knowledge of Minnesota agriculture.

"Many of the people who came through the building learned for the first time about the innovative new uses being developed right here in Minnesota," says David Bartholomay, AURI deputy director for planning and development. "It was a good start, and it gives us something to build on for next year."

"The first year was very successful, especially since we weren't sure what to expect," Ritt adds. "It was well received by the public and the media, plus there have been a number of agricultural groups who have already expressed an interest in being a part of it next year.

"This wasn't a one time thing. We plan to build on this well into the future."