45 Degrees North: Why Go To A Farm Show?

A Wisconsin couple with no farm and no chickens drove 160 miles round trip to attend Wisconsin's 2026 Farm Technology Days, drawn first by a free DNR nitrate screening for well water that would otherwise cost $25 through the county.

The show turned out to run on volunteer labor from civic groups, and offered demonstrations including a confined space rescue, a tractor rollover simulation, a Stop The Bleed training, and an agricultural drone spraying water over a curious crowd.

The FRESH tent, a collaboration among rural health and safety organizations, handed out tick collection kits and 911 preparedness posters instead of the pencils and rulers of the writer's youth.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.