National Farm Machinery Show 2027: Dates, Costs & Attendees
By Ilyas Kerbal,
The National Farm Machinery Show 2027 runs from 10 to 13 February at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. It is the biggest indoor farm show in the United States, and every winter it pulls in around 188,000 visits from growers, dealers and agribusiness buyers who want to compare equipment before spring planting.
Admission is free, which explains the crowds. For anyone selling into agriculture, that is both the opportunity and the challenge: the right buyers are definitely in the building, but so are tens of thousands of casual visitors. This guide covers the practical details and how to find the buyers who matter.
National Farm Machinery Show 2027 at a glance
| Next edition | 10-13 February 2027 |
| Venue | Kentucky Exposition Center |
| City | Louisville, Kentucky, USA |
| Typical month | February |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Attendance | ~188,000 visits (largest US show by attendance, TSNN 2024) |
| Exhibitors | 800-900 companies across 1.2 million sq ft indoors |
| Industry | Agriculture machinery & farm technology |
| Organizer | Kentucky Venues / Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center |
| Official website | farmmachineryshow.org |
NFMS in a nutshell
The National Farm Machinery Show is the biggest indoor agricultural exhibition in the United States and has run for more than 60 years. Every February, equipment makers, dealers, seed and input suppliers and ag-tech startups fill 1.2 million square feet of the Kentucky Exposition Center to show the season’s new machinery, precision-farming technology and services to farm operators from across the Midwest and South.
Entry is free, which drives very high attendance, and the evening Championship Tractor Pull in Freedom Hall gives the show a festival feel. Free seminars cover farm management, markets and technology. It is a buying-season event: many growers come to compare brands side by side before spring planting.
Where does NFMS take place?
Kentucky Exposition Center, 937 Phillips Lane, Louisville, KY. The show uses the venue’s full indoor halls plus Freedom Hall (tractor pull) and Broadbent Arena (pit area).
Does it change location? No. It has been held in Louisville every February for decades and is tied to the Kentucky Exposition Center.
Tractor plowing a field with a trailer. Photo by Hannah Shedrow on Unsplash.
Who you’ll meet at NFMS
- Row-crop and livestock farm operators and family farm owners
- Equipment dealers and dealership staff
- Agribusiness buyers and co-op managers
- Ag lenders, insurers and advisors
- Students, FFA members and the farming public
Expect a broad audience where purchasing often runs through dealers, distributors or buying committees. Mapping who is coming, and from which companies, is what turns the visit into pipeline.
Exhibiting or attending NFMS? I can deliver the NFMS attendee and exhibitor list, enriched with job titles, company size, industry and LinkedIn profiles, as a CRM-ready file before the event starts. Ask for your NFMS list on Prospector
Industries and niches covered
- Tractors, combines, planters and tillage equipment
- Precision agriculture: GPS guidance, sensors, drones, farm-management software
- Grain handling, storage and drying
- Livestock equipment and facilities
- Ag finance, insurance and land services
- Seed, crop protection and fertilizer suppliers
Why B2B teams should care about NFMS
Farm equipment purchases are big, seasonal and often made after weeks of comparing brands. NFMS lands right in that window. Growers walk the halls with a specific machine or upgrade in mind, and dealers use the show to meet the manufacturers they represent.
If you sell precision-ag software, financing, parts or services, the most valuable people here are dealership principals, large-farm operators and co-op managers. They are a small share of total attendance, which is why knowing who registered, and from which operations, matters more than raw foot traffic.
Is NFMS right for your team?
Go if you sell into agriculture and want face time with operators, dealers or distributors you can’t easily reach online. The show is excellent for relationships and market intelligence.
Think twice if you need senior corporate buyers only. Many NFMS visitors are hands-on operators, so plan for filtering and don’t judge success purely by badge scans.
How much does NFMS cost?
| Option | Price / details |
|---|---|
| Show admission | free |
| Parking | |
| Championship Tractor Pull | separately ticketed (Freedom Hall) |
| Typical cost | $0 for entry; budget ~$20/day for parking plus tractor-pull tickets if wanted. |
Prices change between editions and by registration date, so treat these as a guide and check farmmachineryshow.org before you buy.
Event app and digital platform
The show has offered an official NFMS mobile app in past editions (exhibitor list, floor maps, seminar schedule). The 2026 visitor page does not mention it, so check the website ahead of the 2027 show.
Event apps are built for attendees, not for sales teams. You can usually browse profiles one by one, but connection requests are capped, many profiles are half empty, and there is rarely an export button. That makes the app useful on site and frustrating for planning.
Pros and cons of NFMS
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Free admission means enormous foot traffic and reach into the farming community | Very mixed audience: many casual visitors and families, so lead quality varies |
| Strong OEM presence (Deere, Case IH, Kubota, AGCO brands, etc.) makes it a reference show for ag machinery | Buyers are farmers and dealers, not corporate procurement, sales cycles run through dealer networks |
| Excellent for brand awareness, lead capture and dealer networking in the Midwest/South | Hotels in Louisville fill fast and prices spike during show week |
| Timed before spring planting, when purchase decisions are being made | Limited structured meeting or matchmaking program |
How to prospect at NFMS
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 6-8 weeks before | Get the attendee and exhibitor list. Segment it by job title, company size and industry, and remove existing customers and competitors. |
| 3-5 weeks before | Start outreach on email and LinkedIn. Mention the event, give a specific reason to meet and offer two or three time slots. |
| Show week | Confirm every meeting 48 hours ahead, keep a short list of walk-in targets, and log every conversation in your CRM the same day. |
| 1-5 days after | Follow up while the event is still fresh, then add non-responders to a nurture sequence. |
At NFMS, many serious buyers arrive in the morning and leave before the evening tractor pull. Schedule your priority meetings before lunch and keep afternoons for dealer conversations.
Pre-booked meetings beat booth traffic. If you want a clean, segmented NFMS list to work from, reach out on Prospector and tell me who you want to meet.
Frequently asked questions
When is National Farm Machinery Show 2027?
10-13 February 2027. Dates can shift, so confirm on the official website (farmmachineryshow.org) before booking travel.
Where is NFMS held?
Kentucky Exposition Center, 937 Phillips Lane, Louisville, KY. The show uses the venue’s full indoor halls plus Freedom Hall (tractor pull) and Broadbent Arena (pit area).
Does it move? No. It has been held in Louisville every February for decades and is tied to the Kentucky Exposition Center.
How much does a NFMS ticket cost?
$0 for entry; budget ~$20/day for parking plus tractor-pull tickets if wanted. See the pricing table above for pass types.
Who attends NFMS?
Mainly row-crop and livestock farm operators and family farm owners; equipment dealers and dealership staff; agribusiness buyers and co-op managers; ag lenders, insurers and advisors.
Can I get the NFMS attendee list?
Event organisers rarely sell attendee lists. Prospector builds one for you from the event app and website: attendees, exhibitors and speakers, enriched with job title, company, company size, industry, LinkedIn profile and work email where available, delivered as a CRM-ready file before the event. Ask about NFMS here.
Get the NFMS attendee list
If NFMS is on your calendar, the best time to build your target list is now, while there is still time to book meetings. Contact me on Prospector with the event, your target roles and your CRM, and I’ll tell you what I can deliver and how fast.
Related event guides
- World Ag Expo 2027 Guide: Dates, Tickets & Who Attends
- IPPE 2027 Guide: Atlanta Dates, Registration & Attendees
- MINExpo International 2028: Dates, Venue & Who Attends
Photo credits
- Cover image: Photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash
- In-article image: Photo by Hannah Shedrow on Unsplash
Sources
- Official website: farmmachineryshow.org
- NFMS - Visitor information
- NFMS - Parking
- Farm Progress - NFMS mobile app
Event details were last checked in October 2026. Dates, venues and prices can change, so confirm them on the official event website.