Thill family keeps farm show alive

As thousands of farmers poured into the North American Farm Show in Owatonna last week, Jeff Thill had every reason to swell with pride.

Thill’s late father, John “Jack” Thill Jr., started the show nearly four decades ago. And today Jeff Thill is continuing with his father’s legacy by producing what’s believed to be one of the biggest farm shows in the Midwest.

“He was a quick learner,” Jeff said of his father. “My brother recalls him saying, ‘We don’t know what the hell we’re doing.’”

But the Thills have proven they know something about agriculture.

Jeff Thill, who is a retired attorney from the Twin Cities, owns Tradexpos in Austin, the company that produces not only the North American Farm Show but also similar shows in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Topeka, Kansas.

This year’s Owatonna show attracted just over 13,000 people during its three-day run at the Four Seasons Centre in Owatonna, according to Dan Slowinski, manager of the show. He said attendance was up about 300 from the previous year with the busiest day on Friday. The show was sold out with 166 vendors and a waiting list of dozens wanting to get in.

While Fort Wayne is the largest show with attendance at 28,000, Slowinski is happy with the success they have achieved in Owatonna. “The ag community in and around Owatonna keeps supporting us,” he said. “It allows us to get top-notch exhibitors, and they feed off each other,” he added.

Jeff recalls his father’s humble beginnings with farm shows. After operating a farm implement business in Rose Creek, where he sold Minneapolis-Moline and Oliver farm equipment, he branched out to start a business constructing grain bins. Jack Thill closed the implement business in 1980.

However, Jack didn’t want to give up on agriculture. He took a trip to Peoria, Ill., to set up a farm show. The show proved to be a resounding success and evolved into Tradexpos.

“He used his influence with all the ag people in the state to do ag shows,” Jeff said of his father.

For Jeff Thill, the success of the farm shows boils down to one thing. “It really is a people business,” he said. “We surround ourselves with good people.”

The Minnesota show initially started in Minneapolis, but Tradexpos moved it to Owatonna in 2003. “Working with the people down here are amazing,” Jeff said.

Slowinski echoes Thill’s thoughts about the people.

“It reminds me of a family reunion,” Slowinski said. “You’re seeing people that you haven’t seen for 361 days.”

One of the challenges, Jeff Thill said, is keeping up with the technology of the industry. “Technology keeps changing, and we just try to keep up with it all,” he said.

Tradexpos’ goals with the farm shows are to sell, educate and provide information. Education is huge because the biggest thing in the farm industry is “being efficient and not wasting time or money,” Slowinski said.

“I want the average farmer to come through and say this was beneficial in their buying decisions,” Slowinski said. “It meaningful to look someone in the eye, shake hands and you’re really building a relationship.”

This year’s show attracted at least one national company, Bad Dog Tools from Rhode Island, featuring cutting and drilling tools.

“The word is spreading how good this show is,” Slowinski said.

And much of that falls back on the Thill family for their desire to build strong shows over the past 38 years.

“We are very happy with the way show business is progressing,” Jeff Thill said.