Mark Brown of Perlee Ag Services LLC shows off a new model of his company's agricultural drones that can be used for spraying or seeding. Perlee Ag Services was one of 35 businesses and organizations that had a booth at the Kenny Norton Southeast Iowa Farm Show on Saturday, March 1. (Andy Hallman/The Union)

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FAIRFIELD – More than 500 people turned out for the 10th Annual Kenny Norton Southeast Iowa Farm Show Saturday, March 1 at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center.

The agricultural expo featured 35 booths of vendors and organizations, guest speakers, a chance to get up close to farm implements parked outside, and lunch from the Jefferson County Pork Producers.

Niccole Giberson, audience services manager at the arts center, said the farm show was a great success, and served as a connection point between businesses and the community.

“We were thrilled to feature presenters from Iowa State Extension and Outreach, experts in their respective fields, who brought insightful knowledge and strengthened community engagement,” she said.

Jefferson County ISU Extension was one of the organizations to have a booth, which included leaflets advertising the office’s upcoming programs like the Lorax Day Camp on March 19 and the Seed Starting Workshop on March 20. Not only that, but the office was giving away seed packets of early sunflowers and purple coneflowers.

“The coneflowers are perennials that you can put out in the next couple of weeks,” said Extension County Director Courtney Burkhalter. “There are quite a few of these I’ve seen around the square.”

Shawn Peck, a member of the Jefferson County Fair Board, was there to talk about the upcoming Greater Jefferson County Fair in June, which will feature grandstand acts such as dirt drags, tractor pull, quad races and “crash for clunkers.”

The businesses Straight Up Doors and Live Wire Electric set up a booth to show off their products in an inventive way. Employee Trenton Nelson showed off a miniature garage door that a few workers built on a slow day. The mini-garage door is fully functional and is connected to an electric drive train with working buttons and sensors. It’s a great way to show customers, on a small scale, exactly what they can expect from the company.

“We took a few panels our suppliers offer and turned it into a working door,” Nelson said. “The bottom [panel] has Styrofoam insulation, and the top one has a steel backing, showing off our different options.”

Nelson said he and co-workers just built the mini-garage door a few weeks ago specifically for the farm show.

“We may end up displaying it in the office,” he said.

Nelson said he’s proud of the company winning the Reader’s Choice Award for Best Customer Service, and the electric company winning the award for Best Electrician.

“We’re proud of both of those awards, and will try our best to get them again next year,” he said.

Another business with an eye-catching display was Perlee Ag Services LLC, which showed off its agricultural drone that can be used for spraying or seeding fields. Brandin Lange, co-owner of the business, said the drone can be operated manually but most of the time it flies autonomously, guided by GPS.

“You set the boundary of the field up and it makes its own guidance lines to follow,” Lange said. “If we have to do some spot spraying, then we’ll fly it manually.”

Perlee Ag Services LLC sells and leases drones, and Lange said the market for them has really taken off in the last few years. Lange and Mark Brown are co-owners of the business, founded in early 2024. Lange said they had a good time talking to visitors to Saturday’s farm show.

“Everyone is very interested in seeing the new technology,” he said.