2020 Four State Farm Show canceled due to COVID-19 

  Wednesday, July 8, 2020 4:10 PM
  People and Society, News

Pittsburg, KS

The 2020 Four State Farm Show, planned by Farm Talk Newspaper to be held in July on the Pittsburg State University campus, is canceled. 

“Given the surge in COVID-19 cases in the region, we are unfortunately canceling the Farm Show this year,” said Lance Markley, Farm Talk publisher and Four State Farm Show coordinator. “While we are disappointed, we are simply not comfortable with potential exposure to our exhibitors, attendees, and show staff.” 

This is the first year the Farm Show was to be on campus, with vendors scheduled to be both outdoors and indoors at the Robert W. Plaster Center. The show originally was scheduled for May 29-31 but as the pandemic evolved, it was moved to July 24-26.  

“We hoped this would not happen, but it’s the right decision,” said Shawn Naccarato, PSU chief strategy officer. “It aligns with the other health and safety measures we’re taking on our campus, and we are thankful to have a partner like Farm Talk that puts public health first.” 

Annually, the show brings 20,000 visitors in three days and has more than $1 million in economic impact.  

“This is a great disappointment, but we fully support the decision,” said Devin Gorman, director of the Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Public health is the top priority.”  

The decision was made after consulting with public health officials and evaluating the statewide and regional impact COVID-19 is having on communities.  

“The reality is that people, even our vendors, come from all over the region and the country for this event,” said Markley. “We feel the responsible thing to do from a show management standpoint is to cancel and avoid stressing public safety and health services.” 

Pittsburg State University and Farm Talk have a multi-year agreement to host the Farm Show on the PSU campus.  

“We’ll begin planning for next year now,” said Naccarato. “We really look forward to welcoming this event to our campus when it’s safe to do so.”