The Farm Progress Show will return as scheduled to Illinois in 2021, despite the companys shift to a virtual show in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Were sticking with the schedule weve been on since 2005, where odd-numbered years are held in Decatur, Ill., and even-numbered years are in Boone, Iowa, says Matt Jungmann, national events director for Farm Progress.

And while it may sound easy to shift the schedule and hold a live show in Iowa next year, nothing is that simple.

It sounds simple because the facilities are sitting there, Jungmann says. But the facilities arent the problem; its all the contracts written around them.

He points to contracts such as hotels, which are already booked in Decatur for 2021, and some in Boone for 2022. International groups make plans years in advance. Jungmann knows of one group already planning for Boone in 2024.

In fact, Farm Progress Shows are contracted for years and decades in advance. Jungmann says they signed a 20-year contract with Decatur in 2005, which will expire in 2025. They signed a contract with Boone in 2008, and in 2016, they added another 20 years, which means the Boone site is contracted through 2036.

Jungmann says the company has every intention of renewing the Decatur contract. Were working hard on a renewal in Decatur, he adds. Were hopeful we can get all the parties around the table to get the extension done.