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CAFES History

California Antique Farm Equipment Show an event for the entire family

Standing outside at the International Agri-Center in Tulare, California, a person can look to the west and see the Highway 99, with an average of 60,000 speeding cars and trucks passing by each day.

But when you look to the east, the horizon is lined with fields of crops, orchards and dairies. If you close your eyes, you can picture the horse-drawn plows cultivating the fields, or the antique tractors chugging along pulling their harrows. Tulare is in the heart of the Central Valley, the very pulse of California’s agriculture. In our agriculture soils, there is a lot of history here, a heritage that can not be forgotten.

In 1993, the first California Antique Farm Equipment Show was held at the International Agri-Center to help keep that agriculture heritage alive. Long-time Agri-Center volunteers, George Watte and Robby Soults traveled down to Vista, California to attend an antique farm equipment show. On their journey home, they said, “We oughta be having a show like this, we’ve got the place.”

Watte had a few pieces of antique equipment he had been collecting over the years, and a number of other Agri-Center volunteers shared the same passion. An event featuring antique farm equipment would show today’s generations the equipment of yesterday and give them the opportunity to be educated on the development of farming throughout the years.

Watte served as the Chairman for the first two years the California Antique Farm Equipment Show was held. The first show was a huge success, and by the third year, it had tripled in size.

Today, the California Antique Farm Equipment Show is an event for the entire family. The show draws antique farm equipment collectors from throughout the United States, bringing their antique tractors, engines, and implements once used to cultivate the soils.

Each year the show features an antique equipment auction, craftsmen demonstrations, a daily antique tractor parade, a swap meet, arts and crafts booths, an antique tractor-pull, a children’s area- “Kiddie Korral,” a rib cook-off, a steak barbeque dinner and concert, and much more.

The California Antique Farm Equipment Show started as a dream of the volunteers, and today, it has become a successful reality, enjoyed by all who step through the gates.