Ag Expo visitors learned about quick, easy and nutritious snacks during cooking presentations in the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources tent.

Nearly 13,000 visitors attended Michigan State University’s 2005 Ag Expo. Throughout the show, visitors from across the Great Lakes region came to see and test different farming equipment, while others attended educational sessions on such topics as dairy marketing, manure management, on-farm fuel storage, preparing for college and horse facility risk assessment. A large crowd also attended the antique tractor and garden tractor pulling contests.

A youngster completes a craft in the MSU College of Natural Resources tent. More than 7,000 visitors toured the tent, which featured educational displays focused on MSU’s research, education and extension activities aimed at Michigan communities, agriculture and natural resources.

The All-Colors Tractor Club gave Ag Expo visitors a look into the past with a large collection of antique tractors.

Ag Expo visitors closely examine the one-quarter scale tractor that was constructed by students in the MSU Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering.

A competitor working toward a full pull in competition at Ag Expo’s first tractor pull.

A competitor takes part in Ag Expo’s first tractor pull.

Commercial vendors had the chance to speak with potential customers at Ag Expo.

Ag Expo brought about 15,600 people to the MSU campus.

Equipment, fertilizer, herbicide, seeds, trucks, trailers and buildings were among the items on display at Ag Expo.

An Ag Expo visitor signs a birthday card for Michigan State University’s 150 th birthday in the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources tent.

MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Dean Jeffrey Armstrong bores a soil core as part of ceremonies marking the completion of the Michigan Soil Survey. The Natural Resources Conservation Service hosted the celebration. The soil survey was more than a century in the making, involving 246 scientists who evaluated every acre in Michigan’s 83 counties and identified more than 600 soil series. The survey data will be used to create a map that will provide valuable information to farmers, builders and others who rely on accurate soil analysis.

A Young Ag Expo visitors take part in crafts in the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources tent.

David Morris, of Grand Ledge, accepts a tractor in gratitude from MSU President Lou Anna Simon for his nearly $7.5 million gift to MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.