St. Joseph region works toward Agri-Business Expo

Fred Hannah and Kent Brooner have been instrumental in making the Agri-Business Expo become a reality.

The Midland Empire region has been supporting a new and innovative project for several years called the Agri-Business Expo.

This multi-million dollar development will be a place for agriculture enthusiasts to meet, educate, promote, advance and grow. The effort is expected to improve the region’s economy and quality of life by celebrating the history of agriculture in and around St. Joseph.

The facility will be the center of a 145-acre campus located east of St. Joseph. It will house a 210 x 300-foot event center that will include a banquet hall, kitchen, classroom theater, dressing rooms, concession areas, restrooms, show arena, warm-up area and livestock stalls with wash racks. The campus will be home to financial institutions, retail stores and overnight lodging.

MoDOT awarded the group an economic development grant for a new Highway 36 interchange, expected to be completed in 2017. Additionally, the Missouri Development Finance Board awarded the center $1.9 million in 50 percent state tax credits for five years.

By its fifth year of operation, the expo is estimated to generate more than $54 million, initiate $11 million in increased earnings and create at least 450 full-time jobs.

There are several levels of membership for individuals and businesses that would like to support the expo. They include explorer, $100, pioneer, $500, or homesteader, $1,000. For more information, call Sharon Cornelius, expo president and CEO, at 816.273.0590, by mail at 224 North Seventh Street, St. Joseph, MO 64501 or visit the website at agexpocenter.org.