FARGO, N.D. - Last year, the Big Iron International Visitors Program had only about 50 delegates - one of the smallest groups since the program's inceptions in 2007. The program had record applications, but visa problems kept many people from making it to the Big Iron Farm Show.
To keep that from happening again, the North Dakota Trade Office worked closely with the U.S. Commercial Service office in Fargo. The Commercial Service's international offices worked with embassies to help potential delegates go through the visa interview process, explained Lindsey Warner, director of marketing and events for the North Dakota Trade Office.
"So we didn't face quite as many visa issues as we had in the past," she said.
"This year, our multilingual team member Joshua Erickson sent hundreds of personalized and timely messages and reminders to our vast network of contacts, and due to the effectiveness of this strategy, we expect strong participation," said Heather Ranck, director of the U.S. Commercial Service in Fargo, in a statement.
The collaboration with the U.S. Commercial Service played a large role in getting the biggest International Visitors program delegation since 2013 to the annual farm show held at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds in West Fargo. More than 100 people from more than 15 countries attended the show. Warner said the largest numbers came from Romania, Russia, Ethiopia, Uruguay and Kenya.
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Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford and North Dakota companies welcomed delegates to North Dakota on Monday, Sept. 9, during a lunch and exhibition in Fargo. Later that day, delegates attended a farm tour and welcome reception. At Big Iron, the visitors were able to meet one-on-one with North Dakota companies. They also got to tour dealerships and take in some educational sessions.
North Dakota company participants included agricultural equipment manufacturers and dealers, agriculture service providers, commodity storage and processing equipment manufacturers, educational institutions and research specialists.
In an uncertain era in trade, Warner said maintaining contact with potential trade partners is increasingly important.
"With some of the trade issues that we've been facing over the last few years, like the tariffs and the trade war, it's really great to still be able to bring a large delegation back and keep the relationships growing and the communication happening and keep trade going with our trading partners and also trying to look at new markets for a lot of our businesses," she said.
