The Farm City Ag & Home Expo, a new signature event for the Hermiston Herald, will be held at Hermiston's Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center Feb. 24-25, 2023.

HERMISTON — Event organizers for the inaugural Farm City Ag & Home Expo saw an opportunity to re-create the magic that was the Farm Fair.

The newly created expo is sponsored in part by the Hermiston Herald, Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center, the Oregon State University Extension Service and the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce.

“We are really excited to be bringing this event to western Umatilla County,” Karrine Brogoitti, EO Media Group regional revenue director, said. “This is something the Hermiston Herald and EO Media Group are really proud to be a part of.”

Brogoitti said the new event is a chance to bring people back together live and in-person to EOTEC, much like the Farm Fair used to do prior to the pandemic. The expo runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, and Saturday, Feb. 25.

The Farm Fair, which was a signature showcase for Oregon State University’s Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center, typically drew hundreds of people to EOTEC.

However, like a number of events across Oregon, in 2020 the event went virtual due to statewide restrictions on large indoor gatherings to slow the spread of COVID-19. The Hermiston Chamber of Commerce normally partnered with OSU on the Hermiston Farm Fair, helping to provide a venue and sponsorships. The Farm Fair remains a virtual event, offering recertification and accreditation classes for farmers and ranchers.

“(The chamber) basically didn’t have the bandwidth to continue doing it,” Brogoitti said. “They didn’t have the people to help coordinate it. The pandemic happened so they couldn’t have the event in person so they discontinued Farm Fair as it was, but it has continued.”

Brogoitti said when discussions began in October about hosting an ag show, it was important to have EOTEC, OSU and the Hermiston chamber as partners in the event.

“We went to them and told them our plan, this is what we want to do,” she said. “We asked if they were comfortable with us doing this and they were very receptive and supportive.”

The Hermiston Herald’s Umatilla County territory sales manager, Angel Aguilar, said the response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive.

“People are excited about this,” he said. “We have multiple expos like this surrounding our area, but nothing like this in Eastern Oregon.”

With still three weeks until start time, more than 20 vendors have committed to having booths at Farm City. Aguilar said he expects additional companies to join.

Brogoitti said attendance could be more than 500 visitors between the two days, with a smaller group on the first day and more people on the second day.

The first day of the expo will focus on a series of expert-led classes. The expo has applied for Oregon Department of Agriculture and Washington State Department of Agriculture recertification credits. Event organizers are anticipating four to five credits.

The second day is family day and will feature booths and demonstrations. Children-friendly activities, food and more are also planned. Organizers are boasting of a dancing horse show at the expo, too.

There may be a bounce house, if the weather permits it, Aguilar said.

Aguilar added he might even bring his bull, Stanley, to the expo to join other animals at the petting zoo, which will be part of the fun offered as well.

Just like Feb. 24, the Feb. 25 activities also include classes. The second day’s focus, though, will be on home- and garden-related topics.

For the Hermiston Herald, the goal is having a successful first event and to make the Farm City Ag & Home Expo a signature event moving forward and getting the Herald out in front of people who may not be readers.

“This (expo) brings us out in the open,” said the Hermiston Herald’s office coordinator/territory sales assistant, Audra Workman.

Friday, Feb. 24

Doors open at 8 a.m. Expo runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

9 a.m.: “Controlling Cheatgrass with Gibberellic Acid and Pre-emergent Herbicides” by Jacob Paul

10 a.m.: “Weed Management and Soil-Active Chemistry in Fields of Fallow” by Larry Lutcher

11 a.m.: “Principles of Insect Integrated Pest Management” by Time Waters

1 p.m.: “Use and Benefits of Seed Treatments on Grain and Pulse Crops” by Bob Kolva

2 p.m.: “Plant Disease Identification, Diagnosis and Management” by Ken Frost

3 p.m.: “Forage Biomass under Different Alfalfa-Grass Configurations and Irrigation Regimes in the Columbia Basin” by Ruijun Qin

Saturday, Feb. 25

Doors open at 8 a.m. Expo runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Vendor booths, drone demonstrations, petting zoo, dancing horse show, food booths and more.

Hourly seminars for homeowners and garden enthusiasts on topics including:

• “Breaking Down Compost” by Amanda Woodlee
• “Water-wise Landscaping and Gardening” by Cody Copp
• “Cooking on a Budget” by Carolina Muniz
• “Using Chickens as Tools” by Chris Schachtschneider
• “Pollinators: Care and Feeding” by Andrea Mann