MOULTRIE — Since it sprouted at Spence Field three decades ago with a mere 410 exhibitors, the Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition has flourished and now selectively picks more than 1,200 exhibitors to offer to the estimated 200,000 visitors it attracts to Moultrie each October.

Twenty-six of those first exhibitors have hung on throughout the years and will exhibit once more during the 30th anniversary show set for Oct. 16, 17 and 18.

The farm show, which spans 1,680 acres, is responsible for more than $14 million in economic output for 20 surrounding counties, University of Georgia researchers said.

Sunbelt Expo Executive Director Chip Blalock credited the vision of initial coordinators J.E. Burnside, Ed White and Mayor Willie B. Withers for the farm show’s high standing today.

“The heights it has risen to today is really kind of humbling,” Blalock said Friday. “The success of Expo over the years is built on the fact that we bring the targeted audience to Moultrie for those three days for our exhibitors to interact with. And as a result of the educational process, ultimately do business with.

“They love the hospitality they get in Moultrie, Colquitt County and the South Georgia region that we impact,” he said, “but they come back year after year because the show is a profitable venture for them. That’s why we do what we do the rest of the year going to county agent meetings all over the Southeast, Farm Bureau meetings, Young Farmer meetings, ag teacher meetings, commodity groups and so forth, keeping Expo on their minds and assuring them that’s the time to come to spend a day or three with us so they can see something with us that they can take back to their operation to positively impact their bottom line.”

Thanks to a OneGeorgia grant Spence Field is much more attractive and safe. Gone are the mass of temporary wiring that used to drape haphazardly throughout the ground. In their place are panel boxes. All in all, 130 or so poles were removed, and a much cleaner line is evident. Visitors might notice also fresh coats of paint and more restrooms.

“The silver lining in the grant is by revamping this electrical infrastructure and doing more paving … it’s making us less dependent on city services, which is a big plus,” Blalock said. “Basically, it enhances what we think is the best show site in the world. It goes back to the foresight that Burnside and Withers had 30 years ago.”

Sunbelt Expo started as a dealer day/job placement show at the campus of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Blalock is planning to bring back a job placement show in the future to coincide with the Expo.

“It’s kind of neat that we were born on the ABAC campus essentially. ABAC, our newest four-year college, is celebrating 100 years this year, and they will have a cake-cutting celebration on Wednesday (Oct. 17) at noon at the ABAC building,” he said.

Virginia is the spotlight state for the benchmark event with presentations and exhibits by Virginia Tech University. Lined up for coming years are Kentucky for 2008 and North Carolina for 2009.

Show highlights include the 18th annual Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award ceremony, honoring the sweat, toil and innovation of family farms in 10 states. Tuesday, look for the return of the state agriculture commissioners milking contest, and Thursday, listen out for prize drawings for new autos, zero-turn lawnmowers and more.

Look for the new aquaculture section featuring two ponds stocked with bass, bream and catfish. Seminars will advise folks on how to raise fish in a backyard setting or in a commercial operation.

A grand opening ribbon will be cut on the new poultry education building, built with the assistance of Georgia Poultry Equipment Co. Professors from the University of Georgia, Auburn University, Mississippi State and Louisiana State University will lead seminars.

Also for the first time in the equine section, the National Cutting Horse Association has sponsored demonstrations featuring the 2004 amateur world champion rider Nancy Graham.

In the fields, “dueling cotton pickers,” Blalock said, will battle it out to see which picker of John Deere or CASE will reign supreme in on-site baling. Both state-of-the-art pickers bale cotton as they pick. John Deere’s model produces round, plastic-bound bales reminiscent of hay bales, while the CASE model produces square bales, two of which can fit onto a module.

Also in the field, Reynolds dirtpan scrapers will demonstrate GPS-guided laser land-leveling, he said.

“In 1978, we showed computers at the Expo. Computers didn’t become the norm until the late 1980s, early 1990s. In the late 1990s, we were showing GPS technology, which is now more and more the norm on the farm in vehicles and PDAs. Now, we’re showing cotton pickers that make modules on the go. Five years from now, they’ll be all over the countryside, and that’s what we thrive on is showing that new technology,” he said.

For its 30th anniversary, Sunbelt Expo has produced a history book that will be for sale in gift sets along with an etched crystal anniversary mug and commemorative Coca-Cola bottle, he said.