Every summer, the Farwest Show gives our industry something that’s getting harder to find: a chance to put down our phones, step away from our computers, and spend a few days together.
Email, text messages, and Zoom calls keep us connected and help us solve problems quickly, but they don’t replace a handshake, a conversation over coffee, or the chance to catch up with someone you’ve worked with for years.
That’s what makes Farwest important.
The nursery industry has always been built on relationships. We do business with people we know and trust, and those relationships aren’t built through a string of emails. They grow through conversations, shared experiences, and time spent together.
Farwest gives us that opportunity.
Of course, there are new plants to see, products to discover, educational sessions to attend, and ideas to bring home. But much of the show’s value happens between those scheduled events. It happens while walking the aisles with a longtime customer, meeting someone you’ve only known through phone calls and emails, or sitting down with peers to talk about labor, supply chains, sales, and the challenges we’re all facing.
Some of the best ideas you’ll bring home won’t come from a presentation. They’ll come from a conversation. Those informal discussions often lead to solutions, partnerships, and opportunities that continue long after the show is over.
One thing I’ve always appreciated about the Farwest Show is that it doesn’t end when the exhibit hall closes.
Wednesday night’s Happy Hour has become one of the week’s best networking events. Old friends reconnect, new friendships begin, and conversations continue after the day’s meetings have wrapped up.
Thursday night’s Pub Crawl has become a Farwest tradition, bringing together growers, retailers, suppliers, and industry friends from across the country.
Business comes up now and then, but most of the time it’s stories, laughter, and catching up with people you may only see once a year. Those evenings matter because they strengthen relationships, create new connections, and remind us that this industry has always been more than transactions and orders.
Every person who attends the Farwest Show contributes to that experience. New exhibitors bring fresh ideas. First-time attendees bring a new perspective. Returning participants help carry forward traditions that have made this show a fixture in our industry for decades.
The future of the Farwest Show isn’t tied to larger booths or bigger order books. It depends on people showing up for the conversations, the education, the friendships, and the chance to invest time in one another.
If you’ve been debating whether to attend this year, make the trip. Walk the show floor. Attend a session. Grab a drink at the Happy Hour. Join the Pub Crawl. Introduce yourself to someone new and reconnect with someone you haven’t seen in a while.
The relationships built at Farwest often outlast the orders written during the show.
From the August 2026 issue of Digger magazine | Download PDF of article