As a dealer who's focused on serving the rural lifestyle market, you may think there's little for you and your customers at a big farm show, but you'd be wrong.

Equipment of interest to both product ag farmers as well as your customer, the rural lifestyler, can be found at farm shows such as Farm Progress Show.

Last week, Executive Editor Dave Kanicki and I spent some time with a husband and wife in southern Missouri who raise beef cattle. As a hobby that supports itself, they are serious about their animals. Raising them right requires a fairly long list of equipment, from stock trailers to a tractor for moving hay.

He had just returned from a regional farm equipment show with a handful of brochures showing equipment that would make their operation even more efficient — a key consideration for both of them. His day job often requires travel, which mean she's usually the one doing the heaving lifting or making trips to the dealer down the road. While he wasn't in the market for a combine or a high-horsepower tractor, this rural lifesyler drove several hours to see what was new in the world of farm equipment.

As you read this, Lessiter Publication's Ag Divison staff, including the editors and sales personnel of Rural Lifestyle Dealer, are walking the grounds at the Farm Progress Show, held this year in Decatur, Ill.

We'll be reporting from the show via Twitter and Facebook, and looking for equipment of specific interest to your hobby farmer customers. Watch www.rurallifestyledealer.com and stay tuned for the next issue of E-Brief, which will mail September 13.