How far is the house from the Farm Progress Show?

About a 20-minute drive to Central Iowa Expo in Boone, at the corner of U.S. Highway 30 and Iowa Highway 17.

When is the Farm Progress Show in Boone?

Boone hosts in even-numbered years, alternating with Decatur, Illinois. The 2026 show runs September 1 to 3, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, and the show returns to Boone in 2028.

Can a booth crew stay here?

Yes. It sleeps up to 6 across three king bedrooms plus a loft sofa bed, with free parking, laundry, wifi, and self check-in for early setup and late teardown days.

Is there room to cook?

There's a full kitchen with a dishwasher, oven, microwave, coffee, and a dining table. That's worth a lot during a week when every restaurant in the area is slammed.

Farm Progress Show

Where to stay for the Farm Progress Show

The nation's largest outdoor farm show comes back to Boone every other year, and the housing within an easy drive is spoken for long before the gates open. The A-frame sits about twenty minutes from Central Iowa Expo: a real kitchen, laundry, and somewhere quiet to put your feet up after eight hours on the grounds.

Boone gets the show in even years

The Farm Progress Show alternates between two permanent sites: Boone in even-numbered years and Decatur, Illinois in odd ones. The Boone site is Central Iowa Expo, out at the corner of U.S. Highway 30 and Iowa Highway 17, on grounds that run to several hundred acres.

In 2026 the show runs September 1 through 3, gates open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. It's back in Boone in 2028. Dates get announced well ahead, and that's when to start thinking about where you're sleeping.

What you're walking into

Six hundred-plus exhibitors
Equipment, seed, inputs, precision ag, finance, and everything else, spread across a permanent street grid on the expo grounds.
Around 150,000 people over three days
Attendance in that range is normal for a Boone year. Plan on traffic getting in and out, especially the first morning.
Field demonstrations on standing corn
Roughly 350 acres get harvested during the show, alongside tillage, grain handling, autonomy, and drone demos. Ride-and-drive lets you get on the equipment yourself.
Tickets are cheaper in advance
Buying online ahead of the show has run about $15 against $25 at the gate, with kids under 12 free. Confirm current pricing at farmprogressshow.com.
Long days on your feet
Three days of gravel and sun add up. Bring boots you already trust and more water than you think you need.

The lodging problem

Show week is the busiest travel week of the year in Boone County, and rooms near the site go early and go high. From there the search widens toward Des Moines or Marshalltown, and an hour each way turns a long show day into a longer one.

Ames is the middle ground. About twenty minutes from the expo grounds, close enough to duck back to the house at midday, and stocked with restaurants and grocery stores for when you're done with concession food.

Full kitchen with a stainless range and hood, butcher-block counters, sage-green cabinets, and white subway tile.

The private hot tub beside a covered patio strung with warm lights, surrounded by green trees at golden hour.

Why the A-frame suits show week

Three king beds and room for six
Enough for a family, a couple of business partners, or a small booth crew, in one house rather than three hotel rooms at show-week rates.
A full kitchen
Breakfast before an 8 a.m. gate and a real dinner afterward, without hunting for a table in Ames during the busiest week of the year.
Washer and dryer
Useful by day two, and more useful if you're working the show in the same shirts all week.
Free parking on the property
Room for more than one vehicle, including a pickup, without paying for a hotel lot.
Self check-in
Exhibitors setting up before the show and tearing down after can come and go on their own schedule with a smart lock.
Quiet at the end of it
A wooded acre, long decks, a covered patio, and a hot tub. After a day in the sun on the show grounds, the gap between this and a highway hotel is the whole point of booking it.

Book earlier than feels reasonable

Because the Boone show only comes around every other year, demand lands on one set of dates and stays there. Places that sleep six within a half hour of the grounds tend to be gone months out, and prices in town climb as the week gets closer.

If you already know you're coming, put the dates on the calendar and get the house booked. It's the one part of show planning that only gets harder the longer you wait.

Common questions

How far is the house from the Farm Progress Show?: About a 20-minute drive to Central Iowa Expo in Boone, at the corner of U.S. Highway 30 and Iowa Highway 17.
When is the Farm Progress Show in Boone?: Boone hosts in even-numbered years, alternating with Decatur, Illinois. The 2026 show runs September 1 to 3, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, and the show returns to Boone in 2028.
Why not just stay in Boone?: You can, if you book far enough ahead. Rooms near the site go first during show week, and the search widens toward Des Moines or Marshalltown in a hurry. Ames keeps you about 20 minutes from the gates with more places to eat nearby.
Can a booth crew stay here?: Yes. It sleeps up to 6 across three king bedrooms plus a loft sofa bed, with free parking, laundry, wifi, and self check-in for early setup and late teardown days.
Is there room to cook?: There's a full kitchen with a dishwasher, oven, microwave, coffee, and a dining table. That's worth a lot during a week when every restaurant in the area is slammed.

Get show week off your list

Farm Progress dates fill the area faster than anything else on the calendar. Check availability and lock in the A-frame for your crew.

See the full house