Ordinarily when people read about per capita consumption in articles or blog posts on this website, it has to do with how much chicken or eggs are consumed in households or countries.
But this is no ordinary blog post, and that phrase doesn’t mean the same thing. Instead of writing about per capita consumption, I’m writing about per-Cap-ita consumption. It’s all about the spacing, punctuation and capitalizations that make my made-up word a new thing.
Per-Cap-ita consumption, according to the Graber dictionary, is how many baseball caps one can gather per booth at one trade show when compared to others. And let me tell you, the Midwest Poultry Federation (MPF) Convention, held March 22-24 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has a very high per-Cap-ita rate.
So if you regularly read my blog, I wrote about collecting free caps at the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) two years ago, and due to popular demand, I wrote another one a few months ago. It’s almost like an expectation, so here is cap blog No. 3. But this time it concerns the MPF Convention.
Previously, I always showed restraint when gathering caps at trade show booths, not wanting to take more than I would wear. But then after the Kansas State University Swine Day, held in November 2021, I discovered these caps are enjoyed by youth of the local FFA chapter of which my youngest child is a member, so I shared my surplus. Now, when I gather caps, I’m not a freebie-loving buffoon, but a philanthropist.
I again shared my free caps with the FFA members after IPPE 2022, but kept one cap for myself. Or so I thought. Turns out, an older son ended up wanting that cap, so I gave it to him. I gladly did so, considering not that long ago I chastised him for paying like $15 for a cap at Academy Sports, to which he replied, “but Dad, I don’t go to all these farm shows with free caps like you do.”
MPF Convention cap collection
Between sessions at the MPF Convention, I went around the booths, and I quickly filled up a bag that I thought would be large enough. So I grabbed another bag.
I did set one rule. I wouldn’t gather any caps from companies that had the same ones at IPPE, which cut the count by four, I believe.
As I wrote in my earlier blog, my FFA member son told me caps manufactured by Richardson were the best. And when I stopped by the Aurora Pharmaceutical booth, I told them about my blogging effort, and how my son said Richardson caps were the best ones. One of the staff members at the booth told me they actually talked to a marketing consultant, who told them the caps they previously had weren’t nearly as attractive, and they opted for these Richardsons.
There were other caps of all makes and styles. And yes, there were even those with the uncomfortable buckles on the back, but everyone has different tastes.
The end result of my cap research is that there was a very high per-Cap-ita rate at the MPF Convention. You can see my collection in the corresponding photo above, and I actually found one more after that photo was taken.
At the time of this writing, there is only one more day of the convention. It has been a really good show, and the availability of baseball caps here is a good way to “top” things off.
