The best Ohio agricultural event of the year is finally here and you won’t want to miss it!
The Farm Science Review is just a few days away Sept. 21-23 with lots of excitement in store for farmers young and old. There will be a lot of new equipment and technology to view as you walk around the show grounds.
OSU also has some exciting areas for you to stop by and learn more about agricultural practices being studied at OSU and view some of the latest technology in action.
Below are just some of the highlighted areas OSU will be featuring at this year’s Farm Science Review:
The Agronomy plots area will address compaction, the biggest thief of yield in both corn and soybeans. Learn how the utilization of tracks and various types of tires can affect your crop, especially in pinch row compaction.
One way that is being looked at is the utilization of very high flexation tires to decrease field compaction by lowering inflation pressure once in the field. Deflating after road travel will maximize the tire footprint.
Jason Hartschuh, OSU Extension Educator for Crawford County suggest stopping by the OSU demonstration and observe in the plots a tractor that has tires on one side inflated to road pressure and the other to field pressure. Knowing the correct inflation pressure to the exact psi is critical.
If you stop in the morning each day, participants will have the opportunity to enter a raffle to win a high accuracy tire pressure gauge by guessing the inflation pressures on this tractor both for road travel and field use. The winner of the raffle with the proper inflation pressure will be announced each day at noon.
Another demonstration focuses on maximizing yields for corn and soybean production. The plots are receiving the exact amount of water they need each week utilizing soil moisture sensors to determine the irrigation amount needed.
The plots are also being spoon-fed nutrients to make sure nothing limits their ability to maximize yield. These maximum yield plots are much taller and greener this year than the traditional management plots.
Be sure to stop by and take a look at what potential our crops can actually yield in a perfect world.
Another area will focus on cover crops and how to help producers implement them into their operation.
Cover crop management can be a challenge at times. Hartschuh notes one of the management challenges demonstrated this year is the tough decision of, should your agronomic crop be planted once the cover crop is terminated or while it is still green.
Cover crops can be killed utilizing herbicide or a roller-crimper. Crimping these cover crops at the proper growth stage is important for termination.
Before we terminate cover crops, we must establish them. One of the challenges with establishment is herbicide carryover. Various herbicides have different effects on our ability to establish the cover crop. Learn more about the interaction of herbicides and cover crops in our plots.
We also inter-seeded 11 different species of potential cover crops for you to see how well they can survive under a corn canopy in this year’s plots.
While cover crops can protect the soil during heavy rain fall events and their roots can help improve soil health, they can also be utilized as a forage source for livestock. Selecting the best cover crop for both needs can increase farm profitability.
These cover crop forages can be summer or winter annuals. The incorporation of perennial forages into your farm can have numerous benefits.
We have planted many of these perennial forages for you to view and understand why they may be right for your farm.
Additionally, you will have the opportunity to learn even more about OSU research by taking virtual reality tours of our research stations while visiting us at the agronomic plots. Take time to learn more about where wheat in Ohio goes and how it ends up on your neighbor’s plate.
You can also interact with our water quality team to learn more about conservation practices for your farm that will improve the quality of water leaving your farm.
iFarm Immersive Theatre
New for the 2021 Farm Science Review is the iFarm Immersive Theatre! Visit the iFarm Immersive Theatre for an experience like an IMAX theater for viewing agriculture-based films.
Topics include a ride on a crop duster applying fungicide, exploration of natural habitats, inside a beehive, multiple machinery demonstrations, and more! The iFarm Immersive Theatre is brought to you by Nationwide, Ohio Farm Bureau, and OSU Extension.
Digital Ag
The “Ag Innovation Demos” is a proving ground for evaluating future technologies and data driven cropping practices. This 15-acre field is located in the demonstration fields at Farm Science Review.
• Automated Turn Demonstration (John Deere and Case IH)
• OminiDrive – Autonomous Grain Cart (Precision Agri Services and CNH Industrial)
• Drone Scouting (Integrated Ag/Taranus)
• Intra-Canopy Drone Scouting (Ohio State)
• Drone Spraying (Rantizo, Hylio and Beck’s Hybrids)
I hope to see many of you at this year’s Farm Science Review.
Throughout the three days, I will be helping in the agronomics plot area, presenting in the Small Farms area, and like you taking time to see as much of the review as I can.
Tony Nye is the state coordinator for the Ohio State University Extension Small Farm Program and has been an OSU Extension Educator for agriculture and natural resources for over 30 years, currently serving Clinton County and the Miami Valley EERA.
