Before I begin this week’s ag column, I want to take a moment one more time this week to remember all those that lost their lives during that dark day in our history 17 years ago on 9/11. May we never forget and may we hopefully never experience such an event again in our lives.
Since Mother Nature wants to continue to keep us impacted with moisture from all the hurricane and tropical storms that have and will threaten, take advantage this next week to attend the 2018 Farm Science Review in London, Ohio. The Farm Science Review is now one of, if not the, largest farm shows in the country.
There are so many things to see, watch and learn from for all audiences interested in some form of agriculture and horticulture.
One of the areas to take advantage of will be the Agronomic Crops Team area.
The Agronomic Crops Team will once again be welcoming visitors on the east side of the grounds just as you enter the exhibit area. We will be in the agronomy plots – there to catch your eye and stir conversation.
We have had the same issues you have this year with the very warm conditions – both very wet and very dry conditions, pounding rains, delays in planting, bugs and disease. Lots to talk about.
Many of you farmers arrive early to Farm Science Review to beat the traffic.
Harold Waters, regional agronomist with CFAES, The Ohio State University Extension, suggests you stop in for coffee and a donut at the Agronomy Plot tent.
Waters notes there will be Walk and Talks offered every morning from 9 a.m. until noon which will include short walks through the plots to highlight some of the research OSU is doing across the state and to answer your questions.
Other more formal talks from 12:00 until 3:30 p.m. will include “Herbicide Mode of Action,” “Grazing Annuals,” “The New Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations,” “The New Ohio P Risk Index,” “Grid Sampling” and even “Climate Change Impact on Agriculture.”
The Agronomic Crops Team also supports the work of Certified Crop Advisers (CCA) in the state. With so many farmers and their advisers coming to Farm Science Review, we will have several places across the grounds for the CCA to get continuing education credits (CEUs) – all for the price of the $7 admission.
Waters recommends that Certified Crop Advisors take advantage of available CEUs and to look for CEUs in the following areas of the Review:
• Agronomy Plots at the east end of the exhibit area
• At the Small Farms Centers in the northwest corner of the grounds
• And up the road toward the grain bins at the Gwynne Conservation area.
CEUs across these four areas include Nutrient Management, Crop Management, Pest Management and Soil and Water credits. All these are listed in the program (pages 8, 11 and in the centerfold) that you can pick up as you enter the grounds.
Information on CEUs is also available on the Farm Science Review 2018 app.
Another area I have not highlighted yet is the Ask the Expert area. These 20-minute segments are designed to be information packed topics on the subjects being discussed with the audience.
Some of the topics will include discussion on the upcoming Farm Bill, livestock health, estate planning, farm tax and CAUV, antibiotic use, commodity markets, costs of production and much more.
Ask the Expert sessions begin each day at 10 a.m. and run throughout each day of the Review.
Other areas of interest include the Utzinger Memorial Garden. Presentations will take place in the gazebo, and Master Gardener Volunteers will be available throughout the garden to answer gardening questions.
New this year: Sunflowers and gourds, potted vines, patio, shade bed and pots, dwarf fruit trees, lavender bed in front of the Bailey Building, and root veggies in the raised garden, which promotes handicap accessibility.
Ohio AgrAbility’s “Gardening through the Lifespan” signs are scattered throughout the garden, and have tips for gardening with a disability, arthritis, or other aches and pains that sneak up on us as we age.
Also new this year are signs with tips for gardening with low vision or blindness. The West Central Ohio Beekeepers Association will answer questions about how to become a beekeeper and will show some of the equipment needed to get started.
Visit us to pick up some gardening ideas, meet old friends, make new friends, and enjoy the Utzinger Memorial Garden!
There is so much more to see and do. Make plans to attend the Farm Science Review next week — Sept. 18, 19 and 20.
The Review is located two miles north of London, Ohio at the intersection of US 40 and SR 38.
Until then, I’ll see you at the Review.
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.
