By Emily Bennett
The 53rd annual Farm Science Review, sponsored by the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center near London, Ohio, welcomed 116,784 visitors during the course of the three-day Sept. 22-23 event and showcased the latest in agricultural innovations.
Although the show’s overall attendance was down from last year’s total, which was most likely due to ideal harvest conditions across central Ohio, it was still deemed a success in the eyes of show organizers, based on the quality of exhibitors and attendees and the new connections they made, organizers said.
“We’ve gotten great feedback this year in terms of the value that Farm Science Review offers to both attendees and exhibitors, providing a venue for forging new business partnerships and the transfer of knowledge among people involved in different facets of agriculture,” said Chuck Gamble, show manager.
Trans Alliance, LLC, an agricultural trucking company based in Greenville, was interested in recruiting truck drivers at the Farm Science Review and was pleased with the prospects generated from exhibiting at the show, said Cory Griesdorn, the company’s information technology manager.
“We were looking for farmers or anyone with ag experience who wants something to do during other times of the year other than planting and harvest, and we’ve gotten a lot of great leads this week,” he said. “We set up a booth at a county fair this summer, but the Farm Science Review blew it away in terms of the number of prospects we talked with compared to there.”
Highlights from the 2015 Farm Science Review included:
* Bruce McPheron, vice president for agricultural administration and dean of CFAES, announced a commitment of an additional $1 million in financial support to undergraduate students for the 2016-17 academic year.
* John Hixson and Harold Watters were inducted into the 26th class of the Farm Science Review Hall of Fame during the Celebration of CFAES luncheon held today.
* Field to Faucet Water/Nutrient Research Tours were available to attendees, featuring joint projects between Ohio State and Beck’s Hybrids.
* A field demonstration featuring four different plot combines and three plot planters was an addition to the show’s normal field demos schedule and showcased different aspects of the machines and the latest seeding techniques.
* Unmanned aerial vehicles took to the skies above the fields during daily demonstrations, and were complemented with video monitors on the ground displaying real-time images and video footage for attendees.
* Titan Tire’s second annual charity tire auction raised $29,000 for Ohio FFA students.
* Early harvest results showing an average of 47 bushels per acre for soybeans and 180 bushels per acre on average for corn from fields on the Farm Science Review grounds.
* The Ohio Land Improvement Contractors of America installed 50 acres of tile, along with a flood control structure.
* Daily attendance totals: Tuesday - 38,220; Wednesday - 54,404; Thursday - 24,160. The total of 116,784 compares with last year’s 131,153.
“Moving forward, we’ll want to continue to focus on the quality of exhibitors we have here so that show attendees get the support and resources they need to increase production to help feed 9 billion people by the year 2050,” Gamble said.
Next year’s show is set for Sept. 20-22, 2016.
Farm Science Review is known as Ohio’s premier agricultural event and typically draws about 130,000 farmers, growers, producers and agricultural enthusiasts from across the U.S. and Canada annually. Participants are able to peruse 4,000 product lines from roughly 620 commercial exhibitors and engage in educational workshops, presentations and demonstrations delivered by experts from Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, which are the outreach and research arms, respectively, of the college.