LONDON, Ohio–Whether it’s learning how to navigate new tax laws, understanding the complexities of the U.S. trade policy and its impact on agriculture, or dealing with drought or excess rain, Ohio farmers likely have a lot of questions as they emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic amidst the challenging 2021 growing season.
Faculty and staff from The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), will answer those questions and address some of the top farm management and veterinary medicine challenges facing Ohio farmers in 2021 during this year’s Farm Science Review.
The annual farm trade show, sponsored by CFAES, takes place Sept. 21–23 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center, 135 State Route 38 NE, in London, Ohio.
The 2021 growing season has been trying for Ohio growers and producers as they come out of the difficulties of COVID-19 and the lessons learned from farming through a pandemic while continuing to grow farm profits, said David Marrison, an associate professor and an Ohio State University Extension Educator. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of the college.
As such, the majority of the FSR “Ask the Expert” workshops will feature discussions aimed at helping farmers mitigate these challenges and other issues forefront on farmers’ minds as we go into the harvest season, Marrison said.
“Our experts will share science-based recommendations and solutions to the issues growers are facing regarding weather impacts, pandemic relief, tax issues and many others,” he said. “We encourage farmers, growers, people in the ag industry, to attend these quick-hitting, 20-minute sessions, where they’re able to speak one-on-one with experts in farm management and veterinary medicine to ask questions specific to their needs.”
New this year is Farm Office Live, 10-11:30 a.m. Sept. 23. The session will feature several farm management specialists who will discuss the latest information on pandemic relief, agricultural, tax, financial and other farm management law and policy issues.
All the Ask the Experts sessions will be recorded and available to view on demand for those who aren’t able to attend FSR or want to re-watch the sessions later, Marrison said.
“The pandemic caused FSR to be virtual last year and one of the lessons learned is that people want to be able to re-watch these educational sessions on-demand,” he said. “For example, we’ve created 18 webinars in the last 15 months that have had 944 people attend live, plus an additional 2,294 people have watched them on YouTube, while another 4,492 people have accessed resource materials on the Farm Office Live website at farmoffice.osu.edu.”
Some other Ask the Expert topics will include:
- Farming in the rain, drought and in between
- Ag trade and policy: who’s buying and who’s selling
- How to lose money when transporting and handling beef cattle
- Should I care about working capital with $5.50 corn and $14.00 soybeans?
- Carbon credits – What are they worth?
- Dairy Farm Consolidation in the US: Trends and Opportunities
- Are Our Farms Financially Secure?
- Protecting Livestock from Toxins and Poisonous Plants
- Ohio Corn and Soybean Production and Profitability in 2020
Ask the Experts sessions are held each day of the show across from the Firebaugh Building at 426 Friday Avenue.
Hours for Farm Science Review are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 21–22 and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 23. Tickets are $7 online, at county offices of OSU Extension, and at participating agribusinesses, and $10 at the gate. Children ages 5 and under are admitted free.
For more information, visit fsr.osu.edu.
