LONDON, Ohio – Early corn harvest and hot weather translated into a smaller Farm Science Review crowd compared to recent years, but show organizers are still extremely pleased with the turnout.
"Exhibitors were extremely pleased with the quality of the contacts they made at the show – farmers are in a buying mood or will be as they learn more about their yields as they harvest," said FSR manager Chuck Gamble. "Residue management in corn has many growers concerned about how best to tackle the problem of healthier stalks at harvest time. Many exhibitors addressed several strategies on how best to handle residue – either at the corn head by shredding, the use of shredders, rotary mowers or flail mowers, or vertical tillage."
The attendance at this year's Farm Science Review was 124,122, compared to last year's crowd of 138,014. The largest attendance on record was 146,040 in 2002.
Farm Science Review, Ohio's premiere agricultural event, was held Sept. 21-23 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio. Attendees enjoyed an 83-acre exhibit area of 600 exhibitors and 4,000 product lines, a 67-acre Gwynne Conservation Area, and 600 acres of field demonstrations of the latest in ag technology and equipment.
An early record harvest kept many farmers in the fields. In addition, high temperatures reaching into the 90s thinned crowds out as the afternoons progressed. A late Wednesday afternoon storm chased visitors from the grounds with heavy rain and high winds.
Despite the weather conditions, visitors enjoyed the show and exhibitors established good contacts with farmers, said Gamble.
"Exhibitors realized that harvest this year was going to create competition for visitors at the show. I visited with many growers who were far enough ahead with their harvest that they felt compelled to attend as they had buying research to conduct," said Gamble. "They parked their combines to come to the show. There is no better place to efficiently visit with this many exhibitors offering products and services to the farmer."
Show organizers are already planning for next year's event, to be held Sept. 20-22, 2011. "Show number 49 is just around the corner and the plans for our 50 year anniversary are already underway," said Gamble.
Farm Science Review is sponsored by the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.