It's time for the annual Farm Science Review

From teaching techniques to help growers improve water and soil quality to helping farmers and producers learn how to combat invasive species, experts from the Ohio State University Extension will seek to break new ground during this year’s Farm Science Review Sept. 17 to 19 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio.

Those issues are just a sampling of some of the topics participants can expect to learn about during the three-day farm trade show that annually draws more than 130,000 farmers, growers, producers and agricultural enthusiasts from across the U.S. and Canada.

The review, now in its 51st year, is nationally known as Ohio’s premier agricultural event.

“We’ve got our best crop start ever here at the review,” said Chuck Gamble, manager of the Farm Science Review. “Our corn and soybean prospects are the best crops we’ve ever planted, and we harvested the best wheat crop we’ve ever grown.”

Gamble said the review sold out of exhibitor space sooner this year than in any previous year, which is a clear indication of the level of the interest participants have in attending the show and learning about what the review has to offer.

Some other review highlights include:

• An appearance by the Peterson Farm Brothers, a musical trio from Kansas that creates agriculture-inspired music video parodies to popular music. The videos are posted on YouTube. They will be on hand to discuss their experiences with visual agriculture communications at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Sept. 17 in the Morton Building.

• Daily field demonstrations by members of the OSU Extension Agronomic Crops Team on corn, soybean and wheat crops in plots established outside the eastern edge of the review exhibit area. The plots are just outside Gate C near the main entrance gate.

• A demonstration of an unmanned aerial system for real-time crop maintenance and precision agriculture. The drones can be used to provide useful site-specific data, including crop scouting and geo-referencing, to allow growers to monitor pesticides dispersion and fertilizer usage and to monitor crop health parameters, including soil moisture.

Farm Science Review pre-show tickets are $7 at the Muskingum County office of the OSU Extension. Tickets are $10 at the gate. Children age 5 and younger are admitted free.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 17 and 18 and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 19.

Mark Mechling is an extension educator of agriculture and natural resources at the Muskingum County Ohio State University Extension Office. He can be reached at 740-454-0144 or mechling.1@osu.edu