By VICKI JOHNSON
Ohio Correspondent

LONDON, Ohio — Niche marketing and other aspects of profitable farming to help producers strengthen their business is the overall theme of this year’s Farm Science Review Sept. 22-24 at the 47th annual Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio.

The FSR marketing team chose Your 2009 Bale Out, as this year’s theme.

“What a year to find out how we become better farmers out there,” said FSR Manager Chuck Gamble. “That’s what we’re about, trying to improve the lifestyle of the farmer.”

About 140,000 people are expected to attend this year’s three-day review.

“Where else do you go to see the new products or services that companies are introducing to the agriculture world,” Gamble said.
Visitors can see more than 4,000 product lines from 600-plus commercial exhibitors, view three days of field demonstrations on 600 acres of farmland and learn from Ohio State University agricultural researchers on the topics of agriculture, economics, health and nutrition, conservation and horticulture.

Gamble said companies that buy grain are taking a new approach to dealing with producers.

“Companies are definitely taking note that creating alliances with farmers is important to their business,” he said.

Niche marketing always has been a method of increasing profits, but an increasing number of farmers are finding an increasing number of niches, Gamble said.

He said the non-GMO soybean is one of the newest niche markets.
“With the technology of Roundup Ready, we were at 90 percent plus,” he said. “And now that’s beginning to drop. I think it’s 80 percent.”

One company that is interested in non-GMO beans is HAPI-Ohio, which stands for Harmony Agriculture Products in Ohio.
Another is Honda.

“Honda is addressing the need for tofu beans in Japan,” he said. “For years, Honda has shipped empty containers back to Japan. Those containers are now potentially full of tofu soybeans going to Japan from Ohio.”

Those are only a couple examples.

“That gives farmers in Ohio another opportunity to gain a premium,” he said. “Some of those premiums are up to $2 a bushel. That’s substantial.”

Other companies are attending FSR to recruit farmers interested in growing soybeans for a specific purpose.

“They are there in a unique way,” he said. “They are looking for potential growers for their products.

“They’re there to contract for grain,” he said. “They want to find sellers of grain, which I think is a pretty exciting potential relationship to create. We’re talking more relationships than necessarily a buyer and a seller.”

In addition, Gamble said farmers can see the newest technology and get an education on the hottest topics.

He said GPS technology is becoming more affordable to the average farmer.

“We’ve (the FSR farming operation) used that technology and it has made us such a better operation from an efficiency standpoint,” Gamble said. “I can’t believe how it has enhanced our operation.”

Efficiency leads to better profitability, he said, and extra money has allowed FSR to make some enhancements to the 2,100-acre Molly Caren grounds such as painting buildings and installing a perimeter fence.

“We have got a plum in this,” Gamble said. “There’s no other farm show in the world that has that kind of facility.

“When you deal with a university program, it’s research based,” he said. “There’s no bias. Here are the results of the research we did. Here’s what’s happening out there in the field.”

Both Ohio State and Purdue researchers will be there to let farmers know about their findings.

“It looks like it’s ramping up to be a very good show,” he said. “We actually sold out of our small booth space quicker than we have ever done before.”

The staff added 30 more spaces and they also are sold out.
“From an exhibitor’s standpoint, it’s looking great,” he said. “We even have a company that’s refining its own oil.”

Another hot topic is alternative energy.

“The potential for wind energy,” he said. “We’ve got a couple of exhibits selling turbines.”

Gamble reminds attendees that only golf carts are allowed on the grounds. No other vehicles.

“the idea of using a cart is a privilege,” he said. “And we really only want those that need them to use them because we are going to remain a pedestrian facility,” he said.

Hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 22-23 and 8 a.m.- 4 p.m. Sept. 24. Tickets are $8 at the gate or $5 in advance when purchased from county offices of OSU Extension or participating agribusinesses. Children 5 and younger are free.

For more information, visit http://fsr.osu.edu