By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH
Indiana Correspondent FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The educational sessions available during the 30th Fort Wayne Farm Show include daily market outlooks and presentations on drones, cover crops, pesticides and zoning. The show is Jan. 15-17 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. “(The sessions) have great information to get out there,” said Elysia Rodgers, Purdue University extension director for DeKalb County. “You can get different perspectives and hear what the experts are thinking regarding the agricultural markets. “This past year, they’ve been so up-and-down. It’ll be interesting to see what they’re looking for in 2019.” The sessions are an important part of the Fort Wayne show, noted Fred Cline, a show director with Tradexpos, which produces the event. “It’s really an opportunity for continuing education,” he said. “Attendees can get educated on market conditions, or for example, during a recent show, on the algae blooms in Lake Erie, and the dangers they cause. During the presentation, the speaker didn’t blame urban areas or agriculture. They were able to have a conversation about it – ‘We have a problem, let’s address it.’” The show’s first session the morning of Jan. 15 will be a grain market outlook featuring Jon Cavanaugh, a private analyst and former marketing director for Central States Enterprises, and David Kohli, an adjunct professor at Ivy Tech. Grain and livestock market outlooks are also scheduled for the afternoon of Jan. 16 (with Chris Hurt, Purdue agricultural economist) and the morning of Jan. 17 (with Charlie Stutesman, a consultant with Brock Associates). Ryan Martin, chief meteorologist with Hoosier Ag Today, will participate in the Jan. 15 and 16 sessions. A lunch program on drones is scheduled for Jan. 15. One hundred meals will be available for the event on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendees will hear from Crystal Van Pelt and Bill Horan, Purdue extension educators for agriculture and natural resources in Steuben and Wells counties. They were two of 17 extension agents who bought drones on behalf of Purdue in 2018. “We call it the guinea-pig year,” Van Pelt said. “We wanted to get them out of the case and see what they could do. “We found uses in agriculture, forestry and aquaculture. We’ll unveil some uses we found for them, at the farm show.” Some of their extension colleagues “thought of out-of-the-box ways to use drones,” she noted. “We want to have this discussion at the show to see what other uses farmers have come up with.” As drone technology has improved, farmers may be able to use them to see which insects might be feeding on their crops or if – and what – disease is present, Van Pelt said. A pesticide training session is scheduled for the afternoon of Jan. 15. Fred Whitford, clinical engagement professor at Purdue, will discuss transportation. Bill Johnson, a professor in botany and plant pathology, will provide a weed update. The session offers category 1 and 14 Private Applicator Recertification Program, or PARP, credits for a $10 fee. Greg Slipher, a livestock specialist with the Indiana Farm Bureau, will talk about zoning changes the morning of Jan. 16. Afterward, Derek Thompson, district conservationist with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, will offer information on agency conservation practices. During the Jan. 16 lunch program, Ben Wicker, executive director of the Indiana Agriculture Nutrient Alliance, will address nutrient loss. For that event, 150 meals will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Later in the afternoon, sessions are scheduled on cover-crop seeding and beef quality assurance training. The afternoon of Jan. 17, a session on using new USDA online tools is planned. For more detailed information, visit www.tradexpos.com/fort-wayne-farm-show |
