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This year’s Ohio Grain Farmers Symposium was full of information and conversations to help grain farmers prepare for 2019. The meeting opened with remarks from Lt. Gov. Jon Husted about the DeWine-Husted agenda and how agriculture will fit into that plan in the coming years.

“We want to make sure workforce and training opportunities are available to everybody in rural Ohio and we also want to extend broadband to make sure that no matter where you live in Ohio you have access to the technology highway that broadband presents and creates for everybody,” Husted explained. He also touched on water quality, saying that the new administration is willing to listen and meet with all stakeholders and does not want an adversarial relationship with agricultural groups.

Dr. Cathann Kress, vice president for agricultural administration and dean of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University, gave an update on CFAES and how the college continues to look to the future.

The rest of the symposium focused heavily on nutrient management, with sessions about using technology for nutrient management plans, the revised Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations, and the revised Ohio Soil Phosphorus Index. Presentations can be found at ohiograinfarmerssymposium.org.

A panel featuring leadership from the Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers  Association (OCWGA) and Ohio Soybean Association (OSA) discussed water quality, trade and what 2019 holds for both organizations. OCWGA and OSA both held their annual meetings at the symposium as well, including electing new Board of Trustees members. OSA elected Rusty Goebel of Williams County to represent District 1 and re-elected Kerrick Wilson of Preble County to represent District 10 and Derek Reusser of Holmes County to represent District 12.