Annual event will take place Jan. 27 at Harvest Ridge Expo Center in Millersburg
MILLERSBURG - An established event is being rebranded in 2022, as the Ag-Pro Expo has a new name and new location, but features many of the same opportunities for learning, networking and socializing through the agricultural community.
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Ag-Pro Expo is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 27, beginning at 8 a.m., at Harvest Ridge Expo Center in Millersburg.
Shearer Equipment (now Ag-Pro) began holding this event more than 30 years ago. It consists of a large gathering of the farming community, featuring John Deere equipment and products, a multitude of training sessions and free food.
Ashland, Holmes, Medina and Wayne Farm Bureaus, along with OSU Extension-Holmes and Wayne counties are teaming with Ag-Pro this year to make this event happen.
Marketing representative Jenna Watson of Ag-Pro said the company is excited to be hosting the Ag-Pro Expo this year at its new location.
"We enjoy hosting the Ag-Pro Expo each year and are excited to bring it to a new location for 2022," Watson said. "This year, we will have 35-plus vendors in the trade show, as well as 18 sessions and certification courses, which are a large draw for the producers.
"Between the sessions and the trade show, it's our unique way of providing our customers an opportunity to see our Ag-Pro products and talk to our team, complete certifications and visit with other agribusinesses they work with or want to learn more about," she continued.
Pesticide certification, fertilizer certification and beef quality assurance courses available
She said the certification courses are a large draw for the attendees, and there will be pesticide certification, fertilizer certification, dicamba training and beef quality assurance this year. Aside from the certification classes, there also will be an opportunity to attend other sessions and visit with trade show vendors, as well as a networking opportunity.
"The Ag-Pro Expo will be the first one in a couple years, and will be good to get back to it," said Gary Graham, agriculture and natural resources educator and maple syrup specialist at the Holmes County OSU Extension.
OSU Extension will have a three-hour pesticide recertification class and a one-hour fertilizer recertification class at the John Deere Day event.
"We ask that folks wanting to attend call into our office to get signed up to make the lines move faster the day of the event," Graham said. "Plus, with needing to be able to contract trace if needed, we have to collect the information."
The schedule includes a breakfast prepared by Farm Bureau volunteers from 8 to 9:30 a.m. for all attendees. Educational sessions begin at 9 a.m. and run through 3 p.m. The vendor area is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with lunch service beginning at 11 a.m.
Educational sessions will take place across four rooms at the Expo Center, and participants can move to their sessions of interest throughout the day. Some of the courses qualify for workers compensation safety training and CEUs for certified crop advisers.
Dicamba trainings will be offered
Graham said farmers also will be able to obtain the necessary training to be able to use dicamba products for soybeans. They just need to pay attention as one of the dicamba trainings happens while the pesticide class is going on and they cannot come in late to the class and get re-certified. The cost is $35 for the pesticide class and $10 for the fertilizer class and payable at registration.
Qualifying courses are noted on the website (www.AgProCo.com/expo) or people can contact the Wooster Farm Bureau office for a flyer.
Some new courses this year include canning and freezing venison, making jerky; call before you cut: a guideline to selling timber and introduction to farm transition planning. Other classes are tractor and machinery safety; gases on the farm; agritourism (liability mitigation strategies); and ag crime prevention. Check the website for more information.
Lindsay Shoup-Tournoux is the organization director serving the Farm Bureaus in Ashland, Medina, Summit and Wayne counties.
"Farm Bureau is excited for the opportunity to partner with Ag-Pro to offer this enriching event," Shoup-Tournoux said.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Ag-Pro Expo has new name and home
