The September Agribusiness Forum went overseas as Bill Huston related his experiences of 18 months in Iraq helping their agricultural community. Bill Huston has been employed for 23 years as the County Executive Director for Farm Service Agency at the Muskingum-Morgan County office. He also farms, with his family, a 200 acre fruit and vegetable farm near Dresden. Bill was part of the civilian surge sent to Iraq to assist the community in redeveloping the infrastructure of Iraq following the war. Bill related how the area of the Diyala Province of Iraq was an extremely productive agricultural area before the first Gulf War. Following the first Gulf War Sadam Hussein took complete control of this agricultural region and decimated output under a state controlled production model. Bill discussed how the Iraqi people were very hospitable and eager to learn new cooperative arrangements to maximize buying and marketing of their products..

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It is BIG, 2100 acres!! It is well attended, over 130,000 people in three days!! It is informative!!! What is it - Farm Science Review. Chuck Gamble, Director of the Farm Science Review, says he has the best job in the world and he shared that enthusiasm with 37 attendees at the Agribusiness Breakfast Forum held at the Buehler's Fresh Foods in Ashland Friday August 28, 2009. The Farm Science Review showcases agriculture over a three day period just east of Columbus, Oh along I-70 in London, Oh. The FSR includes but is not limited to, displaying and demonstrating cutting edge farming technology, offers CCA education, displays of turf for maintaining local sports grounds, hold forums, serves up some of the finest food and allows farmers to see equipment in action performing tasks in actual field demonstrations. There are 35 states and one half of Canada's provinces who exhibit their various businesses at the FSR. Although the exhibitors may display many of the largest and most technological equipment in the world, the FSR also dedicates an area to small scale farmers in order to ensure they are able to participate in such a large scale event. At one point Chuck clarified that the Farm Science Review is not just about large scale farming, "What we're about is people, farmers." Chuck presented a slide show, showing pictures of the various activities occurring, and encourages everyone to try and attend the upcoming Farm Science Review this September 22-24 in London, OH. For more information about this event you can visit www.fsr.osu.edu.  View WMFD's coverage of the breakfast here.

August's Tech Thursday was hosted by The Ohio State University Mansfield, and sponsored by the International Trade Assistance Center, on August 14th. The event was held at the Cyber Café a new facility which provides comfortable seating, Wi-Fi internet access and a coffee shop for the students, staff and instructors of OSU. The 57 people in attendance listened to a presentation by our guest speaker Mike Collura, Coordinator of Instructional Technology, and Major Price, Senior Systems Manager of The Ohio State University. They discussed how cutting edge technology is used by the University to enhance the educational and environmental experiences of the faculty/staff and the students. Mr. Collura went on to explain how the marriage of technology and bricks and mortar are used in the educational experience by explaining OSU's e-learning program. The trade show featured the Ohio State's Attorney General's Office, Ohio State's Treasurer's Office, OSU, New

Cathie Leimbach, Co-founder and Consulting Partner of STRIVE!, was the guest speaker at the Northeast Ohio Agribusiness Forum on Friday July 24, 2009. The event was held at Buehler's Fresh Food Market in Ashland, OH. Cathie addressed the 44 attendees with a presentation entitled, "Lightening the Leadership Load." Cathie's presentation was focused on the Governance Excellence Model of board members. Her presentation focused on what businesses should expect from their boards, the purpose boards should serve, and examples on how boards could excel if held to proper expectations. The breakfast was an opportunity for those involved in agribusiness who serve on boards, or are part of cooperatives, as well as those that participate in any forms of leadership, to gain an understanding of how a Board of Directors should interact to guide the company and ultimatley keep employees happy and businesses running smoothly. The breakfast also allowed the attendees to network, discuss issues that they have faced, and enabled them to assist one another through brainstorming, sharing ideas and offering advice. If you were unable to attend but would like the opportunity to speak with Cathie concerning any questions you may have about Governance Excellence, you can contact her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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our next Agribusiness Breakfast Forum is August 28, 2009 Click for additional information