Green themes crop up at Tulsa Farm Show
Written by admin on December 11, 2009 – 9:55 pm -By KYLE ARNOLD World Staff Writer
Green is the theme at this year's Tulsa Farm Show — and not just because dozens of John Deere tractors are on display.
Environmental buzzwords such as sustainable, energy-efficient and organic dot the booths of exhibitors throughout the QuikTrip Center.
Thursday was the first day of the three-day show, with more than 300 exhibitors selling the newest in farm implements, technologies and entertainment.
Of course, farmers may have been some of the world's first conservationists as they fought and negotiated for scarce water and land resources.
Murray Thibodeaux of U-Do Biodiesel is attending the show for the second year as an exhibitor, displaying a system for turning cooking oil into diesel fuel.
"Farmers use diesel more than anyone else for their trucks and tractors," he said.
Thibodeaux said he makes about 40 gallons of diesel fuel a month for a cost of about 55 cents a gallon. He gets most of his used cooking oil from restaurants, who are glad to give up the waste, he said.
Thibodeaux said he makes it a point to come to the farm show because the agriculture industry is always looking for ways to improve efficiency and the bottom line.
Do-it-yourself diesel isn't the only green technology on display at the show. Irrigation system manufacturers are pushing efficient sprinklers, some that even use GPS technologies. Seemingly nongreen products, such as livestock feeders, also have "energy efficient" stickers.
John Sampson, said farmers have taken the economic downturn as an opportunity to make their operations more efficient.
"Everybody who's in the agriculture service industry is working at maximizing their investment, whether it be machinery or stand-alone equipment," Sampson said.
Several exhibitors also are pitching "organic" products, a part of the industry that has less to do with efficiency and more to do with capturing a growing segment of the consumer market.
Pat Buhr came to the farm show to sell an organic fertilizer that she and her husband make out of seawater from the Pacific Ocean.
"It's really becoming quite popular," she said.
The fertilizer, sold by Sea Minerals FA out of Siloam Springs, Ark., uses minerals from ocean water to give nutrients to crops. Buhr said the product is popular among organic farmers because it doesn't contain manufactured chemicals or pesticides.
Tulsa Farm Show
Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. to 4 pm. Quiktrip Center at Expo Square
Admission: Free
Tags: Farm Economy, Tractors
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