Kristy Bowers, Fayette County Chamber of Commerce president (left); Derek Chancellor, regional liaison for Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted (middle); and Ken Ford, Fayette County OSU Extension educator (right) addressed those in attendance during the annual Fayette County Chamber of Commerce meeting, held at the Mahan Building on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024.
Tyler Flora | Record-Herald photo
WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, OHIO — The annual Fayette County of Commerce meeting took place on Thursday, Aug. 29 inside the Mahan Building, with well over 100 members in attendance.
Chamber of Commerce President Kristy Bowers welcomed those in attendance and a meal was provided by Rachel’s House Catering.
Following the meal, Bowers introduced Derek Chancellor, Regional Liaison for Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted. Chancellor spoke to those in attendance about why the state of Ohio is interested in artificial intelligence (A.I.), and why they are embracing it.
“It’s because we want to be competitive,” Chancellor said. “We want to be an economic driver and an economic powerhouse in the midwest and in the country. In order to be competitive, we have to be innovative and embrace technology. In order to embrace technology, we have to have good talent to do that. In order to have good talent, it starts with the schools and that is where our good talent comes from. We have to prepare our educators to live up to that and prepare our future.”
He then touched on the A.I. toolkit for educators that was announced in February. This toolkit has several features for educators to use. It includes everything from lesson plans to tools for IT staff, to information to help a superintendent establish policy framework for their district.
Following Chancellor’s remarks, Ken Ford, educator at the Fayette County Ohio State University Extension Office, shared how A.I. is being integrated into the agricultural world.
“Why is artificial intelligence becoming popular?” asked Ford. “We’re all facing labor shortages. Agriculture is probably facing that even more so then some other industries. They have come up with robotic milking systems to help with labor, driver-less tractors, prescription fertilizer applications, which can basically narrow down where we are putting those inputs so that they are going to get the most return. We can spray only weeds now, not the entire field. Another new technology is called 360 rain. This is an automated watering system for growing crops, that operates around the clock.”
Ford also spoke about how drones are being used in agriculture.
Bowers then returned to the podium to discuss happenings from the previous 12 months, including new businesses that have joined. She adjourned the annual meeting, which concluded around 1 p.m.
