Month: November 2020

Agricultural Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage for the 2021 Crop Year

The 2018 Farm Bill reauthorized the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) safety net programs that were in the 2014 Farm Bill. Producers must enroll  in ARC/PLC for the 2021 crop year through their local Farm Service Agency office. Producers can amend the program elections they made for the 2019 and 2020 crop years for the 2021 crop year. The signup period for the 2021 crop year is open now, and the deadline to enroll and make amendments to program elections is March 15, 2021.

If changes are not made by March 15, 2021 deadline, the election defaults to the programs selected for the 2020 crop year with no penalty. Producers will have the opportunity to amend program elections again for the 2022 and 2023 crop years. Continue reading →

Thanksgiving dinner cost remains stable

From Ty Higgins, Ohio Farm Bureau

As many families struggle with the economic impacts of the pandemic, there is good news in this year’s Thanksgiving dinner cost survey, conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation. The average cost of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for 10 remains affordable for consumers, coming in at $46.90 or less than $5 per person, a decline of 4% from last year.

The 35th annual informal survey of classic food items typically found on the Thanksgiving Day table shows the average cost of this year’s Thanksgiving dinner is the lowest since 2010. The AFBF Thanksgiving dinner survey was first conducted in 1986. The informal survey provides a record of comparative holiday meal costs over the years. Farm Bureau’s classic survey menu has remained unchanged since 1986 to allow for consistent price comparisons.

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Certified Livestock Managers Continuing Education Opportunity

The Ohio Pork Council, The Ohio State University Extension and The Ohio Department of Agriculture are hosting two Certified Livestock Managers Webinars in December. Individuals can obtain 2.0 CLM CE Credits for attending each webinar. Programming for each webinar is as follows:

December 2: 2.0 CE Credits

  • Biosecurity Breaches – Andreia Arruda, DVM, OSU Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine
  • Livestock Mortality Composting Update – Dr. Steve Moeller, OSU Swine Extension Specialist
  • Worker Safety – Dr. Dee Jepsen, OSU Ag Safety and Health Leader

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Winter Garden Prep – “An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure”

By:  Stephanie Karhoff OSU Extension

Lower your chances of disease and pests next spring by taking these three steps this fall:

Removed diseased plants and weeds from garden. Clean up your garden and remove any weeds or diseased plants that can provide refuge to overwintering pathogens or insect eggs that can cause havoc on your garden next spring. Consider leaving a strip of perennials or flowers for beneficial insects to make a home in this winter. Rather than leaving your garden completely bare, you can apply a layer of compost, straw mulch, or plant a winter hardy cover crop like cereal rye or wheat.

Remove and discard weeds and diseased plants from your garden. S. Karhoff, personal photo

 

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International Beef Trade Dynamics

By: Josh Maples, Assistant Professor & Extension Economist, Mississippi State University

The latest monthly trade data were released by the USDA Economic Research Service last week. The September data continued to show adjustments from the beef production and beef price changes earlier in the year as well as the impacts of global beef demand. According to the ERS data, beef exports totaled approximately 239 million pounds during September. This was down 5.6 percent from September 2019. Through September, beef exports in 2020 were about 6 percent lower than during the first 9 months of 2019.

September showed stronger exports to South Korea, Canada, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Exports to Japan, the largest volume destination for U.S. beef exports, were down slightly according to the ERS data. Beef exports to Mexico continued to lag behind the 2019 pace. During September, beef exports to Mexico were about 38 percent lower than in September 2019 and were 40 percent lower for the first 9 months of 2020 compared to the first 9 months of 2019. Exports to Mexico were 14 percent of total January-September 2019 beef exports in 2019; in 2020, that share has dropped to about 9 percent. Continue reading →