Month: January 2020

From Across the Field: 1/22/2020

New Year, New Ag Policy

In the last week or so, there have been a couple of rather large announcements that could impact agriculture and those involved in 2020. First of which is the governor’s unrolling of $30 million through the Ohio Department of Agriculture through the new H2Ohio program. The program will incentivize voluntary conservation practices of the next five years in counties, including Henry, that lie in the lower Maumee watershed. There are information meetings scheduled, with the Henry/Putnam meeting being at the Fogle Center in Leipsic at 6 p.m. on February 20th.

Other news over the least week also included the signing of a Phase 1 China trade deal, which is intended to increase the amount of agricultural exports into China. U.S. soy, pork, and beef, entering China are all part of the deal. Continue reading From Across the Field: 1/22/2020 →

Event Notice – NW Ohio Crops Day

By: Garth Ruff

Join OSU Extension at the Bavarian Haus, just outside of Deshler, Ohio on Friday, February 7, 2020 starting at 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 for the second annual Northwest Ohio Crops Day.  Find answers to your agronomy questions, obtain private and commercial pesticide applicator and fertilizer recertification, and CCA education hours as you prepare for the next growing season. This year we are pleased to have Greg Roth from the Penn State University as our featured speaker to discuss cover crop establishment and how it relates to water quality. The entire speaker and topic lineup for the day will include the following: Continue reading Event Notice – NW Ohio Crops Day →

Ohio State Experts Available for Comment on New Coronavirus

By: Tracy Turner, OSU Communications

Scientists with The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) and the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) can offer insight into the new coronavirus that is being blamed for at least 26 deaths and more than 830 confirmed illnesses internationally since December 2019, with at least two cases of coronavirus reported this week in the United States—in Washington state and Chicago. And at least an additional 50 people in the United States are under observation in 22 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that include the common cold, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), all of which can infect both humans and animals, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Continue reading Ohio State Experts Available for Comment on New Coronavirus →

Managing Stored Grain Through Winter

By: Jason Hartschuh, OSU Extension Crawford County

Managing stored grain throughout the winter is an important part of your grain marketing plan for farm profitability. This winter we are already receiving reports of stored grain going out of condition, which can lower the value and be a hazard to those working around the grain facility. At a minimum, stored grain that has gone out of condition can cause health hazards, especially when grain dust contains mold and bacteria. Out of condition grain can also form a crust or stick to the bin walls and if someone enters the bin for any reason an entrapment could occur. For more information on safety when working around grain visit http://go.osu.edu/AFM and listen to episode 41 of the podcast on grain bin safety. Continue reading Managing Stored Grain Through Winter →

Large Feedlot Inventories To Start 2020

By: Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University. Originally published by Drovers online.

The latest monthly cattle on feed report showed the January 1 inventory in feedlots (over 1,000 head) at 11.958 million head, 102.3 percent of one year ago.  This is the largest January on-feed total since 2008.

Placements in December were up 3.5 percent year over year, the highest December level since 2011.  December marketings were 5.3 percent higher year over year, the largest level since December 2010.  December 2019 had one additional business day compared to a year earlier making daily average marketings for the month about equal to 2018.

The January cattle on feed report was well anticipated with placements, marketings and on-feed totals all close to pre-report expectations.  The report is not expected to provoke much market response. Continue reading Large Feedlot Inventories To Start 2020 →

Soybeans Need Good News

By: Todd Hubbs, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics .University of Illinois. Originally published by farmdoc daily (10):14

Soybean futures prices fell again last week on reports of a coronavirus outbreak rattling the Chinese economy and the prospects of a huge Brazilian crop.  A double hit associated with increased production from our main competitor and a potential drop in Chinese demand appears set to drive prices lower in the near term.  If present consumption trends stay in place this marketing year, the prospect of ending stocks dropping substantially below the current projection of 475 million bushels seem remote.

The coronavirus outbreak continues to spread around the world.  The Chinese government’s attempt to contain the virus appears to have fallen short and brings up the possibility of a hit to China’s economic growth.  While China’s growth and integration in world markets helped commodity prices, the risk-off approach to most equity markets under the prospect of reduced growth in China is hurting agricultural commodity prices.  Soybeans are particularly impacted by this development. Continue reading Soybeans Need Good News →

From Across the Field: 1/16/2020

NW Ohio Crops Day

Between the mud and the snow in the forecast, there hasn’t been a whole lot to get excited about this past week. All of our year end reporting is done and in the office, we are now focusing our attention towards upcoming programs.

Similar to the last couple of years the flagship program for agriculture in the county has been Northwest Ohio Crops Day, held at the Bavarian Haus in Deshler. This year’s program will be Friday, February 7th and we have a great line up of presenters and sponsors.

Head lining this year’s meeting are Greg Roth, professor and cover crop specialist from Penn State University. Greg is an expert in the area of cover crop interseeding. In addition, I have asked him to elaborate on best management practices for the use of cover crops as they apply to water quality. Penn State was at the forefront of development and implementation of BMP’s in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Continue reading From Across the Field: 1/16/2020 →

$30 Million Available For Farmers Through Dewine’s H2Ohio Plan

Source: Ohio Ag Net

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Dorothy Pelanda announced Jan. 15 that $30 million in H2Ohio funding will be available for Ohio farmers in more than a dozen counties beginning next month. The funds will be awarded as part of Governor DeWine’s H2Ohio plan to reduce agricultural phosphorus runoff and prevent algal blooms in Lake Erie.

“Since announcing the details of my H2Ohio plan in November, we’ve had a great deal of interest from farmers in the Maumee River Watershed who want to do their part to improve the health of Lake Erie,” said Governor DeWine. “H2Ohio will provide farm-by-farm support to help farmers minimize phosphorus runoff while increasing profit over the long-run.”

Continue reading $30 Million Available For Farmers Through Dewine’s H2Ohio Plan →

The Art and Science of Developing Heifers

By: Les Anderson, Ph.D., Beef Extension Specialist, University of Kentucky

The older I get the more I realize that heifer development is as much art as science. The art is understanding what type of female best fits your operation and your marketing scheme. What size cow best fits your management system? Which cows will produce the best replacements?

The science is understanding the principles enabling the “right” heifers to succeed. The first week of January is an extremely important “check-point” in spring heifer development programs. Continue reading The Art and Science of Developing Heifers →

Ohio Farm Custom Rate Survey 2020

By: Barry Ward, Leader, Production Business Management, OSU Extension, Agriculture & Natural Resources

 A large number of Ohio farmers hire machinery operations and other farm related work to be completed by others. This is often due to lack of proper equipment, lack of time or lack of expertise for a particular operation.  Many farm business owners do not own equipment for every possible job that they may encounter in the course of operating a farm and may, instead of purchasing the equipment needed, seek out someone with the proper tools necessary to complete the job. This farm work completed by others is often referred to as “custom farm work” or more simply “custom work”. A “custom rate” is the amount agreed upon by both parties to be paid by the custom work customer to the custom work provider. Continue reading Ohio Farm Custom Rate Survey 2020 →