Month: January 2020

The Ohio Ag Law Blog–New Fact Sheet Describes How To Prepare For A Crop Insurance Audit

By:Ellen Essman, Senior Research Associate, OSU Extension Ag Law Program
With 2019’s ups and downs in the weather and the marketplace, it’s likely that many farmers used the Federal Crop Insurance Program to mitigate their losses.  Those farmers whose crop insurance claims reach $200,000 or more will be audited by the USDA’s Risk Management Agency.

What’s the purpose of an audit—does it mean you’re in trouble with the government? What can you expect when going through the audit process?  How do you prepare for an audit? What kind of records and documentation do you need?  All of these questions and more are answered in a new fact sheet we recently published through our partnership with the National Agricultural Law Center.  Click here to read the fact sheet to better prepare you for going through an audit.

From Across the Field: 1/09/2020

Winter Happenings

It’s finally starting to feel like winter as the wind has gotten cold over the past couple of days. School is back in session, folks have made their resolutions, and the Buckeyes are no longer playing football; so bring on meeting season! After the first of the year things seem to ramp back up as we progress past the holidays. We continue to plan for Northwest Ohio Crops Day and the various other programs scheduled the first quarter of the year. Continue reading From Across the Field: 1/09/2020 →

2019 eFields Report is Available

By Elizabeth Hawkins and John Fulton, OSU Extension

The spring planting season of 2019 was a season that many of us may want to forget, but the weather conditions we dealt with provided us an opportunity to learn how we can be more resilient in agriculture. Looking back at the lessons learned can help us be prepared for similar conditions in the future. The 2019 eFields Research Report highlights 88 on-farm, field scale trials conducted in 30 Ohio counties. Research topics include nutrient management, precision crop management, cover crops, and forages. Other information about production budgets, planting progress, and the 2018 Farm Bill is also included. Continue reading 2019 eFields Report is Available →

Goals for Your Cow Herd in 2020

By: Garth Ruff, OSU Extension Henry County

Each year I like to look evaluate any upcoming opportunities and set goals for the New Year in an effort to better myself both professionally and personally. I prefer to call them goals rather than New Years Resolutions because many people tend to let resolutions fall through the cracks. When developing goals, the key is to write them down! Call them whatever you want, in just a few minutes of looking back and reflecting on some observations made in the last year I was able to come up with a few goals focused on improving profitability and the quality of calves marketed in 2020.

Sharpen the Pencil. Do you have a projected budget for the year? How much does it really cost you to feed a cow for the year? Put together an enterprise budget to use as a decision making tool. There are many templates available online from various universities and institutions, chose one that’s geographically relevant and considers the variables that affect your operation (find the OSU Farm Budgets linked here). Be realistic in valuing feed, labor, and livestock values. Knowing cost of production and breakeven points are useful in making cattle marketing decisions as well. Continue reading Goals for Your Cow Herd in 2020 →

Have You Prepared Your Barn for Lambing?

Dr. Gary E. Ricketts, University of Illinois, Department of Animal Sciences Emeritus Professor
(Previously published with University of Illinois Extension, Illinois Livestock Trail, Sheep and Goats: January 29, 1999)

Although this piece was originally published over 20 years ago, it still holds a lot of valuable information. As we enter the new year, lambs will be soon arriving and with the business of life it’s easy to forget some of the basics. No worries though, this piece will be sure to assist!

Having the barn ready before the first lambs arrive is one way to get the lambing season off to a good start. Not all ewes have a 150-day gestation period. There is considerable variation in gestation length and it may range from 143 days on the short side to 157 days on the long side. Gestation length is affected by many things such as breed, age, season of the year, and number of lambs, just to mention a few. A good rule of thumb is to have the barn ready by at least 140 days after the ram was turned in or the first ewe was marked. Consider the following in getting your barn ready: Continue reading Have You Prepared Your Barn for Lambing? →

A Look Back: Agricultural Law in 2019

By Peggy Kirk Hall, director of agricultural law, Ohio State University Agricultural and Resource Law Program

I often receive quizzical looks when someone asks me what kind of law I practice and I say “agricultural law.” A common response is “what in the world is that”? A look back at agricultural law in 2019 provides a pretty good answer to that question. Our review of major developments in the last year illustrates the diversity of legal issues that make up the world of agricultural law. It’s never dull, that’s certain.

Here are the highlights of what we saw in agricultural law in 2019: Continue reading A Look Back: Agricultural Law in 2019 →

ARC-IC in 2019: Release of a 2019 ARC-IC Payment Calculator

By: Gary Schnitkey, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois

Agricultural Risk Coverage at the Individual Level (ARC-IC) should be considered as a commodity title alternative for 2019 and 2020 in two special cases:  1) if a Farm Service Agency (FSA) farm has all its acres as prevent plant or 2) the FSA farm has low yields.  Other cases may exist as well (see farmdoc daily, October 29, 2019 for more information). A newly released tool — the ARC-IC Payment Calculator — will calculate ARC-IC payments for one FSA farm enrolled in ARC-IC.  It will not handle the case of multiple FSA farms enrolled in ARC-IC.  This tool is part of the 2018 Farm Bill What-If Tool, a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that can be downloaded from the farmdoc website (https://farmdoc.illinois.edu/2018-farm-bill). We suggest farmers estimate 2019 ARC-IC payments by FSA farm, thereby allowing more informed decisions to be made between commodity title alternatives. Continue reading ARC-IC in 2019: Release of a 2019 ARC-IC Payment Calculator →

Weed Management in Ohio, Update 2019

By: Harold Watters, OSU Extension Ag Crops Field Specialist

Our OSU Extension AgNR educators observed soybean fields across the state again this fall to see what was out there for our annual fall soybean weed survey. I was supposed to share this early enough so you could at least get a fall application on to get a head start on controlling marestail, but it seems we have more problems than that to deal with.

Statewide our most frequently observed weed problem was again marestail. It was present in 36% of the fields. The second most likely observation was weed free — at 29% of the fields. That’s a big jump over several years ago, and likely due to LibertyLink, Enlist, and Extend soybeans. Third, fourth and fifth places in a three-way tie were giant ragweed, volunteer corn and then giant foxtail (or just generic grass) — all in about 19% of the fields. Next, and getting ever more widespread, is waterhemp at 15% of the fields across the state. Continue reading Weed Management in Ohio, Update 2019 →

Ohio Beef Expo set for March 19-22

Ohio Cattlemen’s Association

The Ohio Beef Expo to showcase Ohio’s beef industry is set for March 19-22 at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus. This annual event, coordinated by the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, includes a kickoff social; breed sales, shows and displays; beef quality assurance sessions; a multi-day trade show; and a highly competitive junior show.

The Ohio Beef Expo kicks off with the opening of the trade show at 3 p.m. March 19. This is the second year for the Expo to open on Thursday, allowing more time for attendees — especially those who exhibit cattle at the Expo — to visit with vendors in the Voinovich building. Continue reading Ohio Beef Expo set for March 19-22 →

The Other Fake Meat: Impossible Foods Unveils Pork, Sausage

Associated Press

After a big year for its plant-based burger, Impossible Foods has something new on its plate.

The California-based company unveiled Impossible Pork and Impossible Sausage on Monday evening at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas.

It’s Impossible Food’s first foray beyond fake beef. The Impossible Burger, which went on sale in 2016, has been a key player in the growing category of vegan meats. Like the burger, Impossible Food’s pork and sausage are made from soy but mimic the taste and texture of ground meat. Continue reading The Other Fake Meat: Impossible Foods Unveils Pork, Sausage →