AgricultuHER; Women in Agriculture Program Scheduled for February 15, 2017 in Paulding County

The Paulding County Extension office will be hosting an AgricultuHER; Women in Agriculture program on February 15, 2017 from 9:30 a.m. to  2:30 p.m. at the Paulding County Extension Office, 503 Fairground Drive, Paulding, OH 45879

This one-day intensive educational program is intended for the female producer or farm wife.  This class will be tailored toward farm financial management including cash rental agreements, Microsoft Excel basics, and balancing farm and family life.  A laptop computer or tablet would be helpful to be brought to this meeting.

The cost is $50 per person and registration is requested by February 1, 2017.  Lunch is included.  Registration after 2/1/17 and at the door is $75.  Paulding County resident scholarships are available to cover the cost of this event.

For more information about this program, please contact: Sarah Noggle 419-399-8225, noggle.17@osu.edu

 

 

OSU Extension Farm Management Series to be held in Frazeysburg, Ohio

Where am I? Where do I want to be? How can I get there? Producers new to farming, beginning farm managers, or farm managers who want to re-focus on the financial management of their farm business will all benefit from participating in the 2017 Coshocton, Licking, Muskingum Counties Farm Management series.  This program will help participants answer these questions by learning to analyze agricultural enterprise costs and to work with agricultural lenders.

The farm management seminar series will be held Monday evenings January 23, 30 and February 6 from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm.  Presenters include OSU Extension educators, Extension specialists and representatives from local agricultural financial institutions.  The farm management seminar series will be held at the Frazeysburg Presbyterian Church.

Topics that will be covered in the series include:

  • Making Record Keeping Do More Than the Tax Return
  • What Is the Mission of Your Farming Operation
  • Developing Your Balance Sheet
  • Basics of Finance
  • Developing Your Business Plan
  • Farm Transition Planning

The farm management seminar series is sponsored by Farm Credit Mid-America, North Valley Bank and The Community Bank.

Registration for the workshop series is $30 and includes the program, handouts and a light supper provided each evening.  An informational flyer and registration form is available on the Coshocton County Extension web site at go.osu.edu/clmfarm.  For more information contact Emily Adams at the Coshocton County office (740-622-2265 or adams.661@osu.edu) or Clifton Martin at the Muskingum County office (740-454-0144 or martin.2422@osu.edu ). The deadline to register is January 13, 2017.  Registration is limited to the first 30 paid registrants.

Farm Financial Management School to be held in Wayne County

Wayne County Extension is hosting a 6-evening farm financial management school on Thursday evenings in January and February.   The school will begin the evening of January 12 and run six consecutive Thursday evenings through February16.  This year’s school is going to focus on helping participants to answer 3 basic financial questions:

  • Where am I (the farm) financially?
  • Where do I (the farm) want to be financially?
  • How do I (the farm) get there?

The school will be structured to include presentations, discussion, and hands-on activities.  Participants will learn how to put together and use financial documents to measure their current farm financial situation, track expenses and cash flow, make decisions to help improve or maintain the financial situation, and work more effectively with Ag lenders.  Topics that will be covered over the 6 week school include: mission statements, balance sheets, cost of production, family living expense, farm income statements, farm cash flow statements, enterprise budgets, bench marking, financial standards/ratios, record keeping, budgeting,  working with ag lenders,  marketing, and crop insurance.  Each participant will receive a 3-ring binder notebook with materials and handouts from each session.

The school will be held in the commissioners meeting room located in the upper level of the county administration building.  A light meal will be available each evening at 6:45 pm and class instruction will begin at 7:00 pm and conclude by 9:30 pm each evening.  The registration cost is $50/person.  Sponsorships provided by Farm Credit Mid-America, Farmers National Bank and Wayne Savings Community Bank are helping to cover presenter costs, mileage and materials.

Pre-registration is requested to the Wayne County Extension office at 330-264-8722 by Friday, January 6 or by email to Lisa Parker, Wayne County Extension office assistant at: parker.1269@osu.edu.   A farm financial management school flyer with a registration form is available on the Wayne County Extension web site at: http://go.osu.edu/agwayne.

Computerized Farm Record Keeping Workshop using Quicken

by: Amanda Douridas and Bruce Clevenger

Are you a farmer looking for a better way to keep your farm records? As farm size, income or debt increases, many farmers and lenders look for computer programs that allow fast data entry, have internal checks for accuracy and allow summarizing of data. Most farmers begin their search by asking “Is there a simple computer program that will keep my records like the farm account books?”

If so, plan on attending OSU Extension’s “Computerized Farm Record Keeping Workshop using Quicken”

  • February 9 & 16, 2017 – 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.
    • Champaign County Community Center Conference Room B, 1512 South US Hwy 68, Urbana, OH 43078

Quicken® software was selected as it is a simple cash system.  It’s popular with farmers due to the ease of data entry and its low price of $75 to $100. This single-entry system is essentially an electronic checkbook. It allows users to record transactions of both the farm and family, to track loans, write checks, reconcile the checkbook with the bank statement, and quickly create reports for financial and tax purposes.  This workshop will use the data from an “example farm.”  Learn how to set up accounts, categorize income and expenses, run tax reports, and prepare farm production reports.  This workshop is for participants who are familiar with keyboarding and using a computer mouse. It is a medium-paced workshop and covers a variety of farming examples to maximize the learning experience. The instructor is Bruce Clevenger, OSU Extension Educator, Defiance County.

Participants will learn about Quicken® using an OSU Computer Lab provided during workshop with Quicken® software installed.  A workshop manual/home reference will be provided.  Registration is $75.00 per farm business (Maximum 2 people per farm).  Space is limited to 10 workstations. Registration is due no later than February 2, 2017.  More information about the class can be obtained by calling the Champaign County Extension office at 937-484-1526. A registration flyer can be found at http://go.osu.edu/agevents. Light refreshments will be provided.

2016 Grain Outlook Meeting to Be Held in Plain City

by: Amanda Douridas

Low crop margins are one of the biggest concerns farmers are dealing with. Projections are for crop prices seem to change daily. Are farmland rental rates going to provide any relief? What about input costs? These are all difficult questions to answer given predicting the future impossible. Based on their experience and research, University experts will do their best to answer these questions during a series of Outlook Meetings across the state.

Extension in Champaign, Madison and Union Counties, along with the Union County Agriculture Association are hosting a Grain Outlook Breakfast at the Der Dutchman in Plain City on January 27 from 8:30-noon. The cost to attend is $10 and reservations can be made by January 20 to the Union County Extension Office, 18000 St. Rt. 4, Suite E, Marysville, OH 43040. For more information, visit: http://go.osu.edu/agevents.

Dr. Carl Zulauf will examine what the grain markets are telling us and the price and return outlook for 2017. The morning will also feature a presentation from Barry Ward on examining land values, rents, crop input costs and potential crop profitability for the coming year. Additionally, Peggy Kirk Hall, J.D., will address ten legal trends that could change agriculture.

Other locations around the state can be found at: https://u.osu.edu/ohioagmanager/