Author: marrison.2

Lady Landlord Program Slated for March 31

by: Eric Richer, Extension Educator

Do you have questions for what are the best practices for farmland leasing? Would you like to incorporate conservation practices or other items into your lease agreement? Do you know what should be in writing? If you are a farmland owner or farmer and you have these types of questions, consider attending the Lady Landlord program on Tuesday, March 31st from 9 am to 1 pm at the Robert Fulton Ag Center, 8770 State Route 108, Wauseon, OH. Attorney Peggy Hall, OSU Extension Ag Law Specialist, will discuss the legal aspects of farmland leasing.  Other topics will include understanding the current market’s cost of production (enterprise budgets), incorporating conservation into leases, landlord-tenant communication, and farmland liability coverage.  This program is open to all farmland owners and farmers. Registration cost is $20 per landowner or farm family and is due by March 27th.  Lunch and materials are included in registration. More information can be found by visiting www.fulton.osu.edu or calling 419-337-9210.

Mental Health First Aid Training for Agricultural Professionals Offered by OSU Extension

by: Chris Zoller, Extension Educator, ANR

The wet weather of 2019 caused a great deal of stress for farmers and Ohio’s agricultural industry.  While we don’t know what Spring 2020 will bring, there are indications that we may have another delayed start to the planting season.  Ohio State University Extension educators and specialists responded last year with the creation of a website (https://u.osu.edu/2019farmassistance/home/) to address Ohio’s agricultural challenges.  This website continues to be maintained with resources that address agronomic crops, financial management, and stress management.

Through a grant from the USDA Farm Stress and Rural Assistance Network, Ohio State University Extension is able to offer Mental Health First Aid Training for agriculture professionals at seven locations across Ohio between mid-March and mid-April.  Training dates and locations include:

March 18             FABE Building at OARDC Wooster

March 19             OSU Extension Regional Office, Caldwell

March 27             OSU Extension Fayette County

March 30             OSU Piketon

April 9                   OSU Lima Campus

April 14                 OSU Extension Butler County

April 17                 OSU Extension Franklin County

The registration fee is $20 per person and includes eight hours of training by OSU Extension professionals, materials, and lunch.  Space is limited at each location.  Training begins at 8:15 am and will conclude by 5 pm.  To register, please click here: https://go.osu.edu/mhfa20

OSU Extension to Host Two Northwest Ohio Farm Transition Programs

by: Eric Richer, OSU Extension Fulton County & Sarah Noggle, OSU Extension Paulding County

Are you interested in starting the conversation for a successful farm transition to the next generation?  OSU Extension in Northwest Ohio is holding two separate but identical farm transition meetings to assist farmers in navigating the farm transition process.

The first night will focus on the senior generation (all are invited) including estate and Medicaid planning, communication through the process, farm financial affairs and vision/management transition. The second night will focus on the next generation (all are invited) including entity formation and use in transition planning, a recap of wills & trusts, accounting implications like capital gains, gifting and share valuation, and committing to the process. Local legal and accounting professionals will be teaching sessions along with local county Extension educators.  For either program location, the cost is $20 per farm entity for both nights and including refreshments and materials.

In Fulton County, the 2-night program will be held at the Robert Fulton Ag Center, 8770 State Route 108, Wauseon, OH 43567 on January 28th and February 11th from 6:30-9:00 pm. If you are interested in the Fulton County program, download the registration form at www.go.osu.edu/fultonagprograms2020 or visit www.fulton.osu.edu. Pre-registration closes Friday, January 24th.

In Paulding County, the 2-night program will be held at the Paulding County Extension Office, 503 Fairgrounds Drive, Paulding, OH 45879 on February 20th and 27th from 6:30-9:00 pm. If you are interested in the Paulding County program, visit www.paulding.osu.edu for registration details. Pre-registration closes February 6.

Planning for the Future of Your Farm Program Planned in Tuscarawas Country

by: Chris Zoller, Extension Educator, ANR

A two-evening “Planning for the Future of Your Farm” program will be held February 12 and 19 from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm each evening.  The program will be held at the Village of Tuscarawas Community Center on Cherry Street in Tuscarawas.

David Marrison, OSU Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Coshocton County, will discuss developing the next generation of managers, family communications, providing income for multiple generations, keeping your farm competitive, and preparing for the unexpected.  These topics will be discussed the evening of February 12.

The evening of February 19 will feature Peggy Hall, Attorney and OSU Extension Ag Law Specialist, and Robert Moore, Attorney, Wright and Moore Law.  Peggy and Robert will discuss farm business structures, estate and transfer strategies, trusts, life insurance, tax planning, and much more.

Registration for the program is $25 per person or $35 per family.  Please make your check payable to OSU Extension-Tuscarawas County, 419 16th St. SW, New Philadelphia, OH 44663.  Please RSVP by February 5.  Questions may be directed to Chris Zoller at 330-339-2337 or zoller.1@osu.edu.

 

Farm Succession Workshop to be held in Kenton, Ohio

by: Jeff Stachler, Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Educator

A two-day workshop about Farm Transition / Succession is planned for February 3 and 25, 2020.  Participants must attend both days.  The workshop will be held at Mid-Ohio Energy conference room which is located at 1210 Lima Street, Kenton, OH 43326.  Each day the program runs from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm with registration at 9:30 am.

One of Extension’s most knowledgeable individuals regarding Farm Transition is David Marrison from Coshocton County.  On the first Day of the workshop David will discuss about the Key questions to answer when planning for the future of the family farm business, Providing income for multiple generations and developing the next generation of farm managers, Retirement strategies, and much more.

The speakers for the second day are Robert Moore of Wright and Moore Law Co. and Peggy Hall, OSU Field Specialist for Agriculture and Resource Law.  They will focus on topics such as Analyzing risk in today’s world, Estate and transfer strategies, Buy/sell agreements, Tax implications of estate and transition planning, and much more.

Cost of the program is $30 per person made payable to OSU Extension – Hardin County.  It is preferred that you send in your registration fee prior to the program to the following address:  1021 W. Lima Street, Suite 103, Kenton, OH 43326.  If you have questions about registering feel free to call the Hardin County Extension Office at 419-674-2297 or e-mail Jeff Stachler (stachler.1@osu.edu).

 

Ohio Farm Custom Rate Survey 2020

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.

Custom farming providers and customers often negotiate an agreeable custom farming machinery rate by utilizing Extension surveys results as a starting point. Ohio State University Extension collects surveys and publishes survey results from the Ohio Farm Custom Survey every other year. This year we are updating our published custom farm rates for Ohio.

We need your assistance in securing up-to-date information about farm custom work rates, machinery and building rental rates and hired labor costs in Ohio.

This year we have an online survey set up that anyone can access. We would ask that you  respond even if you know only a few rates.  We want information on actual rates, either what you paid to hire custom work or what you charged if you perform custom work. Custom Rates should include all ownership costs of implement & tractor (if needed), operator labor, fuel and lube. If fuel is not included in your custom rate charge there is a place on the survey to indicate this.

 You may access the survey at: ohio farm custom rates survey 2020

Or: https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7WN0eNQz3VO41nv

The deadline to complete the survey is March 31, 2020.

 

Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Soybean Council Energy Study: Understanding the Impact of Demand Charges & Power Factor in Agriculture

Farmers have long explored options to provide energy savings associated with their agricultural operations. Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Soybean Council have partnered to provide research-based data driven tools to help Ohio farmers assess and navigate various energy infrastructure investment options for their farm. Specifically, the project team is interested in learning more about your experience and interest in implementing energy management strategies such as peak demand reduction, power factor correction, and/or the integration of solar generation systems to reduce electricity costs on your farm.

Farmers with commercial rate structures that charge for peak demand and poor power factor can implement equipment and management strategies to reduce electricity costs, thus increasing long-term profitability. However, very little is known about the economic feasibility of investing in equipment to reduce peak electric demand charges in agriculture. To determine the economic feasibility of implementing energy management strategies it is important to simultaneously study the real costs of installing new equipment, ongoing risks, challenges, as well as understanding how these improvements will influence the calculations of a farms electric bill a comprehensive manner.

If you are an Ohio farmer and interested in participating, you may click the survey link below to participate in this voluntary study. The survey will take less than 5 minutes and is designed to determine the overall level of interest in implementing energy management strategies such as peak demand reduction, power factor correction, the integration of solar generation systems to reduce electricity costs on your farm and to identify individuals who have experience with on-farm energy management strategies to summarize benefits and challenges. This project will provide our research team with data to identify actionable recommendations that will inform future Extension outreach and education programs.

If you have additional questions regarding this study please contact Eric Romich, Ohio State University Extension Field Specialist, at 419-294-4931 or by e-mail at: (romich.2@osu.edu).

Survey Link: https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4MaQn34JafSQlQ9

OSU Extension to Host 7th Annual East Ohio Women in Agriculture Conference

Ohio State University (OSU) Extension, the outreach arm of the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) will host the 7th Annual East Ohio Women in Agriculture Conference.  This year’s conference convenes on Thursday, March 19 from 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the RG Drage Career Technical Center, 2800 Richville Drive SE in Massillon.  All women and young women (high school age) who are interested in, involved in, or want to become involved with food, agricultural, or natural resources production or small business are encouraged and welcomed to attend.

The conference program features an agency/vendor fair and eighteen educational breakout sessions presented by OSU Extension educators, producers and partner agencies.  Sessions focus around five themes: Business & Finance, Plants & Animals, Communication, Home & Family and Special Interest (areas of specific interest to attendees).  Farm and Dairy Editor, Rebecca Miller is the conference featured keynote speaker. Her presentation will engage and enlighten participants on “Clinging to context in a noisy world: don’t lose sight of your “why”.

Interested individuals can register for the conference on-line at go.osu.edu/eowia2020.  Cost of the conference is $55 for adult participants and $30 for students.  Conference fee includes conference participation, continental breakfast, lunch and conference handouts.   Deadline for registration is Thursday, March 12.

Registered participants, community organizations or businesses interested in sponsorships and/or securing an informational or vendor table can do so from the registration page or contact 1-740-264-2212 to obtain more information.  A list of sponsorship opportunities is also available from the registration page.

Stay connected with the Ohio Women in Agriculture Learning Network on Facebook @OHwomeninag or subscribe to the Ohio Women in Agriculture blogsite at http://u.osu.edu/ohwomeninag/

2020 Central Ohio Agronomy School

by: John Barker, OSU Extension Educator

“The Nuts & Bolts About Corn & Soybean Production”

The 2020 Central Ohio Agronomy School will be held on Monday evenings, beginning on Monday,  February 10 through Monday March 9, from 6:30 –9:00 p.m. in the conference room of the Ag Services Building, 1025 Harcourt Rd. Mt. Vernon, Ohio 43050.   This five-week program will provide the attendees with the most comprehensive, up-to-date crop production and agricultural technology information available today.  This school is designed with everyone in mind; part-time or full-time producer, beginner or CCA agronomist.  Within each subject area we will teach the basic concepts and progress to the most advanced agronomic principles.

Topics include:

February 10   – Bruce Ackley, OSU Weed Science.

Weed Identification with Live Plants at Various Growth Stages.

Palmer, Waterhemp, Pigweed, Marestail, Various Grasses and more!

– Dr. Mark Loux, OSU Weed Science

Developing a Multi-Year Herbicide Program for Tough to Control Weeds

Weed control update for 2020

February 17   – Dr. Scott Shearer, OSU Chair, Food, Agriculture and Biological Engineering

                                    Field Compaction Research

  – Dr. Elizabeth Hawkins, Field Specialist, OSU Extension

              2019 On-farm Research Results

February 24   – Ben Brown, OSU College of Food, Agriculture, & Environmental Sciences

                                    Farming & Marketing in an Uncertain World

– Peggy Hall OSU Agricultural & Resource Law Program

“Hot” Agricultural Law Topics

March 2         – Glen Arnold, Field Specialist, OSU Extension

                                     Is Manure Right for You?

– Dr. Jeff Stachler, OSU Extension – Auglaize County

                                    Weed Seeds in Manure. 

 March 9         – Marne Tichenell, Wildlife Specialist, OSU Extension

Wildlife Damage in Field Crops

– Aaron Wilson, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center

                                    How Weather is Affecting our Farming Operations

2018 Weather Outlook

This school will provide:

14 continuing education credits (CEU’s) for Certified Crop Advisors,

C.M. 2, I.P.M. 6.5, N.M 2, P.D. 1.5,  S&W 2.0.

8 hours of Commercial Pesticide Credits

Core – 2 hrs., 2a – .5 hrs., 2c – 2 hrs., 2d –.5 hrs., 9 – .5 hrs., 10c – .5 hrs., 15 – 2 hrs.

8 hours of Private Pesticide Recertification Credits

Core – 2 hrs.,  Cat 1- 2.5 hrs., Cat 2 – .5 hrs., Cat 6 – .5hrs., Cat 7 – .5 hrs., Cat 15 – 2 hrs.

Registration costs vary due to CUE credits and pesticide applicator credits.

This program is sponsored by The Ohio State University Extension, Advantage Ag & Equipment, B&B Farm Service, Central Ohio Farmers CO-OP, Channel, Clark Seeds, Cubbage Electric, Farmcredit, First-Knox National Bank, and Seed Consultants.

For more information contact the OSU Extension Office in Knox County (740-397-0401).  The following links will provide more information for this program.  http://u.osu.edu/knoxcountyag/ or https://knox.osu.edu/

 

OSU Extension to Offer Lunch and Learn Webinars

By: Chris Bruynis, Extension Educator

In the age of multi-tasking and convenience, OSU Extension is offering a lunch and learn webinar series for farmers. We have arranged for eight topic and speakers to provide a webinar every Wednesday starting on Wednesday, February 5, 2020 and concluding March 25, 2020. Join us for eight consecutive Wednesdays for this educational series starting at 11:45 am and lasting 1.5 hours. Learn important risk management information during this lunch and learn series from top industry, private sector, and university experts important to the success of farm businesses in 2020 and beyond.

The topics that will be covered include:

February 5:         Using Financial Statements/Ratios to Make Informed Financial Decisions

February 12:      Farm Law 101: Leasing and Financing Agreements

February 19:      Grain Contracts and Markets: What to Use When

February 26:      Where to Start with Workers Compensation Benefits

March 4:             Meeting with a Lender: What Numbers are Important

March 11:           Estate Planning: What are the Tools and Options

March 18:           Grain Marketing Strategies for 2020

March 25:           Tips for Recruiting, Hiring, and Retaining Farm Business Employees

Farmers interested in participating should register at http://go.osu.edu/fm2020 by January 31, 2020.  At this website you can access detailed information on the speakers and the learning objectives for each session. There is also a registration link for the webinar at this site. The cost for all eight topics is $25 per registration and must be paid with credit card at time of registration.

Any question can be directed to Chris Bruynis or Marianne Guthrie at 740-702-3200 or email bruynis.1@osu.edu. We hope this program series will be beneficial to your farm business, whether you attend all the topic presentations or just some of them.