Upcoming Events

Farm Office Live Webinar to be held on January 17 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.

OSU Extension will be offering a Farm Office Live webinar on Friday, January 17 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. Farm Office Live is a monthly webinar of updates and outlooks on legal, economic, and farm management issues that affect Ohio agriculture. Topics which will be addressed during the January webinar include:

  • Legislative Round-Up
  • Farm Bill and American Relief Act of 2025
  • Farm Business Analysis Program Update
  • Long Term Care Update
  • Quarterly Fertilizer Update
  • Crop Input Outlook
  • Livestock Outlook
  • 1099 Reminders
  • Winter Program Update

Featured speakers include Peggy Hall, David Marrison, Robert Moore, Eric Richer, Garth Ruff, Clint Schroeder and Barry Ward.

Register for this and future Farm Office Live webinars through this link on farmoffice.osu.edu.

Past recordings and additional information about the Farm Office Live Webinars can be accessed at:

https://farmoffice.osu.edu/farmofficelive

 

Quarterly Grain Conversation Slated for 2025

OSU Extension invites grain producers and industry personnel to save the dates for the quarterly grain market conversations with Dr. Seungki Lee, Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics (AEDE). This quarterly zooms will be held on February 14, May 16, August 15, and November 14.  Each zoom will be held from 7:30 – 8:00 a.m.

During these Zoom webinars, Dr. Lee will provide his insights on the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) crop report. “These early morning webinars will be a great way for Ohio farmers to learn more about the factors impacting the corn, soybean, and wheat markets” said David Marrison, Interim Director for OSU Extension’s Farm Financial Management and Policy Institute.  Producers are encouraged to bring their questions to this early morning conversation.

CoffeewithSeungkiLee2025-final

There is no fee to attend this quarterly webinar session. Pre-registration can be made at go.osu.edu/coffeewithDrLee

These webinars are sponsored by: OSU Extension, Farm Financial Management & Policy Institute (FFMPI), and Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics (AEDE).

 

OSU Extension Assist Farm Families with Farm Transition and Estate Planning

If you and your family are grappling with the critical issue of how to transition the farm operation and farm assets to the next generation, OSU Extension is here to help.  Attend one of our “Planning for the Future of Your Farm” workshops this winter to learn about the communication and legal strategies that provide solutions for dealing with farm transition needs and decision making.  We’ve scheduled both a webinar version and several in-person options for the workshop.

This workshop challenges farm families to actively plan for the future of the farm business.  Learn how to have crucial conversations about the future of your farm and gain a better understanding of the strategies and tools that can help you transfer your farm’s ownership, management, and assets to the next generation. We encourage parents, children, and grandchildren to attend together to develop a plan for the future of the family and farm.

Teaching faculty for the workshop are David Marrison, OSU Extension Farm Management Field Specialist, and Robert Moore, Attorney with the OSU Agricultural & Resource Law Program. Topics which will be covered in the workshop include:

  • Developing goals for estate and transition planning
  • Planning for the transition of control
  • Planning for the unexpected
  • Communication and conflict management during farm transfer
  • Federal estate tax challenges
  • Tools for transferring assets
  • Tools for avoiding probate
  • The role of wills and trusts
  • Using LLCs
  • Strategies for on-farm and off-farm heirs
  • Strategies for protecting the farmland
  • Developing your team
  • Getting your affairs in order
  • Selecting an attorney

Webinar version.  You and your family members can attend the workshop individually from the comfort of your homes.  The four-part webinar series will be February 3, 10, 17, and 24, 2025 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. via Zoom. Pre-registration is required so that a packet of program materials can be mailed in advance to participating families. Electronic copies of the course materials will also be available to all participants. The registration fee is $99 per farm family.  Register by January 22, 2025 in order to receive course materials in time. Click here to register or go.osu.edu/successionregistration

In-person workshops.  Our local Extension Educators are hosting in-person workshops at five regional locations across Ohio during the upcoming winter.  Registration costs vary by. The in-person workshops will be held on

Registration is required.  Find registration information for all workshops at go.osu.edu/farmsuccession

Thank you! OSU Extension would like to thank Ohio Corn and Wheat for their generous sponsorship of these programs.

We hope you’ll join us to move forward on planning for the future of your farm!  For questions about the workshop, please contact David Marrison at marrison.2@osu.edu or 740-722-6073.

 

Overview of Ag Outlook and Policy Meeting Offered in 2025

To start off the new year Ohio State University Extension will be offering Regional Agricultural Outlook and Policy Meetings across the state. There will be six meetings held from January through February, which will address topics of interest on state and national levels.

Economists from the Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics (AEDE), Extension specialists, and invited guests will present on their expertise. Programs will include presentations covering topics like inputs outlook, weather outlook, grain marketing, dairy and beef outlook, farm business analysis, and energy outlook. The agenda will differ for each meeting so be sure to check with the county on what topics they will be covering.

The outlook meetings are hosted by Wayne County, Defiance County, Allen County, Mercer County, Pickaway County, and a joint meeting is hosted by Union, Madison, and Champaign Counties.

Jan. 7, Wayne County: Secrest Welcome and Education Center 1680 Madison Ave. Wooster, Ohio from 9 am – 3 pm. Registration: RSVP by January 3rd. Call the Wayne County office at 330-264-8722. Click here to access program flyer.

Jan. 21, Defiance County: Jewell Community Center 7900 Independence Road Defiance, Ohio from 5:30-8:30 pm. Registration: RSVP by January 10th. Visit go.osu.edu/25defianceoutlook or call the Defiance County office at 419-782-4771.

Feb. 11, Allen County: Youth Activities Building on the Allen County Fairgrounds. 2750 Harding Hwy, Lima, Ohio from 9 am – 3 pm. Registration: Call the Allen County office at 419-879-9108.

Feb. 21, Union, Madison, and Champaign Counties: Champaign County Community Center Auditorium, 1512 South US Hwy 68, Urbana, OH 43078 from 8:30 am- 12:00 pm. Registration: Visit go.osu.edu/TriCountyOutlook.

Feb. 28, Mercer County: Mercer County Agricultural Center 4978 Mud Pike Road Celina, Ohio 45822 from 9 am – 1 pm. Registration: Visit go.osu.edu/merceragoutlook.

Feb. 28, Pickaway County: Rhoadhouse 56, 1051 SR 56E Circleville Ohio 43113 from 5:30 pm- 9:00 pm. Registration: Call the Pickaway County office at 740-474-7534.

 

2025 Agriculture Commodity Outlook Program to be held in Wayne County on January 7, 2025

Wayne County will host their 2025 Agriculture Commodity Outlook program on January 7th, 2025.  The program will feature a broad scope of topics relevant to all Northeast Ohio agriculture producers.  Speakers from Ohio State University, Cornell University, and Certified Angus Beef will provide outlook presentations on production input costs, 2025 weather outlook, feed grain supply and demand, the new federal milk marketing orders, and the seasonality of the retail beef market.

Click here for program flyer

The detailed agenda includes:

9:00 AM-  Inputs Outlook (Barry Ward, OSU Extension)

10:00 AM- Weather Outlook (Aaron Wilson, OSU Extension Climate/Weather Specialist)

11:00 AM – Federal Milk Marketing Order (Chris Wolf, Cornell University)

12:00 noon – Lunch

1:00 PM- Grain Market Outlook (Dr. Seungki Lee, OSU AEDE)

2:00 PM- Beef Market Seasonality (Clint Walenciak, VP Product Services – Certified Angus Beef)

The program will be held at the OSU Secrest Arboretum Welcome and Education Center from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.  Registration is at 8:30 AM.  The cost of the program is $20 and lunch and refreshments will be provided.  For more information, or to register, please call the OSU Extension office – Wayne County at 330-264-8722.

OSU’s Farm On: Financial Management Course to be Offered in Winter and Summer Sessions Beginning in 2025

By Eric Richer, Field Specialist- Farm Management

Click here for information about the course

The Farm On Financial Management Course has been available to Ohio farmers for the last 18 months in a convenient, self-paced and continuously on-demand platform. Beginning in 2025, the course will be re-structured to a winter and summer session format. The Winter 2025 session will run from January 1 through March 31st, with a December 1, 2024-January 15, 2025 enrollment period. The Summer 2025 session will run from July 1-September 30, with a June 1-July 15, 2025 enrollment period. Each session will last approximately 90 calendar days.

The new format will allow for several improvements to the course including time to update content, a cohort-style learning environment and optional Zoom sessions with the lead instructor. Consistent with the previous format, the enrollees will navigate the course at their own pace and on their own schedule within the 90-day session. Estimated time for completion of the course remains 20-24 hours.

Completion of the Farm On Financial Management Course meets the requirements of the Ohio Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program and the Borrower Training Requirements of the USDA Farm Service Agency’s Direct Farm Loan Programs. To date, over 110 Ohio farmers have enrolled in the course.

The Farm On Financial Management Course was created by Ohio State University Extension professionals and is offered through OSU Extension’s new Farm Financial Management and Policy Institute (FFMPI). Housed within OSU Extension, the goal of FFMPI is for the integration, translation, and communication of CFAES’ farm management and ag policy presence that addresses critical farm management and policy issues affecting Ohioans.

For more information on the course and to enroll, visit  https://go.osu.edu/farmon. Questions about the course can be directed to lead instructor Eric Richer, Associate Professor and Field Specialist in Farm Management at richer.5@osu.edu

 

 

 

 

“How to Lose Less on the Farm” workshop series to be held in London, Ohio

By: Amanda Douridas, OSU Extension Educator – Madison County

Running a profitable farm can be a challenge even with the best of commodity prices. Lower prices and higher inputs facing farmers this year are putting a serious strain on the bottom line. OSU Extension in Madison County is offering a program designed to connect producers to farm management specialists with whom they can share resources, tools and initiate discussion on how farmers can get a better handle on budgets.

This series will dive into areas of the budget where adjustments can be made. We will look at results of the FINPACK benchmarking program to see where Ohio farmers are spending the most. This can provide guidance on how one’s budget compares to other farmers in Ohio. Record keeping is not always everyone’s favorite activity but, in this series, we will see how it can help keep that budget on track.

Weed and fertility management are often the two places farmers look when budgets get tights. This session dives into where costs can safely be cut to help profitability and maintain good agronomic practices.

Of course, taxes are a key factor in farm financial management. Discover new regulations and the sunsetting of the 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Lastly, the series will end with a look into organic and alternative crops for those interested in making bigger shift in their operation.

The program is free but RSVPs are required. There is an option to attend virtually or in-person at Beck’s Hybrids. 720 US Hwy 40, London. Each offering of the workshop will be held from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Feel free to register for sessions individually and at anytime throughout the series.

RSVP: go.osu.edu/loseless.

DECEMBER 3- Budget Bootcamp

  • Enterprise budget overview and cost control- Barry Ward, Director, OSU Extension Income Tax School Program; Leader, Production Business Management
  • Calculating (and reducing) the ‘Tricky Two’ Fixed Costs in an Enterprise Budget- Eric Richer Associate Professor and Field Specialist, Farm Management

JANUARY 8- On The Record

  • Record keeping strategies to keep a budget on track- Bruce Clevenger, Associate Professor and Field Specialist, Farm Management
  • Ohio Farmers: What categories have the biggest impact on profits- Clint Schroeder, Program Manager, Farm Business Analysis

JANUARY 21- In the Field

  • Nutrient management: how to decide where to cut budget- Amanda Douridas, CCA, OSU Extension Madison County
  • Weed mgt: Reducing costs here and switching to non-GMO- Dr. Alyssa Essman, Assistant Professor, Weed Science
  • Vetting products before going all in- Amanda Douridas

FEBRUARY 4- Life, Death and Taxes

  • Farm Tax Update and Managing for the Sunset of 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act- Barry Ward and David Marrison, Professor and Field Specialist in Farm Management; Interim Director for the Farm Financial Management & Policy Institute

FEBRUARY 18- Organic and Alternative Crops

  • Hurdles associated with Organic Grain Transition- Eric Richer
  • Alternatives to Corn and Soybeans- Dr. Osler Ortez Assistant Professor, Corn & Emerging Crops

Fall Back to the Basics of Grain Marketing

By: Wm. Bruce Clevenger, Field Specialist, Farm Management

Turning the clocks back in the Fall happens on November 2, 2024.  Grain producers and farm managers are also looking at adjustments on the farm to the tightening profit margins projected for 2025.  Knowledge and action plans related to grain marketing in the coming year will be important to manage risk.

Registration is now open for the Basics of Grain Marketing Workshop, January 16 & 17, 2025 at the OSU Extension Champaign County Office in Urbana, Ohio.  This in-person workshop offers education and farm ready strategies on topics such as: basis, market carry, cash markets, forward and futures contracts, hedge to arrive and basis contracts, differed price, hedging, storage, and overviews on options, spreads, and crop insurance.  It’s “more than a 2-day workshop”, featuring pre-workshop activities on calculating grain cost of production and measure of risk comfort. Workshop content will include workshop content and activities, plus a panel of industry professionals.  A post-workshop grain marketing peer group will be offered to strengthen learning into action with webinar updates.  The workshop has 50 limited seats.

Expert instructors: Seungki Lee, The Ohio State University, Grant Gardner, University of Kentucky, and Ben Brown, University of Missouri.  For more information and registration, visit https://go.osu.edu/grainmarketing

This workshop is possible by the support of grower checkoff dollars via the Ohio Soybean Council and Ohio Corn & Wheat.  This workshop is led by Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio State University Farm Financial Management & Policy Institute.

Register Now for the January 9-10 Ohio State Organic Grains Conference

Contact:Eric Richer, The Ohio State University, Associate Professor / Farm Management Field Specialist, richer.5@osu.edu

Registration is open for the 3rd annual Ohio State Organic Grains Conference, January 9-10, 2025, at the Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Sandusky, Ohio. The conference offers programming for experienced organic growers, growers transitioning to or considering organic, and consultants or educators who support these growers.

Featured speakers for 2025 include Erin Silva, University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension Specialist in Organic and Sustainable Cropping Systems; Damon DeSutter of DeSutter Farms in Attica, Ind., Osler Ortez, Ohio State Corn and Emerging Crops Specialist; Sophie Rivest-Auger, organic field crop advisor for Centre for Expertise and Transfer in Organic and Local Agriculture, Quebec; and David Marrison, Ohio State Farm Management Field Specialist. Additional farmer, researchers, and educators from Ohio and beyond will round out the two full days of agronomic and farm management sessions. Topics for this year include interseeding cover crops in organic corn, flame cultivation, the use of biological products in organic production, setting up weed control equipment for success, nitrogen credits from cover crops and manure, farm succession planning and a market end-users panel.

Take advantage of Early Bird pricing and register now. The cost of $140 per person includes two days of programming, meals throughout the event, and opportunities to network with organic farmers in the region as well as speakers and trade show vendors.

This event is planned by Ohio State University Extension and Ohio State’s Organic Food & Farming Education and Research (OFFER) program. Continuing education credits will be available for Certified Crop Advisors (CCAs). For more information, visit go.osu.edu/OrganicGrains.

 

Farm Office Live Scheduled for October 18

OSU Extension will be offering the October Farm Office Live webinar on Friday, October 18 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.  Farm Office Live is a monthly webinar of updates and outlooks on legal, economic, and farm management issues that affect Ohio agriculture. Some of the topics which will be addressed during this webinar include:

  • Fall Crop Insurance Update
  • USDA Drought Assistance Programs
  • Legal Update
  • Tribute to Paul Wright
  • Is H-2A a Viable Option for Your Farm
  • 4th Quarterly Fertilizer Price Summary
  • Winter Program Update

Featured speakers include guest Farm Office members Peggy Hall, Jeff Lewis, David Marrison, Robert Moore, Eric Richer, and Clint Schroeder. Register for this and future Farm Office Live webinars through this link on farmoffice.osu.edu.