Farm Credit Mid-America Condition and Performance

By:  Rae Ju, a Ph.D. student, Charles Smith, an undergraduate student, and Ani L. Katchova, Professor and Farm Income Enhancement Chair in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics at The Ohio State University.

Click here to access the pdf version of the report.

  • Farm Credit Mid-America (FCMA) is an important agricultural credit institution in the Farm Credit System, providing agricultural loans, insurance, and leasing to the agricultural sector.
  • FCMA’s total loan portfolio consisted of several types of loans: 62.9% of real estate mortgage loans, followed by 17.4% of production and intermediate loans and 12.2% of agribusiness loans in 2022.
  • FCMA’s total percentage of risk loans fell from 1.66% in 2017 to 0.81% in 2022.
  • FCMA’s net interest income continuously increased, reaching $615 million in 2022, aligning with an upward trend in net income that reached $457 million in 2022.
  • FCMA’s net interest margin remained relatively stable, remaining at 2.2% from 2018 to 2020, with a slight decline to 2.1% in 2021 and remained the same in 2022.

Ohio Farmland Trends and Preservation

By:  Xiaoyi Fang and Zhining Sun, Ph.D. students and Ani L. Katchova, Professor and Farm Income Enhancement Chair in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics at The Ohio State University and Rabail Chandio, an Assistant Professor and Extension Economist in the Department of Economics at Iowa State University.

Click here to access the pdf version of the report.

  • 95% of farmland is dedicated to cropland in Ohio.
  • Cropland values in Ohio have had an upward trend, and increased by 9% in 2023, while the number of acres operated has declined over the years.
  • 85% of the total rented farmland in Ohio was owned by non-operator landlords in 2014.
  • Ohio’s operator landlords received $174.39 million in rent in 2014. Non-operator landlords received $844.62 million in rent, or 82.9% of the total rent paid in 2014.
  • 9% of Ohio’s farmland is held by individuals aged 55 and over, suggesting a significant transfer of land to the next generation is expected in the future.
  • Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Farmland Preservation Office has offered several programs to help preserve Ohio farmland.

 

Foreign Investments in Ohio Farmland

By:  Vishavdeep Sharma, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics at The Ohio State University, Rabail Chandio, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Iowa State University, and Ani L. Katchova, a Professor and Farm Income Enhancement Chair in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics at The Ohio State University.

Click here to access the pdf version of the report.

In recent years, Ohio has experienced a significant increase in foreign investments in farmland resulting in 529,269 acres being held by foreign investors in 2022, contributing to the national trend of increasing foreign ownership of US farmland with 43,418,141 acres held by foreign investors in 2022.

The proportion of foreign held to privately held farmland was 2.7% in Ohio, 2.2% in the Midwest, and 3.4% in the US in 2022.

The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) is a federal law that requires foreign investors to disclose transactions of US farmland. Ohio’s legislation, named “Save our Farmland and Protect our National Security Act,” additionally maintains a registry of individuals and organizations prohibited from acquiring farmland in the state of Ohio.

In Ohio, Canada (14.9%) and Germany (14.6%) lead foreign investments in farmland. The largest proportion of foreign held farmland is by Canadian investors at 32.1% of the total foreign held farmland in the US, and at 26.5% of the total foreign held farmland in the Midwest.

 

2024 Second Quarter Fertilizer Prices Across Ohio

Authors: Amanda Bennett, Eric Richer, Clint Schroeder, OSU Extension

Click here to access a PDF version of this article

Results from a quarterly survey of retail fertilizer prices in the state of Ohio revealed fertilizer prices were slightly lower than national averages reported by Progressive Farmer – DTN (Quinn, 2024). The survey was completed by 32 retailers, representing 19 counties, who do business in the state of Ohio. Respondents were asked to quote spot prices as of the first day of the quarter (April 1st) based on sale type indicated. This is part of a larger study conducted by OSU Extension to better understand local fertilizer prices, which began in December 2023.

In summary, survey participants reported the average price of all fertilizers was lower in Ohio compared to the national prices, except for DAP (18-46-0) at $785/ton in Ohio versus $780/ton nationally, (Quinn, 2024).

The chart below (Table 1.) is the summary of the survey responses. The responses (n) are the number of survey responses for each product. The minimum and maximum values reflect the minimum and maximum values reported in the survey. The average is the simple average of all survey responses for each product rounded to the nearest dollar. We recognize that many factors influence a company’s spot price for fertilizer including but not limited to availability, geography, volume, cost of freight, competition, regulation, etc.

Table 1. Second Quarter 2024 Ohio Fertilizer Prices

 

 

Product Responses (n) Sale Type Min

$/ton

 Max

$/ton

Avg

$/ton
Anhydrous ammonia 82-0-0 15 FOB Plant $707 $870 $785
UAN 28-0-0 19 Direct to Farm $309 $600 $348
Urea 46-0-0 17 FOB Plant $522 $680 $561
MAP 11-52-0 19 FOB Plant $745 $1079 $795
DAP18-46-0 9 FOB Plant $760 $830 $785
APP 10-34-0 20 Direct to Farm $553 $680 $602
Potash 0-0-60 20 FOB Plant $432 $512 $472
Ammonium Sulfate 21-0-0-24 18 FOB Plant $430 $585 $479
Ammonium Thio-Sulfate 12-0-0-26 13 FOB Plant $325 $448 $385
Poultry Litter 9 Delivered & applied, <25 miles $45 $72 $55

When compared to results from the previous quarter’s survey, prices for fertilizers saw a modest increase, with only anhydrous ammonia, MAP and potash showing a slight decrease. DAP and urea saw the most increase in price from the previous quarter with DAP up $50/ton and urea up $59/ton. This increase equates to an increase in price of 9% for both DAP and urea. Only ammonium thio-sulfate remained unchanged.

Quarter 2 survey data included nine responses to questions about poultry litter, delivered and applied within a 25-mile radius of the facility. Prices ranged from $45-72/ton with an average of $55/ton reported. If you are a retailer interested in participating in this study, please contact Amanda Bennett at bennett.709@osu.edu.

Resources

Bennett, A., Richer, E., & Schroeder, C. (2024). 2024 First Quarter Fertilizer Prices Across Ohio. Ohio Ag Manager Blog.

https://u.osu.edu/ohioagmanager/2024/01/17/first-quarter-2024-fertilizer-prices-across-ohio/

Quinn, R. 2024. DTN Retail Fertilizer Trends. DTN Progressive Farmer. Accessed online April 11, 2024 at https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/crops/article/2024/04/10/uan28-leads-fertilizer-prices-higher

Farm Office Live to be held on April 19 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon

OSU Extension and the Farm Office Team is pleased to be offering the “Farm Office Live” webinar on Friday, April 19, 2024 from 10:00 to 12:00 noon

This month’s webinar will feature the following topics:

  • CAT Tax – Closing Accounts
  • Taxation of Equipment Trade-ins
  • 2024 Crop Input Outlook
  • OSU Fertilizer Survey Q2 Release
  • Dairy Margin Coverage Program
  • Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Update
  • Transferring Operating Assets
  • Beneficial Ownership Reporting Update
  • Trends in Farm Appraisals

Featured presenters will include: Jason Hartschuh (OSU Field Specialist- Dairy Management and Precision Livestock), Clint Schroeder (Program Manager – Farm Business Analysis), Robert Moore (OSU Ag and Resource Law Program), Amanda Bennett (OSU Extension Educator), Barry Ward and Jeff Lewis (OSU Income Tax School Program), and David Marrison and Eric Richer  (OSU Field Specialists -Farm Management) and special guest Tim Harpster.

To register for this program (or to access replays of previous programs):

go.osu.edu/farmofficelive

Ohio Farm Numbers, Land in Farms, and Agricultural Land Lost to Development

By: Professor Ani Katchova, Farm Income Enhancement Chair and PhD students Xiaoyi Fang and Rae Ju in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics (AEDE) at the Ohio State University.

Click here to access the pdf version of the report.

According to the Census of Agriculture, the number of farms in Ohio decreased from 77,797 farms in 2002 to 76,009 farms in 2022, a decrease of 2.3% over the 20-year period.  Land in farms in Ohio decreased from 14,583,435 acres in 2002 to 13,652,346 acres in 2022, leading to a loss of 931,089 acres between 2002 and 2022, representing a 6.4% decrease.

According to the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) of the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium using satellite imagery data (https://www.mrlc.gov/eva/), 355,085 acres in agricultural land (cultivated crops and pasture/hay) were lost in Ohio from 2001 to 2021. Specifically, 180,691 acres of agricultural land in Ohio was lost to development, which represents 51% of the agricultural land loss being attributed to development from 2001 to 2021.

Counties located in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) had among the largest percentage declines in farm numbers (by about 35%) and land in farms (by about 35% to 65%) and among the highest percentages of agricultural land lost to development (above 65%) across the state of Ohio.

 

OSU Extension Farm Office Live to be held on Friday, March 15 from 10:00 to 12:00 noon

OSU Extension and the Farm Office Team is pleased to be offering the “Farm Office Live” webinar on Friday, March 15, 2024 from 10:00 to 12:00 noon

This month’s webinar will feature the following topics:

  • 2nd Marriages and Transition Planning
  • Legislative Update
  • New Rule for Independent Contractors
  • 2024 Crop Input Outlook
  • Industry Panel on WASDE and Strategies for the 2024 Grain Marketing Plan
  • Hot Topics
  • Upcoming Programs

Featured presenters will include: Robert Moore and Peggy Hall (OSU Ag and Resource Law Program), Barry Ward and Jeff Lewis (OSU Income Tax School Program), and Bruce Clevenger  (OSU Field Specialist -Farm Management).

To register for this program (or to access replays of previous programs):

go.osu.edu/farmofficelive

Characteristics of Ohio Women in Agriculture

By: PhD student Rae Ju and Professor Ani Katchova, Farm Income Enhancement Chair, in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics (AEDE), and Nanette L. Neal and Sarah Noggle, Extension Educators in Agriculture and Natural Resources in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Department of Extension at the Ohio State University.

Click here to access the pdf version of the report.

Using data from the 2022 Census of Agriculture, the characteristics of female farmers in Ohio are examined and compared to the overall farming population. Continue reading Characteristics of Ohio Women in Agriculture →

Ohio Farmland Leasing Update webinar is March 1

Northeast Ohio Small Farm Financial to be held in Cortland, Ohio on March 9 and 16

By: Lee Beers, Extension Educator – Trumbull County

Small and beginning farmers in NE Ohio are encouraged to participate in the new in-depth farm management educational program! The college will consist of two Saturday courses to be held on the March 9 and March 16, 2024. Both days will run from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM with lunch included. Both days will be held at the OSU Extension Trumbull County Office, located at 520 West Main St in Cortland, Ohio. This course will offer 10 hours of farm management education that will help start your farm on the path to financial success.

The college is designed to help landowners examine potential ways to increase profits on their small acreage properties. The program is open to all new or aspiring farmers, new rural landowners, small farmers, and farm families looking for new ideas. During this college, participants will be challenged to develop realistic expectations for their new farm business. They will receive information on getting started, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of their property, and developing a farm business plan. Information on farm finances, insurance, liability, labor, and marketing will be covered during the college.

The cost for the college is $100 per participant, with the option to bring an additional family/farm member for $50. This program also qualifies attendees for the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program. Those interested in receiving this credit would be subject to additional requirements and fees (More information is available later in this release and online). Those interested in registering for this college, please access: https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4HqwjHUs1yJGQx8

More information about the college can be obtained by calling the Trumbull County Extension office at 330-638-6783