Month: February 2020

Learn More About eFields at Regional Meetings

By: Elizabeth Hawkins, Ohio State University Extension

Have you been enjoying the 2019 eFields Report and are excited to learn more? The Ohio State Digital Ag team is hosting six regional eFields meetings this winter. Join us to learn more about the eFields program and results we are seeing across the state. Each meeting will feature presentations highlighting local trials including seeding rate, nutrient management, and crop management. There will be a panel discussion featuring cooperating farmers who are conducting on-farm research with Ohio State Extension. We would also like to hear from you about what topics you are interested in seeing in eFields in the future. Continue reading →

TMDL Effort For Lake Erie To Be Led By Ohio EPA

Source: Ohio Ag Net online

Last week, Governor Mike DeWine announced the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s (OEPA) intention to create a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for Western Lake Erie.

Under the Clean Water Act, a TMDL is a calculation of the maximum amount of a substance (in this case phosphorus) that is allowed to enter a body of water and meet water quality standards for that pollutant. The TMDL sets a reduction goal for that pollutant for each source, such as agriculture, municipal wastewater, developed land, and septic systems. The Clean Water Act directs the state to submit a 303(d) list to U.S. EPA every two years. A TMDL must be developed for all waters identified by a state on their 303(d) list of impaired waters, according to a priority ranking on the list.

In 2018, OEPA listed the open waters of the Western Lake Erie Basin as impaired but did not commit to developing a TMDL. Once the open waters were listed, there was no question about whether a TMDL would be created, it became a question of when and whether the U.S. EPA or OEPA would oversee its development. Most of the Western Basin, and significant portions of watersheds throughout Ohio, are already slated for TMDL development or operating under a current TMDL developed by the state.

The Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association (OCWGA) and the Ohio Soybean Association (OSA) made the following statement in reaction to the announcement.

“While OCWGA and OSA do not believe a TMDL is the best way to advance the goals that have been set for Lake Erie, we recognize that an Ohio-led TMDL with state-wide stakeholder input is better than one developed at the federal level. We appreciate Governor DeWine’s leadership on water quality and his commitment to supporting farmers through significant state funding in H2Ohio. Our organizations will continue to advocate for the best interests of our growers and will communicate developments with you to keep you informed on this issue.

“Ohio’s corn, soybean, and small grain farmers have been working for over a decade to do their part in addressing water quality issues in Lake Erie by investing millions of their own dollars, implementing new conservation practices on their operations, and working closely with other agricultural organizations, universities, and environmental groups. Additionally, there is tremendous momentum among farmers to make new programs, such as H2Ohio and the Ohio Agricultural Conservation Initiative, successful.”

County Yield Numbers Set to Be Released – A better number to use in your estimate of Farm Bill payments

NASS will release 2019 county yields for corn and soybeans on Feb 20th. These county yields, along with more up-to-date price information, will be used to refine ARC/PLC decisions for 2019 and 2020.  Those counties that likely will make county yields will be identified.  Farmers in some counties may wish to revise ARC/PLC choices based on this information. These numbers are better estimates to use in your ARC-CO, PLC and ARC-IC programs.  The actual numbers will be determined by RMA and released on June 15 for corn and soybeans.

I have also had a few questions about the wheat yield estimates to use. Here is the link to the county wheat yields estimates https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Ohio/Publications/County_Estimates/2019/2019_CE_Wheat_Ohio.pdf

Don’t Miss Out on Our Farm Transition 2 Part Series

Paulding County                                        Transitioning the Family Farm Series

6:30 PM-9:00 PM

Description: This two-night series is for families looking for ways to help navigate the family farm transition process.

  • February 20 – First night will focus on the senior generation including estate planning, legal and accounting aspects, communicating your vision and management transition.
  • February 27 – This class will focus on the next generation including the “buckets of transition’, communicating your goals, personal will, taxation and entity (LLC) information.

Location: Paulding County Extension Office, 503 Fairground Drive, Paulding, OH 45879

Cost: $20 for both nights. RSVP by 2/18. Light refreshments included in registration.

Registration Contact: Sarah Noggle, (419)399-8225, noggle.17@osu.edu

Investing in Your Soil Series

 

February Investing in Soil Flyer

Join us in a soil health series. Investing in your soil is an interactive program where farmers will be completing hands-on soil health topics along with round table discussion after nightly speaker presentations. You won’t want to miss this program.  The first evening will consist of local farmers from the area in a panel setting. CCA Credits will be offered. A special thanks to The Nature Conservancy on co-sponsoring this program. Program open to farmers, consultants, family members, and the general public. The goal is to attend all three parts of the series but may attend individual sessions.

  • February 24: Featured Speaker Jamie Scott
  • March 9: Featured Speaker Rick Clark
  • March 23: Featured Speaker Local Panel Discussion

Location: Paulding County Extension Office, 503 Fairground Drive, Paulding, OH 45879

Cost: No Charge. Light refreshments included in registration.

Registration: Please register by calling office.

Contact: Sarah Noggle, (419)399-8225, noggle.17@osu.edu

Strategies for Using ARC-IC

By: Gary Schnitkey, Krista Swanson, Nick Paulson, Jonathan Coppess, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics University of Illinois; Carl Zulauf and Ben Brown, Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics Ohio State University

Strategies for evaluating Agricultural Risk Coverage at the Individual level (ARC-IC) are discussed in this article given that 2019 farm yields are known and can aid in making decisions.  We suggest estimating 2019 ARC-IC payments for each FSA farm and then ranking them from the highest to lowest payment level.  Since combined farms may not have the same payment as separate farms, we suggest evaluating combining farms beginning with the highest level and working the way down the list.  This procedure focuses totally on 2019 payments and ignores 2020 payments.  The decision to enroll in ARC-IC based on what is known for 2019,  introduces the risk of receiving a 2019 ARC-IC payment while not getting a 2020 payment that may occur when choosing ARC at the county level (ARC-CO) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC). Continue reading →

Farm Service Agency Annual Policy Reminders

The Farm Service Agency works hard to get information to you in a timely manner regarding our programs and policies. This news bulletin provides a list of important FSA annual policy reminders. Many of these reminders include important information that will assist you in maintaining federal farm program eligibility for your operation. Sending all program reminders in this one, nationally-issued news bulletin places all of the annual reminders in one location providing a single reference on maintaining eligibility for USDA programs.

If you have any questions, please contact your local FSA office. You can find contact information at Farmers.gov/service-center-locator. For more information visit the FSA website fsa.usda.gov or ask a specific question online at http://askfsa.custhelp.com/. Continue reading →

USDA Reminds Producers of Feb. 28 Deadline for CRP General Signup

Grass waterway with HeronThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds agricultural producers interested in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) 2020 general signup to enroll by February 28, 2020. This signup is available to farmers and private landowners who are either enrolling for the first time or re-enrolling for another 10 – to a 15-year term.

Farmers and landowners who enroll in CRP receive yearly rental payments for voluntarily establishing long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees (known as “covers”), which can control soil erosion, improve water quality and develop wildlife habitat on marginally productive agricultural lands. Continue reading →

From the Paulding County FSA Office

Message From the CED – Phillip E. Lautenschlager II

Producers who have farms that were 100% prevented planting and or 100% failed crops (zero yields) for the 2019 crop year will have a 100 percent revenue loss when compared to the ARC-IC Farm Guarantee. ARC-IC decision tool calculators will show payments are projected for these farms if the data is properly entered because the actual revenue for these farms is zero. However, the total revenue loss will not be fully compensated because the ARC-IC payment rate is capped at 10% of the ARC-IC farm benchmark revenue. Producers in this situation will want to do some homework. The remaining uncompensated revenue loss may become compensable by enrolling additional farms in ARC-IC. Doing so may reduce the ARC-IC payment rate yet increase the ARC-IC payment acres causing an overall increase in the potential ARC-IC payment for the program year. Adding too many farms or different combinations of farms to the ARC-IC enrollment scenario may have the opposite effect, reducing the payment rate to the extent the overall potential ARC-IC payment decreases. Because of this, this office will not navigate the available calculators and decision tools with producers as the scope and constitution of your operation, crops grown, shares, prices, yields, and the number of acres are all relevant and contributing factors in determining potential payments.

This office will certainly assist by providing you with all the available data needed to make an informed decision.  As always, the staff is prepared to answer questions you may have.

Your continued patience is appreciated as we work through the ARC/PLC enrollment period.

Respectfully,

Phil

Meetings Planned for Farmers to Apply for H2Ohio Funds

$30 Million Available for Farmers Through Governor DeWine’s H2Ohio Plan

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Dorothy Pelanda announced today that $30 million in H2Ohio funding will be available for Ohio farmers in more than a dozen counties beginning next month. The funds will be awarded as part of Governor DeWine’s H2Ohio plan to reduce agricultural phosphorus runoff and prevent algal blooms in Lake Erie.

“Since announcing the details of my H2Ohio plan in November, we’ve had a great deal of interest from farmers in the Maumee River Watershed who want to do their part to improve the health of Lake Erie,” said Governor DeWine. “H2Ohio will provide farm-by-farm support to help farmers minimize phosphorus runoff while increasing profit over the long-run.”

H2OhioFarmers living in the following 14 northwest Ohio counties will be eligible to apply for funds at their local Soil and Water Conservation Districts starting on February 1, 2020: Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Lucas, Mercer, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert, Williams, and Wood.

H2Ohio will fund investments in 10scientifically proven interventions to reduce nutrient runoff from agriculture, which is the primary cause for algal blooms in Lake Erie and elsewhere. Algal blooms can threaten drinking water and impact the health of both people and animals. Continue reading →

USDA Issues Third Tranche of 2019 MFP Payments

Press Release Release No. 0143.20

Contact: USDA Press
Email: press@oc.usda.gov

(Washington, D.C., February 3, 2020) – At the direction of President Donald J. Trump, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the third and final tranche of 2019 Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments aimed at assisting farmers suffering from damage due to unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations. The payments will begin to show up in farmers’ bank accounts by the end of this week. Continue reading →

2020 Allen County Ag Outlook and Agronomy Day

Join Allen County OSU Extension Office on Thursday, February 6 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for the 2020 Allen County Ag Outlook and Agronomy Day at the Allen County Fairgrounds (2750 Harding Hwy, Lima, Ohio). Speakers for this event include Ben Brown, Barry Ward, Aaron Wilson, Ian Sheldon, Jeff Stachler and Elizabeth Hawkins. Vendors will also be onsite.

The registration fee is $15 by January 31 or $20 at the door. Light breakfast, lunch, and a presentation folder are included in the registration fee. Register at 419-879-9108 or schroeder.307@osu.edu.

Warmer and wetter, Ohio’s climate is shifting

By Alayna DeMartini

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Little snow, warmer days. It’s been an unusual winter.

Or has it?

For the past four decades, Ohio’s winters have been warming twice as fast as its summers. And the state is getting more rainfall as well. 2019 was the sixth wettest year in Ohio and the 12th warmest, said Aaron Wilson, climate specialist for The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).

“It was certainly our wettest decade on record,” Wilson said.

On average, Ohio’s annual rainfall has increased 5%–15% since the early 1900s, with the largest increases in areas such as north-central Ohio where fall rainfall has risen by 31%, Wilson said. Continue reading →

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

By Eric Romich, Field Specialist, Energy Development

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. Continue reading →

Ohio State Experts Available for Comment on New Corona-virus

By: Tracy Turner, OSU Communications

Scientists with The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) and the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) can offer insight into the new coronavirus that is being blamed for at least 26 deaths and more than 830 confirmed illnesses internationally since December 2019, with at least two cases of coronavirus reported this week in the United States—in Washington state and Chicago. And at least an additional 50 people in the United States are under observation in 22 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Continue reading →

Managing Stored Grain Through Winter

Stay safe when working in grain bins

Stay safe when working in grain bins

By: Jason Hartschuh, OSU Extension Crawford County

Managing stored grain throughout the winter is an important part of your grain marketing plan for farm profitability. This winter we are already receiving reports of stored grain going out of condition, which can lower the value and be a hazard to those working around the grain facility. At a minimum, the stored grain that has gone out of condition can cause health hazards, especially when grain dust contains mold and bacteria. Out of condition grain can also form a crust or stick to the bin walls and if someone enters the bin for any reason an entrapment could occur. For more information on safety when working around grain visit http://go.osu.edu/AFM and listen to episode 41 of the podcast on grain bin safety. Continue reading →