Farm Management

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

By Sarah Noggle, OSU Extension, Paulding County

It is important to take a moment to reflect on the mental health challenges that farmers face year-round. Farming can be a rewarding profession, but it can also be incredibly demanding and isolating. From dealing with unpredictable weather and fluctuating markets to managing finances and family responsibilities, farmers carry a lot of stress on their shoulders.

The impact of mental health challenges on farmers is significant. According to a recent study by the American Farm Bureau Federation, 91% of farmers reported experiencing stress, anxiety, fatigue, or other mental health challenges. Furthermore, a 2020 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that farmers have a higher suicide rate than the general population.

It is clear that we need to prioritize farmers’ mental health. Here are some steps we can take:

  1. Raise awareness: Let’s start by talking openly about mental health challenges in the farming community. This can help reduce the stigma around seeking help and encourage farmers to prioritize their mental health.
  2. Provide resources: There are many resources available to farmers who are struggling with mental health challenges. These include hotlines, support groups, and counseling services. Let’s make sure that farmers know about these resources and how to access them. One such resource is the website http://u.osu.edu/farmstress
  3. Foster community: Farming can be an isolating profession, but it doesn’t have to be. Let’s work to build strong farming communities where farmers can connect with each other and provide support. Our Paulding County farm families have opportunities to connect.
  4. Advocate for policy change: Policies that support farmers, such as fair prices and access to healthcare, can help reduce the financial and emotional stress that farmers face. If you are struggling to locate these resources, please reach out to me (Sarah Noggle).

As members of the farming community, we all have a role to play in prioritizing farmers’ mental health. Let’s work together to ensure that every farmer has the support and resources they need to thrive. Our community has many partnerships. I believe in prevention via awareness of programs such as Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR). For more information visit our Ohio State Farm Stress website https://go.osu.edu/farmstress

Stay safe while planting this spring season.

 

Alfalfa Weevil is in the County

For those of you who have Alfalfa in the county, be on the lookout for Alfalfa weevil. These are pictures shared with me last week.  A few weeks ago in the CORN Newsletter information was shared about scouting for this pest.

Alfalfa fields should be scouted weekly for weevils until at least the first harvest.  Follow-up scouting may be needed after the first harvest in heavily infested fields.

Spot problem fields early by checking alfalfa tips for feeding damage – small holes and a tattered appearance.  Fields that have a south-facing slope tend to warm up sooner and need to be checked for weevil earlier.

Green alfalfa weevil larvae (the main feeding stage) at various growth stages, and brown adults. Photo by Julie Peterson, University of Nebraska.

Here is a video about scouting weevils in alfalfa:  https://forages.osu.edu/video Continue reading →

The Importance of Responding to NASS Surveys

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducts hundreds of surveys every year and prepares reports covering virtually every aspect of U.S. agriculture.

If you receive a survey questionnaire, please respond quickly and online if possible.

The results of the surveys help determine the structure of USDA farm programs, such as soil rental rates for the Conservation Reserve Program and prices and yields used for the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs. This county-level data is critical for USDA farm payment determinations. Survey responses also help associations, businesses, and policymakers advocate for their industry and help educate others on the importance of agriculture.

NASS safeguards the privacy of all respondents and publishes only aggregate data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified.

NASS data is available online at nass.usda.gov/Publications and through the searchable Quick Stats database. Watch a video on how NASS data is used at youtube.com/watch?v=m-4zjnh26io&feature=youtu.be.

Farmers Encouraged to Sign-Up for Lake Erie CREP

For most agricultural producers, activities over the winter months tend to slow down.  This is an opportune time to take a look at your farming operation and determine if there are areas that could benefit from the establishment of one or more conservation practices.

For instance, do you have a ditch or stream running through your farm that needs a filter strip?  Is a particular field prone to wind erosion and stands to benefit from a windbreak?  How about that one area that’s hard to farm because it’s always wet?  Have you considered how FSA’s Lake Erie Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (Lake Erie CREP) might benefit your farming operation and help to protect the environment at the same time?

Lake Erie CREP began with the main objective to improve water quality in all of our rivers, streams, and tributaries within the Lake Erie watershed with a special emphasis on the Blanchard and Tiffin Rivers as important tributaries of the Maumee River.  These conservation practices will target environmentally sensitive areas to reduce sediments and nutrients, prevent water pollution and minimize the risk of flooding and improve the habitat for multiple wildlife species. Continue reading →

CRP Cost Share Reminders from the Paulding Farm Service Agency (FSA) Office

The Paulding County Farm Service would like to remind our conservation participants, that once you have successfully completed your CRP practice and gathered all bills, receipts, and seed tags to submit these to FSA for cost share reimbursement. Make sure there is an itemized bill for all components listed on your CRP Conservation Plan. If any of the work was done by yourself, include a bill for work completed, time to complete, and cost.

Participants are advised that starting or installing a practice before approval of the CRP contract is at their own risk. Cost share may be ineligible if the offer is not accepted or if the practice does not meet specifications in the approved Conservation Plan.

Please be advised that this is a cost-share payment program. As a participant, you are willing to share in the expense of improving and conserving natural resources on your land. As such, you may have out-of-pocket expenses. Continue reading →

From the Paulding County FSA Office – Maps have been mailed

Maps are now available at the Paulding County FSA Office for 2023 acreage reporting purposes. FSA staff have mailed maps to the operator on each farm. If you do not receive your 2023 maps in the mail, please contact our office or email us at ohpaulding-fsa@usda.gov.

Please see the following acreage reporting deadlines for Paulding County:

  • May 31, 2023: Report nursery crop acreage
  • June 20, 2023: Final date to report prevented plant corn (filing CCC-576 and documentation)
  • July 5, 2023: Final date to report prevented plant soybeans (filing CCC-576 and documentation)
  • July 15, 2023: Final certification date to report burley tobacco; cabbage planted through May 31; corn, grain sorghum, hybrid corn seed, spring oats, potatoes, popcorn, sugar beets, tomatoes, and other crops; perennial forage crops; Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres
  • August 15, 2023: Report cabbage planted June 1 through July 20, 2023

Continue reading →

Share your thoughts on cover crops in the National Cover Crop Survey!

Why do you plant cover crops… or why don’t you?

Share your thoughts on cover crops in an online survey at bit.ly/CoverCrop23. Why do you plant cover crops… or why don’t you? What do you want to know about cover crops? Where do you get your information about them? Your insight will help guide research, communications, seed development, and more.

This National Cover Crop Survey is the seventeenth since 2012 conducted by USDA-NIFA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program, Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), with the help of Informa/Farm Progress.

Please take a few minutes to contribute your voice at bit.ly/CoverCrop23.

After completing the questionnaire, you may enter a drawing for one of three $100 Visa gift cards.

Coffee & Grain Webinar Recap- Tight Supply Drives High Commodity Prices

On Monday morning’s Coffee and Grain Zoom, Dr. Seungki Lee (Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics) discussed the grain market outlook and the new crop prospects based on the USDA February World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report. In all three major crops – corn, soybean, and wheat, strong prices are projected in the 2022/2023 market mainly due to the tight supply. Additionally, Brazil was singled out as its production can swing both the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 commodity markets.

See the attachment for Dr. Lee’s 3-page summary of this webinar

If you would like to watch to recording, it can be accessed at:

https://osu.zoom.us/rec/share/vd7HMk8CeQ17DKsgBLeFRTvVs_oLbVrCNVVSsVSIbdHXvwscwtBf_VcnVS94KCGY.Bj3ROPKQlmkgPtC1?startTime=1676291418000

2023 Small Farm Conference Registration Open!

Ohio State Extension announced plans to host a Small Farm Conference in Mansfield Ohio on March 11, 2023.  The theme for this year’s Mid-Ohio Small Farm Conference is “Sowing Seeds for Success.”

Conference session topics are geared toward beginning and small farm owners as well as farms looking to diversify their operations.  There will be five different conference tracks including Farm Office, Horticulture and Produce Production, Livestock, Agritourism/ Marketing, and Natural Resources.

Some conference topic highlights include: How to purchase our family farm, food animal processing, beekeeping, sweet corn, blueberry and pumpkin production, small ruminant nutrition, agritourism laws, fruit tree pruning, and cut flower diseases.

Anyone interested in developing, growing, or diversifying their small farm is invited to attend including market gardeners, farmers market vendors, and anyone interested in small farm living.

Attendees will have the opportunity to browse a trade show featuring the newest and most innovative ideas and services for their farming operations. The conference provides an opportunity to talk with the vendors and network with others.

The Conference will take place from 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the Mansfield OSU Campus in Ovalwood Hall, just minutes from I-71 and US Rt 30.

For conference and registration call OSU Extension Morrow County at 419-947-1070 or OSU Extension Knox County at 740-397-0401. Please follow this link to register for the conference: https://go.osu.edu/2023osusmallfarmconf

2023 Session Descriptions

Small Farm Conference Brochure 2023

Enterprise Budgets from OSU Extension

I have had some calls about the location of the OSU Extension enterprise budgets for Corn, Soybeans, and Wheat. I thought I would share the information with the entire email list. Budgets are located at https://farmoffice.osu.edu/farm-management/enterprise-budgets#2022. You will need to scroll down on the page and choose the budget you are looking for under 2023.

Have a great week!

Ag Outlook – Great Lineup for Speakers on Tuesday, February 14

Join Defiance and Paulding County OSU Extension in Jewel, Ohio for the next Ag Outlook meeting on Tuesday, February 14 from 5:30 – 9:00 PM at the Jewell Community Center, 7900 Independence Rd., Defiance, OH 43512.

Agenda:

  • Welcome & Dinner—5:30 p.m. – Country-style dinner.
  • Commodity Grain Market Outlook, Seugnki Lee, PhD., Ohio State University, Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics
  • Long-Term Care: Is the Farm at Risk? — Robert Moore, JD., OSU Extension, Attorney, OSU Agricultural & Resource Law Program
  • 2023 Weather Outlook – Aaron Wilson, PhD., OSU Extension, Assistant Professor and Field Specialist, Ag Weather, and Climate

Registration is preferred online @ https://go.osu.edu/23DefianceOutlook or call the Defiance County Extension office at 419-782-4771
RSVP by February 13. NO LATE REGISTRATIONS.
CCA Credits Applied For and the Cost: $10.00/person

Check out the Official Flyer Here

Agricultural Guest workers in Ohio: What We Know and Where We’re Going

Please see the Agricultural Guestworkers in Ohio_invite for an exciting hybrid event presenting some novel research and a panel discussion about H-2A farmworkers in Ohio. All who are interested in the status of on-farm workers and agricultural labor issues in the state are very welcome! For those attending in person, light refreshments will be served. Please direct any questions to Dr. Margaret Jodlowski (jodlowski.1@osu.edu), Dept. of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics. 

The program is In-Person or Virtual on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, and the program is 1-2:30 pm or Reception: 2:30-3:30 pm

In-Person Location: Room 250A Agricultural Administration Building; or Virtually via Zoom

Register here!

Continue reading →

New Pesticide Applicator Crash Course Open for Registration

As advertised in the NW Ohio Newsletter in 2023 a New Pesticide Applicator class. This class will help new pesticide applicators prepare for the Ohio Department of Agriculture pesticide applicator license test in CORE and cereal and grain crops (private category 1/commercial category 2c) as well as recordkeeping after you have obtained the license. Study guides will be provided with registration along with other resources. Study books from the OSU Extension Publications store are available at an additional cost. The books can be ordered via our office by calling (419)399-8225 or by ordering online at https://extensionpubs.osu.edu/. An additional study by the participants is encouraged beyond the two hours spent in class. Although this class will help prepare participants in Core (applying pesticides properly and safely) and Category 1 (Grain & Cereal Crops), other resources will be made available for additional study in other certification categories.

The class will be held on Thursday, February 16 from 9:30 AM-12:00 PM. The class will be held in person.

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

Cost: $25

Registration information: RSVP is mandatory with the deadline of February 15. Seating is limited. No walk-ins are available.

Registration link: https://go.osu.edu/23pestcrash or you can register via the QR Code below.

Upcoming Labor Management Workshops – Build Your Farm Labor Management Know-How

The 2023 Workshop Series from the Farm Labor Dashboard project will help farm operators and managers build the knowledge and skills they need to successfully recruit and manage the right employees for their farms. The online series (offered via Zoom) is geared to produce and diversified livestock producers who are new to managing employees, and to farmers who are considering changes to how they arrange for and manage, labor on their farms.

Topics include practical approaches to building more successful work crews; conducting financial planning to meet payroll needs; practical and effective strategies for hiring, training, and keeping farm employees, and negotiation basics. Sessions begin January 7 and continue through early March.

A special session for agricultural service providers on January 10 will introduce tools and strategies to help farmers with payroll planning. Additionally, there will be monthly peer learning sessions for people who want to take a deeper dive into delegation, productive conflict, and other creative approaches to labor management.

Advance registration is required.

Learn more at the Farm Labor Dashboard or email beth.holtzman@uvm.edu.

The workshops are made possible by grant support provided by USDA/NIFA under award 2021-49400-35641.

Continue reading →

2023 Ohio Woodland Water and Wildlife Conference

Registration is open for the 2023 Ohio Woodland Water and Wildlife Conference

Join us on March 1st for a diverse set of talks that will offer continuing education credits for ISA, SAF, and pesticides where applicable.  The program flyer is attached here WWW 2023 flyer.  You can register here.

Early registration per person – $65 before 2/10/2023 and $85 after 2/10/2023
Last Date To Register: 2/17/2023

Registration includes continental breakfast, lunch, breaks, and a resource notebook.

OSU Extension to Hold Planning for the Future of Your Farm Webinar Series in 2023

Family farming. Farmers grandfather with little grandson in a corn field. experienced grandfather explains to grandson the nature of plant growth.

OSU Extension will be hosting a four-part “Planning for the Future of Your Farm” webinar series on January 23 and 30 and February 6 and 13, 2023 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. This workshop is designed to help farm families learn strategies and tools to successfully create a succession and estate plan that helps you transfer your farm’s ownership, management, and assets to the next generation.

Full details on this opportunity can be found here.

Direct Link to Registration

Webinar Series on Soil Health for 2023

Greetings Soil Heath Enthusiasts,
The Ohio State University Extension Soil Health Committee as part of the OSU Agronomy Team wanted to make sure you were aware of our upcoming soil health programs scheduled for this winter.

To participate in the SOIL HEALTH 2023 WEBINAR SERIES – Registration can be found at www.go.osu.edu/soilhealthweb
CCA Credits will be available for each webinar.

Continue reading →

Choosing and Evaluating Seed Varieties to Meet your Market Needs: A Grower Panel and Discussion

Growers of organic produce or those interested in organic varieties and production are welcome to join the Ohio Organic Farmer Researcher Network for their monthly online meeting Thursday, January 5 at noon. Denise Natoli Brooks and Matt Kleinhenz will host a small but varied panel of Ohio produce professionals. They will discuss their variety and selection processes and priorities, some of their best and worst experiences, and how their choices relate to marketing, labor, and other concerns. Panelist Q&A will be followed by an open discussion about what motivates us to choose certain seed varieties and how we decide where/how to source them. The primary focus will be on organic vegetable varieties that perform well in Ohio.

Connection details are available at https://offer.osu.edu/events/organic-farmer-researcher-network-january-meeting. Sign up for reminders and future meeting notices by emailing Cassy Brown. Continue reading →

Needing Help on Rural Broadband in Ohio

Dear OSU Extension friends,

The Federal Communications Commission recently released new broadband maps that will be used to determine the amount of funding Ohio will receive to expand broadband access throughout the state via BEAD (the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program).

To improve the maps and ensure Ohio receives as much support as possible, we need your help!

By Jan. 13, 2023, we need as many Ohioans as possible to check the federal maps, and if there is an inconsistency about their local internet availability, submit supporting information online.

To participate:

1) Share this email with all listservs that reach your community, as well as your broader network in Ohio.

2) Share the attached poster on social media, in your office building, and in commonly used spaces in your community.

3) Talk to as many people as you can. The more people who share their local status, the better!

If there are any questions about this effort, please contact David Civittolo, Ohio State University Extension interim assistant director for community development, at civittolo.1@osu.edu. Thank you for helping us bring high-speed internet to all Ohioans.

Directions for the Survey (As seen in the graphic)

It’s easy, follow these steps:

  1. Search for your address at: BroadbandMap.fcc.gov
  2. Click on the “Settings Symbol” and make sure ‘All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless’ is selected under Technology (See picture)
  3. Is the location status correct? If not, click ‘Availability Change’
  4. Can the listed service providers deliver at the internet speeds displayed? If not, click ‘Availability Change’

If you have any questions, visit our website at broadband.ohio.gov or email us at broadbandohio@development.ohio.gov

 

Register for ‘Solve Problems and Reduce Risk with Healthy Soil’ Event

The Nature Conservancy is promoting an event for farmers and landowners to solve problems and reduce risk by making their soils healthy. This event will be held at the Hancock Hotel in Findlay, OH from 9AM-4PM on Wednesday, December 14th. Continue reading →