It seems like an everyday occurrence that something is unveiled in agriculture that is the next greatest thing. Products that will boost yields, thwart diseases and insects and plant at twice the speed of sound are certainly steps forward in producing enough food, fiber and fuel for our ever-increasing world population.

Although we can never stop thinking about how agriculture needs to look in the future, I believe that some of the greatest assets of our industry have been around for awhile.

Recently, I stopped by a half-harvested soybean field in Shelby County and jumped in a John Deere combine that was being piloted by 88-year old Bernard Clinehens.

Clinehens is a true veteran, not only in the military sense, but also with his 8 plus decades of farming experience. I have always felt that one of the best ways to move agriculture forward is to take a look at the past.… Continue reading

Gerdeman Farms was the stop for Week #3 of Feeding Farmers in the Field with The Ohio Ag Net and T102! Shawn and his family have 700 acres of row crops and over 500 head of feeder cattle as part of his Delphos, Ohio operation. Dale Minyo paid a visit and found out more about this week’s winner.… Continue reading

There are no changes to recent weather outlooks. Overall, it looks warmer than normal for October with rainfall at or below normal. It does look like November may turn somewhat wetter than normal as an early indication.

October RISK:

Temperatures – Above Normal (+3 to +5F)

Rainfall – Normal to below normal

Freeze – Below normal – Typically first freeze often occurs from north to south between Oct. 10 to 20. It will likely be delayed 1-2 weeks.

See the typical freeze dates from the NOAA Midwest Regional Climate Center here:

http://mrcc.isws.illinois.edu/VIP/frz_maps/freeze_maps.html#frzMaps

The NOAA/NWS/Ohio River Forecast Center 16-day rainfall outlook suggests normal ot drier than normal conditions in Ohio.

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/ohrfc/HAS/images/NAEFS16day.pdf

With a significant El Nino expected this fall and winter, everything suggests warmer conditions with below normal precipitation across western Ohio and normal precipitation in eastern Ohio into winter.… Continue reading

Overall the report was not a huge shocker. No big price movement took place at noon. 

USDA estimated corn production at 13.555 billion bushels, last month it was 13.585 billion bushels. The corn yield came in at 168 bushels, compared to 167.5 last month. That is a bit bearish. Traders were expecting the corn yield to be reduced. Corn ending stocks were 1.561 billion bushels, last month they were 1.592 billion bushels. Corn acres were down as expected.

Soybean production was pegged at 3.888 billion bushels while at 3.935 billion bushels last month. The soybean yield was 47.2 bushels per acre, last month it was 47.1 bushels per acre. Soybean ending stocks were 425 million bushels, down 25 million bushels from last last month. Soybean acres were cut 1.1 million acres. No surprises there. Traders the last several months have paid strong attention to soybean ending stocks. Two months ago they had expected ending stocks to drop below 370 million bushels.  … Continue reading

Provisions of the Affordable Care Act will again be the big issue this year for taxpayers – but instead of the focus being heavy on individual taxpayers, more interest will be on employer reporting requirements, a tax expert with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University said.

To help experienced tax preparers learn about federal tax law changes and updates for this year as well as learn more about issues they may encounter when filing individual and small business 2015 tax returns, the college is offering a series of two-day income tax schools.

The tax school will also offer information on preparing taxes that focus on agriculture concerns, said Larry Gearhardt, director of the Ohio State University Income Tax School Program of Ohio State University Extension.

“The school is an excellent value that will be taught by tax experts with a goal to bring participants up to speed on the latest developments and changes in tax laws that will impact this year’s tax returns,” he said.… Continue reading

A solar installer whose headquarters building has its own sun-powered system and the largest solar farm in Ohio, which spans an area equal to some 80 football fields, are two of the highlights of the 2015 Renewable Energy Workshop.

The event, which is sponsored by the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University, is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 4 at Vaughn Industries, 1201 E. Findlay St. in Carey in northwest Ohio.

“It’s for anyone interested in renewable energy, such as farmers, homeowners, small-business owners, financial and insurance companies, researchers and students, and state and local agency personnel,” said Yebo Li, the event’s organizer and a biosystems engineer with the college.

Speaking will be renewable energy experts from the college and industry, including on such topics as solar energy, funding possibilities, growing grasses to make biofuels, and producing bioenergy through anaerobic digestion of manure and plant matter.… Continue reading

Yetter Manufacturing is releasing new product features for the Short Titan series. The product models with the new features include the 2967-029A/2967-097A Short Titan™ with operating widths of 22–40ʺ and the 2967-013A / 2967-014A Short Narrow Titan with operating widths of 15ʺ–22ʺ.

The Short Titan series’ new design has features that allow for more convenient and faster installation of the Precision Planting CleanSweep. The 2967-029A / 2967-013A now have welded ear tabs on the faceplate, whereas the previous model required the pivot tab for the cylinder to be bolted on. The redesigned handle also provides a contact point when the residue managers reach maximum travel and a mounting point for the cylinder.

The 2967-097A/2967-014A include these improved features as well, but they have also been designed to become more universal by utilizing the 2966-097 mounting kit. The 2967-097A / 2967-014A are the combination of the 2967-029A /2967-013A with the 2966-097 kit, which is the mounting plate with hardware.… Continue reading

The pork industry has largely overcome the impacts of the 2014 porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. Pork producers have been disciplined in limiting expansion after record 2014 profits.

As a result, pork supplies should be only modestly higher in 2016 and provide prices that cover all costs of production. However, there are some concerns for the longer run as global meat and poultry supplies continue to expand with a weak world income base.

The industry is rapidly leaving behind the impacts of the 2014 PED virus. The number of pigs per litter has set new quarterly highs in each of the three quarters so far this year. In the most recent summer quarter, the number of pigs per litter reached an all-time high of 10.39.

The PED virus left a deficit in market hogs a year ago, but that deficit will rapidly close by the end of this year. This can be seen in the current count of market hogs compared to year-ago levels.… Continue reading

After last week’s blog about carving turtle shells, several more turtle tales have been discussed. Here they are.

Late this summer, my son and his two ornery cousins were keenly interested in the turtle traps a local trapper had set in my parents’ farm pond. A few snappers had been seen in previous months and it became apparent that the issue should be addressed.

The four-, six- and seven-year-old boys typically run around their grandparents’ farm with wild abandon and get into every kind of mischief they can find. On that particular day their swath of general boyhood destruction and carefree conduct regularly passed through the area of the turtle traps to check in on the possibility of an apprehended aquatic reptile.

Early that afternoon, a cry of euphoria rang out that could likely be heard in the next township at the discovery that a turtle had indeed been secured.… Continue reading

Tanner Inkrott of Leipsic in Putnam County won the Tractor competition at the National Youth Engineering Challenge. The event was hosted by Purdue University, Sept. 27-29, at Lafayette, Ind. The

4-H competitors and parents participated in workshops at the Purdue College of Engineering, and toured a Caterpillar plant, which manufactures huge diesel engines.

Tanner is a sophomore at Miller City High School where he is taking engineering prep classes and is in FFA. The Inkrott family (Fred and Rhonda) farms 250 acres of wheat, corn and soybeans, and they feed 200 beef cattle and a few hogs.

Tanner has been driving tractors since he was eight years old. The farm has two Allis-Chalmers tractors and a couple of New Hollands. His driving skills paid off because with five components in the contest, he had the best scores in maneuvering a two-wheel trailer and a four-wheel wagon.… Continue reading

The 2015 World Dairy Expo boasted big numbers as producers and enthusiasts from around the world gathered to celebrate all things dairy. Here are some Ohio highlights from the international event.

• The Brown Swiss Reserve Grand Champion: Top Acres Supreme Wizard—ET was exhibited by Wayne Sliker from St. Paris.

• Brook Hollow Farm, from West Salem, was honored with a Daily Herdsmanship Awards.

• The Lucas FFA Chapter finished second in the Central National FFA Dairy Products Contest.

• Tanner Topp, New Bremen, finished sixth in the senior World Dairy Expo Youth and was the top individual in the Secondary Dairy Cattle Judging Contest.

• Ohio State University had the top team in the Secondary Dairy Cattle Judging Contest. Kaleb Kliner was the third overall individual and Hannah Dye was fourth overall, in addition to Tanner Topp as the first place individual.

Here are more numbers from the event.

2015 Total Attendance: 72,427

Registered International Guests: 3,060 from 94 countries

Top Five Countries of Registered International Attendance:

• Canada

• Mexico

• China

• Brazil

• Germany

Participating Companies: 871

Trade Show Booth Award Winners:

Large Booth Award — Polaris Industries

Medium Booth Award — Hubbard Feeds, Inc.… Continue reading

After many months of negotiations an agreement has been reached on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Here is what agriculture had to say about the historic 12-country trade deal.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack highlighted the significance of the trade deal for U.S agriculture.

“An agreement on the TPP negotiations provides a more level playing field in trade for American farmers. The agreement would eliminate or significantly reduce tariffs on our products and deter non-science based sanitary and phytosanitary barriers that have put American agriculture at a disadvantage in TPP countries in the past. Despite these past barriers, countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership currently account for up to 42% of all U.S. agricultural exports, totaling $63 billion. Thanks to this agreement and its removal of unfair trade barriers, American agricultural exports to the region will expand even further, particularly exports of meat, poultry, dairy, fruits, vegetables, grains, oilseeds, cotton and processed products,” Vilsack said.… Continue reading

As you can probably imagine, I have many Facebook friends who, like me, enjoy sharing photos of their critters. Due to the amount of cuteness that constantly clutters my screen through Facebook, it takes a tremendous cute overload to impress me. Recently a Facebook friend of mine, Jeanne Beth Murphy of Glenwood City, Wis., was able to break through my cute filter to impress me with a photo.

Murphy shared this incredibly adorable photo of kittens being babysat by a chicken named Queenie. It seems that the hen had chicks of her own so when the mama cat needed a break, she left her kittens for the hen to watch along with her own brood.

The photo had the following caption: Our tiny Bantam hen and her sweet brood.. some of her sons and daughters seem to be of questionable heritage.. LOL

Of course many comments and questions were left with the photo.… Continue reading

Numerous natural gas pipelines have been approved across the state with installation to begin this winter and continue over the next several years. These installations are statewide projects that will collectively result in a large amount of soil disturbance. The effect of this disturbance on crop productivity, and how long it may persist is largely unknown.

Ohio State Extension will be starting a pilot study to document the effects of pipeline installations on crop productivity over the next several years. We are looking for interested farmers who will have a pipeline installed through their farm to participate.

Our approach will be to use paired-comparisons of 1) area disturbed by pipeline installation versus 2) adjacent area that was not disturbed. We will compare soil properties and yield maps between installation area and adjacent area over the next several years. We will need numerous sites to have scientifically robust information.

Interested farmer cooperators wanting to document the effects on their farm will need to:

1.… Continue reading

Crown Rot in Ohio Corn Fields – Beck’s London, OH PFR | Team Sales Agronomist Alex Johnson discusses the crown rot he is seeing in corn fields this year and what it means for your fields.… Continue reading

Pursuant to Section 924.07 of the Ohio Revised Code, David T. Daniels, Director, Ohio Department of Agriculture will conduct an election of the Ohio Corn Marketing Program Board on December 15, 2015.

The Ohio Corn Marketing Program is designed to increase the market of corn and the profitability to Ohio Corn producers. The purpose of this program is to provide funds of corn utilization research and to permit corn producers to develop, implement, and participate in programs in research, promotion, market development and education.

The election to the Board will include these five districts.

District 3: Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Summit, Trumbull

District 5: Crawford, Hancock, Hardin, Wyandot

District 9: Champaign, Delaware, Logan, Union

District 12: Clark, Greene, Madison

District 15: Adams, Athens, Belmont, Coshocton, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Scioto, Vinton, Washington

The Nomination Procedure is as follows:

• Nominating petitions may be obtained from

David T.… Continue reading

Simply put, the goal of soil sampling is to make a fertilizer recommendation for crop production.

• To provide that recommendation, calibration studies are done to measure crop response.
• For Ohio, the Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations provide the calibration study history for recommendation development.
• While there are other “recommendations” discussed and widely used in Ohio, no one else has done the comprehensive work to truly provide these valuable recommendations.

•    While the “Tri-State” has not been updated since 1995, the testing has continued. Results show little need to make drastic changes. We anticipate an update within the next three years.

• For more information on the Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations or on developing a soil sampling strategy several references are provided at http://agcrops.osu.edu/specialists/fertility/fertility-fact-sheets-and-bulletins.

It’s about statistics — we want to take a representative sample. Be sure to consider:

• Field area choice
• Number of samples
• Depth of sampling.

Choose sample areas in the field that have similar crop yields, crop rotation histories, fertilizer application methods and sources of applied nutrient.… Continue reading

Nine state trade associations in Ohio delivered a joint letter to Ohio’s

Congressional delegation today urging the state’s representatives in Washington to approve the Safe Trucking Act.

The nine associations urging Congressional support for the proposed federal legislation include:

• Ohio Aggregates & Industrial Materials Association

• Ohio AgriBusiness Association

• Ohio Cattlemen’s Association

• Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association

• Ohio Farm Bureau

• Ohio Forestry Association

• Ohio Manufacturers’ Association

• Ohio Pork Council

• Ohio Soybean Association.

Collectively, the associations issued this joint statement:

“The Safe Trucking Act is a commonsense solution to outdated weight limits for trucks that are forcing shippers to put more vehicles on the road and wasting fuel with partial loads. By giving states the authority to allow heavier trucks equipped with six axles, rather than the typical five, to access designated interstate highways, the proposed legislation will safely boost the efficiency and productivity of our nation’s transportation network while driving economic growth.… Continue reading