It was a year of traditions and anniversaries at the Farm Science Review.
First, the event itself celebrated an impressive 60 years of highlighting the latest in agricultural innovations.
“The Ohio State University has been involved in the development and research of many practices — including no-till planting and implementation of the round bale — that are widely adopted on farms today,” said Nick Zachrich, FSR manager. “While many attending Farm Science Review this year will not remember farming as it was 60 years ago, we hope this is a year to reflect on how much the industry has advanced so that excitement will build for the future knowing how rapid technology is shaping many areas of our industry.”
I would think attendees at the first FSR could scarcely image the technology on display including an amazing flying ATV, a giant variable rate application manure spreader and innovative seed treatment technology (highlighted in some of the Latest Videos on ocj.com).… Continue reading
What a beautiful, almost unprecedented stretch of nearly ideal harvest weather! After a late start to harvest, great weather through most of the first half of October allowed Ohio’s farmers to make up the difference and catch up to the 5-year average harvest progress for Ohio. By Oct. 16, 24% of Ohio’s corn was harvested for grain, compared to the 5-year average of 25%. On the same date, the state’s soybeans were 51% harvested in 2022 and the 5-year average was 52%, according to the USDA NASS Ohio Field Office. The timing of this big push for harvest progress coincided with some stunning fall foliage around Ohio. With so much potential for beautiful autumn harvest photos out there (and many cell phones handy for capturing them), we asked for folks from around the state to send us some. There was a tremendous response with so many beautiful photos! I wanted to share a few on this page.… Continue reading
It’s all about relationships — even your farm. Whether it is with the brother, son, or daughter you work side-by-side with, the neighbor at the coffee shop, the mechanic you trust to work on your equipment, the seed dealer, the agronomist, the banker — it all boils down to relationships. On a farm, it is easy to get bogged down within the boundaries of the ground you farm, but there is so much beyond those borders that has a direct impact upon it. Relationships matter there too.
For this reason, relationships formed through involvement in farm organizations and advocacy also matter. This is at the heart of the recent trip by the Ohio Farm Bureau to Washington, D.C.
Finally, after the trip was cancelled last spring due to COVID restrictions, the Ohio Farm Bureau county presidents were able to meet with legislators and lobby for Ohio agriculture in our nation’s capital.… Continue reading
Wow! This September marks 30 years of Ohio’s Country Journal, a publication that, from the beginning, has been focused on Ohio agriculture. Right from the start, many recognized that, to be part of the conversation amongst Ohio’s farmers, OCJ needed to be included in the discussion. For recently retired John Sites, there was no question about it.
“I started with Great Plains in 1990. At that time, if you listened to the radio, you definitely wanted to be involved with Ed Johnson and Bart Johnson. All the farmers and dealers and everybody I was working with at that time, they knew Ed Johnson, and everyone understood you had to be part of his program. Great Plains was excited to get on board really early with the OCJ and the advertising in print because that was what the farmer was reading and we wanted our name in that paper when it got to his mailbox for sure.… Continue reading
I just drove by another cardboard sign duct-taped to a wooden stake with the words “No solar” scrawled out in black magic marker along the road. I wonder if the maker of the sign considered the implications of the sign’s request for local landowners.
Make no mistake, I have no great love for solar (nor do I own enough land to have a stake in the game). The battle for the preservation of farmland is a crucial issue, and Ohio is on the front lines. Houses, strip malls, solar panels, wind energy, landfills, industry, roadways, waste treatment — the list of potential demands for land could go on almost endlessly. There is a valid need for each use, but in reality, there is only so much land.
Ahhhh ice cream! June is dairy month, so it seems like an excellent reason to enjoy ice cream with a bit more regularity than usual. And, in 1984, President Ronald Reagan decided July should be National Ice Cream Month, with the third Sunday of the month being National Ice Cream Day. As such, it seems perfectly reasonable that June’s increased ice cream consumption should obviously be continued thorough next month as well. As it stands, ice cream is a dietary staple for many farms around Ohio. I know for many years the Schwan’s delivery guy had a standing weekly order with my grandpa to refill the deep freeze in the old summer kitchen on the farm. Grandpa was not an agrarian outlier. Carrying on the family tradition, I am a guy who certainly enjoys ice cream as well. Growing up (and still) my personal favorite is Dietsch Brothers Ice Cream in Findlay.… Continue reading
Ohio has a unique history with breweries and the agricultural production to supply them.
OCJ field reporter Brianna Gwirtz wrote a great story about hops production — a formerly fairly common crop in the state to supply a once prolific brewing industry. The ups and downs of Ohio breweries and growing conditions often ill-suited for quality hops production eliminated commercial hops in Ohio (though I will say my mother always had a hops plant in the garden when I was a kid). That has changed though, in recent years as Ohio’s brewing industry has seen a remarkable resurgence.
In doing her research for the story, Brianna also talked with Mary MacDonald, the executive director of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association and wrote up the following: When McDonald started her job in 2013, the state had a total of 58 breweries. Today there are 398 breweries in Ohio and today’s craft brewing industry employs around 9,000 people in the state.… Continue reading
There are plenty of good-natured (and sometimes not-so-good-natured) debates within agriculture. In the current climate of jaw-dropping fuel prices and skyrocketing corn prices, though, few discussions generate stronger feelings within agricultural circles than ethanol.
President Joe Biden recently announced that the Environmental Protection Agency is planning to allow E15 gasoline to be sold this summer through an emergency waiver as part of a broader plan to address soaring fuel costs. Ethanol proponents, of course, are pushing for much more, suggesting that bumping up a third of the nation’s fuel supply from 10% to 15% ethanol would help lower prices at the pump, address air quality concerns and replace oil previously imported from Russia. Ethanol opponents have come forth with the typical concerns.
Here are some facts from both sides of the debate to consider as ethanol discussions are sure to continue in 2022.
• At current prices, E15 can save about 10 cents per gallon of gas on average, and many stations sell E15 at an even greater discount. … Continue reading
I thought it was worth mentioning here that the phrase “we’re all in this together” came up twice in two separate interviews, said by two different people in different stages of life and their careers. As a result, the phrase is included in two separate, recent stories about topics focused on very different parts of the world.
Matt Reese
Joe Everett
I just met Joe and I’m looking forward to working with him throughout the 2022 growing season as one of our Between the Rows farmers. He farms with his family in Shelby County, the subject of a recent story. Joe was the winner of Ohio Farm Bureau’s Excellence in Agriculture Award for 2021 that recognizes successful young agricultural professionals who are actively contributing and growing through their involvement with Farm Bureau and agriculture. Joe works with his father, uncle and cousin on the family cash grain operation where they raise corn and soybeans on around 4,000 acres.… Continue reading
In 2021 a beaver dam was discovered on my family’s farm in Hancock County in Ottawa Creek, which is in the Blanchard River Watershed and part of the Western Lake Erie Basin Watershed. Since then, we have yet to actually see a beaver, but we have video and photo evidence of a river otter who seems to have moved in to the dwelling.
A regular deer hunter on the property got video footage and photographs of the otter, which has caused quite a stir locally. On Jan. 28 I posted the otter video (which is really quite charming) on the farm’s Facebook page and it has gotten nearly 12,000 views. We even had a guy show up at the farm asking to go see the otter.
Imagine for a moment you and I are sitting at your local coffee shop enjoying some delicious brunch back in February of 2020. I am just enjoying a bite of my hash browns and you get really serious and look at me across the table.
“Matt, I have a couple of things I have got to tell you. You may not believe me at first, but I promise they are going to happen,” you say.
“Alright, what’s up?” I reply in between sips of coffee.
“Well, first, in the next couple of months, every church in this country is going to shut its doors to visitors,” you tell me leaning in and lowering your voice a bit.
I’d guess that my eyebrows would rise with surprise and skepticism at your statement.
“But that’s not all Matt. You may not believe this, but I’m telling the truth when I say that essential food items and things like toilet paper are going to disappear from store shelves within just a few weeks,” you tell me in a hushed tone. … Continue reading
The first issue of Ohio’s Country Journal was nearly30 years ago in September of 1992. It featured Stark County dairy farmer Mark Thomas and his tireless promotion of ethanol through his success on the race track behind the wheel of an ethanol-powered hot rod.
By 1992, Thomas had won three International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) world championships and always promoted his favorite fuel — corn ethanol. From there, Thomas’ racing career and ethanol took off. Since 1992, ethanol has been among the greatest success stories of agriculture in Ohio.
In 30 years there have been plenty of other industry-shaping developments. I have been perusing the OCJ archives in recent weeks as we work our way through year 30 and have been amazed at the massive changes that have shaped Ohio agriculture. Along with the rise of ethanol, here are some others.
Genetically modified crops
There is not much in the last three decades that has had more impact in crop fields than this topic. … Continue reading
My 4-year-old nephew Michael is well versed in the subtleties of personal advocacy. On a recent stay at his grandparents, Michael had apparently seen evidence of the need for his grandfather to deposit some checks at the bank in the near future. He asked his grandpa if he needed to make a trip to the bank that day with the checks. Delighted with the opportunity to enjoy the company of his grandson on a mundane trip into town, grandpa of course complied with the request. While it is certain that Michael enjoyed the time with his grandfather, he expressed no hesitation whatsoever in his hasty acceptance of the sucker offered up by the bank’s drive-through teller.
The world is full of people who see problems and complain about them to no avail. Michael saw a problem: no sucker. He took the steps necessary to actually amend the problem.… Continue reading
As I write this I’m listening to the cold January wind whistle in around one of the last couple of old windows in my old farmhouse. Most of the windows in the house have been replaced, but this one has not, for a couple of reasons.
Foremost, the picture window is the largest in the house and the most expensive to replace. And, well, I have been raised by generations of frugal farmers trained to make do with what you’ve already got (my grandfather was known to wear 30-year-old dress pants patched with strips of duct tape rather than purchase new farm work pants).
There is also some sentimentality with the old window not lost upon me. Years ago an older gentleman who grew up in this house long before I owned it stopped by and asked if he could come in and see the old place, and how it has changed since his time here.… Continue reading
There were plenty of surprises in 2021 in general, and some surprises for me with regard to the top 10 web stories of the year. There are also some very 2021-type stories in what was, in many ways, a very surprising year.
Big congrats to OCJ field reporter Brianna Gwirtz for the top web story of the year! She did a great job writing. And what’s not to love about combining Ohio State football with some good old farm boy charm? Watch for more big things in the future from both Brianna and Cade Stover.
I admittedly got a bit fired up with this one. Solar development continues to be a huge and divisive issue with many pros and cons. An issue that should not be divisive, though, among Ohio agriculturalists is the preservation of landowner rights.… Continue reading
John opened up his eyes to a splitting headache. After staying out late and driving home when he shouldn’t, he’d ended up sleeping in his truck in his driveway, forehead on the steering wheel. Again.
Harvest had wrapped up by late October and it had been a good crop. It seemed like cause for celebration. But the bad decisions of the previous night had been foreshadowed by countless bad decisions of so many nights before. The downward spiral over years had led to John, in his late 30s, losing everything but the truck he slept in, his diminishing share in the family farm and an empty tenant house on the farm where he lived.
It was time for change. He started up the truck and pushed the button behind the steering wheel to reset his trip to 0. He started driving until he saw what he was looking for, right at a grass driveway splitting two fields on the farm. … Continue reading
There was a stretch where the Reese children were really into a television show called Secrets of the Zoo. For the most part, I really enjoyed watching the reality show covering the daily trials of the impressive veterinarian staff at the Columbus Zoo. It included plenty of valuable, educational information in a way the kids found to be entertaining.
As we binge watched the show, though, an underlying theme started to bother me. I could not quite put my finger on it at first, but it gradually started to dawn on me that the general premise of the show elevated the status of animals to a level approaching (or exceeding) human status. Now, I should point out, that even once this did occur to me, we continued to watch the show due to its value, but we also had a number of discussions about the hierarchy of things and my concerns with some of the themes of the show. … Continue reading
I am not sure Jesus had Ohio’s solar debate in mind when He said, “Love your neighbor as yourself” but I think it certainly applies to what is happening right now on both sides of the issue.
Changes in utility scale electric generation and transmission systems have created a situation where Ohio landowners are being approached to consider leasing large tracts of ground for solar development through contracts ranging from 25 to 50 years. Certainly a loving neighbor would want financial success for others in the community. And those neighbors, if similarly loving, would of course want to do right by the wishes of those around them for the benefit of all. The current situation, though, in many unfortunate cases, pits neighbor against neighbor and is actively tearing communities and families apart.
“We have a division occurring across Ohio: Those who stand to benefit financially from a lease that would allow for solar and wind development on their land and those who don’t want it — at least not in their area,” said Peggy Kirk Hall, director of agricultural law, Ohio State University Agricultural and Resource Law Program.… Continue reading
For a few days in October, many of us take great delight in making things a bit spookier than they really are, but this type of misinformation is now immediately available year round — and it can go well beyond spooky to dangerous.
With a constantly updating news cycle featuring various media outlets vying to lure in massive advertising dollars, social media making everyone a preacher/news anchor/columnist according to their own whims and a truly vicious political climate from both sides of the aisle, gross misinformation has the opportunity to flow freely with few checks and balances.
I have gotten some questions about the rumors surrounding a “cow tax” being proposed for methane emissions. First, these rumors are not true. Second, this story is an excellent illustration for the way information can be twisted to lead to conclusions not based on reality.
It all got started with legitimate concerns regarding the possibility of the murky and confusing issue of agricultural methane emissions being targeted with taxes through federal legislation, specifically in the infrastructure bill passed by the Senate this summer.… Continue reading
Have you ever wondered if you could make it on the earliest days of some of Ohio’s historic family farms? I love the chance to look into Ohio’s past that accompanies every visit to an Ohio Century Farm, or in the case of this issue, a Bicentennial Farm. Every time I get to hear new stories about old Ohio farm days, I can’t help but wonder if I could have survived and thrived as they did.
This summer I had the chance to speak at a couple of events and my topic was, “A Century Farm perspective.” In my presentation I shared some of my very favorite Ohio Century Farm stories and the details of the lives of great toil lived by our forefathers seeking to make a better life for themselves and their descendants. We are the incredibly fortunate beneficiaries of those efforts and I believe these stories of yesteryear really can help to shape our modern perspective and help us to move forward with a bit more gratitude, humility and grace towards others. … Continue reading
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