Featured News

By James Hoorman, Hoorman Soil Health Services

Pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, miticides, etc.) may affect soil microbes in many ways, often leading to reduced diversity and even lower populations of various soil microbes. Soil microbes are bacteria, fungi, archaea, protists, and viruses, and account for an estimated 3% to 4% of the total biomass on Earth. Pesticides often degrade soil health and can reduce agricultural productivity and crop yields. Some pesticides change the soil structure so that the soil becomes dense and compacted. Minimizing pesticide use benefits soil health, microbial diversity, and microbial populations.  

Broad-spectrum herbicides are those that kill or control a wide variety of pests, including weeds, fungi, and insects. Since they are so non-selective, they can kill or control beneficial microbes as well as both targeted and non-targeted organisms. Often, broad-spectrum pesticides may also harm pollinators and beneficial predators. When this happens, species diversity decreases along with changes in the overall population of soil microbes, as well as beneficial pollinators and other predators.… Continue reading

By Dan Armitage

The Ohio Department of Transportation and the ODNR are asking the public to report locations where they frequently see reptiles and amphibians crossing roadways. In spring and summer, reptiles such as box turtles, snapping turtles, and snakes are vulnerable to vehicles as they cross roadways to lay eggs, find new habitat, or seek shelter. In early spring and occasionally in the fall, amphibians such as salamanders, frogs, and toads sometimes cross roads as they travel to breeding areas.

Observers can report locations of reptile and amphibian road crossings via the Wildlife Reporting System, available at wildohio.gov and on the HuntFish OH mobile app. Observations of live animals are helpful, as are reports of roadkill. Users are encouraged to take note of road crossing locations and submit reports — but only after you are no longer driving!

Spring waters spell trouble

It may be May, but as any angler who has gone in over their waders or decided to cool off with a quick swim off the boat’s transom knows, water temperatures remain dangerously cold this month.… Continue reading

Seed Consultants announced via social media on May 7 that they are changing to the Hoegemeyer® brand. Corteva Agriscience is unifying its regionally focused seed brands, including Seed Consultants, under the Hoegemeyer® brand name for the 2027 planting season.

The post went on to say: “Customers can expect a continued commitment to local products built for their growing conditions, backed with personalized support through our local seed dealer network.”

Hoegemeyer® was previously named the regional seed brand of the Western Corn Belt for Corteva Agriscience in 2018. Hoegemeyer was founded in 1937 by H. Chris Hoegemeyer and his son Leonard C., in Hooper, Nebraska. Learn more at www.hoegemeyer.com.

… Continue reading

By Jon Scheve

December corn broke through the $5 mark on Monday but traded back below it on Tuesday. The market is testing the upper end of its recent trading range. The funds are pretty long corn, and wheat has been driving higher, but maybe both have ran their course for the time being. 

Long-term concerns about limited nitrogen production next year could potentially make today’s prices look extremely undervalued a year from now. Even if the Iranian war is resolved and the Strait of Hormuz opened up next month, fertilizer production in that region will likely still remain either offline or at a reduced capacity for a while.

For the next two months, the downside seems somewhat limited, while upside potential remains high.

Market Action – Spread Trades

Corn

As I shared previously, I am currently 80% priced on the 2025 corn crop with a short futures position in my hedge account. … Continue reading

By Laura Lindsey, Ohio State Extension

Unfortunately, this is the third time I’ve written an article about potential freeze damage to winter wheat this year. Previously, the concern was not high; however, as the wheat crop progresses toward heading and flowering, freeze damage becomes much more concerning.

The magnitude of freeze damage depends on: 1) temperature, 2) duration of exposure, and 3) wheat growth stage. A few years ago, we conducted a freeze chamber experiment to examine the effect of low temperature on winter wheat at several growth stages. At beginning flowering (Feekes 10.5.1), we saw a 10% reduction in wheat yield when temperatures reached 28°F for a 15-minute duration. Under field conditions at the University of Kentucky, researchers found a 41% yield reduction when temperatures were ≤30°F for six hours and less than 28°F for three hours at the heading stage (Knott and Raymond, 2020). (Wheat at Feekes 8 had no yield penalty.)… Continue reading

By Stephanie Karhoff, Ohio State Extension

Wet spring conditions and a prolonged corn and soybean planting window in 2025 left many Ohio growers dealing with significant slug feeding damage. The apparent increase in slug pressure in recent years is likely tied to multiple factors, including more variable spring rainfall, heavier rain events, and wider adoption of conservation practices such as no‑till and cover crops. As planting season progresses across the state, here are four busted ‘myths’ regarding slug management:

1. Insecticides are effective against slugs.

Slugs are mollusks, not insects, so seed treatment and foliar insecticide applications will not be effective. Though molluscicides are available as baited pellets, their performance depends heavily on timing, placement, and weather conditions. The two most common active ingredients in these products are metaldehyde and iron phosphate, but these products can be costly and often provide inconsistent control.

Other short-term options include light tillage immediately after damage is first observed.… Continue reading

By Dusty Sonnenberg, CCA, Field Leader, a project of the Ohio Soybean Council and Soybean Check-off

In Episode 71, Dusty travels to Lorain County with the Field Leader Roadshow to Gordon Farms and Flynn Livestock to visit with Eric and Adele Flynn. They discuss life on a multi-generational farm and Eric and Adele’s journey from South Dakota back to Ohio, raising cattle, kids, and commodity grains. From cover crop seed production to agricultural advocacy work in Washington, D.C., Eric and Adele are looking to the future for their farm and their family, building on the legacy of past generations.

… Continue reading

By Mike Zuzolo, Global Commodity Analytics

With lost energy supplies from the Middle East still largely out of the market, I believe the commodity trade is beginning to realize that energy-intensive grain supplies could become tighter as we move through the 2026/27 marketing year.

Crude oil and wheat remain my upside leaders

Crude oil and wheat remain my leaders to the upside because I believe they have the highest likelihood of seeing supply or production cutbacks this spring. That means they also carry the greatest chance of forcing demand rationing through higher prices.

July HRW wheat futures recently climbed above $6.50 per bushel, the highest level for that contract since late March 2025. In my view, that rally has been driven by two main factors:

• Ongoing energy supply disruptions tied to conflict in the Middle East
• Worsening drought in the U.S. Plains

Poor to very poor winter wheat ratings are nearly double last year’s level at 32%.… Continue reading

Ohio farmers made progress where conditions allowed last week, but fieldwork remained limited compared to many neighboring states.

USDA says 33% of Ohio corn was planted as of May 3, up from 20% the week before and ahead of the five-year average of 15%. Corn emergence reached 12%, also ahead of the 3% average.

Soybean planting also moved forward, with 30% of Ohio soybeans planted, compared to 19% last week and 14% on average. Soybeans emerged were reported at 10%, well ahead of the 2% five-year average.

Ohio winter wheat was 1% headed, behind the 3% average. The crop was rated 66% good to excellent, with 53% good and 13% excellent.

Oats were 53% planted, behind the 70% average, while 30% had emerged, compared to the 35% average.

Ohio had just 1.9 days suitable for fieldwork last week. Topsoil moisture was rated 10% very short, 4% short, 60% adequate and 26% surplus, while subsoil moisture was 12% very short, 11% short, 64% adequate and 13% surplus.… Continue reading

Ohio farmer Jim Dauch continues to post top finishes in state yield contests, including second-place results in both corn and wheat in 2025.

By Brianna Smith

As Jim Dauch guided his combine through his corn field last fall, he caught a few glimpses of his yield monitor. It was reading consistently above 300 bushels per acre, at one point flashing a personal best of 360 bushels. Dauch snapped a picture of the monitor and kept rolling, excited to see what the official bushel-per-acre total would be once it was adjusted.

Since entering his first yield contest in 2019, Dauch has placed every year in the corn division, either overall or in his district or management category, and his wheat has been a regular on the podium as well. Last season, his corn finished at an impressive 345.2 bushels per acre with Pioneer P1383AM, and his wheat finished at 150.65 bushels per acre with Pioneer 25R64, putting him second in the state of Ohio for both commodities.… Continue reading

By Alexandra “Alex” Stinemetz, Pioneer Field Agronomist

During a tough agricultural economy, many producers are looking at areas to cut costs and increase their overall return on investment. Cutting some investments may allow lower input costs, but it will remain important to keep the foundation in place. When we think about the foundation of yield, soil drainage, soil pH, soil potassium, and soil phosphorus are consistently at the base of the foundation for both corn and soybean yields.

When our soil pH drifts outside the optimal range for nutrient availability, we can observe that nutrients in the soil are not readily available to the plant. For example, when pH gets below 6.0, reduced availability of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur becomes evident. In addition to pH levels, we need to aim for phosphorus and potassium levels in the medium to high range in their respective soil test categories.  If these essential nutrient levels fall into the low or very low ranges, we are not setting ourselves up to optimize our crop for that season.… Continue reading

By Emily Nogay, VMD, MS, Ohio State University

We made it! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, and the Ohio temperatures are climbing. If you’re anything like me, then your skin loves the sun and the warmth it brings. Unfortunately, that also brings out those creepy eight-legged crawlies called ticks. These blood-sucking little monsters have already started to come out of the brush and become pests for humans, dogs, cats, wildlife, and our livestock species.

Ticks are ectoparasites (a parasite that lives on the skin) which have four different life stages – egg, larva, nymph, and the adult. Once hatched from the egg, the tick needs a bloodmeal in order to move to the next stage. Different tick species have different host preferences, but each life stage can also have different host preferences. With these bloodmeals, ticks can pick up an infectious agent in that blood and harbor it within their bodies to then later infect a new host when the tick feeds again, making the tick a vector for the disease.… Continue reading