Featured News

The 15th annual Cultivating a Cure, an event created to support cancer treatment and prevention research, welcomed more than 360 attendees and raised more than $160,000 for The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute and The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

Established in 2011 by the Porteus family, Cultivating a Cure was founded to honor their passion for cancer research and prevention while also remembering those who have fought and continue to fight cancer. Cultivating a Cure recognizes the value realized when the agriculture community joins forces to address issues and challenges facing the industry. Since its inception, Cultivating a Cure has raised more than $1.4 million.

This year’s event was held at Arlington Acres in Seneca County. Luke Jennings, National FFA Secretary from Clermont County, Ohio, moderated a panel discussion with four young farmers and ag professionals including: Emily Mullen of Butler County, Ryanna Tietje of Henry County and Nick and Bailey Elchinger of Henry County.… Continue reading

By Gustavo M. Schuenemann, Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University

The NWS has been largely eradicated in the United States for over 50 years, but a current outbreak in Central America and Mexico is moving closer to the U.S. On August 18, 2025, the Secretary of Health and Human Services issued the emergency declaration after determining that NWS “has a significant potential to affect national security or the health and security of United States citizens living abroad and that involves New World Screwworm.” This emergency declaration allows veterinarians to use certain treatments under extra-label use provisions to help control potential infestations.

What is NWS?

It is a parasitic fly (Cochliomyia hominivorax) that lays eggs in and on open wounds and mucous membranes of warm-blooded animals. When larvae hatch (maggot), they burrow into the flesh of these animals and eat healthy living tissue, causing the myiasis.… Continue reading

By Stephanie Karhoff, OSU Extension Field Specialist and Greg LaBarge, OSU Extension Field Specialist

Join us at the 2025 Farm Science Review (FSR), September 16 – 18 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio. We will be displaying a snapshot of research projects conducted throughout Ohio in the plot area between Gates B and C that enter the FSR grounds from the East Parking Lot, along with ‘Tailgate Talks’ with Ohio State University Extension specialists

The OSU Extension Agronomic Crops Team Plots this year feature a wide range of topics, including cover crop seeding rates, irrigation and nitrogen management, fungicide application method, and more. You can even test your weed ID knowledge to win a prize. Learn more about our plot area at go.osu.edu/agcropsplots. This year’s exhibit will also include expanded signage, interactive QR codes linking to Extension resources, and opportunities to speak directly with Agronomic Crops Team members.… Continue reading

The Ohio Cattlemen’s Foundation has established a memorial fund honoring John Grimes of Hillsboro, who passed away in April 2025. Grimes was a dedicated Angus breeder and influential industry leader. Together with his family, he founded Maplecrest Farms, which grew into a nationally recognized seedstock operation. Throughout his distinguished career with Ohio State University Extension, he served as a highly respected educator, leaving a lasting impact on the cattle industry and all who knew him.

The fund was initiated when his favorite dessert, a cheesecake, was auctioned at the Cattlemen’s Gala in his memory. Donations from many Ohio Angus breeders and Gala attendees helped raise nearly $18,000 for the John Grimes Memorial Scholarship fund. This fund will be invested through the Foundation and used to provide annual beef industry youth scholarships in his name.

“John Grimes made a difference for the Beef Industry in Ohio and beyond. By investing in our youth through this scholarship, John’s leadership and legacy will continue to pay forward and inspire others,” said past OCF President, Aaron Arnett.… Continue reading

On September 9, 2025, the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission released the Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy. The report outlines 120 initiatives across multiple federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to address childhood chronic disease

The Commission is chaired by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“The Trump Administration is mobilizing every part of government to confront the childhood chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy said. “This strategy represents the most sweeping reform agenda in modern history—realigning our food and health systems, driving education, and unleashing science to protect America’s children and families. We are ending the corporate capture of public health, restoring transparency, and putting gold-standard science—not special interests—at the center of every decision.”

The MAHA Commission released its first report, the Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment, on May 22, 2025.… Continue reading

By Brianna Smith

Protein in the diet is necessary for optimum cattle performance, and soybeans can deliver. Whether fed as meal, hulls, or whole beans, soy-based feeds can play an important role in balancing rations, supporting growth, and complementing other feedstuffs in the diet.

“The primary reason for including soybeans or soybean meal into a livestock diet is to provide protein,” said Garth Ruff, Ohio State University Extension beef cattle field specialist. “Soy hulls or soy hull pellets are also used as a non-starch carbohydrate. The meal is high in protein, often 44 to 48 percent crude protein. The nice thing about soybean meal is the consistency and the supply. I tend to think soybean meal offers greater flexibility in mixing in multiple diets and is well-suited for small batch mixing due to its low moisture content. Growing season conditions don’t impact soybean meal quality as much as, say, distillers’ grains.”… Continue reading

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

Every decision made on the farm is calculated based on the desired outcomes and the cost to achieve them. Identifying plant stresses and ways to mitigate the cause of the stress to economically enhance the crop yield is the goal. Stress assessment and management strategies can have multiple factors.

A tool in the toolbox for farmers when it comes to making late-season soybean disease management decisions is the Crop Protection Network website.

The Crop Protection Network produces unbiased, collaborative outputs on important issues affecting field crops in the United States and Canada.

“Soybean field crops specialists at land grant universities across the country and in Canada work collaboratively and share data to produce information that can be very helpful and valuable to growers and consultants,” said Lopez-Nicora. “We conduct research evaluating different products, and different timing of application, including seed treatments, and then we get together and compare the results across the different states in the Midwest and across the United States.… Continue reading

By Brianna Smith

I recently spent two nights at the Salt Fork State Park Lodge in Guernsey County. At more than 17,000 acres, Salt Fork is Ohio’s largest state park. The lodge was a convenient base with a rustic atmosphere and plenty of amenities. The drive in made it clear this was a different kind of Ohio than I’m used to. I live on the eastern side of Richland County, where there are rolling hills, but the roads to Salt Fork had far more curves, climbs, and descents.

Salt Fork takes its name from a salt well once used by Native Americans near the southeastern corner of the park. Back home, we sometimes find arrowheads in the fields, reminders that our farm was once ground Native Americans called home. Still, it can be hard to picture what the land would have looked like then. At Salt Fork, though, the picture is easier to see.… Continue reading

Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) is making headlines in Ohio as deer herds face heavy losses, and the Ohio Department of Agriculture confirms a positive case in a cow in Meigs County.

In this deep-dive podcast, Ohio Ag Net’s Joel Penhorwood talks with ODA Director Brian Baldridge and State Veterinarian Dr. Dennis Summers about what the livestock case means, and what farmers should know. Clint McCoy, deer biologist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, also joins the conversation to share the latest updates on Ohio’s deer herd and what could be ahead for this fall’s hunting season.… Continue reading

The latest Crop Progress Report from USDA shows Ohio’s crop is racing to maturity as topsoil moisture condition is rated as 28 percent very short, 45 short, and just 27 percent adequate.

67 percent of Ohio’s corn is dented, 4 points ahead of the 5-year-average. The amount of mature corn is right in line with the normal at 13 percent. 24 percent of soybeans are dropping leaves, 8 percent ahead of the average.

Click here to read the full report from USDA NASS.… Continue reading

Jade Newton – Preble County

We are just at the start of harvest here in southwest Ohio. Nothing has really kicked off in full force yet, but you can see combines being pulled out and fields being opened up. I think we’re still at least a week away from heavy activity, but soybeans are starting to turn, corn is firing, and ears are beginning to drop. The later-planted crops are still green, but they’re beginning to shift as well.

Rainfall has been limited. We picked up maybe four-tenths to a half inch last week, but it was very hit or miss across the area. Outside of that, we really haven’t had much. That lack of late-season moisture is a big reason why beans are changing so quickly right now.

On the disease side, I haven’t noticed anything new. We talked earlier this fall about some rust moving in, and there are the typical lesions you expect to see, but nothing major or yield-limiting.… Continue reading

By Marlee Stollar, OCJ Field Reporter

A chance meeting at the National FFA Talent Program in 2022 led to something much bigger for Dalton Hesson and Delaney Moore. As the pair later became friends, Moore asked Hesson to perform with her for a local event. Soon after that performance, a couple and country music duo was born.

Meet Dalton and Delaney—an Ohio country music duo from Darke and Fairfield counties, respectively. Today, they perform together around the state, while still balancing work, school, and time for their relationship.

The pair attributes their musical success to the agricultural community. From their meeting in FFA to performing together at the Ohio Cattleman’s Gala, their connections in the industry have led to several gigs for the duo.

Performing at the Ohio Cattlemen’s Gala was significant to Moore, as she was involved with the organization’s youth Beef Exhibitor Show Total (BEST) program growing up.

“People who raise livestock have a different way of life.… Continue reading

By Brian Ravencraft, CPA, CGMA, Principal-Holbrook & Manter

I am sure you are aware of the changes in tax law, particularly from the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed in July 2025. We continue to analyze all the changes and what they will mean to taxpayers. We plan to keep you posted in future articles as more changes take shape. However, for now, let’s take a quick look at several implications that affect the agricultural industry. 

Tax relief and incentives:

• Reduced tax rates: The bill makes permanent reduced individual tax rates and increased standard deductions, benefiting most farm households.
• Increased small business deduction: The deduction for qualified business income is permanently set at 23%, aiding pass-through entities common in agriculture. Farmers should reconsider their entity structure to maximize tax efficiencies.
• Estate tax exemption: The permanent increase in the estate tax exemption to $15 million per person (indexed for inflation) makes it easier to pass farms to future generations.

Ohio Farm Bureau will be hosting three virtual webinars for the new Ohio Farm Bureau Health Plans. The goal of these informational sessions is to allow members to learn about the forthcoming health plans and how they and their families can utilize them.

The webinars will take place Sept. 30, Oct. 28 and Nov. 25 at 6 p.m. All three sessions will consist of the same content and will be hosted by Trevor Kirkpatrick, director of health services for Ohio Farm Bureau, along with Billy Fields, director of state alliance operations at Farm Bureau Health Plans. Registration can be made by using the corresponding links below. Questions can be submitted beforehand.

Sept. 30: ofb.ag/sept30healthplanswebinar 

Oct. 28: ofb.ag/oct28healthplanswebinar 

Nov. 25: ofb.ag/nov25healthplanswebinar  

The Ohio Farm Bureau Health Plans are for individuals and families who may lack access to an employer-sponsored health plan or those who are looking to possibly save money on a health plan that better fits their needs. Ohio FarmBureau Health Plans… Continue reading

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

In a time of low commodity prices, late-season soybean disease management is important as growers make decisions to help reduce plant stress and potentially increase or simply preserve soybean yield potential. Equally important is knowing when a treatment is no longer necessary and when it may actually be a waste of money and time. Diseases such as septoria brown spot, downy mildew, white mold, and many other foliar diseases, such as frog eye leaf spot, can often be observed as the long hot summer days fade into cooler fall weather. Dr. Horacio-Lopez Nicora, OSU Extension Soybean Pathologist and Nematologist, visits with Dusty to discuss the current growing conditions in Ohio’s soybean fields and factors that growers should consider before making a late-season fungicide application to their crop. They also discuss the great resources available to farmers at the Crop Protection Network.… Continue reading

Centerra Co-op is pleased to announce the official acquisition of Coshocton Grain Company, effective Tuesday, September 2, 2025. The agreement adds Coshocton’s soybean processing plant and grain storage, and Hebron intermodal grain facility to Centerra’s expanding network. Centerra plans to continue operating both facilities, enhancing capacity, market access, and grain-handling services for members across Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.

“This acquisition is an important step forward for Centerra,” said Jean Bratton, CEO of Centerra Co-op. “By adding Coshocton’s assets and team, we are expanding opportunities for our members while continuing to provide the reliable, local service they expect.”

Rhoda Warnock, President of Coshocton Grain Company, added, “While we are excited for this next chapter, we have appreciated serving our local ag community for the past 77 years. Joining Centerra allows us to build on the strong foundation we’ve created, while ensuring our customers and employees benefit from greater resources and long-term stability.”… Continue reading

By Brianna Smith

When George Secor, president and CEO of Sunrise Cooperative, sat down with staff at the Ohio FFA Foundation several years ago, no one expected their conversation to spark one of Ohio agriculture’s most effective workforce solutions. At the time, the Ohio FFA Foundation needed a reliable vehicle for the Ohio FFA state president, who drives countless miles visiting FFA chapters and events. Meanwhile, Sunrise faced a need to bring in new talent to replace long-time employees nearing retirement. Out of that conversation came the RISE FFA Career Program—Recruiting Innovative Sunrise Employees—a unique effort that’s connecting top FFA high school graduates directly with stable, well-paying jobs in agriculture at Sunrise Cooperative.

Secor knew firsthand how difficult it is to find young people willing to adapt to the unpredictable demands of agriculture, where weather and growing conditions dictate schedules. He also recognized that many FFA members already understood those demands and wanted to stay involved in agriculture, but didn’t necessarily want to attend college.… Continue reading