The American Farm Bureau Federation, along with 46 state Farm Bureaus and 280 organizations representing family-owned agribusinesses, sent a letter in September to congressional leaders urging them to leave important tax policies in place as they draft legislation implementing President Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda. The letter addresses four key tax provisions that make it possible for farmers and ranchers to survive and pass their businesses on to the next generation: estate taxes, stepped-up basis, 199A small business deduction and like-kind exchanges.

“The policies Congress enacts now will determine agricultural producers’ ability to secure affordable land to start or expand their operations,” the letter states. “Regardless of whether a business has already been passed down through multiple generations or is just starting out, the key to their longevity is a continued ability to transition when a family member or business partner dies. For this reason, we firmly believe the current federal estate tax code provisions must be maintained.”… Continue reading

A new federal grant awarded to the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) will support and enhance several initiatives that address farm stress in Ohio.

In partnership with Ohio State University Extension, training will be provided to mental health and other health care professionals in Ohio on the unique stressors and factors that influence agricultural producers, other individuals working in the agricultural sector, and farm and rural households. 
Titled “Bridging the Gap for Agricultural and Rural Mental Health Training in Ohio,” the $500,000 grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network.

“Our farmers and producers are facing incredible stressors,” said Cathann A. Kress, vice president for agricultural administration and dean of The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). “Many farmers are faced with unpredictable issues and concerns daily involving personal health and injuries, equipment and parts, animal health, weather, and crops.… Continue reading

By Matt Reese

With harvest in full swing, the attention of America’s farmers is not on policy debates in Washington, D.C., but there are some significant potential agricultural implications.

“Get your muck boots on if you’re going to try to wade into this. There is a lack of clarity. There is the bipartisan infrastructure package that has broad support right now and a lot of key priorities for Ohio agriculture included in it — like rural broadband and funding for inland waterway structures. That is kind of being stymied right now by all of the other things that are happening with the Build Back Better Act, a $3.5 trillion proposal,” said Luke Crumley, with Ohio Corn & Wheat. “On top of that we have this fiscal cliff looming with the debt limit that is quickly approaching here in the middle of the month. Our growers are trying to sift through all that in the middle of harvest.… Continue reading

The Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance (FACA) is encouraged by USDA’s recent announcement inviting proposals to advance voluntary climate-smart farming and forestry practices. The alliance is pleased to see USDA embracing an incentive-based approach that would increase demand for climate-smart farm, ranch and forestry products, while building trust that the climate benefits are real and verifiable.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Partnership Initiative saying USDA hopes to receive proposals from a wide variety of stakeholders interested in voluntarily collaborating to test wide-ranging ideas that sequester carbon and reduce GHG emissions on farms and working lands. Vilsack credited FACA, saying the department drew heavily from alliance recommendations released in May 2021 when forming the program. USDA also acknowledges the need identified by FACA to build confidence in these climate benefits by investing in measurement, monitoring and verification to lay the groundwork for success and potential actions by Congress.… Continue reading

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) encourages people and groups wanting to protect agricultural lands, and grasslands to consider enrolling their property into conservation easements. This year, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) plans to invest $76 million in financial assistance to help private landowners, tribes, land trusts, and other groups protect these valuable working lands.

Through USDA’s Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), Agricultural Land Easements, NRCS provides funds to conservation partners to purchase conservation easements on private working lands. This program helps keep agricultural viability for future generations especially in areas experiencing development pressure.

“Agricultural Land Easements prevent conversion of valuable productive working lands to non-agricultural uses,” said Lori Ziehr, Ohio Acting State Conservationist. “Land protected by ALEs supports the long-term viability of the nation’s food supply in addition to historic and wildlife habitat preservation.” 

Partners include State or local agencies, non-profits, and tribes. Landowners continue to own their property, but voluntarily enter into a legal agreement with a cooperating entity to purchase an easement.… Continue reading

By Matt Reese

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

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack selected 12 members to serve on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) inaugural Secretary’s Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture to provide input on policy development and to help identify barriers to urban agriculture as USDA works to promote urban farming and the economic opportunities it provides in cities across the country. 

The new Secretary’s Advisory Committee is part of USDA’s efforts to support urban agriculture, creating a network for feedback. Urban agriculture plays an important role in producing fresh, healthy food in areas where grocery stores are scarce, and also provides jobs and beautifies neighborhoods.   

“Urban agriculture has been growing in impact and importance, and we are taking bold actions to build a support structure,” Vilsack said. “I look forward to learning how we can better serve urban agricultural producers, which will complement our efforts focusing on equity, local food systems, access to safe and nutritional food and new ways to address climate change.”  

The Committee is made up of agricultural producers, and representatives from the areas of higher education or extension programs, non-profits, business and economic development, supply chains and financing. Carl… Continue reading

Ohio State University (OSU) Extension will host the 7th Annual East Ohio Women in Agriculture Conference. The conference is planned for Friday, March 25 from 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at Ohio FFA Camp Muskingum, 3266 Dyewood Road SW, Carrollton, OH 44615. All women and young women (high school age) who are interested, involved in, or want to become involved with food, agricultural, or natural resources production or small business are encouraged to attend.

East Ohio Women in Ag Conference 2022 Flyer

The conference program features a networking fair and sixteen breakout sessions presented by OSU Extension educators, producers, and partner agencies. Sessions this year are focused around four themes: Natural Resources, Plants & Animals, Home & Family, and Special Interest (includes break-out with Ohio FFA State Officers). The conference keynote will be led by Bridget Britton, OSU Extension Behavioral Health Field Specialist. She and her team will lead participants through “Stoic or Stressed?… Continue reading

By Matt Reese

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. 

According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, North American river otters are semi-aquatic mammals that were historically distributed throughout much of North America, including Ohio.… Continue reading

Emphasizing that agriculture is one of the largest and most important economic sectors in Ohio, nine major Ohio agriculture groups released recommendations to modernize the Ohio Expo Center and State Fair. These proposals were sent to Gov. Mike DeWine, the Ohio Expo and State Fair Commission, the State of Ohio, other public sector leaders and influencers, as well as the Ohio Expo 2050 Task Force, which the governor created to develop and recommend a long-term vision for the Ohio Expo Center. The recommendations were shared to ensure that the input, ideas and concerns of the agriculture industry, including preserving the current location and footprint with a strong investment for improvements, are properly incorporated into the state’s new Vision Plan. 

The groups include the Ohio AgriBusiness Association, Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association, Ohio Dairy Producers Association, Ohio Farm Bureau, Ohio Pork Council, Ohio Poultry Association, Ohio Sheep Improvement Association and Ohio Soybean Association.… Continue reading

By Matt Reese and Dale Minyo

In the next few weeks farmers in the United States will be turning their attention to the details of the weather, field conditions and getting seeds in the ground in a timely manner. With their planting season almost here as well, farmers in Ukraine have their focus on very different concerns.

Fairfield County farmer David Brandt got a phone call a couple of years ago from an agronomist in Ukraine hoping to learn about no-till farming practices. That phone call led to relationship between Brandt and several Ukrainian farmers via conference calls to regularly discuss the details of farming. Brandt is in touch with the group several times a year. More recent messages from the group have taken a different turn.

“I received a message Sunday morning just before I went to church. The one fellow I like really well said, ‘It is tough over here David, but we’re still surviving,’” Brandt said.… Continue reading

By Matt Reese

Retired Ohio State University Extension agronomist Harold Watters has been working with Ukrainian farmers and agronomists for over a decade. He has traveled to Ukraine many times to teach agronomics in person, but had switched to virtual teaching since 2020. Watters was finally set to return in person late last year.

“I was supposed to go in December and it got canceled because of impending disaster. Then I was supposed to go Feb. 18 but that got canceled too,” Watters said. “We were basically in the middle of a virtual class when it got canceled. They were saying, ‘We’re under attack and we’re shutting down.’ I am so worried about my friends there. I have met so many farmers across that country and they are very resilient. They are survivors. This country has been beat up on before. I am not surprised they are fighting back.

“They are wondering what they should do.… Continue reading

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

Agriculture is very important to Ohio’s economy. Annually the Food and Agriculture industry contributes more than $100 billion to the state’s economy, and accounts for 14% of the jobs in Ohio. One out of every seven workers in Ohio is employed in agriculture. The industry is constantly changing, and the challenges and opportunities facing agriculture are ever evolving. “We know that there are trends impacting our industry, and being aware of what is going on around us is important,” said Adam Sharp, Executive Vice President of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. “I have a list of ten things that are on my radar and on the radar of Ohio Farm Bureau.”

Technological revolution

“We are seeing a technological revolution in agriculture,” Sharp said. “This includes things like biotechnology, genetics, robotics, various sensors and remote access, data, data systems, and data protection.… Continue reading

By John Fulton

Spring has arrived and attention has turned to planting and spraying. It was great be back in-person for many of the winter meetings. It was refreshing to see people and get to visit in-person about crop production topics and what is front of mind for farmers and consultants. What stuck out was that increasingly, farmers across the United States are finding more ways to deploy technology in their fields and within their farm operation. While there were many discussions on various precision agriculture topics, here are three topics within crop production that stuck out.

Automation

Ag technology have been providing precision ag hardware and sensors for a few decades now. Much of this technology has been used to automate functionality of farm machines taking responsibilities off the machine operator allowing them to focus on important aspects of field operations. The question for several years has been: when will we see full-automation or robots in our fields?… Continue reading

By Don “Doc” Sanders

Please allow me to enlighten you, in case you’re not aware of the great work of Norman Borlaug, the American Nobel Prize-winning plant scientist of the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Borlaug was the scientist who developed rice with high vitamin A content to prevent hundreds of thousands of children from going blind in third world countries because of vitamin A deficiency. He also developed seed barley strains that required half of the usual amount of water to grow in semi-arid countries. He taught third world villagers to plant corn in rows for weed control, rather than casting the seed around randomly like you were feeding the birds.  

His list of accomplishments to improve food security go on and on (https://www.cast-science.org/celebrating-norman-borlaug-man-who-fed/).

In 1972 he and 18 other scientists founded the nonprofit Council for Agriculture, Science and Technology (CAST). Its mission is to disseminate information about new science and technology to Congress and governmental agencies, the mass media and the public.… Continue reading

From an Illinois farm in May, President Joe Biden highlighted measures meant to increased crop production in the face of global crop and food stresses brought on by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Farmers are the breadbasket of democracy. You really are,” Biden said.

The White House released a three-pronged plan meant to increase crop production and curb input costs for producers. 

• Double cropping: USDA will expand double-cropping crop insurance to cover 681 additional counties to incentivize farmers to consider double-cropping crops such as soybeans after winter wheat.

• Precision agriculture: USDA will open programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) to prioritize precision agriculture technology for nutrient management or water efficiency in areas prone to drought. Those programs are already funded in the farm bill to encourage such aid and technical assistance.

* Domestic fertilizer: USDA had initially committed $250 million to boost domestic fertilizer capacity.… Continue reading

By Zippy Duvall, American Farm Bureau president

Over 2 million farms dot our nation’s landscape, across all 50 states and in territories like Puerto Rico. You can find farmers and ranchers raising nearly every type of crop and livestock to keep our nation fed. You can find us serving our neighbors and communities and employing the latest innovations to improve sustainability. But there’s one place you will not find us, and that is on Wall Street. So why is the Securities and Exchange Commission about to grant itself authority to functionally regulate our family farms and ranches, when in fact we have never been under the SEC’s authority? It’s an alarming question, and one we are facing head on right now.

A little background here — recently the SEC proposed a new rule, “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate Related Disclosures for Investors,” which would require publicly traded companies to provide climate-related information from their entire value chain in their filings and annual reports.… Continue reading

As many as 150 alumni and friends of Wilmington College’s agriculture program are expected to attend the Diamond Jubilee on Saturday, June 18 in a celebration of ag’s 75 years as one of the institution’s most distinct areas.

Alumni ranging from recent graduates to those in their 90s and from as close as Wilmington and as far away as Kansas, Florida and New Hampshire have made plans to attend. Also, included among those who’ve registered are former agriculture faculty and staff members.

Planned for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the event will include a picnic lunch on Collett Mall and an ice cream dessert at the Academic Farm on Fife Ave., where guests will be able to explore the Equine Center, World Crop Museum, Hoop House and view an example of regenerative agriculture. Also, there will be opportunities to meet WC’s 19th president, Trevor Bates, as well as the “new guard” in the Agriculture Dept.… Continue reading

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) encourages urban producers and others to attend the second public meeting of the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production on August 5.  The Committee will discuss new urban conservation practices, focus areas and priorities for the Commission, and the new Farm Service Agency (FSA) urban county committees, among other topics. 

“This Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production is giving USDA valuable insights, feedback and guidance on how USDA can better serve producers in urban areas,” said Brian Guse, Director of USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP). “Working with the Committee, USDA will develop strategies to address the needs of  urban agricultural producers and promote innovative production, strengthen local food systems, and increase equity and access to healthy, local food.”  

The Committee is part of USDA’s efforts to support urban agriculture, creating a network for feedback. Membersinclude agricultural producers, and representatives from the areas of higher education or extension programs, non-profits, business and economic development, supply chains and financing.… Continue reading

By Matt Reese

The agal bloom predictions are again coming in low for Lake Erie in 2022, good news for the Lake, the people who rely upon it and the farmers who often get the blame for its problems.

The 2022 algal bloom is expected to have a low severity index of 3.5, according to the final forecast from the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration released June 30. This forecast uses an ensemble of different models, which consider phosphorus loading into the lake during the spring and early summer.

If realized, this will be the fourth year out of the past seven that the algal bloom will be rated less than 4 on a scale of 1 (mild) to 10 (severe). NOAA will release the final algal bloom statistics for 2022 in September.

“For years the farmer’s work has been judged on whether a body of water is green or not, but it doesn’t represent the improvements being made year over year,” said Jordan Hoewischer, director of water quality and research with Ohio Farm Bureau.… Continue reading