Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast

Solar energy in Ohio has been, pun intended, a pretty hot topic over the past few years as more and more landowners in all parts of the state are being approached about signing leases to utilize their property to collect energy from the sun. That growing interest in the Buckeye State has led to difficult discussions, tough decisions and a divide in opinion across the countryside. On this Our Ohio...

Ohio State’s Farm Science Review, which turns 60 this year, plans to highlight its decades of providing valuable information to farmers and producers, while focusing on continuing to educate for the future. The premier agricultural education and industry exposition is set for Sept. 20–22 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center near London. Hosted by Ohio State's College of Food Agricultural and Env...

A TMDL, or Total Maximum Daily Load determines the maximum amount of a given pollutant that can be discharged into a body of water and still allow that water body to meet its water quality goals. One such TMDL is being put together right now by Ohio EPA for a big chunk of northwest Ohio, the Maumee River Watershed. On this Our Ohio Weekly learn more about how TMDLs work and what this new one could...

In December 2021, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack requested that the dairy industry “get in a room” and work collaboratively to build consensus and find solutions to Federal Milk Marketing Order shortfalls. He specified that “the only way this works for the industry is to do the hard job of listening to one another.” In response to his request, the American Farm Bureau Federation is host...

Agricultural lands in the U.S. grow an astounding array of food, fiber, biofuels, and other raw materials. This abundance has made the U.S. one of the most food secure nations in the world. Yet it can also mask vulnerabilities. For too many Americans, it is easy to brush off farmland loss or view it as inevitable. This puts our future at risk according to American Farmland Trust’s newest Farms Und...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)has announced a second round of funding through the Environmental Quality Incentives (EQIP) Cover Crop Initiative. The program provides an investment of $38 million to 11 states, including Ohio, to help agricultural producers mitigate climate change through the adoption of cover crops. This second round of funding ex...

After a two-year hiatus, The great Ohio State Fair is back this week! The 167th edition of the fair will have everything that we are used to when it comes to walks through the barn, the iconic butter cow, some deep-fried food on a stick, concerts, music, Smokey Bear and so much more. It is a very busy time for fair manager Virgil Strickler and assistant manager Alicia Shoults, but they take some t...

Leasing property for hunting and similar outdoor recreation has proven for many to be an attractive option when it comes to generating additional revenue for landowners, while also granting greater access to the outdoors. These leases are different from a typical agricultural lease so it's important to consider issues such as liability and managing shared access to the property in the event the la...

Recently, the FBI informed the Food and Agriculture sector that ransomware actors may be more likely to attack agricultural cooperatives during critical planting and harvest seasons, disrupting operations, causing financial loss, and negatively impacting the food supply chain. Why would farmers and the companies they work with be targeted through cyberattacks and what does something of that nature...

From the continued growth of the H2Ohio water quality initiative to the recent soil test research from The Fertilizer Institute, data shows farmers are making progress in the ongoing efforts to protect clean water throughout Ohio. Two members of the Ohio Farm Bureau team are heavily involved in many of those efforts and on this Our Ohio Weekly, Ohio Farm Bureau's Dr. Larry Antosch, senior director...

From conservation to disaster assistance, crop insurance to Farm Bill programs, the Farm Service Agency has many important tasks falling under its purview. They work with dairy farmers, livestock producers, row crop farmers, beginning farmers, specialty crop farmers, beekeepers and just about everyone who contributes to the front end of our food supply system. That means there is always something...

Journalism is changing. With the consolidation of small newspapers and mergers of some of Ohio’s larger media outlets, small towns aren’t getting a whole lot of attention these days. But two journalists are looking to rural Ohio for stories and sharing what they find with the entire nation. Emma Davis and Céilí Doyle have covered agriculture, education, broadband, infrastructure and many other cha...

The goal of USDA Rural Development is to help improve the economy and quality of life in rural America by offering loans, grants and loan guarantees to help create jobs and support economic development and essential services such as housing; health care; first responder services and equipment; and water, electric and communications infrastructure. They also offer technical assistance and informati...

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. It is well known how big of a challenge mental health in the U.S. is, but very few realize how rural parts of our country are being impacted. A new nonprofit, Rural Minds, was launched last year to provide rural Americans with efficient access to existing mental health service organizations and address the importance of overcoming the stigma around mental heal...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has many divisions to assist the just as many important aspects of American agriculture. Conservation is one of the most valuable attributes of farming, as it keeps farms viable for the long term, which allows farm families to continue the tradition of raising products used for food, fuel and fiber generation after generation. This week, learn more about the agen...

Throughout the U.S., there has been growing interest in alternative meat options, including plant-based and lab-grown meat. A team of researchers in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University recently surveyed 1,250 Ohio consumers and 130 Ohioans who identified themselves as members of the agricultural industry to better understand how consumers woul...

Last week, The Biden Administration discussed how its strategy to spur the development of homegrown biofuels is critical to expanding Americans’ options for affordable fuel in the short-term and to building real energy independence in the long-term by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. The President announced new steps to achieve that goal by increasing fuel supplies, offering more consumer ch...

Recently, food and agriculture groups released the sixth annual Feeding the Economy report, a historic farm-to-fork economic analysis revealing how these sectors influence the local and broader United States economies. The report shows that 1.5 million jobs in Ohio are tied to food and agriculture and those industries add over $10 billion dollars to the state’s bottom line annually. As those numbe...

Each year, Ohio Farm Bureau hosts AgriPOWER, designed specifically for farmers and agribusiness professionals. This year-long program focuses on public policy issues confronting agriculture and the food industry such as consumer relations, regulations, energy, and trade policies. It helps individuals develop the skills necessary to become effective leaders and advocates for agriculture by learning...

Last month, the Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative released their findings of the 2021 Assessment Survey Report on practices being used by farmers in the Lower Maumee watershed to manage water and nutrients. The survey results establish a baseline of adoption for various farming practices in the Lower Maumee watershed. The information will allow for a more targeted approach to help increase...

Some important deadlines are looming for farmers wanting to join the nearly 2,000 already signed up for the H2Ohio water quality program. To date, over 1 million acres have Voluntary Nutrient Management Plans, a key component of H2Ohio. This week, we visit with the Director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Dorothy Pelanda, to find out more about the initiative, and other important items, lik...

From Waters of the U.S., to the Enlist herbicide ban, to the Renewable Fuels Standard, EPA has ruffled quite a few feathers in agriculture lately. As those challenges come, organizations like Farm Bureau jump in and join in the conversation to make sure the agency has all of the information needed when new ideas that may have an impact on farmers across the country are introduced. On this Our Ohio...

At Ohio Farm Bureau, we keep our eyes on many things that may impact our members and their way of life. Most of the time that would be proposed legislation or regulation, but we also keep tabs on litigation at the local, state and federal levels. At Farm Bureau’s recent Ag Day at the Capital, nearly 350 members traveled to Columbus to visit with lawmakers and were invited to a special panel to hea...

According to the USDA Economic Research Service, food-at-home prices increased 3.5 percent and food-away-from-home prices increased 4.5 percent in 2021. That trend looks to continue throughout this year with the food we eat at home predicted to increase between 1.5 and 2.5 percent, and food-away-from-home prices are predicted to increase between 3.5 and 4.5 percent. This, of course, has an impact...

The average Ohio farm real estate value, including land and buildings, averaged $6,600 per acre last year, according to the National Ag Statistics Service. That’s a 3.9 percent increase from 2020. Ohio’s cropland value was $6,800, an increase of 5.3 percent from the previous year and pasture values in the Buckeye State were up 2.1 percent from 2020 at $3,440 per acre. On this Our Ohio Weekly, find...