Ohio Field Leader Podcast

On this episode of the podcast the Field Leader Roadshow traveled to Allen County and the farm of Matt Burkholder. Dusty visits with Matt about the 2026 growing season and his journey in soil health and cover crops. They also talk about The Nature Conservancy's  Farmer Advocates for Conservation program and the new OHFarm program.

In 2019, the H2Ohio program was announced as an effort to address concerns of water quality issues and tackle the algal bloom issues that were impacting the state. Dr. Chris Winslow is Director of the Ohio Sea Grant College Program and The Ohio State University's Stone Laboratory.  Dr. Winslow has been involved in water quality research and monitoring the situation since the beginning of the H2Ohi...

On this episode of the Field Leader podcast, Dusty is joined by Dwayne Wilson, Grain Merchandising Specialist at White Commercial Corporation. Dusty and Dwayne discuss the current grain markets and some of the changes that have impacted grain marketing over time. Dwayne explains the role that basis plays in marketing decisions. They also discuss using on-farm storage as a marketing tool and some o...

On this episode, Dusty is joined by Brandon Kern, Deputy Executive Director and Senior Policy Director of the Ohio Soybean Association and Ohio Soybean Council as well as Julia Brown, Communications and Education Director and Mackenzie Joseph, Communications Manager for the Ohio Soybean Council. The Ohio Soybean Hometown Tour made three stops in August with an action-packed agenda. The team will r...

The 2026 Ohio Crop Tour, Sponsored by Field Leader, a project of the Ohio Soybean Checkoff, was a four-day crop tour that covered roughly 37 counties across the Buckeye state. Tour participants scouted a corn and soybean field in each county and reported on the crop conditions, any weed, disease or insect pressure, and a yield estimate. This episode of the Field Leader Podcast is a combination of...

The story is told that when Perry Ralph switched from horses and started using a tractor to farm, he tied lanterns on the front so he could see as it got dark and was able to farm later into the evening. From lanterns on a tractor to GPS guidance and a grain facility monitored with a cell phone, Ralph Farms has grown and changed with the times, including making time to serve the larger agricultura...

The disease triangle is a tool pathologists use to explain the three factors that must coincide in a field for a disease to negatively impact a crop. They include a virulent pathogen, a suceptible host, and a favorable environment. From the time a soybean seed is planted until the crop is harvested, these three factors are on the mind of growers and pathologists alike as they monitor the crop. In...

Episode 75 of the podcast finds the Field Leader Roadshow is in Van Wert County at Heffelfinger Farms. Dusty visits with Mike and Kendra about their family operation dating back to 1852. Mike and his brother Kevin are the 5th generation, and Mike and Kendra's sons, Logan and Luke will be the 6th generation on the family farm. Mike has served on the Ohio Soybean Association board and currently serv...

In this episode of the Field Leader Podcast, Dusty visits with Dr. Taylor Dill, Director of Research for the Ohio Soybean Council and Dr. Alyssa Essman,  Assistant Professor and Weed Science Extension Specialist at The Ohio State University. They discuss the unique weather variables Ohio farmers faced this spring based on where they were located and the impact that has had on weed management strat...

In Episode 73, the Ohio Field Leader Roadshow travels to Seneca County to Margraf Farms. Dusty visits with Bret Margraf about their farm's soil health journey and the implementation of regenerative agriculture practices, including grazing livestock. Bret shares about the changes they have made and new things they have tried in their no-till and cover crop system over the years, and the jump they m...

In Episode 72, Dusty visits with Taylor Dill, Director of Research at the Ohio Soybean Council and discusses the current planting season and conditions, as well as important management decisions that need to be made along the way and some useful tools available to growers. Links to management tools and calculators: https://fieldvision-app-d3b82e6fec5d.herokuapp.com/ https://www.pioneer.com/us/tool...

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...

In Episode 70, Dusty visits with Taylor Dill, Director of Research with the Ohio Soybean Council, to discuss soybean check-off funded research findings from the Battle for the Belt looking at early season planting considerations for soybeans and corn. They talk about the various planting environments that Ohio growers encounter and tips for successful crop establishment and stress mitigation. They...

In Episode 69, Dusty visits with Dan Schwartz of Schwarts Farms in Trumbull County. The Schwartz family has been exporting food grade soybeans to the Japanese market since the late 1990's. Today they not only export their own beans, but also those of several farms that they contract with. Dusty and Dan discuss the history of Schwartz Farms and the family members that make things happen today, alon...

In Episode 68, Dusty visits with soybean researchers involved in the Science for Success program. Science for Success provides timely, cutting-edge best management practices by coordinating the unified soybean check-off funded research efforts of over 20 land grant universities. One challenge that soybean growers face has been referred to as the "Hidden Hunger". Potassium (K) recommendations are c...

From Red Crown Rot to Brown Stem Rot to Sudden Death Syndrome, Ohio soybean farmers have their work cut out for them as they scout fields and attempt to identify the diseases causing stress to their crops. Dr. Horacio Lopez-Nicora, OSU Extension Soybean Pathologist and Nematologist visits with Dusty Sonnenberg to reviw the 2025 growing season and Ohio's first positive identification of Red Crown R...

Taylor Dill was recently named Director of Research for the Ohio Soybean Council. Dusty visits with Taylor to discuss what led her to this role with the OSC and more about her background in agriculture. They also discuss some of the current research being funded by the soybean check-off and future plans to help drive value back to farmers from the investments of the soybean check-off.

On the first episode of the OFL Podcast for 2026, Dusty travels with the Ohio Field Leader Roadshow to Clark County. Dusty visits with Brian, Jennifer, Lane and Aidan Harbage at Harbage Farms. The Harbage family is the 7th and 8th generation of the family on the farm that raises soybeans, corn, wheat and hay, as well as having a cattle feed lot and cow calf operation. They also own and operate Fat...

For two decades Tom Fontana has been at the forefront of Ohio soybean research and educational initiatives for the Ohio Soybean Council.  Working with land grant university and industry researchers, as well as school educators all across the state and country, Tom has seen the industry through a number of exciting changes. Dusty and Tom take a look back at the last 20 years of Tom's career and som...

While we do not often think about soybean farmers in Ontario, Canada, the challenges they experience are often very similar to ours in Ohio. Much can be shared and learned from one another. Agronomic pests and diseases do not stop with state or country borders.   In this episode of The Ohio Field Leader Podcast, Dusty had a chance to visit with Albert Tenuta, Extension Plant Pathologist at the Ont...

Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN) is the most destructive pathogen of soybeans in the United States with annual yield losses due to SCN estimated at more than $1 billion. Yield losses caused by SCN are often underestimated because the nematode can be present in fields without causing any noticeable aboveground symptoms. In an effort to increase soybean farmers' awareness of soybean cyst nematode, the SC...

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, an...

Red Crown Rot has officially been confirmed in Ohio. Dr. Horacio Lopez-Nicora joins Dusty on this special episode to discuss the finding and what it means to Ohio soybean growers going forward. They discuss what is known about the disease, basic management strategies moving forward, and how Ohio farmers can submit soybean plant samples for free testing and identification thanks to the Ohio Soybean...

When life gives you lemons, it has been said that the best thing you can do is to make lemonade. That is exactly what Sheldon and Samantha Miller of Ottawa County have done on their farm after a Tornado in 2023 destroyed their home and buildings, and they continue to do as they navigate the many challenges and opportunities in production agriculture. Dusty visits with Sheldon and Samantha on this...

On Episode 58 of the Ohio Field Leader Podcast, Dusty visits with Jon, Joe, Tim and Tyler Everett of Everett Farms in Shelby County. The brothers and their sons have been farming many of the same acres for generations, and the unique thing is that the absentee landlords are also multi-generational as the land has been handed down over the years. Establishing and continuing to develop their landlor...