Ohio Farm Bureau

On this episode of Field Day with Jordan Hoewischer, we talk with Jay Martin about his Pilot Watershed Project in the Western Lake Erie Basin. The project tackles how water quality and nutrient runoff will change as conservation practices are elevated and stacked on targeted acres.

On this episode of Field Day with Jordan Hoewischer, we talk with Chris Winslow from Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory about the status of Lake Erie, legacy phosphorus and other topics as well.

On this episode of Field Day with Jordan Hoewischer, we talk with Aaron Wilson from Ohio State University and the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center about short and long-term weather and climate trends and how the super El Niño will affect our region.

On this episode of Field Day with Jordan Hoewischer, Jordan provides some history on where we have come from, water quality wise, and what the industry has accomplished since the 2014 Toledo Water shutdown. This episode is the first in a series that will discuss progress updates on projects and the overall health of our water system.

The 2026 Current Agricultural Use Value (CAUV) update brings lower values in many reappraisal counties and a significant policy win on permanent pasture. Leah Curtis, associate general counsel for Ohio Farm Bureau, joins this Legal with Leah to break it all down and shares what farmers should expect.

In 2023, the Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative (OACI) conducted a randomized sampling of crop production fields within the HUC8 Scioto Watershed using a statistical approach to determine what practices are being used by farmers within this watershed to manage water and nutrients in crop year 2022. In this podcast, key findings of the report are unveiled.

In 2023, the Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative (OACI) conducted a randomized sampling of 433 crop production fields within the HUC8 Sandusky watershed. A statistical approach was implemented to determine what practices are being used by farmers within this watershed to manage water and nutrients in the crop year 2022. In the field survey process, all the cropped fields within the watershed were considered in the randomized selection process regardless of farm and field size. However, only fields that were greater than 20 acres were selected for the survey; the average size of the fields surveyed was 72.7 acres. A trained Soil and Water Conservation District employee interviewed the landowner or farm manager for each field surveyed. The Ohio State University and the Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology at Iowa State University helped in designing the sampling strategy and data analysis.

According to a survey conducted by the Environmental Law and Policy Center, a group known for targeting livestock agriculture, voters in northwest Ohio say they overwhelmingly favor strong, enforceable regulation of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Ohio Farm Bureau's Ty Higgins visits with OFBF's senior director of state and national policy, Brandon Kern, about the poll and the misleading tactics that lead to the results.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR A MILLION DOLLARS? WOULD YOU WALK AWAY FROM A SUCCESSFUL CAREER AND TAKE A MASSIVE FINANCIAL GAMBLE? ON THIS "TO THE BEAT OF AGRICULTURE", GET TO KNOW A FARMER WHO DECIDED TO DO JUST THAT. HE'S HARVESTED SUCCESS, DESPITE SOME FAILURE ALONG THE WAY.

ON THIS "TO THE BEAT OF AGRICULTURE", HEAR THE STORY OF A FIRST GENERATION FARMER WHO HAS MADE A HABIT OF SEEING OPPORTUNITY AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF IT. IN MANY WAYS, SHE HAS A PRETTY FOWL CAREER BUT ALSO A STRONG TRACK RECORD OF SERVICE AND OHIO FARM BUREAU INVOLVEMENT.

WHEN IT COMES TO THE SUCCESS OF A FARM, MUCH OF IT IS DEPENDENT ON A FAMILY STRUCTURE - GENERATION AFTER GENERATION BELIEVING IN THE GROWTH THAT CAN COME FROM WISELY WORKING THE LAND. BUT, CREATING A FARM FOR THE FUTURE OFTEN REQUIRES TWO THINGS: THE FIRST BEING ADAPTATION AND SECOND, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITIES. ON THIS TO THE BEAT OF AGRICULTURE, YOU'LL GET TO KNOW ONE MAN WHO HAS THOSE TWO THINGS IN MIND. BUT, HAS BUSHELS OF FUN WHILE WORKING INCREDIBLY HARD.

You could think of the theme of their story as "growth". Just a few years ago, their jobs and family grew. Now, they see growth of their own farm operations and those dreams coming closer. But, these Young Ag Professionals know that creating an efficient agricultural operation is not a simple task.

An extremely challenging childhood yields a fruitful life for one Tennessee man. That's the story you are about to hear on this segment of To the Beat of Agriculture. To the Beat of Agriculture is a product of Ohio Farm Bureau (ofbf.org), in partnership with Wessler Media (WesslerMedia.com).

Let's head up to Wayne County, Ohio and visit Rittman Orchards, the same place you'll find Bent Ladder Cider and Wine.. While these family operations are multi-dimensional, the two things they regularly have on tap are determination and dedication. To the Beat of Agriculture is a product of Ohio Farm Bureau (ofbf.org), in partnership with Wessler Media (WesslerMedia.com).

Today's story involves an Ohio Farm Bureau board member, but more than that, he's a father, husband, businessman and someone who is very legacy-minded. To the Beat of Agriculture is a product of Ohio Farm Bureau (ofbf.org), in partnership with Wessler Media (WesslerMedia.com).

On this To the Beat of Agriculture podcast, hear how one man's passion for agriculture was planted in him at an early age, but it wasn't until later in life (and with his wife) that is fully bloomed. To the Beat of Agriculture is a product of Ohio Farm Bureau, in partnership with Wessler Media. Visit them at WesslerMedia.com

The enrollment period is now open for the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. But should you sign up your acres for these programs right away, or wait? And what exactly are these "top-up" payments? Ty Higgins visits with American Farm Bureau's Chief Economist Dr. John Newton and Ohio State Ag Economist Ben Brown to find out more about the options farmers have.

Lately, American farmers have not been given much good news when it comes to trade. American Farm Bureau Chief Economist John Newton tells Ohio Farm Bureau's Ty Higgins that big wins with the USMCA and Japan may get the ball rolling for more bilateral trade deals and could bring positive momentum to the upcoming trade talks with China.

Petitioners in Williams County recently put in a request to force the Board of Elections to place a charter proposal on the Nov. 5 ballot that they say would protect the waters of the Michindoh Aquifer. After being denied numerous times, the request recently headed to the Ohio Supreme Court. Ty Higgins visits with Ohio Farm Bureau's Amy Milam about the latest developments in this case.

With the lagging planting season across Ohio, many fields that should be filled lush green corn and soybeans are instead brown and overtaken by weeds. Thanks to a new $4 million NRCS program, many of those acres will be incentivized by planting a cover crop, including corn and soybeans. Ty Higgins gets all of the details from state Conservationist Terry Cosby in this Ohio Farm Bureau podcast.

The number of Prevent Plant acres in Ohio will be historic after a devastatingly wet spring. Just how record-breaking will the numbers be in 2019 and what implications will they have for the short and long term for farmers and consumers in Ohio? Ohio Farm Bureau's Ty Higgins and Jimmy Stickley visit with Dr. Carl Zulauf, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics with The Ohio State University about Prevent Plant, MFP2 and new forage and grazing rules in this podcast.

After meeting with farmers in the most impacted areas of the state and after collecting cropping data, gathering planting history and taking photos of the wide-ranging acres of unplanted fields, Ohio FSA has officially requested USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to make Disaster Declarations for Fulton, Henry and Lucas Counties. Ty Higgins has more with Ohio Farm Bureau's senior director of state and national affairs, Jack Irvin.

It is true that a big chunk of the Midwest has struggled to get the 2019 corn and soybean crops planted in a timely fashion, but none more so than northwest Ohio. Ty Higgins visited with Ohio Farm Bureau's senior director of state and national affairs, Jack Irvin and OFBF organization director for Defiance, Henry, Fulton and Williams Counties, Roy Norman about the lack of planting happening in that part of the state and what area farmers need to know as they made important decisions moving forward.

Adding to the frustration of a late planting season is the uncertainty of what decisions need to be made in order for farmers to have the least damaging financial impact due to negative situations including wet weather and trade wars. Ty Higgins visits with Ben Brown, manager of Ohio State's Farm Management Program and Jason Williamson from Williamson Insurance in northwest Ohio.

Every five years or so, congress writes a new Farm Bill. It impacts food supply and prices, rural economies and of course the livelihoods of America’s farmers and ranchers. Both the house and senate have passed their versions of the latest Farm Bill, and it’s now in conference. There are a number of Ohioans serving on that conference committee, and today we’ll hear from two of them. Senator Sherrod Brown and Congressman Bob Gibbs. What’s in the farm bill? Why should everyone care? Today, on Town Hall Ohio.

If you want some facts and insights into Ohio politics, you can listen to Ohio public radio and read the Columbus dispatch. Or, for the next hour, do both right here. Jim Siegle of the Dispatch and Jo Ingles of the Statehouse News Bureau are with us to share some insights into Tuesday’s primary and a variety of other issues being addressed by our elected officials.

This is a 4-minute audio story with Tadd Nicholson, executive director of the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association. He talks about the importance of exports, why the North American Free Trade Agreement matters and the local impact of NAFTA.

Senator Sherrod Brown talked with Ohio Farm Bureau about the farm bill, Lake Erie, tax reform and NAFTA renegotiation. Interview runs 4:57.

National wildfire relief efforts.

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown sat down with Secretary of Agriculture nominee Sonny Perdue to discuss Midwest agriculture, bipartisanship in agriculture and the upcoming farm bill. Brown recaps that meeting with Ohio Farm Bureau's Joe Cornely and shares whether he intends to vote to confirm Perdue's nomination.

Welcome to #WaterWednesday! Once a month we will share one of our many impactful water quality projects around the state. Today’s project is the Blanchard River Demonstrations Farms Network. The demo farms are a trio of farms in partnership between OFBF and USDA-NRCS to demonstration and showcase leading edge conservation practices to improve Great Lakes water quality. The farms will be open periodically for farmers, local residents, legislators and media members to get an up-close took at what farmers are doing to project water quality. See more at ofbf.org.

Drug abuse is a growing problem in rural areas of Ohio. United States Sen. Rob Portman spoke about the recently passed Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act and Farm Bureau’s leadership on attacking the problem.

Ohio’s system of taxing farmland continues to be a good deal for farmers and their local communities, but tax bills are going higher. Leah and Joe answer your questions about Current Agricultural Use Valuation.

American Farm Bureau is buying stock in major food companies in order to speak directly to shareholders. Sarah Brown Dirkes of AFBF talks to Joe Cornely.

Ohio governor and presidential candidate John Kasich has received the Ohio Farm Bureau Agriculture For Good Government PAC "Friend of Agriculture" recognition. State Senator and Ohio Farm Bureau past president Bob Peterson has been travelling America and speaking on behalf of the Kasich campaign. Peterson sat down with Ohio Farm Bureau's Joe Cornely to give an insider's view of a presidential campaign and explain why he believes Gov. Kasich is deserving of your vote in the March 15th primary.

Speaker Boehner tells of Farm Bureau's role in his political career.

What does the law say about your land projects that impact someone else’s drainage, or about when theirs affects you? OFBF director of ag law and Joe Cornely discuss “reasonable use” standards, petition ditch law and other drainage topics.

If good fences make good neighbors, good fence laws are at least equally important. Leah and Joe talk about Ohio’s line fence laws: who’s responsible for what, how to handle disputes and more.

Adequate supply of workers needed by Ohio Farm Bureau

Ohio Farm Bureau priority issues have been addressed in both the House and Senate versions of the state budget bills. Today, the Ohio Senate passed its version of the budget which will now be sent on to conference committee, to iron out differences with the House version. In this audio clip Brandon Kern, Ohio Farm Bureau director of state policy, discusses Farm Bureau priorities in the budget bills, what will happen with the two versions of the budget bill and that Farm Bureau members should always continue to let their legislators and elected officials know how important these agricultural issues are.

Paul Harrison, Ohio Farm Bureau state trustee from Fostoria, recently spoke at a county Farm Bureau membership kick-off meeting and talked about the importance of CAUV. Paul spells out the tax savings a landowner receives and why beneficiaries of CAUV should be Farm Bureau members.