Town Hall Ohio

Coming down from high farm incomes, high commodity prices, and rising land values and cash rents in the last 3 years, the ag economy is showing signs of weakening and moderation. On this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast, Ohio State's Ani Katchova gives her 2023 Farm Income Outlook. Then, soil health enthusiast Mitchell Hora checks in to talk about his message to participants of the upcoming Young Ag Professionals Winter Leadership Experience.

Attendees at 64 county fairs across Ohio collected a lot of food to benefit more than 65 food banks as part of Fight the Hunger, Stock the Trailer, a state-wide food drive contest sponsored by Farm Credit Mid-America and Rural 1st. Get the 2023 results on this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast. Plus, an expert from Nationwide talks about maximizing the tax-savings from the employee benefits of a farmer’s spouse who works off the farm and learn about a one-day certification program designed to empower Farm Bureau members with the necessary skills and resources to effectively present in classrooms.

Farm Bureau members, official delegates and guests were all part of Ohio Farm Bureau’s 105th Annual Meeting. On this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast, get a recap of the policies that were set by the delegate body, find out who was recognized for their contributions to Ohio Farm Bureau and Ohio agriculture and hear from Ohio Farm Bureau's president, Bill Patterson and executive vice president, Adam Sharp as we highlight their addresses to members.

Family is an important aspect of any farm's success, but it can also be a factor that hampers progress. Jolene Brown, a featured speaker at the upcoming Young Ag Professionals Winter Leadership Experience, gives a preview of what she will be sharing with attendees when it comes to having those tough conversations that could make or break a farms forward progress. Plus, the Ohio Soybean Council is working with other state soybean groups to develop programs and ideas to help their members sell more beans. Get all of the details on this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast.

Ohioans were on the brink of blackouts during the harshly cold temperatures in December of 2022. Ohio's Electric Cooperatives' CEO, Pat O'Loughlin discusses the possibilities of blackouts again this winter and what his organization is doing to keep members informed should the power grid be pressed again. Plus, experts from Stone X will be hosting a webinar to go over a few common marketing scenarios farmers have recently faced or may face in the near future. Get a preview on this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast.

Ohio is the #1 horse breeding state in the country and has more registered standardbred horse owners than any other state. The Buckeye State often leads the way for Standardbred breeding and those numbers are once again on the rise. Get an update on Ohio's racing horse industry from Renee Mancino, executive director of the Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association. Plus, for the last of a 4 part webinar series on farm labor, Ohio farmer Mark Ruff and industry consultant Michael Hoffman will outline the importance of a positive culture in employee engagement. Get a preview on this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast.

The Golden Owl Award recognizes agricultural educators across Ohio for their tremendous contributions to helping the next generation of agricultural leaders. Ohio Farm Bureau, along with our partners at Nationwide, the Ohio FFA, Farm Credit Mid-America and AgCredit are proud supporters of this award and you can nominate your favorite ag teaching now. Get all the details on this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast. Plus, lots of news coming out about CAUV values increasing in 2024, so we will talk about it with Leah Curtis, Policy Counsel with Ohio Farm Bureau.

The new Corporate Transparency Act requires that millions of businesses, including many farms and agribusinesses report their ownership to the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and could provide a burdensome reporting requirement. Ryan Conklin and Jonathan Cottingim from Wright and Moore have the details on who needs to file. Plus, Ohio Farm Bureau's Leah Curtis has quality information that will help landowners manage their property, particularly when it comes to zoning and trespassing.

Twenty Ohio Farm Bureau leaders are serving on the 2023 Ohio Farm Bureau Federation Policy Development Committee. The committee collects and organizes public policy recommendations from county Farm Bureaus and presents the final policy suggestions to be voted on by Ohio Farm Bureau’s delegates during the state annual meeting in December. Two of the members of this year's committee, OFB State Trustee John Bolte and Morgan County Farm Bureau leader Krysti Morrow, talk about the policy development process and some of the topics they are discussing in their respective sub-committees.

The Ohio Landowner Toolkit, a resource exclusively for Ohio Farm Bureau members, has been updated. Get a glimpse into some of the topics covered in the Toolkit from Ohio Farm Bureau's Policy Counsel, Leah Curtis. Then, David Marrison from Ohio State gives details of how he and his team will be helping farmers navigate the new farm bill, once it is passed.

Each year, farm fires cause more than $100 million in losses and damage to crops, animals, buildings and other property. We talk fire prevention on the farm with Nationwide on this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast. Plus, hear how you might save money on health coverage from two participants of the Ohio Farm Bureau Health Benefits Plan.

Recently, Collegiate Farm Bureau chapters from The Ohio State University and Wilmington College paid a visit to the Ohio Farm Bureau state offices in Columbus to share what their respective groups are doing to carry the important work of Farm Bureau at the college level and to learn how they can continue that work after their school days are over. On this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast, meet the presidents of each chapter as Ty visits with Raegan Feldner from Ohio State and Delaney Weisend from Wilmington.

Ohio farmers representing the Ohio Soybean Council recently went to Egypt on a trade mission. They got to talk to buyers about U.S. Soy and get an up close look at how our soy is used in the Egyptian market. Learn what they found on this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast. Plus, get a preview of the next Labor Webinar that will focus on the process of bringing H2A workers to the farm.

When it comes to agriculture policy, we talk a lot about water quality and soil quality, but there is some concern about conversations regarding air quality rules. On this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast, learn about proposed stricter air standards that would impact farmers from farm policy expert Brandon Kern and the National Association of Manufacturers' Brandon Ferris.

Union County Farm Bureau member Mark Seger is a farmer and a project manager for the Ohio Department of Transportation District 6. Find out how he is sharing agriculture's concern about infrastructure development on this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast. Plus, Wright and Moore's Ryan Conklin talks about the distinction between legal problems and people problems.

The College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences has found success with a new pilot for enrollment called the Buckeye Agricultural Leadership Pathways (BALP) program to bring more students into the CFAES fold. Learn more about the program from Dean Cathann Kress on this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast. Plus, could offering a retirement savings option be the solution to help your operation stand out to perspective employees? A Nationwide expert talks about how to attract farmworkers with retirement savings plans.

Finding employees for your farm is one thing, but retaining those employees remains one of farmers’ greatest challenges as the competition for available farm workers intensifies and what they need in order to stay on the payroll changes. That will be the topic of discussion during an upcoming webinar. Get a preview on this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast.

Ohio Farm Bureau’s young farmer program, Young Ag Professionals, provides community, leadership development, and professional growth opportunities for members who are 18-35. This is a busy time of year for our Y.A.P. program. Get an update on the latest happenings on this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast. Plus, Hundreds of Ohio agricultural businesses have a little bit more of a healthy outlook now that they participate in the Ohio Farm Bureau Health Benefits Plan. But we want to help even more people have access to Anthem’s affordable healthcare through this plan. Anthem joins Ty to talk about how the partnership with Ohio Farm Bureau works and why it's so valuable for members.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 has had many positive impacts for American families, including when it comes to a substantial Estate Tax exemption. However, that exemption and many others will sunset at the end of 2025. Find out what Ryan Conklin with Wright and Moore is telling his clients in order to prepare accordingly. Plus, get a preview of this year's Farm Science Review with the show's manager, Nick Zachrich on this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast.

Changes in the frequency and severity of droughts and floods brought on by climate volatility are real threats to farmers, ranchers and the world as they could make it more difficult to grow crops and raise animals in the same ways and same places as they have been done in the past. To help the agricultural industry meet the ever-changing concerns of its stakeholders, Ohio Farm Bureau, Nationwide and The Ohio State University have collaborated to form the AgTech Innovation Hub. Learn more about it on this Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast.