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Ohio Ag Manager

May 2011

May
05
2011

Ethics…do they really matter to me?

By: Julia Nolan Woodruff, Extension Educator, Erie County Recently I attended the National Conference for Extension Risk Management Education in St. Louis and one of the keynote speakers was Professor Marianne Jennings from Arizona State University. Dr. Jennings discussed the topic of ethics and how it related to risk management. My first thought was ethics, really does that relate to risk management and farmers? We are all ethical people, right? It’s those guys running large corporations embezzling millions of dollars, using company credit cards for personal charges, manipulating reports and data, committing financial fraud and the list goes on. Do farmers really have to deal with these issues? As you think about these statements a little more, you begin to realize that first thought about ‘those guys managing large corporations worth millions of dollars’ could actually describe a farmer. Today’s farmer may be managing a family farm, but it could be a business as large as some of the corporations we’ve read about lately with ethical issues. Just because it is a family business, it does not exempt it from ethical issues. Another thought, ethics affect both large and small businesses. The big ethical blunders are well publicized because most times they involve millions of dollars or a major cover up of information affecting a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean that smaller businesses don’t have problems caused by unethical decisions. Dr. Jennings ga...
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Labor Management, May 2011
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May
05
2011

Crop Insurance: What are the Preventative Plant Rules?

By: Chris Bruynis, Assistant Professor & Extension Educator; Greg Schiefer, Scheifer Farm and Family Insurance; and Marlene McCreary, Farmers Mutual Insurance With the weather forecasters calling for more wet weather for the next ten days, farmers are starting to think about the preventative planting provisions in their crop insurance policies.  Although most crop insurance policies have some preventative plant provision, neither GRP nor GRIP policies have preventative plant coverage, so check with your agent. One good thing is that farmers have choices and do not have to rush into any decisions but need to be aware of their options before getting to busy in the field. The target date for corn to be planted is June 5th and farmers can either take preventative planting, switch to another crop, or still plant corn with a reduction in coverage. Claiming preventative planting probably will not be the first choice in 2011 because many farmers have already locked in favorable contract prices for their corn and will need to plant some corn to fulfill those obligations. But if farmers choose to take preventative plant they will need either 20% or 20 acres of a unit (whichever is smaller) to have not been planted this year.  Example: a farmer has 400 acres of corn insured, 20% of 400 would be 80 acres and since 20 acres is smaller, there would need to be at least 20 acres of preventative plant in order to file a claim.   The maximum numbers of acres that a farmer can cl...
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Farm Policy, Financial Management, May 2011
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May
05
2011

How to Be Your Own Boss

by Chris Bruynis, PhD, Assistant Professor & Extension Educator Sometimes I have the opportunity to dialogue with people wanting to enter into the business of farming. This could be returning home to the farm and entering into some business arrangement with the existing business, starting a second career after having worked away from the farm for some time, or starting a retirement business. Regardless of when or why people are motivated to return to the business of farming there are some things they need to do to be successful in being their own boss. Consider these tips from successful business owners who learned how to position a new business for success from the start. Get educated- Get prepared by learning about your future business, whether it's through formal education such as college or technical training, or by reading and "being a sponge" for information related to your field. Learning is a constant that needs to occur for you to stay current on business strategies and tactics necessary for success. Get experience- Thinking and acting like business owner while working for someone else can be another strategy and stepping stone to business ownership. The secret is to constantly think and evaluate what is happening in the business environment and the business reaction to those pressures… “Would you make the same decision as your employer?” Get advice- Consider creating an advisory board that can review your strategies and financial information...
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Labor Management, May 2011
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May
05
2011

Sharing Farm Machinery-Can it Increase Profits for Ohio Farmers?

by: David Marrison, Assistant Professor & Extension Educator 2010 was a fabulous year for many Ohio crop producers due to the high commodity prices which prevailed for much of the year.  But higher seed and fertilizer prices in 2011 may trigger some farmers to re-examine how they can decrease their cost of production for their commodities. Cooperative approaches can provide an alternative for farmers to reduce risks and more effectively manage farm resources. One way which has helped save medium and small farm operations money is joint ownership of farm machinery.  Joint ownership of farm machinery offers medium and small operators a chance to reduce costs per acre and increase labor efficiency. Potential savings exist in several areas such as 1) greater annual use of large ticket machines; 2) more efficient use of labor during peak fieldwork times; 3) opportunities to do custom work for other operators or landowners; 4) greater use of individual operator skills and specialized labor and 5) more efficient use of repair and maintenance tools and facilities.  Some members of machinery joint ventures also cite the ability to own larger and more modern machinery as an advantage, although if this is carried too far, some of the cost savings may be negated. A study in Saskatchewan estimated that three medium sized grain farms (1,500 acres each) could combine their equipment and reduce their total machinery costs per acre from $44.66 to $28.75 under conventional seeding...
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Financial Management, May 2011
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May
04
2011

Opportunities for Beginning Farmers through using the Transition Incentive Program

By: Chris Bruynis, PhD, Assistant Professor & Extension Educator I have farmers nearing the end of their career frequently ask me “How is a young person supposed to enter into the business of farming?” Even though there are no easy answers, one  thought that comes to my mind is that these tenured farmers are going to have to assist with the transition to the next generation, even if it is not family.  To help farmers in their transition of their land to the next generation, the U.S.D.A. has a new program designed for retired or retiring owner or operator to transition expiring CRP land to a beginning or socially disadvantaged farmer who will return the land to production for sustainable grazing or crop production. This program is titled the, Transition Incentive Program (TIP) and provides annual rental payments to the land owner for up to two additional years after the date of the expiration of the CRP contract, provided the transition is not to a family member. The FSA factsheet can be found at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/tip051410.pdf So who qualifies as a beginning or socially disadvantaged farmer that is not family?  Based on USDA’s Farm Services Agency a beginning farmer is an individual or entity who has not operated a farm or ranch for more than 10 years. Likewise a socially disadvantaged (SDA) farmer is one of a group whose members have been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender prejudice because of his or her identity as a member of ...
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Farm Policy, Farm Rents, May 2011
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May
04
2011

Diesel Fuel Cost Calculator

By: Gene McCluer, Extension Educator

Diesel fuel costs have risen over the last year and based on current predictions will continue to rise during the coming months.  The estimated cost of fuel for tractors, combines, and various tillage and planting operations are shown in the fuel cost estimator.  If you do custom work, you will want to reflect some or all of the increased fuel costs in the rate. Using a price for number two diesel fuel at $4.00 per gallon, the table displays fuel costs for the various horsepower machines as well as different field operations.  This form is an excel spreadsheet where you can change the price change per gallon or the fuel use per acre or hour to more precisely estimate the fuel cost portion of field operations.  This will be helpful in determining the fuel costs for custom work operations or other farm work.  

You can see that the current fuel prices may raise fuel cost for a mid-size combine from $24 to over $38 per hour.  For row crop planters, the increase in fuel cost alone is 54 cents per acre.  For haymaking, just the fuel for the mower/conditioner and twine baler will increase costs $1.26 per acre. 

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Financial Management, May 2011
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May
03
2011

Legal Aspects of Oil, Gas Drilling Focus of June Symposium

By: Martha Filipic Source: Peggy Hall Recent interest in developing Ohio's resources for natural gas drilling has prompted Ohio State University's Agricultural and Resource Law Program to plan an Ohio Oil and Gas Law Symposium, "The 'New' Ohio Oil and Gas Boom: Drilling into Legal Issues." The Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program for attorneys will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, June 16, at the Longaberger Golf Club at One Long Drive in Nashport, Ohio, 10 miles east of Newark. "Although Ohio has a long history of oil and gas production, we anticipate even greater interest in the legal issues involved as companies generate what may be unprecedented oil and gas activity in the Marcellus and Utica shale around the state," said Peggy Hall, director of the program and Ohio State University Extension agricultural law specialist. "Today's shale development uses new technologies and brings new legal issues that attorneys need to be aware of." The program offers 5.5 CLE credits. The registration fee is $175 by June 6 or $200 afterwards. Lawyers first admitted to the bar after 2008 receive a $50 discount. Lunch is provided. Registration by credit card is available at https://www.regonline.com/OilandGasLaw, or checks payable to the OSU Agricultural and Resource Law Program may be mailed with a completed form, available at http http://aede.osu.edu/programs/aglaw to Peggy Hall, Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, 2120 Fyffe Roa...
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Legal Issues, May 2011, Upcoming Events
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May
03
2011

Consider More than Just Money When Leasing Your Farmland

By: Chris Zoller, Extension Educator, ANR, Tuscarawas County Approximately 50% of the farmland in Ohio is leased.  This is and will continue to be the case as farm operators seek more land to maintain a competitive position in today’s agricultural market.  These leasing arrangements create opportunities for landowners and farmers to develop relationships that can allow the landowner to receive additional income and the farmer to spread his costs over additional acres.  Valuing the Tenant It is no surprise that, in most cases, the landowner who has land available to rent wants to maximize their return and the person wanting to farm the land also wants to maximize their return by limiting the amount they pay in land rent.  There are various methods available to determine a “fair” rental rate; one benefit landowners may not consider is the value of the person who is renting their land. In some cases, landowners charge no rent or a very minimal amount to the farmer.  For many, this is the result of a relationship that has developed over the years and/or the reputation the farmer has achieved within the community.  There is no formula for calculating the value of the farmer to the landowner, but it can result in benefits for everyone involved. As a landowner you may think it is crazy to charge a reduced or no land rent, but there are a number of reasons why this may be the case, including: An opportunity to allow a beginning farmer to get established...
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Farm Rents, May 2011
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May
03
2011

Rising Food Prices: What is Behind the Trend?

There is unrest around the world tied to some degree to the fact that food prices are rising. Here at home, prices are on the rise too, not enough to cause political upheaval, but enough to cause some unease. Why are food prices higher? How bad is it? What can be done? Ohio State University’s Ian Sheldon and American Farm Bureau’s Bob Young discuss these and other related issues in this audio podcast recorded by Ohio Farm Bureau.

http://ofbf.org/media-and-publications/listen/4/602/

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Farm Policy, May 2011
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May
03
2011

Western Ohio Cropland Values and Cash Rents 2010-11

 Barry Ward (ward.8@osu.edu) Leader Production Business Management OSU Extension, OSU Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics (AEDE)

Ohio cropland values and cash rental rates are projected to increase in 2011. According to the Western Ohio Cropland Values and Cash Rents Survey bare cropland values are expected to increase from 3.1% to 7.4% in 2011 depending on the region and land class. Cash rents are expected to increase from 7.19% to 10.11 % depending on the region and land class.  click here to download the 2011 Western Ohio Cropland Values and Cash Rents

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Farm Rents, May 2011
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Keith L. Smith, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Agricultural Administration and Director, Ohio State University Extension TDD No. 800-589-8292 ( Ohio only) or 614-292-1868