The Fairfield Ag Connection The Fairfield Ag Connection
Dear Fairfield County Agriculture and Horticulture growers,
As many of you know, Al Gahler resigned in September to return to his home community. A search process will be initiated soon to find a replacement for the agriculture and natural resources Educator. A program review of the county agriculture/natural resources offerings and needs assessment will be held November 14 to prepare a position offering.
With a limit on the number of educators statewide because of state Extension budget restraints, it may be several months before a replacement can be named. There are funds in Fairfield County for immediate hiring, however the state Extension's participation in the cost share may delay hiring until possibly spring.
In the interim time remaining staff will respond to information requests and provide programs in the county. Ted Wiseman of Perry County and I are assisting with the administrative portion of Al Gahler's responsibilities.
We look forward to continuing to provide the quality of service you have experienced in the past as we move through this adjustment time.
Sincerely,
Agriculture Outlook and Policy meeting set for December 10
The Farm Bill, grain and biofuel markets, agricultural law and farm input costs are just some of the topics being covered during this year's Ohio State University Agricultural Outlook and Policy Program.
The program, sponsored by the OSU Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, features news and information from department experts on the status of food, farm, and environmental policies and markets. Meetings will be held at 11 Ohio locations this winter including the Fairfield County Ag Center in Lancaster on December 10. The program will run from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m., and will include supper courtesy of Farm Credit of Utica and Circleville. Registration fee is $10 and covers the costs of the handouts and speakers.
Specialists from The Ohio State University presenting topics include Carl Zulauf, economics professor; Matt Roberts, associate professor and grain market analyst; Peggy Kirk Hall, director of the agriculture and rural law program; and Stan Ernst, Extension program leader and marketing instructor.
Reservations are required and may be obtained by contacting Fairfield, Licking or Pickaway County Extension offices.
"Fair" Farm Rent?
Perhaps the most asked question in the Extension office in recent months is what's a "fair"or "average" cash rent for our County. Unfortunately, with the experience of widely fluctuating grain, fertilizer and seed prices over the past year, it's a question with no perfect answer. In fact, it's one that must be answered on nearly a farm by farm basis when considering the varying productivity of the soils around Fairfield County.
As one goes about the process of negotiating land rental rates on farmland, it's not nearly as easy as determining the price of a bushel of corn or soybeans because there is no open market for rental rates. There are however several strategies that can be employed to determine land rental rates. There is a good outline of several strategies put together by Don Hofstrand and William Edwards from Iowa that can be found on their website at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/AgDM/wholefarm/html/c2-20.html.
Another resource is the Fair Rent software program that was created by Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota. FairRent evaluates rental arrangements based on expected yields, prices, government program payments, and expenses. The results calculate a break even cash rental rate and help develop a realistic bidding range for cash rental negotiations. The share rent results show whether sharing production and expenses will result in a fair economic return for the operator. To purchase the program, go to http://www.cffm.umn.edu/Software/FairRent/index.aspx. The cost for FairRent is $95.
Another resource which will help in evaluating profitability at various rental rates and also production and price levels are the OSU Extension computerized crop budgets. They may be found on-line at http://aede.osu.edu/programs/FarmManagement/Budgets/index.htm
Regardless of the rent which was paid last year or will be paid this year, rapidly changing crop and input values suggest that we may see rents going both up and possibly down over the next few years. We may also find that some form of crop or crop revenue insurance is one of the most valuable farm income management tools presently available.
"Drought Strategies" for Cattlemen
While generally speaking the corn and soybeans have been remarkably productive this year despite the uncommon heat and lack of rainfall, forage production has been far less than normal. In fact, this has been the case over much of the Midwest and as a result, there's likely not an extra bale of hay anywhere east of the Mississippi.
While many local cattlemen and even horse owners have reduced their forage shortages with the production of late planted oats and other alternatives, for many it's become a balancing act between reducing the number of livestock to be fed, versus finding feedstuffs which will maintain them until spring when new forage growth occurs. In an effort to offer up a variety of cost effective management alternatives for livestock owners facing forage shortages, OSU Extension is offering a free program in November in several different locations which will aid those affected by this season's adverse weather.
"Strategies for producers dealing with the drought of 2007" will be offered at nine southern Ohio locations. Area producers are invited to attend any of these locations with the closest being held in Zanesville at the OSU Extension office on November 7 at 1 p.m. and again at 7 p.m., and also on November 13 at 3 p.m. in the Hocking County Youth Center on the Fairgrounds in Logan.
In the mean time, please visit the OSU Extension Beef Team drought page linked on the front at http://beef.osu.edu You will find a complete archive of all the beef cattle and forage management drought articles that have been published throughout this summer and early fall.
EDITOR's NOTE: With two ethanol plants opened recently in nearby Indiana, and three slated to come on line in Ohio before the first of the year, a supply of distillers grains as a cost effective feed alternative for area livestock owners is now reality. The following article offers incite into determining a realistic value for distillers grains. For more information on securing a supply of distillers grains, contact the OSU Extension office.
What are Distillers Grains Worth? - Bill Weiss, Maurice Eastridge, Dianne Shoemaker, and Normand St-Pierre, Ohio State University Extension
Animals do not require specific feeds, they require nutrients. If the value of nutrients can be determined (for example, rumen undegradable protein is worth so many cents per pound) then the value of a feed can be calculated by summing up the value of its nutrients. The value of nutrients can only be determined using market prices of numerous feeds and these values constantly change. A computer program developed at Ohio State University is available (SESAME, www.sesamesoft.com) that can calculate the value of nutrients based on current feed prices.
This approach is probably the most accurate method to determine whether the market price of distillers grains is a good buy (i.e., the value of its nutrients exceeds the market price), a neutral buy, or a poor buy. However, this method can require a substantial amount of time. A simple method to determine the break-even price for dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) that appears to be reasonably accurate is based on the price of ground corn grain and soybean meal (SBM).
Breakeven price of DDGS ($/ton) = {Ground Corn ($/bu) x 17.85} + {SBM ($/ton) x 0.5}
The price for SBM is for SBM with 48% crude protein, and all prices (corn, SBM and DDGS) are delivered prices.
Examples of this calculation and additional information on nutrient composition of DDGS, issues concerning wet vs. dried distillers grains and feeding distillers grains to cattle are included in a new fact sheet from OSU Extension. The "Distillers Grains" fact sheet is available from your local County Extension office, or can be downloaded at: http://ohioline.osu.edu/as-fact/pdf/distillers.pdf
Special "Emergency" EQIP Program to Assist in Re-establishing "Sacrifice" Pasture
The drought of 2007 has been hard on Ohio pastures. Many livestock producers that practice a rotational system of grazing found it necessary to confine livestock to sacrifice areas in order to avoid overgrazing on all pasture paddocks. These sacrifice areas have been severely overgrazed and beat down by constant hoof traffic. Pasture plants may not survive in many of these sacrifice areas and, in addition, these sacrifice areas may now be susceptible to soil erosion. Recently the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced an emergency Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to help livestock producers deal with these issues.
The emergency EQIP program will allow livestock producers who used sacrifice pasture areas during the 2007 grazing season to receive a $127.56 per acre incentive payment to be used for reseeding the sacrifice area. A maximum of 10% of the total pasture acreage, up to a 20-acre maximum, is eligible for this payment. Livestock producers can sign up for this program now through December 7, 2007.
Eligibility criteria for the program include:
For more information about the program, or to apply for the program, contact the Fairfield County NRCS/SWCD office at 740.653.5320.
Livestock Compensation Program (LCP) - Aaron Stockberger, FSA Director
The Livestock Compensation Program (LCP) began September 10, 2007. LCP compensates livestock producers for feed losses, due to a natural disaster. Producers in primary counties declared Secretarial disaster areas or certain counties declared Presidential disaster areas between January 1, 2005, and February 28, 2007, are eligible as are producers located in counties contiguous to those counties.
For Fairfield County, the feed losses had to be a result of losses incurred as a result of the following adverse weather conditions on the following dates:
Anyone who had livestock on pasture in Fairfield County during 2005 should qualify for this program. The information you will need to provide the office is: the number and type of livestock on pasture, number of acres of pasture, and type of pasture.
Call the Fairfield FSA office at 740-653-4012 or stop by with this information to see if you are eligible for a payment.
Soybean Green Stems! - Jim Beuerlein, OSU Extension Soybean Specialist
There are almost 200 different varieties in the 2007 Ohio Soybean Performance Trials. A few varieties have maintained green stems, and sometimes leaves, for up to three weeks after other varieties of the same maturity dropped their leaves and the stems dried in the normal fashion. As we harvest these green stem plots the grain is as dry as the normal looking varieties and they thresh just as easily. The green stem issue appears to be variety specific at this time, but we have not had a chance to look at their yield and agronomic characteristic to learn more about them. Other varieties have green branches with green leaves and no pods at the bottom of the plant.
We know from previous work that when the pods are removed from a plant node when they first form and start to expand, the leaf at that node will stay green after the rest of the plant matures. If we remove all the small pods from a branch on a plant, that branch will not mature either. Further, if we prevent the setting of pods on the main stem of a plant but allow pods to develop normally on the branches, those branches will mature normally while the main stem stays green and holds onto its leaves. Anatomical studies of the flow of carbohydrates within a plant show that each leaf fills the pods at its nod only, but if all its carbohydrates are not needed at that node, the extra will move to the next lower node. Therefore, soybean plants digest their leaves, petioles and stems to complete the pod filling process and add a few more bushels per acre. If the digestion of plant parts is not needed to complete pod fill, then these plant parts remain green as we have observed this fall. Some viruses can have a similar effect, but our green stem plants do not appear to have a virus.
We have made a list of the varieties in the trial with the green stems, and will attempt to find out more about the condition and provide more information later this year. We should not consider this condition negatively, as it may be a key in moving soybean to a new yield level. If these varieties are producing more carbohydrate than the plants need for a big yield, maybe the plant breeders will be able to hold onto that characteristic and delete the green stem part. In the meantime, the green stems are usually not a deterrent to a somewhat normal harvest. This link will offer additional information on this year's soybean growth and resulting yields, and I hope to have even more details on the green stem subject later.
Phosphorus and Potash Recommendations for Corn and Soybeans - Edwin Lentz, Robert Mullen, OSU Extension fertility specialists
The high cost of phosphorus and potash fertilizer this Fall has many producers closely evaluating their nutrient management programs. In parts of the state where weather conditions may reduce crop yields, soil phosphorus or potassium not removed by the crop will generally accumulate (build-up) for future crops, but how much? A soil test is the key to this question and any questions associated with a nutrient management program. Understanding the relationship between soil levels and crop response should help determine whether your soils have more than adequate, adequate, or deficient levels of phosphorus and potash for next year's corn or soybean crop.
Generally corn or soybeans have more than adequate phosphorus when soil levels are above 40 ppm (80 lb). Additional applications at or above this level will accumulate in the soil but not benefit the crop, and may even cause environmental concerns. At adequate levels (15-30 ppm/30-60 lb), additional phosphorus should be applied to equal the amount removed by the crop. For corn, crop removal equals the yield goal multiplied by 0.35; for soybeans, crop removal equals the yield goal multiplied by 0.83. Between 30-40 ppm application amounts less than crop removal would be recommended. If soil levels were below 15 ppm, then applications would include crop removal and a program that raises the overall soil P level. For example, if soil P levels were 10 ppm (20 lb), then a 160 bu/A corn crop would require 85 lb/A P and a 50 bu/A soybean crop would require 65 lb/A.
Potash recommendations follow the same philosophy as phosphorus except consideration is given for soil cation exchange capacity (CEC). Since applied potash may be held more tightly by soils with high CEC, potash rates increase as the soil CEC increases. Regardless of CEC and yield goals, corn and soybean yields would not respond to additional potash at soil potash levels above 200 ppm (400 lb). Corn and soybeans grown on soils that have a CEC < 10 would not respond to additional potash when the soil test level > 150 ppm (300 lb). Tables on page 14 in the Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations for Corn, Soybeans, Wheat & Alfalfa guide provide potash rates for corn and soybeans at various yield goals and soil CEC. Many private soil testing laboratories have the capability to make recommendations from this guide upon request.
In summary, by understanding your soil tests, phosphorus and potash rates may be reduced without lowering corn and soybean yields. This may be one way to lower input costs during a year of high fertilizer prices. More details on soil fertility may be obtained in Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations for Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, and Alfalfa, Bulletin E-2567, available through you county Extension Office or at the following website: http://ohioline.osu.edu/e2567/index.html. Recommendations from this publication incorporate over 40 years of data from field calibration and correlation studies.
Central Ohio Agronomy Day - December 18
The 2007 edition of the Central Ohio Agronomy Day is a day long program tailored to address the needs of progressive crop producers, agronomy service industry personnel, Certified Crop Advisors, and private/commercial pesticide applicators. Primary focus for the day will be cost effective fertilizer use, foliar crop disease management, "money making" precision farming techniques and weed resistance strategies for 2008. Specialists in the industry from Iowa, University of Kentucky and the Ohio State University will resource the program.
Central Ohio Agronomy Day is being held at the OSU/COTC Newark Campus on Tuesday, December 18 from 8:30 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. Base cost for the entire day is $25 in advance or $30 at the door. CEU's for CCA credit and pesticide recertification credits will be available for an additional fee.
For registration or additional details contact Howard Siegrist at the Licking County OSU Extension (siegrist.1@osu.edu or 740.670.5315) office or visit http://licking.osu.edu/agriculture/centralohioagronomyday2007.pdf
Emerald Ash Borer Discovered in Fairfield County
By now you likely know that back on September 25, Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) expanded the state's Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) quarantine area to include Fairfield County. The state's quarantine, which is designed to slow the spread of the ash tree-killing insect, prohibits the movement of ash trees, parts of an ash tree, and all hardwood firewood out of infested areas.
ODA officials discovered an infested ash tree in a fence row near the intersection of State
Route 256 and Interstate 70 in Pickerington. The tree was one of nearly 10,000 detection trees - ash trees that are stressed to attract EAB already in the area - set across the state in efforts to survey for the destructive insect. Surveyors recently began peeling the bark off these detection trees to look for EAB larvae living just beneath the bark.
ODA officials quarantine counties, such as Fairfield County, once EAB is discovered to stop its spread via ash trees and firewood. It is illegal to take ash trees, parts of ash trees, and all hardwood firewood out of a quarantined county into a non-quarantined county. Violators face fines up to $4,000. It is also illegal to take these items out of the state of Ohio, per federal quarantine.
Firewood dealers, businesses, or woodlot owners interested in marketing and transporting ash trees or firewood out of quarantined areas can do so only with a department-approved compliance agreement. These agreements stipulate handling practices that mitigate the spread of EAB.
Since it was first discovered in Ohio in 2003, EAB has been identified in 32 counties: Allen, Auglaize, Butler, Cuyahoga, Delaware, Defiance, Erie, Fairfield, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Huron, Logan, Lorain, Lucas, Mahoning, Marion, Medina, Mercer, Miami, Montgomery, Sandusky, Seneca, Ottawa, Paulding, Warren, Williams, Wood, and Wyandot counties. These counties have been quarantined to stop the movement of firewood and ash logs, which are the largest contributors to the spread of EAB.
Ash trees infested with EAB typically die within five years. The pest belongs to a group of metallic wood-boring beetles. Adults are dark green, one-half inch in length and one-eighth inch wide, and fly only from early May until September. Larvae spend the rest of the year beneath the bark of ash trees, and when they emerge as adults, leave D-shaped holes in the bark about one-eighth inch wide.
For the latest quarantine map and also additional facts and information regarding the pest, go to www.ohioagriculture.gov/eab or call 1-888-OHIO-EAB
EHD Confirmed in Fairfield County
At least two cattle herds in Fairfield County have been confirmed with EHD (epizootic hemorrhagic disease) since September while others have reported symptoms in their herds. As a result of recent rainfall and also several frosts around the County, the risk of EHD from this point on into winter is minimal.
EHD has been reported in deer throughout Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia since August. The disease is spread through the bite of blood-feeding gnats or midges of the genus Culicoides. EHD outbreaks in deer are common throughout the southern United States. In Ohio, this is the third EHD outbreak in deer in five years and the first time EHD cases have been seen in Ohio cattle. Outbreaks in cattle have also been reported in Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee.
Symptoms of the disease in cattle include lameness, salivation, cloudy nasal discharge, swelling of the coronary band (growth area of the hoof), mouth lesions, conjunctivitis and a decrease in milk production. Though EHD symptoms don't look pleasant, their impact on cattle is usually relatively mild. Most cattle will typically recover after a few days, however in some cases cattle weakened by the disease have died of secondary issues. There is no vaccination or treatment specific for EHD, and animals exhibiting severe symptoms may need to be separated from the herd and administered antibiotics to reduce the effects of resulting inflammations.
Most animals make a complete recovery in just a few days or so and future productivity as a result of EHD is not affected. Dairy cows that go off feed or that become severely lame may not return to expected milk production until the next lactation. Occasionally, animals with severe inflammation in one or more feet may develop abnormalities in the hoof wall or abnormal growth of the hoof. Rarely, the hoof may slough off.
For more information on EHD, log on to the OSU Extension Beef Team Web site at http://fairfield.osu.edu/ag/beef/beefSepmbr7.html, or http://fairfield.osu.edu/ag/beef/beefSept19.html. Photos of cattle with the disease can be found at http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/1985.htm. A brochure detailing EHD in deer may be found at http://www.uga.edu/scwds/HD.pdf . Producers with questions may also call the Ohio Department of Agriculture at (614) 728-6220, or the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal Plant Health Inspection Service at (614) 856-4735.
Crop Disaster Program Sign-up - Aaron Stockberger, FSA Director
Eligible Fairfield County farmers who suffered quantity losses to their crops in recent years can enroll in the Crop Disaster Program 2005-2007 (CDP) at the Fairfield FSA Service Center. FSA will announce and conduct sign-up for quality losses under CDP at a later date.
Certain crop producers suffered major financial losses as the result of a natural disaster during the last couple of years.
Subject to final rules for the program, CDP provides benefits to farmers who suffered losses to the 2005-2007 crops from natural disasters and related conditions so long as the actual crop lost was planted or prevented from being planted before Feb. 28, 2007. Producers who incurred qualifying losses in 2005, 2006 or 2007 must choose only one year to receive benefits. Producers may apply for benefits for losses to multiple crops as long as the losses occurred in the same crop year.
Only producers who obtained crop insurance coverage or coverage under the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) for the year of loss will be eligible for CDP benefits. Producers must have suffered quantity losses in excess of 35 percent to be eligible for CDP. The payment rate is set at 42 percent of the established price. Assistance, together with any crop insurance or NAP payment received for the same crop and including the value of the crop production not lost, must not exceed 95 percent of the total value of the crop absent the disaster.
For more information, or to see if you are eligible for this program, call the Fairfield County FSA office at 740-653-4012.
Private Pesticide Recertification Opportunity December 28
For those of you needing to renew your Private Pesticide Applicators Certification in 2008, the Licking County OSU Extension will host an "early bird" session on December 28 beginning at 12:30 p.m. in their office in Newark. No reservations are necessary, but you may call 740.670.5315 for details.
We will be hosting two recertification sessions in Fairfield County after the first of the year at times, dates and locations to be announced.
Now is the Time for Tax Planning - Donald J. Breece, Farm Management Specialist, OSU Extension
This time of year is a good time to do an income tax estimate. Cash basis tax payers have the opportunity to adjust income and expenses before December 31st. For example, if you are experiencing a low income year, consider selling enough farm products to take advantage of the standard deduction (Single is $5350 and Married is $10,700) and personal exemptions ($3400) which represent a "zero tax bracket" opportunity. Also, if livestock (other than poultry) held for any length of time for draft, breeding, or dairy purposes are sold because of weather-related conditions, the gain realized on the sale does not have to be recognized if the proceeds are used to purchase replacement livestock within 2 years from the end of the tax year in which the sale takes place. The 2-year replacement period is extended to 4 years if the weather condition that caused the excess sales also caused an area to be eligible for assistance by the federal government.
For farmers receiving crop insurance or disaster payments, there is an exception to the general rule that payments must be reported in the year they are received. It allows a cash-basis farmer to postpone reporting a crop loss payment by 1 year. (It does not allow the taxpayer to accelerate reporting the payment if the payment is received the year after a loss.) To qualify for the exception, a taxpayer must use the cash method of accounting and must be able to show that, under the taxpayer's normal business practice, the income from the crop would have been reported in a year following the year of the receipt of the payment.
Farmers with high income have a number of options to save tax dollars. If they have children (that work on the farm) wages paid to them is a farm expense and is not subject to social security if the child is less than age18. The single standard deduction is $5350, therefore the child will pay no federal income tax up to that amount. Wages above this amount would be subject to a lower tax bracket than the parent as well.
If you use the cash method of accounting to report your income and expenses, your deduction for prepaid farm supplies in the year you pay for them may be limited to 50% of your other deductible farm expenses the year (all Schedule F deductions except prepaid farm supplies). For livestock producers, you cannot deduct in the year paid the cost of feed your livestock will consume in a later year unless you meet all the following tests: 1.The payment is for the purchase of feed rather than a deposit. 2. The prepayment has a business purpose and is not merely for tax avoidance. 3. Deducting the prepayment does not result in a material distortion of your income. Cash rent for next year can not be a prepaid expense; advanced payments must be deducted in the year that they apply.
The Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007 (SBWOTA), enacted May 25, 2007, increased the annual I.R.C. § 179 expense limitation and phase-out amounts for tax years that begin in 2007, 2008, 2009, or 2010. The increased maximum annual expensing amount for the I.R.C. § 179 deduction is $125,000 for 2007 (subject to the phase-out threshold of $500,000).
Income averaging, using Schedule J, may also be an option for farmers with extra high income in 2007. It allows an elected portion of income for this tax year to be equally spread back over the previous three tax years. Therefore, allowing unused, lower tax brackets from previous years to be applied to 2007 income.
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