The impact of a rainy spring can be pretty easy to spot when hundreds of thousands of acres that should be lush, green fields are instead dirt brown and riddled with weeds. Corn and soybean farmers across Ohio will tell you that this has been one of the most challenging planting seasons they have ever had, but that isn’t the same perspective you might hear from growers of specialty crops.
“The wet weather earlier this year didn’t make as drastic of an impact on perennial crops, including berries and some of the tree fruit” said Mike Pullins, from Champaign Berry Farm near Urbana. “The berry crop this year was pretty good. In fact, we probably had the best red raspberry crop we have ever had.”
Pullins said the farm’s phone has been ringing all spring with customers wanting to know if the relentless rains that kept grain farmers out of the fields meant that his u-pick business would suffer as well.
“They were wondering how high of boots they should wear when they came berry picking and if there would be any berries when they showed up,” Pullins said. “The challenges that a huge sector of Ohio agriculture has faced this year are most definitely valid, but consumers tend to expand that to all of agriculture and that is not necessarily the case. Communicating that to our customers has been a big obstacle this year.”
Members of the Ohio Produce Growers and Marketers Association met for their summer tour at Lynd Fruit Farm in Licking County recently to share how Ohio’s specialty crop segment has fared across the state. For Ethan Stuckey from The Pickwick Place in Crawford County, soggy fields only gave him one good old fashioned way to get some crops in the ground – by hand.
“For our very first planting of cantaloupe we had to go through and set about 2,000 plants by hand because we couldn’t even get a tractor in the field,” Stuckey said. “When transplants get big they get leggy and root-bound and they just don’t do well if you hold them for too long. That made for some long days.”
The House and Senate have voted to pass a bill that avoids a looming government shutdown. The bill, which includes short-term spending, disaster aid and a farm bill extension.
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The disaster relief funding disbursement will be overseen by the Ohio Department of Agriculture and administered through local soil & water districts.
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The winners of the 2024 Ohio Farm Bureau Advocacy in Action Award are Roger Baker of Wayne County and Neall Weber (posthumously) of Franklin County.
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The requirement for businesses that are registered with their state to file information about beneficial owners with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has been paused.
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Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives recommend safe energy conservation during extreme cold snaps to help alleviate demand.
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Delegates discussed many important topics including carbon sequestration and mental health at the Ohio Farm Bureau’s 106th Annual Meeting.
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Bill Patterson, Cy Prettyman and Adele Flynn will continue to serve as officers for Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.
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10 Ohio Farm Bureau members were elected to the federation’s state board during the 106th annual meeting.
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The grants help inspire, encourage and nurture young agricultural professionals and entrepreneurs to find creative and transformative ways to address challenges facing the agricultural sector today.
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The 2024 Distinguished Service Award recipients are Dr. John Mossbarger of Fayette County, Sen. Rob Portman of Warren County and Jane Scott of Franklin County.
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