Celebrate the season with this heartwarming and informative Christmas episode! Matt Reese chats with Kayleigh Keller of Keller Meats in Medina County about organizing a supply convoy to help those devastated by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, an inspiring story of generosity and resilience.

Shelly Detwiler shares festive Christmas recipes to brighten your holiday table. Plus, hear a GrowNextGen update with Eric and Adele Flynn of Lorain County, who have hosted engaging virtual field trips.

Dale Minyo catches up with Wendy Osborn from Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers for an update on ethanol. He also gets an exciting update from Farm Credit Mid-America’s Rudi Pitzer Perry and Olivia Congrove as they discuss this year’s record-breaking success of Fight the Hunger, Stock the Trailer, which collected more food for local foodbanks than ever before.

Plus, we round it out by remembering the reason for the season as we hear a reading of the Christmas story from the Book of Luke.

Join us to get inspired and educated in this final Ohio Ag Net Podcast of 2024.

Join Matt and Dusty as they spotlight innovative farming practices and stewardship across Ohio. Leon Klopfenstein of Paulding County shares his journey to earning the Ohio No-Till Council 2024 No-Till Farmer of the Year award, focusing on enhancing soil health in challenging conditions. Rob Davis of Reclaimed Tree Farm in Harrison County, the 2024 Ohio Tree Farm of the Year, discusses his sustainable forestry practices. Plus, Jessica D’Ambrosio of The Nature Conservancy explains cascading waterways and their role in conservation.

On this week's podcast, Matt Reese sits down with Dave Keener, farm manager at Timbuk Farms in Licking County, home of the Canaan Fir Tree Company. Keener shares insights into one of Ohio’s unique farms that takes Christmas trees from seed all the way to retail.

Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Brian Baldridge discusses the Operation Evergreen Program, plus Mike Estadt with Pickaway County Extension provides a harvest recap from one of the areas hardest hit by the 2024 drought.

This week on the Ohio Ag Net Podcast, Matt Reese talks with Brian Baldridge, director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, about the critical issue of farmland preservation in Ohio and its impact on the future of agriculture. Do recent exceptions to farmland easements made with good intentions open up loopholes down the road? They explore the topic in depth.

Featured audio includes:

• Dale Minyo’s conversation with David Marrison of OSU Extension about key planning considerations for the year ahead.
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• Brock Burcham of Farm Credit Mid-America discussing strategies for preparing for 2025.
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• Joel Penhorwood catches up with Jeff Jostpille, a GrowNextGen teacher leader and science teacher at Fort Jennings High School, to talk about bringing agriculture into the classroom.
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• Matt also interviews Randy Evans of Three Valley Conservation Trust about conservation efforts in the region.

Tune in for these stories and more on this week’s podcast!

In this week’s episode of the Ohio Ag Net Podcast, hosts Matt and Dusty are joined by Dee Jepsen from Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, and Ty Higgins of the Ohio Farm Bureau, to discuss the Ohio Agricultural Mental Health Alliance’s first farm stress survey results. The conversation dives into the survey's insights and what they mean for Ohio farmers' mental health and resilience.

Also in this episode:

• Dale talks with Shane Kellogg about the role of biodiesel and its benefits to Ohio agriculture.
• Matt chats with Devin Dye of Dye Real Estate and Land Co. for a look into farmland price trends and the market factors at play.
• Matt catches up with Garth Ruff from OSU Extension to cover alternative feed options for livestock this winter after the challenging growing season.

Tune in for these stories and more in this week’s Ohio Ag Net Podcast!

For many in Ohio agriculture, 2024 has been a particularly challenging year. As harvest wraps up and the season of thankfulness draws near, 2024 has offered plenty for farmers to reflect on, learn from and pray about. Please do not overlook the power of prayer in a year such as this.

On this week’s Ohio Ag Net Podcast, Matt Reese talks with Pastor Chris Reed from The Tree Church in Lancaster about the role, benefits and power of prayer in the lives of Ohio farmers agriculturalists.

Also featued in this podcast, we hear a series of beautiful farm-focused prayers from clergy from around Ohio. They include: Pastor Gregg Foxx, New Hope Church, Rawson; Pastor Dave Dooley, Napoleon Church of the Nazarene, Napoleon; an anonomous Catholic priest and pastor of a rural parish in southern Ohio; Pastor Kimberly Reese, College First Church of God, Findlay; and Pastor Wayne Downing, Goshen Friends Church, Zanesfield.

This week’s podcast features Matt Reese talking with Anna Moeller, Ohio FFA President, Ryan Bowsher, State Vice President at Large, and Jayden Hicks, State Vice President At Large at last week’s National FFA Convention.

Featured audio includes: FFA Star Farmer Landon Haney, 20203-24 National FFA officer Morgan Anderson, newly elected 2024-25 national officer Luke Jennings, and Emma Hummer and Noah Cantor from the Erwin Chapter in hurricane devastated Tennessee. In addition, we have an update with Dale Minyo and science teacher Tom Dyer with GrowNextGen and the Ohio Soybean Council.

In Episode 369 we take a look at Ohio's rich agricultural history through the lense of some Century Farms. Matt Reese highlights some history from his family's farm in Hancock County. Matt also talks with Jeff McKanna and family in Putam County, and Geoff Mavis about his Century Farm, the conservation efforts and preservation efforts he has undertaken in Fayette County. We also hear an update from Luke Crumley with Ohio Corn & Wheat

In Episode 368, Matt and Jeff Reese visit with Ryan Conklin and Johnny Cottingim with Wright and Moore Law Company about post-election and end-of-year planning considerations for Ohio farms. There is also featured audio including an update from Dale Minyo with Farm Credit Mid-America, a biodiesel update with Jordan Davidson and some highlights from the World Dairy Expo with Kevin Doeberiener and Lindsay Bowen from Wayne County, part of the team with what may be the first-ever sweep of Holstein champions at the event.  All this and more in the Ohio Ag Net Podcast.