In this episode of the Ohio Ag Net Podcast, host Matt Reese of Ohio’s Country Journal and Joel Penhorwood of Ohio Ag Net talk with Paul Lyons, Ohio Farm Bureau Vice President of Membership. They talked about the recent National Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah and the Young Ag Professional Conference in Columbus, Ohio. Paul shares about his experiences at the annual meeting and gives an overview of Ohio recognition. 

 More in this week’s podcast:   

• Luke and Kayla Durbin and Joe Everett, YAP State Committee: They talk with Joel about the recent YAP Conference, their role on the State Committee, and their own agriculture background. 

• Scott Fenwick, Clean Fuels America: Scott is the Technical Director for Clean Fuels America and talks with Dale about the biodiesel technology world. 

• Brandon Kern, Ohio Soybean Council and Ohio Soybean Association: Brandon works as the Director of Public Affair and Issue Analysis and he talks with Dusty about US EPA and Endangered Species Act in relation to pesticide use. 

In this episode of the Ohio Ag Net Podcast, host Matt Reese of Ohio’s Country Journal and Dusty Sonnenburg of Ohio Ag Net talk with Leisa Boley Hellwarth who is a lawyer and columnist of the monthly Legal Lingo column. She talks about the articles she has written and what farmers need to pay attention to as they move into 2024.

 More in this week’s podcast:   

• Todd Wilkinson, NCBA President: Dale talks to Todd about the farm bill and cattle inventory as need for more food increases with growing population. 
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• Dr. Dave Shoup, Wayne County Farmer: Dave is the Pork Industry Excellence Award Winner and he talks with Matt about herd health, his service to his community, and the upcoming Ohio Pork Congress.  

Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Brian Baldridge is the featured guest for the first Ohio Ag Net Podcast of 2024, joining hosts Matt Reese and Joel Penhorwood. The three discuss a wide variety of issues, including Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, ODA's groundbreaking of the new animal diagnostics laboratory, H2Ohio, the new recommendation to lead the Ohio State Fair and Ohio Expo Center, as well as much more. Director Baldridge also gives a recap of the big items of 2023 as well as the issues that lie ahead in 2024, including farm preservation and even a quick chat about artificial intelligence.

Other guest audio in the podcast includes:

• Ohio Ag Net's Dale Minyo visits with Tom Fontana and Jeanne Gogolski on GrowNextGen
• Ohio Ag Net's Dusty Sonnenberg hears from Dale Arnold, director of energy policy at Ohio Farm Bureau, about the issues of the day in that changing world.

Times:

Intro and conversation with ODA Director Brian Baldridge

0:00.000

Tom Fontana and Jeanne Gogolski on GrowNextGen

4:51.299

Dale Arnold on energy

25:17.182

Back with Director Baldridge

28:28.342

In this festive edition of the Ohio Ag Net Podcast, hosts Matt Reese and Dusty Sonnenberg bring holiday cheer and valuable insights from Larry Davis and Elizabeth Long of Ag Resource Management (ARM). As an added bonus, it’s the annual Christmas Sweater Day - so a bit of a festive flair is brought to the podcast!

Interviews:

• Dale Minyo and Jamie Brown - GrowNextGen Teacher of the Year: Jamie Brown is the GrowNextGen Teacher of the Year from Miami East.
• Dusty and Leah Curtis - OFBF Policy Council: Dusty chats with Leah about CAUV (Current Agricultural Use Value) and Property Taxes.
• Dusty and Jordan Hoewischer - OFBF Director of Water Quality and Research: Dive into a discussion at the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation as the two explore topics such as H2Ohio and the Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative (OACI), shedding light on water quality and conservation efforts in the state.
• Special Christmas Message: Stay tuned until the very end as Matt Reese shares a special Christmas message, wrapping up the episode with holiday warmth and good wishes.

Intro and Holiday Sweater Showdown

0:00.000

Jamie Brown, the GrowNextGen Teacher of the Year

2:59.225

Leah Curtis, Policy Council for OFBF

10:45.951

Jordan Hoewischer, Director of Water Quality and Research at OFBF

15:14.202

Main Conversatio with Larry Davis and Elizabeth Long from ARM

22:03.096

Special Christmas Story

37:01.484

In this episode of the Ohio Ag Net Podcast, host Matt Reese of Ohio’s Country Journal talks with Dan Armitage who is a freelance outdoor writer and author. Dan is a columnist for the Ohio Country Journal. He talks about deer season and an all encompassing update around the state of Ohio.     

 More in this week’s podcast:   

• Lindy McLaughlin and Evan Hahn, Farm Credit Mid-America: Dale talks to them about the Stock the Trailer Program through the country fair season. 

• Bill Patterson, Ohio Farm Bureau President: Dusty talks with Bill to get an update about the recent Farm Bureau Annual Meeting

• Jack Irvin, Ohio Farm Bureau Vice President of Public Policy: Talks with Dusty about the recent Farm Bureau Annual Meeting including updates on policy.

• Elizabeth Hawkins, Ohio State University Extension: Elizabeth works as a field specialist in agronomic systems and she talks with Dusty about how weather patterns are changing in farming and how precision agriculture can help this new challenge.  

In this episode of the Ohio Ag Net Podcast, hosts Matt Reese of Ohio’s Country Journal and Dusty Sonnenburg of Ohio Ag Net talk with Shelly Detwiler who is from Union County. She is a berry farmer and also writes a monthly column for the Ohio Country Journal. Shelly talks about the history and tradition behind the holiday drink,  wassail.

 More in this week’s podcast:   

• Amanda Northstine, Teacher: Amanda talks with Dale about the GrowNextGen program and the benefits she sees in her junior high classroom. 

• Jeff & Doug Greig, Greig Christmas Tree Farm: Matt Talks with Jeff and Doug about the Christmas tree season and their success  

• Dr. Ian Sheldon, Professor at The Ohio State University: Matt talks with Dr. Sheldon about international trade.

In this episode of the Ohio Ag Net Podcast, hosts Matt Reese of Ohio’s Country Journal and Dusty Sonnenburg of Ohio Ag Net talk with Ted Logan who is the current Ohio No-Till Farmer of the Year. Ted is a farmer in Morrow County that switched to no-till around 15 years ago. Initially, he switched to save on labor, but he now shares the benefits his soil has experienced since the switch.    

 More in this week’s podcast:   

• Mike Heffelfinger, Van Wert County Farmer: Mike joins Dale to talk about a farmers perspective on the GrowNextGen program through the Ohio Soybean Council and Ohio soybean farmers. 

• Ani Katchova, The Ohio State University: Ani is a professor at OSU and she talks with Matt about the farm income outlook. 

• Tim Trotter, Edge Dairy Cooperative: Tim is the CEO and he chats with Joel about the legislative issues that are facing the dairy industry. 

In this episode of the Ohio Ag Net Podcast, hosts Matt Reese of Ohio’s Country Journal and Dusty Sonnenburg of Ohio Ag Net talk with Brandon Kern, Director of Public Policy and Issue Analysis at the Ohio Soybean Association. They talk about the future of the Farm Bill with the recent extension of the 2018 Farm Bill. Brandon also talks about priorities of soybean farmers and other policy updates. 

 More in this week’s podcast:   

• Jonathan Coppess, University of Illinois: Jonathan talks with Matt about the Farm Bill process and what it looks like in broad terms. 

In this episode of the Ohio Ag Net Podcast, hosts Matt Reese of Ohio’s Country Journal and Dusty Sonnenburg of Ohio Ag Net talk with Brent Sohngen, a professor of environmental and resource economics in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics at The Ohio State University. They discuss energy prices for gas and diesel, especially as prices trend lower. With the decrease in prices, Brent talks about what this means for different sectors of agriculture. 

 More in this week’s podcast:   

• Scott Raber, Bane-Welker Equipment: Dale and Scott talk about expansions Bane-Welker Equipment is currently undergoing.

• Bret Davis, Delaware County Farmer: Brett chats with Dale about on-farm biodiesel use. 

• Peter Gehres, Jeff Martin Auctioneers: Peter stops in to talk with Matt about recent equipment prices and the outlook of it. 

• Jeff Wolfe, Director for Ohio Poultry Breeders Association: Matt visits Jeff at the Ohio National Poultry show in Columbus, OH.