The 2026 Ohio Crop Tour, Sponsored by Field Leader, a project of the Ohio Soybean Checkoff, was a four-day crop tour that covered roughly 37 counties across the Buckeye state. Tour participants scouted a corn and soybean field in each county and reported on the crop conditions, any weed, disease or insect pressure, and a yield estimate. This episode of the Field Leader Podcast is a combination of those reports from the field scouts and their commentary. In summary, the Corn yield estimates averaged 201.4 bushels per acre on the North Leg and 214.7 bushels per acre on the South Leg. Soybean estimates averaged 55.6 bushels per acre in the north and 57.7 bushels per acre in the south.

The story is told that when Perry Ralph switched from horses and started using a tractor to farm, he tied lanterns on the front so he could see as it got dark and was able to farm later into the evening. From lanterns on a tractor to GPS guidance and a grain facility monitored with a cell phone, Ralph Farms has grown and changed with the times, including making time to serve the larger agricultural industry.

In Episode 77, Dusty visits with Mike Ralph, a third generation family farmer in Marion County that understands the value of a mulit-generational family operation, and also the importance of serving. They talk about the family farm and the example set by the previous generation, as well as the important work being done by the Ohio Soybean Council to build soybean demand using check-off dollars.

The disease triangle is a tool pathologists use to explain the three factors that must coincide in a field for a disease to negatively impact a crop. They include a virulent pathogen, a suceptible host, and a favorable environment. From the time a soybean seed is planted until the crop is harvested, these three factors are on the mind of growers and pathologists alike as they monitor the crop.

In Episode 76, Dusty visits with Dr. Horacio-Lopez Nicora, OSU Extension Plant Pathologist and Nematologist, along with Dr. Taylor Dill, Director of Research for the Ohio Soybean Council, to discuss the current growing season, and how the soybean crop has been impacted by weather and disease so far, and what growers should be on the look-out for moving forward. They also discuss the discovery of Red Crown Rot in Ohio last year and scouting protocols growers are encouraged to follow in 2026.

Episode 75 of the podcast finds the Field Leader Roadshow is in Van Wert County at Heffelfinger Farms. Dusty visits with Mike and Kendra about their family operation dating back to 1852. Mike and his brother Kevin are the 5th generation, and Mike and Kendra's sons, Logan and Luke will be the 6th generation on the family farm. Mike has served on the Ohio Soybean Association board and currently serves on the Ohio Soybean Council Board. He and Kendra are also extremely active with Ohio Farm Bureau, and in numerous school and community organizations. They share about their farm, some of the changes in agriculture in Van Wert County over the years, and also take a look to the future and things that are important for their operation.

In this episode of the Field Leader Podcast, Dusty visits with Dr. Taylor Dill, Director of Research for the Ohio Soybean Council and Dr. Alyssa Essman, Assistant Professor and Weed Science Extension Specialist at The Ohio State University. They discuss the unique weather variables Ohio farmers faced this spring based on where they were located and the impact that has had on weed management strategies. Dr. Essman also shares some weed management strategies to consider going into the summer months.

Dusty, Taylor and Alyssa also discuss the EPA and Endangered Species Act, and new labeling requirements as herbicides are registered and reregistered. Growers are reminded to check the Bulletins Live 2 system for the presence of a PULA or a pesticide use limitation area. These are areas where additional mitigation measures might be required for application of a product in 2026.

• Dr. Essman has compiled resources related to this topic at this link: https://u.osu.edu/osuweeds/multimedia/endangered-species-act/
• Checklist for Complying With Endangered Species Protection Requirements on Pesticide Labels (https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/anr-0222; print version attached)

In Episode 73, the Ohio Field Leader Roadshow travels to Seneca County to Margraf Farms. Dusty visits with Bret Margraf about their farm's soil health journey and the implementation of regenerative agriculture practices, including grazing livestock. Bret shares about the changes they have made and new things they have tried in their no-till and cover crop system over the years, and the jump they made when they introduced grazing beef cattle on a farm that had not had livestock for several years.

In Episode 72, Dusty visits with Taylor Dill, Director of Research at the Ohio Soybean Council and discusses the current planting season and conditions, as well as important management decisions that need to be made along the way and some useful tools available to growers.

Links to management tools and calculators:

https://fieldvision-app-d3b82e6fec5d.herokuapp.com/

https://www.pioneer.com/us/tools-services/growing-degree-unit.html

https://www.greencastonline.com/growing-degree-days/home

https://weather.cfaes.osu.edu/gdd/

In Episode 71, Dusty travels to Lorain County with the Field Leader Roadshow to Gordon Farms and Flynn Livestock to visit with Eric and Adele Flynn. They discuss life on a multi-generational farm and Eric and Adele's journey from South Dakota back to Ohio, raising cattle, kids and commodity grains. From cover crop seed production to agricultural advocacy work in Washington D.C. Eric and Adele are looking to the future for their farm and their family, building on the legacy of past generations.

In Episode 70, Dusty visits with Taylor Dill, Director of Research with the Ohio Soybean Council, to discuss soybean check-off funded research findings from the Battle for the Belt looking at early season planting considerations for soybeans and corn. They talk about the various planting environments that Ohio growers encounter and tips for successful crop establishment and stress mitigation. They also share some new economic data generated by the Battle for the Belt.

In Episode 69, Dusty visits with Dan Schwartz of Schwarts Farms in Trumbull County. The Schwartz family has been exporting food grade soybeans to the Japanese market since the late 1990's. Today they not only export their own beans, but also those of several farms that they contract with.

Dusty and Dan discuss the history of Schwartz Farms and the family members that make things happen today, along with the special relationships that have been developed with the processors in Japan.