The first Ohio Field Leader Podcast for 2025 features Dusty visiting with Dr. Horacio Lopez-Nicora, OSU Extension Soybean Pathologist and Nematologist. Dusty and Horacio take a look back at the 2024 growing season and the stress factors that impacted soybean production from a disease pressure standpoint and things we can take away from it as we look ahead to the 2025 crop year.

In Episode 51, the final OFL Roadshow of 2024 visits the Century Farm of Todd Hesterman in Henry County. Todd has been extremely active in conservation efforts for over two decades and has served on the Henry County SWCD Board as well as the Conservation Action Project (C.A.P.) and on both the Ohio Soybean Association Board and Ohio Soybean Council Board. Todd's love for farming and stewardship of the land while working alongside his family is very evident. Todd's understanding of keeping the legacy of a family farm alive by improving it and passing it on to the next generation is at the heart of what he does. 

In episode 50, the Ohio Field Leader Roadshow travels to Stark County and the Spilman Farms. Dusty visits with Matt Spillman about their multi-generational family farm and the unique challenges and opportunities of cash grain and livestock farming in Stark and Tuscarawas counties with his uncle and brothers. They discuss everything from the 2024 growing season to Deere tractor pulling trophies to deer wall mounts.

In Episode 49, the Ohio Field Leader Roadshow traveled to Fairfield County to visit with John Hummel. John and his wife Kacy farm with John's Uncle and Father growing Corn and Soybeans in Southern Franklin and Northern Fairfield Counties. Dusty and John discuss the challenging weather year that 2024 has presented, and what it is like for a multigenerational farming operation to plan for the future in an environment with constant residential and commercial development pressure. They also take a look at the valuable work of commodity organizations and the Ohio Farm Bureau in developing young people to take on the challenges that the industry will face in the future and the importance of the relationships that are developed along the way. 

The month the Ohio Field LeaderPodcast is a doubleheader.

The names Craftsman, Stanley Black and Decker, MAC Tools, and Dewalt all have immediate recognition. In this episode, Dusty is joined by Scott Porter, CEO and Founder of Dynamic Green Products. Dusty and Scott discuss how Dynamic Green Products is working in concert with those recognizable names to put more soybeans to use in everyday lives.

Then Dusty and Matt Reese from Ohio's Country Journal are joined by participants on the recent Ohio Crop Tour (Sponsored by the Ohio Field Leader, a project of the Ohio Soybean Council and Soybean Check-off) to share highlights from around the Buckeye state.

In episode 47 of the podcast, Dusty visits with Allen and Andrew Armstrong on the Ohio Field Leader Roadshow in Clark County. Allen and Andrew discuss their multigenerational family farm and how the operation has changed over the years. With a mind for business and finding the best practices and technologies that fit their operation, the Armstrong's analyze their farm by the bushel rather than by the acre. Through the years they have their grown farm and served their community, providing leadership to organizations and made an impact at the local, state and national level.

In the July episode, Dusty visits with Jeff McKanna and Robert Gray about the history of Shady Lawn Farms and the multiple generations involved today. They discuss the adoption of new technology on the farm and the financial side of growing an operation. The work of the Ohio Soybean Council is also multigenerational at Shady Lawn, as both Lyle McKanna and Jeff McKanna have served on the commodity organization's board of directors.

The Ohio Field Leader travels to northern Wood County and Eckel Grain Farms and Cattle Company located just outside of Perrysburg, Ohio. Dusty visits with Nathan and Nick Eckel about their operation and the challenges and opportunities that present themselves when farming on the edge of suburbia and near the epicenter of the water quality issues in the Western Lake Erie Basin and Maumee River watershed. Along with their brother Nolan, these farmers combine grain farming, raising livestock, and educational research along with service to the agriculture industry as a part of their everyday life.

The Ohio Field Leader Roadshow colides with social media influencer Farmwithzoe on Episode 44. Dusty visits with Zoe Kent to discuss soybean farming, social media and it's role in promoting production agriculture to the general public, and the importance of succession planning. 

The Ohio Field Leader is hitting the road again in 2024 and the first stop is in Hardin County at the farm of Austin Heil. Learn how this 6th generation farmer gains inspiration from his Great-Great-Great Grandfather, Nicholas, who came to America in 1828, and started the farm in 1839. The family farm they still operate today. Dusty and Austin talk about agricultural technology and transitions and the future of the industry.