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Great Lakes Sheep Show and Sale

May 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Sheep producers from across the country will be heading to Wooster, Ohio this Saturday and Sunday for the Great Lakes Show and Sale at the Wayne County Fairgrounds.

Show Manager Greg Deakin says several breeds will be available to those producers wanting to improve their flocks.

“We have Tunis, Border Leicester and Romney’s,” said Deakin. “The Romney breed has also chosen to hold their sale in conjunction with what’s called the Great Lakes Sale.”

Deakin adds that the sheep show and sale is part of a big weekend at the Wayne County (Ohio) fairgrounds.

“We are part of a festive weekend,” Deakin said. “They’ll have over 100 booths, they’ll have everything from knitting and spinning to crafts, you can buy fleeces, they’ll have a Make-It-Yourself with Wool competition, they have lead competitions, a lot of things that are ongoing in conjunction with the shows and sales.”

The Great Lakes Show will be held Saturday, March 25 beginning at 9 a.m., the sale will be held Sunday, May 26 at 10 a.m. at the Wayne County Fairgrounds at Wooster.

Information is available here.

 

Filed Under: Events/Organizations, Livestock, News, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Thatcher: farm bill markups ‘intensive two days’

May 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Work on the farm bill intensifies this week. The Senate Agriculture Committee marks up its version of the legislation Tuesday and the House Agriculture Committee does theirs on Wednesday. It doesn’t usually happen that way, said Mary Kay Thatcher, senior director of congressional relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation.

“We have never had back-to-back markups before, so that’ll be a very intensive two days and then it is entirely possible that it could become even more intense, because we could have it starting to be considered on the Senate floor late [this] week or the first part of [next] week,” Thatcher told Brownfield Ag News.

The release of both House and Senate versions of the legislation this past week revealed that each contains a shallow loss program coupled with a target price program.

“I think as we’re having less and less funding to be able to build a farm bill with an adequate safety net, you’re seeing that the options for doing that are getting slimmer,” she said.

Where the bills differ, according to Thatcher, is in nutrition programs. She says the House version cuts about $20 billion primarily from food stamps. That’s up from a $16 billion hit proposed by the House last year. Thatcher says the Senate is staying with $4 billion in cuts that they proposed last year.

“When you know that it comes out of a $770 billion pot of money, you think, ‘how hard can it be to come up with a compromise between those two numbers,’” said Thatcher, “but it will be very, very difficult.”

The $23 billion in overall farm bill savings represented in last year’s bill amounts to only $13 billion this year. That’s resulted in some additional cuts in this year’s bill to maintain the $23 billion in savings.

AUDIO: Mary Kay Thatcher (3 min. MP3)

Filed Under: News, Uncategorized, USDA/Government Tagged With: ,

Indiana Corn Marketing Council announces new officers

May 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

At its March meeting, members of the Indiana Corn Marketing Council board of directors chose their new leadership.  Dennis Maple of Greentown, Ind. was named president following the passing of Gary Lamie in February, who had served as president of ICMC since November 2012.

The board also chose David Gottbrath of Pekin, Ind. to replace Maple as vice-president of the board.

ICMC is responsible for investing state corn checkoff funds in programs that strengthen and demand for corn and corn products.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Maddy Buschur elected to lead Ohio FFA

May 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The new President of the Ohio FFA is Maddy Buschur of the Versailles FFA.

Speaking with Brownfield on stage at the conclusion of the 85th Ohio FFA State Convention, Maddy said she’s anticipating an exciting year as State President, her goal for the coming year.

“I would like at next year’s Ohio FFA Convention that every single one of us on this team can say we gave it our absolute all and that we made a positive impact every opportunity we had,” Buschur said.

Audio: Maddy Buschur, Ohio FFA State President (2:50 mp3)

Serving with Bushchur on the 2013-2014 Ohio FFA State Officer team will be:

Tre Plowman of the Cardington FFA, State Vice President

Audio: Tre Plowman, Ohio FFA State Vice President (2:50 mp3)

Sydney Snider of Felicity-Franklin, State Secretary

Audio: Sydney Snider, Ohio FFA State Secretary (2:45 mp3)

Jarred Shellhouse of the Mohawk FFA, State Treasurer

Audio: Jarred Shellhouse, Ohio FFA State Treasurer (2:40 mp3)

Allison Mangun of Norwayne FFA, State Reporter

Audio: Allison Mangun, Ohio FFA State Reporter (3:00 mp3)

Nick Brumfield of the Amanda-Clearcreek FFA, State Sentinel

Audio: Nick Brumfield, Ohio FFA State Sentinel (4:15 mp3)

Andrew Teet, District 1 President

Audio: Andrew Teet, District 1 President (1:30 mp3)

Aaron Gates, District 2 President

Audio: Aaron Gates, District 2 President (2:30 mp3)

Goeffrey Norris, District 3 President

Audio: Geoffrey Norris, District 3 President (2:25 mp3)

Erika Nigh, District 4 President

Audio: Erika Nigh, District 4 President (2:50 mp3)

Joe Schmitz, District 5 President

Audio: Joe Schmitz, District 5 President (2:05 mp3)

Mary Beth Siekman, District 6 President

Audio: Mary Beth Siekman, District 6 President (2:15 mp3)

Jeanie McGarvey, District 7 President

Audio: Jeanie McGarvey, District 7 President (2:15 mp3)

Elizabeth Overholt, District 8 President

Audio: Elizabeth Overholt, District 8 President (2:35 mp3)

Hallie Sue Hiser, District 9 President

Audio: Hallie Sue Hiser, District 9 President (2:30 mp3)

Blake Campbell, District 10 President

Audio: Blake Campbell, District 10 President (1:35 mp3)

Filed Under: Events/Organizations, News, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Ohio FFA names State Stars

May 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The Ohio FFA named their State Stars Thursday evening during 85th Ohio FFA State Convention.

Katherine Hayes_State Star in Agribusiness_webKatherine Hayes of the Marysville FFA was named State Star in Agribusiness, Austin Wippel of the Westfall FFA was named State Star Farmer and Jakob Wilson of the Fairbanks FFA was named State Star in Agricultural Placement.

For Hayes, being on stage at the State Convention was just as exciting as being on stage at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis last October when she was named the National Proficiency winner in Equine Science.

“This is definitely a huge accomplishment, because I was up against not only equine businesses, but all businesses in the state,” said Hayes. “The adrenaline wasn’t quite as much as when we were at National’s, but this is a huge accomplishment.”

Audio: Elizabeth Hayes, Marysville FFA, State Star in Agribusiness (3:00 mp3)

Jakob Wilson of the Fairbanks FFA is the 2013 State Star in Agricultural Placement.

Jakob Wilson_State Star in Agricultural Placement (2)_web“These awards mean the world to me just because I love what I do and I’m so passionate about agriculture, it’s hard to explain the feeling this gives you,” Jakob said. “I wouldn’t change anything I’ve done and I would encourage people to join the FFA because of the great opportunities, you meet lots of people and you learn a lot from it.”

Audio: Jakob Wilson, Fairbanks FFA, State Star in Ag Placement (2:30 mp3)

Jakob was also on stage last October in Indianapolis as the National Proficiency winner in Diversified Crop Production Placement.

The 2013 State Star Farmer is Austin Wippel of the Westfall FFA.

“My SAE consists of a hay and straw baling business, I basically started the business in 2009, going into my Freshman ag class,” said Wippel. “It includes the custom baling of hay and straw and I also have a 70 acre farm of corn and soybeans that I farm on the halves with my grandparents as part of my SAE.”

Austin Wippel_State Star Farmer_webAudio: Austin Wippel, Westfall FFA, State Star Farmer (2:35 mp3)

The 85th Ohio FFA State Convention continues Friday, May 3 at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus. Later in the day State FFA President Shelby Faulkner will give her retiring address and the new officer team will be introduced.

Filed Under: Events/Organizations, News, Top Stories, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Substitutions in our diets may make a difference

April 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Sometimes simple changes can make a big difference when it comes to transforming our eating habits. Here are some to consider making:  In place of Sour Cream use Plain low fat yogurt, plain non-fat greek yogurt or fat-free sour cream.  For Butter, margarine, shortening or oil in baking, use half the fat the recipe calls for and use applesauce for the other half.  With most substituted foods, you will notice little to no change in flavor. Experiment and find what you like.

HEALTHY LIVING PROGRAM – Substitutions (1:30 mp3)

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Farm Mom nominating deadline nears

April 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Time is running short to nominate Monsanto’s America’s Farmers Mom of the Year. Kansas cattle rancher Debbie Lyons-Blythe won the title last year and tells Brownfield she accepted the recognition for all women who raise children on a farm or ranch.

“You know, as a mom, we’re rarely put in the spotlight; we do a lot of work behind the scenes, taking care of kids, taking care of the farm, making sure that the house is together,” Lyons-Blythe told Brownfield Ag News. “But it’s a great opportunity to be able to kind of give a little bit of glory to those people who are behind the scenes.”

Nominations can be made at AmericasFarmers.com by the April 23 deadline. The American Agri-Women organization will select five regional winners by May 1. Online voting will then determine the national winner, to be announced on Mother’s Day. Among other things, the title provided Lyons-Blythe the opportunity to reach people with the farmer’s story.

“This has been a wonderful jump-off point for me to encourage advocacy,” said Lyons-Blythe. “I’m a blogger; I blog at Life on a Kansas Cattle Ranch, and so it’s been really easy to kind of segue right into connecting with consumers and talking about what does a farm mom do?”

All five regional winners receive $5,000 from Monsanto; the national winner wins an additional $5,000.

AUDIO: Debbie Lyons-Blythe (4 min. MP3)

Filed Under: Events/Organizations, Human Interest, News, Uncategorized Tagged With:

“Ag is Cool” deadline extended

March 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Ag is Cool Art_webThe deadline for the 2013 “Agriculture is Cool” Creative Expressions Contest has been extended.

School-age children, K through 12 now have until May 15 to enter. Categories include original video, photograph, drawing or painting.

One winner from each age group and category will be chosen:

Grades K-2: Photography, Drawing or Painting

Grades 3-5: Video, Photography, Drawing or Painting

Grades 6-8: Video, Photography, Drawing or Painting

Grades 9-12: Video, Photography, Drawing or Painting

Judging will be based on the student’s visual representation of the “Ag is Cool” theme, if it accurately reflects 21st Century agriculture, creativity and use of Ohio images, and quality of work.

Award winners will be recognized by the Office of the Governor and other state officials at the Ohio State Fair on July 24, 2013.

Information is available here.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Ohio Beef Expo begins Friday

March 14, 2013 By Leave a Comment

expologo_150The Ohio Beef Expo, the premier event for the Ohio Beef Industry begins Friday, March 15 at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus.

The Expo, in its 26th year will include everything of from breed shows and sales, to educational seminars, to a trade show featuring more than 100 exhibitors from 15 states.

The complete schedule of educational sessions and breed shows and sales can be found here.

The Ohio Beef Expo runs through Sunday, March 17.

 

Filed Under: Events/Organizations, Livestock, News, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

A cold start to “Meteorological Spring” across the Heartland

March 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment

On the Plains, rangeland, pastures, and winter wheat continue to benefit from the rain and snow associated with two late-February storms.

Across the Corn Belt,  Midwestern wheat continues to over-winter well, with 69% of the Illinois crop rated good to excellent on February 24.

In the South, Freeze Warnings were in effect in portions of the Southeast, including northern and central Georgia, where recent warmth has accelerated bud and bloom development.

In the West, recent precipitation was mainly confined to the northern tier of the region, from the Pacific Northwest to the northern Rockies. In California, warm, dry weather is promoting spring fieldwork.

Filed Under: Commodity Forecast, Uncategorized
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