Ohio's Country Journal and Ohio Ag Net

11/19/2025

By Ryan Martin, Ohio Ag Net Chief Meterologist

November 19, 2025 -- Drier weather builds back in over most of the state today through the first half of next week...

November 19, 2025 -- Drier weather builds back in over most of the state today through the first half of next week...

11/19/2025

By Geraldo José Guimarães Isoldi, Agricultural Markets Specialist, Terra Investimentos

As another crop year comes to an end in Brazil, planting for the 2025-26 season is now underway in the Southern Hemisphere, while U.S. farmers wrap up their own harvests. Despite months marked by conflicting information and intense weather speculation, Brazil’s 2024-25 crop ultimately delivered a remarkably positive outcome.

Soybean production reached a record 171.48 million metric tons, harvested from 49 million hectares (121 million acres), with an average yield of 3,620 kg/ha (≈54 bushels per acre), according to CONAB (Brazil’s National Supply Company, the federal agency responsible for official crop estimates).

For corn, the results were even more surprising: Brazil harvested 141.1 million tons across 21.83 million hectares (54 million acres), with yields averaging 6,460 kg/ha (≈103 bushels per acre). Private estimates were slightly higher, averaging 142.4 million tons, with some forecasts, such as AgroConsult’s, reaching 150 million tons.

While soybean market dynamics remained relatively stable, corn commercialization proved to be one of the main challenges of the season.… Continue reading

By Geraldo José Guimarães Isoldi, Agricultural Markets Specialist, Terra Investimentos As another crop year comes to an end in Brazil, planting for the 2025-26 season is now underway in the Southern Hemisphere, while U.S. farmers wrap up their own harvests. Despite months marked by conflicting in

11/19/2025

Ohio Ag Net’s Joel Penhorwood talks with Dr. Ian Sheldon at the 2025 Ohio State Agricultural Outlook and Policy Conference for one of the most detailed and eye-opening breakdowns of global trade we’ve shared to date.

Dr. Sheldon unpacks the unprecedented across-the-board U.S. tariff increases, how current legal battles could reshape trade policy, and what retaliation, especially from China, means for American agriculture.

The conversation goes into soybean export uncertainty, Brazil’s rising competitive edge, how Chinese state-owned companies are influencing purchase commitments, and why North American trade through the USMCA could become the next major flashpoint.

Table of Contents:
0:00 – U.S. tariffs: where things stand now
1:30 – Why these tariffs are unprecedented
3:50 – Legal fight: can the President impose these tariffs?
7:10 – What the Supreme Court may decide
9:10 – What happens next if tariffs are struck down
11:00 – How China retaliated—impact on U.S. soybeans
13:20 – China’s purchase commitments & skepticism
15:55 – Brazil’s rising competitiveness
20:30 – Potential export losses for U.S.… Continue reading

Ohio Ag Net’s Joel Penhorwood talks with Dr. Ian Sheldon at the 2025 Ohio State Agricultural Outlook and Policy Conference for one of the most detailed and eye-opening breakdowns of global trade we’ve shared to date. Dr. Sheldon unpacks the unprecedented across-the-board U.S. tariff increases, h...

11/19/2025

By James Hoorman, Hoorman Soil Health Services

Farmers first used cultivation to mechanically kill w**ds: hand hoeing, pulling w**ds, then horse- and tractor-driven cultivators. Then they started using chemicals, starting with 2-4D, to chemically kill broadleaf w**ds. New chemicals were developed, and then glyphosate (Roundup) emerged as the most popular herbicide, especially after the introduction of glyphosate-resistant genes into many crops. But like all innovations, they will be replaced sooner or later due to limitations.

Cultivation disturbs the soil and takes a lot of fuel and time. Every time you disturb the soil, you replant w**d seeds and lose carbon in the form of soil organic matter. There can be as many as several hundred thousand w**d seeds per square yard in soil. This w**d seed can remain viable for a few years, a decade, or even longer. W**d seeds with thicker coats and buried deep with tillage survive longer than those left on the soil surface with no-till.… Continue reading

By James Hoorman, Hoorman Soil Health Services Farmers first used cultivation to mechanically kill w**ds: hand hoeing, pulling w**ds, then horse- and tractor-driven cultivators. Then they started using chemicals, starting with 2-4D, to chemically kill broadleaf w**ds. New chemicals were developed

11/19/2025

By Dale Minyo and Brianna Smith

For more than a century, Farm Credit Mid-America has served as a financial partner to farmers across the region, helping them navigate markets, fluctuating input costs, and the everyday challenges of farming. Seth Wilkerson, regional vice president of ag lending for northeast Ohio, says that legacy of partnership and resilience continues to guide the organization today.

“There’s a lot of non-financial things that can end up impacting our customers’ financials,” Wilkerson said. “This year, for example, the weather, not a financial issue, but certainly has financial impacts.”

Wilkerson points to other factors, such as crop prices, trade, government policy, and so much more, as pressures on farm financials.

“I like to take a step back and think the farm credit system has been here for over 100 years. We’ve seen these pressures,” Wilkerson said. “We’ve seen our customers navigate these. We’re in it for the long haul. Our… Continue reading

By Dale Minyo and Brianna Smith For more than a century, Farm Credit Mid-America has served as a financial partner to farmers across the region, helping them navigate markets, fluctuating input costs, and the everyday challenges of farming. Seth Wilkerson, regional vice president of ag lending fo

11/19/2025

Just weeks before it will be ready for students of Ohio State - College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and the general public, Ohio Ag Net got a behind-the-scenes look at the new Multi-Species Animal Learning Complex (MALC). Ty Higgins found out more about the $60 million project and the purpose behind its creation.

11/18/2025

By Ryan Martin, Ohio Ag Net Chief Meterologist

… Continue reading

Ohio Ag Net | Ohio's Country Journal

11/18/2025

In this episode of the Ohio Ag Net Podcast, Dusty Sonnenberg talks with Brandon Kern of the Ohio Soybean Association about the latest from Ohio’s House Bill 10. Tune in for details about what it means for applicators in the state and licensing requirements.

After that, Dale Minyo sits down with Tadd Nicholson of Ohio Corn and Wheat to talk the big issues we’re hearing about nationally. The chat includes a year-round E15 update, plus talk about delays in production reports by the government shutdown and its impact on grain farmers.… Continue reading

In this episode of the Ohio Ag Net Podcast, Dusty Sonnenberg talks with Brandon Kern of the Ohio Soybean Association about the latest from Ohio's House Bill 10. Tune in for details about what it means for applicators in the state and licensing requirements. After that, Dale Minyo sits down with T

11/18/2025

By Barb Lumley

November is upon us, and there have been some dark, dreary, cold, and rainy days. These days create problems for everyone in many different ways. Children had to walk in the dark and rain to get to the school bus or school. People who had to go to work needed umbrellas and raincoats. Some had to get to their cars in the rain and hope that the windshield wipers were working properly. Their drive to work was more dangerous due to low visibility and water on the roads. For many who work outdoors, their work was halted. Others who have no choice but to work outside in every kind of weather will have a long, hard day. Dark, dreary, rainy days can be very difficult for those who are retired, sick, or incapacitated. They are especially challenging for someone who has lost a loved one or someone near and dear.… Continue reading

By Barb Lumley November is upon us, and there have been some dark, dreary, cold, and rainy days. These days create problems for everyone in many different ways. Children had to walk in the dark and rain to get to the school bus or school. People who had to go to work needed umbrellas and raincoat

11/18/2025

By Morgan Anderson, OCJ Reporter

Three Ohio FFA members were among just 70 students nationwide selected to attend the Next Gen: Emerging Technologies Conference in Fargo, North Dakota, held Sept. 9-13. The event brought together sophomores, juniors, and seniors from 21 states for an immersive week exploring how innovation is shaping the agricultural industry.

The conference featured hands-on sessions, panel discussions, and exclusive tours of CNH Industrial, John Deere, Cargill, and the Grand Farm Innovation Campus. Each stop offered students a behind-the-scenes look at how cutting-edge technology is driving efficiency and sustainability across modern agriculture.

For Claire Connor of the Wilmington FFA Chapter, the experience opened her eyes to career possibilities she hadn’t considered before.

“Going into the conference, I wanted to learn not only about the new advancements in modern agriculture, but also how they affect the industry,” she said. “Seeing how a simple sheet of metal becomes a powerful piece of equipment at CNH Industrial was incredible.”… Continue reading

By Morgan Anderson, OCJ Reporter Three Ohio FFA members were among just 70 students nationwide selected to attend the Next Gen: Emerging Technologies Conference in Fargo, North Dakota, held Sept. 9-13. The event brought together sophomores, juniors, and seniors from 21 states for an immersive wee

11/17/2025

Legendary drag racer turned tractor pulling icon, Ken Veney, is still thundering down the track at 85 years old. The Ohio native known far and wide for his achievements in the the “Funny Lil’ Farmall," and much more.

In this Ohio Ag Net feature, we visit with Ken and daughter Teri Johenning to look back on his decades in motorsports and the transition from 250-mph funny cars to the dirt tracks of the NTPA Truck and Tractor Pulling. From building his own multi-engine machines to battling cancer and returning to win at Bowling Green, Veney’s story revolves around his driving tenant of “Never Give Up.”

11/17/2025

By Brianna Smith

“Smell the roses and blow out the candles,” Ken Veney reminds himself. He inhales deeply, then exhales slowly. Strapped into an 8-foot frame just inches behind a steering wheel and a louder-than-life engine, Veney waits for the green flag. When it drops, 3,000 horsepower roars to life as the Funny Lil’ Farmall and the pulling sled thunder down the track.

That quiet moment before the chaos, repeated hundreds of times over a career spanning more than six decades, says everything about Ken Veney. Calm, methodical, and deeply passionate about horsepower in all its forms, Veney has spent a lifetime chasing speed, power, and precision. He’s been a record-setting drag racer with NHRA, a championship-winning engine builder, and a respected figure in tractor pulling, all while staying connected to family and finding joy in building something great with his hands.

Veney’s love for engines was practically hardwired from birth. Growing up in Wadsworth, he was tinkering with machinery before he was even a teenager.… Continue reading

By Brianna Smith “Smell the roses and blow out the candles,” Ken Veney reminds himself. He inhales deeply, then exhales slowly. Strapped into an 8-foot frame just inches behind a steering wheel and a louder-than-life engine, Veney waits for the green flag. When it drops, 3,000 horsepower roars t...