Grains of Knowledge

Recommended Reading: Penn State Fact Sheets on Agriculture

Penn State's Extension Service provides a great website called Agricultural Alternatives at http://agalternatives.aers.psu.edu/.

Each publication contains a list of references, websites, and trade and marketing association addresses where more information can be obtained on the enterprise. Additional facts sheets focus on business management topics including enterprise budgeting, financing, marketing, and cooperatives. I have reviewed their article on Ag Business Insurance and find it to be to the point, informative, correct, and helpful to layman or member of the ag industry. Try it out and let us know what resources you would recommend by commenting below.

Spring Dairy Expo - Not Just About Cows!

This past weekend I attended the Ohio Spring Dairy Expo in Columbus, Ohio.  The event was sponsored by COBA/Select Sires, Commodity Blenders, Land of Living Farm, ADA Mid-East, Sexing Technologies, Dairy Farmers of America, Ohio Holstein Association, Ohio PDCA, the Agrarian Marketing Corporation and many others.

Westfield Insurance had a booth next to COBA/Select Sires and the Ohio Dairy Council.  It was a perfect spot to watch and observe lots of activities including feeding, watering, cleaning, brushing, washing, blow drying and general preparation of cattle in and around the arenas.  Also, a great spot for free milk!

What I observed was a very strong work ethic (starting at a very young age too!) and pride in ownership of the cattle and in the business of farming.  I learned more about farming by spending a day at this event watching and talking to dedicated farmers than I could have reading any book, magazine or blog post.  The breed shows were fascinating and watching the youth judging and the youth showmanship confirmed how dedicated, patient and educated our younger generation are about dairy farming.

My favorite memory was the drive home when my youngest daughter said "wow, those cows are really big in person" and, we learned, poop happens and you move on! 

2010 Spring Dairy Expo

Update: Congratulations to David Rausch of Marysville, Ohio for being selected to win the

$100 Gift Certificate for COBA / Select Sires

Co-Sponsored by COBA / Select Sires and Wesfield Insurance's AgriBusiness Division 

On Thursday, March 25th Bethany Haynes, a representative of Westfield's Agribusiness Division and Nancy Them, a representative of independent agency, Roby Foster Miller Earick of Mansfield, Ohio combined forces to meet with dairy farmers and their suppliers during the 2010 Ohio Spring Dairy Expo. 

Amdist the chilly rainy day, they were able to explore some of the farmer's show strings lined with many prize winning cattle, watch the Holstein 3 year old judging contest, and take a gander at the sale animals for the weekend (The Midwest Review Brown Swiss sale during the evening averaged $3241 per head, with the sale topper going for $13,500)! 

Friday's booth will be manned by Lee Kolenich a Westfield AgriBusiness Underwriter and also Drexel Poling from Hummel & Plum Insurance of Circleville, Ohio.  Saturday, Westfield AgriBusiness Region Leader, Stacey Bruce will be available at the event to talk to exhibitors and guests.  Stacey will also be presenting a $100 gift certificate for COBA/Select Sires co-sponsored by COBA/Select Sires and Westfield Insurance during the Supreme Champion class in Cooper Arena late in the afternoon.

We hope to see you there!

Is your farm secure from biological threats?

Photo Source: STOP Sign Campaign

From "'Do not enter' not a bad idea: Farm Biosecurity Needs Beefed Up by Farm and Dairy

Infectious diseases are an increasing concern for farms across the country.  These diseases can be passed from people to animals or from animals to animals.  This creates a concern when opening your operation to visitors or bring home livestock a show or sale.  In the state of Michigan, Ted Ferris and Dan Grooms have started the "STOP Sign" campaign for beef and dairy farmers.  This program and others adopted by farmers and organizations are developed to help curb the spread of infectious diseases. 

One of the biggest risks for farms in the infectious disease area comes from individuals entering the property.  Has the individual recently come from another farm that could be carrying something?  Have they traveled outside the country and could they be bringing in foreign disease?  To properly prevent this exposure all visitors should be stopped at the entry point for proper protective equipment and logging of visitor information. 

When there is an infectious disease outbreak, consumers most frequently show their concern by slowing and/or stopping the purchase of those animal products.  As a result, not only may farmers have lost stock, but their income may have drastically dropped due to consumer purchasing behaviors. 

Guest Author: Bethany Haynes is an agribusiness underwriter who currently works with farm and commercial agribusiness accounts from our home office in Westfield Center, Ohio. Her background in the dairy industry and passion for agriculture guides her to assist our Westfield Agents and Customers to find insurance solutions.

How Big is Ag in China?

We were at the 2010 USDA Ag Outlook Forum February 18-19 in Washington D.C.  There were a lot of excellent breakout sessions, but I found the one on China intriguing, simply because of its size and ability to single handedly impact the Ag economy.  In fact, China is the world’s largest Ag economy.  These numbers will give you some perspective on the scale:

  

Industry	China	US
Poultry	4.83M	2.19M
Hogs	419M	86M
Sheep/Goats	279M	6M
Cattle	105M	96M
Horses/Donkeys	14M	4M

 

 

 

The Chinese government has long pursued food self-sufficiency as a policy priority.  The information provided at the Forum makes you wonder if this is a realistic goal and what the consequences may be for China’s natural resources.  One fundamental fact that makes you question food self-sufficiency is China has 9% of the world’s agricultural land and 22% of the population.

 

Intensive agriculture has been practiced for many years.  This has resulted in significant increases in pesticide and fertilizer use.  China uses twice as much chemical fertilizer as the US.  Their share of world chemical fertilizer use is 3 times its share of agricultural land. This intensive agriculture has resulted in resources depletion and Ag pollution.  There is groundwater depletion in Northern China.  Soil erosion, fertility loss and overgrazing are common place.  Pesticides and veterinary drug residues are found in food and accumulating in the environment.  There are 400M metric tons of livestock waste annually.  Ag pollution accounts for 42% of all pollution in China.

 

Many China policies actually work against sustainability.  Increasing grain production

is a top priority that encourages fertilizer use, depletion of groundwater and soil erosion.  Low prices for fertilizer, water and fuel discourage conservation.  Policies support concentrated livestock production.  The lack of land ownership rights discourages long-term stewardship.

 

One sign of changing times could be China’s increased soybean imports.  To grow the soybeans that China imports would take 64M acres and 6.6 Trillion pounds of fertilizer.  Many of the experts believe China will need to substantially increase Ag imports to feed its growing population.  This could produce many opportunities for US agriculture.

 

Several interesting observations were provided about the eating/buying habits of the Chinese.  Safety dominates at home purchasing decisions.  Raised in the USA is a powerful brand because it denotes quality and safety.  Pork consumption is increasing as incomes rise and grain consumption declines.  Chinese customers are increasingly affluent and favor high value and premium products.  These characteristics should match up well with US Ag products.

Live Grain Rescue Demo a Highlight of Ohio Safety Congress and Expo

 Photo Source: Ag Answersvia Flickr - this photo was taken during a grain entrapment seminar during the 2009 Ohio Farm Science Review

Are you an Ohio businessowner who works with the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation?  If you answered yes, check out this event taking place March 30th - April 1st at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, which is geared for learning more about occupational safety and health - Ohio Safety Congress and Expo.

While there are numerous demonstrations scheduled during the event, farmers and agribusiness owners should be on site to observe the "Live Grain Rescue Demonstration" which will take place on Thursday, April 1st from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. According to Dee Jepsen, the OSU Extension state safety leader, "Over the past decade, 19 deaths have been recorded in Ohio related to flowing grain, involving grain wagons, grain bins, feed mills, grain hoppers and other grain related equipment.  That's about two deaths each year, not including the countless injuries that occur."  To learn more about this event, read this article from Ohio's Country Journal, Live Grain Rescue Demo a Highlight of Ohio Safety Congress and Expo.  If you're able to make it to Columbus on April 1st for the live grain demo, you should also plan to attend the following presentations: Fall should be a season, not an event from 9:15 - 10:15 a.m. and Coping with Stress from 1 - 2 p.m.

This event is ideal for farm families, farm workers, agribusinesses and even fire and rescue personnel who would be assisting in an accident.  Registration is free, for more information call 1-800-OHIOBWC or visit them online via ohiobwc.com.

Get out your camera and help us celebrate National Ag Week!

 

Deadline Extended until Wednesday, March 24th!

 

Source: Don & Libby Hayes, Wilmington, OH

National Ag Week kicked off early last weeked and ended with National Ag Day on Saturday March 20th.  Check out the official Ag Day website and the National Ag Day blog for more information.

To celebrate National Ag Week, Westfield Insurance is hosting an online ag photo contest to honor America’s farmers, ranchers and agribusiness owners who work hard every day to produce safe, affordable food!  Please review the rules below and submit your original ag-related photos of kids, animals, landscapes, or agri-business owners to grainsofknowledge@westfieldgrp.com. We will select one grand prize winner and two runners-up to receive a special prize!

Contest Rules:

• Unaltered, digital photo entries must be received by email on Wednesday March 24 by 12:00 p.m. EST
• Your submission of a photo is your guarantee that you are the author and copyright owner of that photo
• With your photo, you must submit a response to why you believe in celebrating National Ag Week
• Contest is open to anyone who submits an entry, regardless of affiliation to Westfield Insurance
• By participating in this contest, you agree to release and hold Westfield Insurance and its employees, officers, affiliates, agents and advertising and promotional agencies from any and all damage,injuries, claims, causes of actions, or losses of any kind resulting from your participation in this contest, including infringement of intellectual property rights. Westfield Insurance and its employees, officers, affiliates, agents and advertising and promotional agencies assume no responsibility or liability for damages, injuries, claims, causes of actions or losses of any kind arising in whole or in part from this contest.

With the submission of a photo, the photographer (or "you") grants Westfield Insurance (or "us") the irrevocable right to publish winning photographs, along with appropriate identification, as recognition in any additional manner, including advertising and website. The photographer (or "you") also affirms to be at least eighteen (18) years of age at the time of submission.

We’re looking forward to receiving your photos, please enter today!

Watch out for that flood!

After a long and almost endless winter of snow, more snow and then some ice, we are now enjoying (in many parts of the country) warmer temperatures and are watching the snow melt  While this is great for some, others now are seeing puddles and facing drainage issues.

According to agweb.com's "farming forecast" (www.agweb.com) there are some benefits to extra moisture including having a thick frost layer present to kill pests and fungus that impact growing crops, but having that frost does come with an extended thaw period. 

The Midwest suffered two to four times normal precipitation levels in addition to much snow and ice adding to soggy fields.  In fact, some areas (Minnesota, North and South Dakota) had up to a 400% increase in precipitation according to the National Weather Service.

As spring arrives, farmers need to access their fields to begin planning crops.  Flooding is an issue when the fields cannot drain off all the moisture as fast as needed for tilling and planting.  There is hope with temperatures above freezing melting the snow, drainage will occur and help expedite thawing.  It is in times like these that you hope for proper drainage in all your buildings.  If you think your home or building does not have proper controls in place for drainage, take some photos and make some marks around the buildings and have an expert come out after the water has subsided to be certain your property is protected.

A recent NOAA article, found at http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100316_springoutlook.html

includes information on the dangers of flooding and a map of the US areas at high risk for flooding.  Also on this link you will find details on Flood Safety Awareness Week.  Be safe and watch out for that water!

3 Reasons to Use Social Networks in the Farm/Ag Industry

We have all heard the buzz about social media and how tweets and diggs are the new way to market, but why do those in farming and agribusiness need to latch on to social media?  Here are some reasons that may entice you to dabble in the new world of blogs and tweets...

1. Seller marketplace: Consider the plethora of items in the classifieds at Agriculture.com and many other online marketplaces that provide instant access to customers around the globe!  For buying, selling and overall marketplace awareness of prices and offerings...worth a look.

2. Troubleshooting equipment issues and concerns: Many sites offer chats and talk shows to promote or share experiences around farm machinery.  This is a great way to get your name and business known.  Another side benefit may be building your own network and increasing your customer base.

3. Access to experts: There are many farm advisors who are active in social media outlets and you can find and follow them on Facebook or Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.

So think again about what tweets, diggs, blogs and buzzing can do for you and your business.

Making a Case for Monoslope Barns

(Photo Source - www.agweb.com) 

The article below from AgWeb / Beef Today share the pros and cons of building monoslope strucures for beef confinement operations. Keeping in mind the winter of 2010, I'd be inclinded to think that this type of structure would be much less susceptible to collapse than traditional facilities. Futhermore, after reading the positives outlined in the article, I was reminded of the flexibility they offer when utilizing curtains for extreme weather conditions. 

As a side note, it's always great to hear of situations where farmers, agribusinesses and their neighbors work together like Mr. Haywood and the others in his community!  In this situation, his neighbors took responsibility for building some of the monoslope facilities, which are leased back to Mr. Haywood to raise his feeders - in return, those farmers are utilizing the manure from the cattle as fertilizer for their fields.  What a great reminder of the power of cooperation and teamwork!

Monoslope Barns Protect Livestock by Kim Watson-Potts

For Iowa feeder Harris Haywood, waking up to blizzard conditions creates concern, but not the worry he’d have if his cattle were in an open-lot facility. Instead, he feeds cattle in nine monoslope facilities at and near his farm in Eldora, Iowa.... To read full story, click here!

via www.agweb.com