Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Target Audience: Crop and livestock producers in previously underserved production regions of Western and Southwest Ohio. Emphasis on crop farms in order to increase available production data and benchmarking opportunities. To reach these clientele, we had a program presence at multiple OSU Extension and industry events: • In-person meetings/speaking engagements • 4Technicians, 1 program coordinator and 1 program leader spoke at statewide and local events with the purpose of promoting the Ohio Farm Business Analysis Program and building relationships with target audience We promoted and presented at events each yearincluding: • Ohio Precision University • Ohio Agronomy Days • Farm Transition Planning Workshops • Farm Bill Training Meetings • Ag Outlook Meetings • Grain Marketing Meetings • Ag Lender Meetings • Farm Science Review • Professional Development Workshops - OSU Educators and Cornell Cooperative Extension Educators New York programs including: • New York County Beef Producer Meetings • New York Beef Producer's Annual Winter Management Meeting • At these events, promotional/informational materials were also distributed in the form of postcards, tri-fold brochures and fliers. Changes/Problems:Changes made throughout the grant period include: The positioning of an Ohio Farm Business Analysis Technician in the Crawford/Huron County Region, as well as the Defiance, Pickaway and Miami County Regions. Originally technicians were set to be in Defiance, Pickaway, Miami and Licking counties, however we found that the positioning of a team member in Huron county would be beneficial for gathering data in the Muck Crops region. Technicians now begin communications with farms in the fall of the year to be analyzed. Previously, technicians reached out to farms in January, but we have found that earlier communication results in quicker completion of analysis. Moved annual training to December rather than January to facilitate earlier preparation of technicians and foster their ability to be ready to begin analysis work as soon after January 1st as possible. Recruiting in the last year (winter 2020) was challenged by the emergence of COVID-19 and the subsequent cancellation of in-person programming. These were important opportunities for technicians to meet with farmers where they typicallyput upa display and a had few minutes on the program to talk about analysis to the farmer and industry audiences. These contacts are important to build awareness of the long-term nature of the program as well as recruiting farms to participate. Technicians made virtual contacts when possible. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Opportunities for training and professional development included: Annual FINPACK Training • Threeformal 2-day training opportunities were offeredover the course of this grant These trainings allowed technicians to enhance their FINPACK skills and gain more detailed knowledge regarding the capabilities of the software. Technicians and educators were given the opportunity to interact and network at these trainings as well. • Individual meetings (Shoemaker (PI)w/Technician) (County Educator w/Technician) with farm clients, technicians or county educators offeredopportunities to develop skills on an indusvidualized basis. • Six Cornell University educators attended the 4-day FINPACK training offered by University of Minnesota Center for Farm Financial Management (CFFM). • A session waspresented at the Cornell Agriculture and Food Systems In-Service for Extension Educators. Farm Science Review • Technicians had the opportunity to interact with various clientele and educate them on the benefits of Farm Business Analysis. They were also able to walk through educational material and annual summarieswith prospective program participants. Weekly Zoom Meetings - January through May, annually • Weekly Zoom meetings ( 2 to 3 hours each) with the Farm Business Analysis team focus on continuing education, allowing technicians to continually ask questions about analyses they are working on, and learn more about the function and completion of an analysis. Sample exercises and files were developed and assigned to technicians throughout analysis seasons to teach various aspects of whole farm and enterprise analysis. Time was also budgeted tofocus on program promotion ideas and strategies as well as continuous program improvement. • Three Zoom meetings were held for CCE (Cornell Cooperative Extension)educators to discuss issues and need for training. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results were disseminated in a multitude of ways, including: *Central web site including analysis results (Summaries), information on how to participate, and relevant managementinformation: https://farmprofitability.osu.edu Farm profitability tab links to our website on the https://farmoffice.osu.edu website • State Summaries - distributed to analysis participants, program supporters (Ag Credit, Ohio Soy, Ohio Corn & Wheat, etc.) and at farm management related programs. • A dedicated Farm Business Analysis "Desk" at the Farm Science Review, held annually in mid-September in London, Ohio. More than 100,000 farmers, students, and industry personnel attend the Review. • Daily featured presentation during the "Ask the Expert"program at FarmScience Reviewrelated to farm business analysis results each drawing farmers to the "Desk" • Data including the final analysis and personalized benchmark reports are sentto each farm with their own copy of the statewide summary. * Results featured in regular articles published in the Ohio Ag Manager and Buckeye Dairy News (OSU publications), the Farm and Dairy regional weekly newspaper, and other publications including Ohio Farm Bureau's magazine, Ohio's Country Journal and Ohio Farmer. *Ohio Farm Business Analysis results are now featured in the eFields report https://digitalag.osu.edu/efieldsreaching an extensive audience annually. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Point 1: Place four FINPACK technicians in underserved crop production regions of Ohio by December 2017 • Farm Business Technicians have been strategically placed in Defiance, Pickaway, Miami, and Huron counties throughout the funding of this grant to expand the reach of the farm business analysis program and make our service more accessible to Ohio crop and livestock farmers. All technicians and program staff have attended yearly trainings focusing on the following items: • What is Farm Business Analysis? • Navigating the farm visit • Confidentiality measures • Completing a whole farm analysis (case farm analysis) • Completing an enterprise analysis (crop and livestock) • Using FINPACK software • Cash flows, Income statements, Data entry • Analysis follow up Point 2: Expand reach of New York program by recruiting and training up to four consultants by January 2017. • Several attempts were made to recruit four consultants to expand reach of the New York Farm Business Analysis Program, however there werenot enough interested and qualified candidates to fulfill this goal. Point 3: Increase agriculture lenders' and industry knowledge of FBMB programs and tools to assist in farmer recruitment and program support through established Extension Lenders and Outlook programs • Built relationships and increased knowledge of the FBMB programs within agricultural lenders and industry leaders through small group meetings and participation and promotion in larger events. • Ag Credit - Partenered with Ag Credit to create an article featured in the fall issue of "The Leader", an Ag Credit magazine. • Ohio Soybean Council - Kirk Merritt and interested team members nowunderstand, support and promoteprogram. • Ohio Corn and Wheat - Tadd Nicholson and relevant team members nowunderstand, support and promoteprogram. * USDA Ohio Farm Service Agency Farm Loan leadership - Met with Darren Metzger and team to discuss opportunities farm business analysis provides to their clients. They placed program promotion materials in all of their Ohio offices. • Developed educational material and Powerpoint presentations to assist in the expansion of lenders and industry members knowledge of FBMB programs such as fliers, brochures, data tables, and FAQ's. These were also shared with the FINPACK Leaders (national) to assist other programs developing promotion materials. These materials will continue to be used extensively post-program. • Cornell Educators conducting FBM programs worked with local lenders to explain the value of FINPACK, especially to beef producers. Point 4: Conduct annual basic and advanced FINAN training for educators, technicians and consultants • Held an annual FINAN training for analysis years 2017, 2018,2019 and 2020 •2017 through 2019trainings were held at the Nationwide and Ohio 4-H Center in Columbus, and spanned 2-3 days. 2020 training was held in Mansfield, Ohio December 3-5. While this training was post-project, it was a direct result of the work of this project with a full contingent of techcnicians trained! • 13 Educators participated in the trainings, and as a result, are able to offer the following to their respective counties and regions: All are now licensed FINPACK users. Farm Business educational/promotional material. Assistanceto farmers wishing to participate in the farm business analysis program. Information and knowledge regarding basic record-keeping, financial management, and the impact of an analysis on decision-making and risk management. • Farm Business Technicians (Defiance, Pickaway, Miami, Huron) hired during this grant also participated in annual trainings and subsequent weekly follow-up trainings that offered more detailed information regarding analysis completion and farm business concepts. With these trainings,technicians are now able to offer the following to their respective counties and regions: All are now licensed FINPACK users. Assistance in starting and completing both whole farm and enterprise analysis. Information and knowledge regarding basic record-keeping, financial management, and the impact of an analysis on decision-making and risk management. Interpretation of analysis findings and how to apply them to a farm business. Personalized data and benchmark reports. Annual Ohio crop and livestock data (Ohio Farm Business Summaries) • Cornell Trainings Two Cornell educators attended training offered by University of Minnesota Center for Farm Financial Management (CFFM). A two-day training session was planned for March 2020, but was subsequently cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Six Cornell educators attended the four-day FINPACK training offered by CFFM. Educator training resulted in completion of 10 FINPACK analyses. Point 5: Expand production and financial benchmarking tools available for use by farmers, industry, and in undergraduate and graduate classrooms • Annual summaries include enterprise data (ie. corn, soybeans, wheat, dairy, etc.) including income statements for the average performance of all farms, and the high 20% when the number of instances is sufficient. Benchmark reports for enterprises are also published in the summaries for each enterprise where the number of instances is sufficient. These summaries are available for use by farmers, industry, undergraduate, graduate and professional students. * Enterprise summary results are used to inform annual updates of the Ohio production budgets, tools used extensively by farmers in Ohio. • Guest Lecturing - regularly invited to speak for: OSU Department of Animal Sciences,two classes, College of Veterinary Medicine, one class, Dept of Ag Economics, specifically incorportating farm business analysis results and toolsin lessons. • Students gained knowledge on farm financial considerations as well as Farm Business Analysis. • Cornell Beef Management blog was updated. • Revised input forms were created for CCE educators • Cornell Beef Farm Account Book was updated and distributed to counties throughout the state. Point 6: Increase use of these tools and financial management skills in annual farmer and lender extension programming including workshops, seminars and media • Took part in (teaching) annual farmer/lender workshops and seminars teaching audience about availability of the tools and how to use to inform management decisions. • Taught farm financial management and farm business analysis topics to industry and extension professionals at 2019 Farm Managment In-Service • Taught and participatedin the 2018, 2019 and 2020Farm Science Reviews. At each of these events, we were able to interact with hundreds of potential participants and industry members, and distributed educational material such as state summaries and brochures to each attendee that came to our booth. As a result of our participation at each review, we were able to pick up new farms that completed analysis the following year. Point 7: Four new Ohio technicians will complete a total of 35, 45, and 52 (years one through three respectively) farm analyses • More than 40 new farmsstarted analysisduring the 2017 - 2019 analysis years • Approximately 42,750 crop acres added to the Ohio Farm Business database throughout 2017-2019.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
2019, December 2020. 2019 Ohio Farm Business Summary, Crop Enterprise Analysis with Benchmark Reports. Will be posted at https://farmprofitability@osu.edu/business-summaries
- Type:
Other
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
2019, December 2020. 2019 Ohio Farm Business Summary, Dairy Enterprise Analysis with Benchmark Reports. Will be posted at https://farmprofitability@osu.edu/business-summaries
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Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Crop and livestock producers in previously underserved production regions of Western and Southwest Ohio. Emphasis on crop farms in order to increase available production data and benchmarking opportunities. To reach these clientele, we had a program presence at multiple OSU Extension and industry events. In-person meetings/speaking engagements 3 Technicians spoke at several statewide and localevents with the purpose of promoting the Farm Business Analysis Program and building relationships with target audience We promoted and presented at events such as the following: Ohio Precision University Ohio Agronomy Days Farm Transition Planning Classes Farm Bill Training Ag Outlook Meetings Grain Marketing Meetings Ag Lender Meetings At theseevents, promotional/informational materials were also distributed in the form of postcards, tri-fold brochures and fliers. Changes/Problems:Changes to be made for the next reporting season include: The positioning of an Ohio Farm Business Analysis Technician position in the Crawford/Huron County Region, as well as the Defiance and Miami county regions. Pastinteractions with Ag Credit have strengthened our support and participation from the Northwest Ohioregion. Technicians will begin yearly communications with participating or interested farms starting in the fall of 2019. Our annual training will also take place one month earlier with the goal of beginning farm analysis earlier in the winter months before farmers are out in the fields. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Opportunities for training and professional development included: January 2019Training 4 Technicians in attendance Meetings and interactions with lenders/industry leaders Individual meetings (Dianne w/Technician) (County Educator w/Technician) with farm clients, technician or county educator opportunities to develop skills. 2019Farm Science Review Technicians had the opportunity tointeractwith various clientele and educate them on the benefits of Farm Business Analysis. They were also able to walk through the 2018Ohio Crop Summary with prospective program participants. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results were disseminated in a multitude of ways, including: State Summaries - distributed to analysis participants, program supporters (Ag Credit, Ohio Soy, Ohio Corn & Wheat) and at farm management related programs. A dedicated Farm Business Analysis "Desk" at the Farm Science Review, September 17-19in London Ohio. More than 100,000 farmers, students, and industry personnel attended the Review. "Ask the Expert" presentation each day drawing farmers to the "Desk" Data such as final analysis and benchmark reports will also be sent back to each farm with their own copy of the statewide summary. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, we plan to build on the foundation formed during the 2018-2019season: DecemberTraining: reinforce skills learned last reporting period, introduce more case farm work Continue to support technicians with weekly, 2-hour zoom meetings during analysis season. Train oncoming technicians to work with existing participants and recruit new participants for 2019 analysis Work with our advisory board to continue building and improving the program Formalizing Advancement plans - Continue to promote the program and gain support Contact farmer contacts made throughout 2019to encourage their participation in the 2019analysis. Start analyses in December- have reports back to farms by June
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Point 1:Place four FINPACK technicians in underserved crop production regions of Ohio by December 2017 4 technicians were placed in Defiance, Pickaway, Miami and Licking county Extension offices to serve area crop farmers and expand the reach of the farm business analysis program During 2019, one technician accepted an Educator position, and another decided to embrace full retirement. To fill these positions and continue to serve farmers throughout Ohio, we have opened positions in Miami, Defiance and the Huron county regions. Point 1:Place four FINPACK technicians in underserved crop production regions of Ohio by December 2017 All technicians and 3additional educators attended the two-day January 2019 training. Training agenda included: Farm business analysis work Confidentiality measures Completing a whole farm analysis (case farm analysis) Using FINPACK software Cash flows, Income statements, Data entry Analysis follow up Point 3:Increase agriculture lenders' and industry knowledge of FBMB programs and tools to assist in farmer recruitment and program support through established Extension Lenders and Outlook programs Built relationships and increased knowledge of the FBMB programs within agricultural lenders and industry leaders through small group meetings and participation and promotionin larger events. Ag Credit - Partenered with Ag Credit to create an article to be featured in the fall issue of "The Leader", an Ag Credit magazine. Ohio Soybean Council - Kirk Merritt Ohio Corn and Wheat - Tadd Nicholson Point 4:Conduct annual basic and advanced FINAN training for educators, technicians and consultants Annual FINAN Training Held January 15& 16, 2019at The Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center (Columbus, OH) Focused on completion of case farm analysis and thorough follow up with farm families. The 2020FINAN training is scheduled for December2 and 3, 2019. Point 5:Expand production and financial benchmarking tools available for use by farmers, industry, and in undergraduate and graduate classrooms Expand available production tools for producers and in the undergrad/grad classrooms. Guest Lecturing - OSU Department of Animal Sciences Students gained knowledge on farm financial considerations as well as Farm Business Analysis. Point 6:Increase use of these tools and financial management skills in annual farmer andlender extension programming including workshops, seminars and media Took part in (teaching) annual farmer/lender workshops and seminars Taught farm financial management and farm business analysis topics to industry and extension professionals at 2019 Farm Managment In-Service Point 7:Four new Ohio technicians will complete a total of 35, 45, and 52 (years one through three respectively) farm analyses Total of 9farms that completed analysis (2018 business year) 27 technician farms started analyses for 2019 or completed balance sheets
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
https://farmprofitability.osu.edu/sites/fprofit/files/imce/2018%20Crop%20Summary%20FINAL.pdf
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Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience is as follows: Crop and livestock producers in previously underserved production regions of Western and Southwest Ohio. Emphasis on crop farms in order to increase available production data and benchmarking opportunities. To reach these clientele, we had a program presence at multiple OSU Extension and industry events. In-person meetings/speaking engagements 4 Technicians spoke at a cumulative total of 50 events with the purpose of promoting the Farm Business Analysis Program and building relationships with target audience Over 2,639 farmers, lenders and industry members were given the opportunity to learn more about the Farm Business Analysis Program The average length of teaching at each event was 14 minutes 31 of the programs reachedfarming clientele 17 of the programs served industry clientele 14 of the porgrams served lenders/lending institutions 11 of the programs reached clientele other than farmers, industry members or lenders At these 50 events, promotional/informational materials were also distributed: Postcards: 354 Tri-fold Brochure: 236 Flier: 267 Counties Covered: 21 (each technician covered 4-5 counties) Farmer Contacts made: 45 Total (extensive one-on one discussion about farm business analysis) Changes/Problems:Changes to be made for the next reporting season include: The positioning of an Ohio Analysis Technician position in the Crawford/Huron County Region. This change resulted from increased program interest in the above region. Current reporting year interactions with Ag Credit have strengthened our support and participation from that region. Technicians will begin yearly communications with participating or interested farms starting in December of 2018. This was not possible during the current year of analysis as they were not trained until January. They hope that this will help to streamline the analysis process. New York is looking for an alternate source of personnel to do analysis work. Ohio will assist in training. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Opportunities for training and professional development included: January 2018 Training 4 Technicians in attendance 10 Educators in attendance Meetings and interactions with lenders/industry leaders Individual meetings (Dianne w/Technician and participating farmers) (County Educator w/Technician) 2018 Farm Science Review Technicians had the opportunity tointeractwith various clientele and educate them on the benefits of Farm Business Analysis. They were also able to walk through the 2017 Ohio Crop Summary with prospective program participants. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results were disseminated in a multitude of ways, including: State Summaries - distributed to analysis participants, program supporters (Ag Credit, Ohio Soy, Ohio Corn & Wheat) A dedicated Farm Business Analysis "Desk" at the Farm Science Review, September 18-20 in London Ohio. More than 300,000 farmers, students, and industry personnel attended the Review. "Ask the Expert" presentation each day drawing farmers to the "Desk" Data back to farms by October 26 - 60 days sooner than previous year What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, we plan to build on the foundation formed during the 2017-2018 season: January Training: reinforce skills learned last reporting period, introduce more case farm work Train a new technician to cover the Crawford/Huron region and serve participants referred to us from Ag Credit Form an official FBA Advisory Board to oversee and offer perspective on our current and future plans Formalizing Advancement plans - Continue to promote the program and gain support Contact farmer contacts made throughout 2018 to encourage their participation in the 2018 analysis. Start analyses in January - have reports back to farms by June
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Accomplishments What was accomplished under the goals and objectives? Point 1: Place four FINPACK technicians in underserved crop production regions of Ohio by December 2017 4 technicians wererecruited, hired,trained and placedin Defiance, Pickaway, Miami and Licking county Extension offices to serve area crop farmers and expand the reach of the farm business analysis program Point 1: Place four FINPACK technicians in underserved crop production regions of Ohio by December 2017 All technicians and 10 additional educators attended the two-day January training. Training agenda included: Learning and building competencies Farm business analysis work Confidentiality measures Starting a whole farm analysis (using a case farm) Using FINPACK software Cash flows, Income statements, Data entry Analysis follow up Point 2: Mike Baker - NY Expand reach of New York program by recruiting and training up to four consultants by January 2017 Point 3: Increase agriculture lenders' and industry knowledge of FBMB programs and tools to assist in farmer recruitment and program support through established Extension Lenders and Outlook programs Built relationships and increased knowledge of the FBMB programs within agricultural lenders and industry leaders through small group meetings and participation in larger events. Ag Credit - May 10, 2018 Ag Credit Branch Managers Meeting, Fostoria. Invited to present information to managers/loan officers about the Ohio Farm Business Analysis Program, what participating farmers receive, and the information they must provide. Ohio Soybean Council - Kirk Merritt - Invited meeting on May 9, 2018 with Ohio Soybean and Corn and Wheat Growers to explore opportunities for Farm Business Analysis for their members. Ohio Corn and Wheat - Tadd Nicholson (see above) Point 4: Conduct annual basic and advanced FINAN training for educators, technicians and consultants Annual FINAN Training Held January 16 & 17, 2018 at The Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center (Columbus, OH) Focused on new-hire orientation and training of all attendees in the gathering of farm business data and the completion of FINAN farm analyses. The 2019 FINAN training is scheduled for January 14-16, 2019. Point 5: Expand production and financial benchmarking tools available for use by farmers, industry, and in undergraduate and graduate classrooms Expand available production tools for producers and in the undergrad/grad classrooms. Guest Lecturing - OSU Department of Animal Sciences Students gained knowledge on farm financial considerations as well as Farm Business Analysis. Point 6: Increase use of these tools and financial management skills in annual farmer andlender extension programming including workshops, seminars and media Annual farmer/lender workshops, seminar, media Ag Credit workshop / presentation Below is a list of lenders that attended the workshop Employeer Head Count Ag Credit 28 Farm Credit Mid America 28 Farm Service Agency 24 OSU Extension Educators 9 Citizens National Bank 7 Consolidated Appraisals 7 Farmers National Bank 6 First National Bank 4 Perpetual Federal Savings Bank 4 The Peoples Bank Co 4 Agri Business Finance, Inc. 3 Heartland Bank 3 Huntington Bank 3 Somerville Bank 3 United Producers Inc. 3 Wayne Savings Community Bank 3 Farmers State Bank 2 First Central National Bank 2 First Federal Bank 2 Greenville National Bank 2 Sutton Bank 2 Centerra Co-op 1 Civista Bank 1 Dehm Associates, LLC 1 FC Bank 1 First Federal Community Bank 1 Kingston National Bank 1 Metamora State Bank 1 Osgood State Bank 1 Peoples Savings & Loan 1 Second National Bank 1 Self Employeed Financial Planner 1 The Hicksville Bank 1 U.S. Bank 1 US Small Business Admin 1 Point 7: Four new Ohio technicians will complete a total of 35, 45, and 52 (years one through three respectively) farm analyses Technicians will complete a total of 35 farm analyses in year 1 Total of 5 farms that completed analysis 14 technician farms started analyses or only completed balance sheets Point 8: Three new New York consultants will collect data and complete analyses for five farms each year of this three year project - Mike Baker - NY Techs
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
2017, September 2018. 2017 Ohio Farm Business Summary, Crop Enterprise Analysis with Benchmark Reports. Retrieved from: https://farmprofitability.osu.edu/business-summaries
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
2017, November 2018. 2017 Ohio Farm Business Summary, Dairy Enterprise Analysis with Benchmark Reports. Retrieved from: https://farmprofitability.osu.edu/business-summaries
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