Dairy Excel: What if we applied animal welfare freedoms to human actions?
After eight years of sitting through hours of lectures and experimentation on animal welfare issues I thought that it was time to share some of my thinking in this column.
What are your cows doing all day?
Time is like a snowflake -- it melts away while we try to decide what to do with it.-- AnonymousAs we reflect on a...
2012 outlook: What can we expect in farmland values and rent prices?
No revelation! Cropland values in Ohio have increased in 2011. An OSU Extension survey conducted in December 2010 estimated the increase in value of Ohio cropland in 2011 would be 5.3-6.0 percent. This was prior to sharp run ups in commodity prices.
Dairy Excel: Head off missing cow syndrome
Herds that are using herd management software should be able to print out inventories of at least the cow herd, and hopefully the replacement herd as well. The system may, or may not be able to give you a historic inventory.
Dairy Excel: Who knows what milk prices will do!
USDA December forecast for the incoming year has been so bad over the last 10 years that it is very tempting to advise people to take a position opposite to the forecast.
Dairy Excel: Spirit of hope lives in the inspiration of volunteers, faces of farm...
Years ago, a little girl by the name of Virginia, posed a rather simplistic question that has lived on far beyond anyone's expectations. Perhaps...
Dairy Excel: Farmers, tax time is approaching
As the howling winds of winter approach, it is a good time for farmers to grab a cup of coffee and start to gather their income and expenses records to determine their cost of production and profitability from 2011.
Dairy Excel | Plan ahead: Tax management of oil and gas income for farm...
The interest in leasing land for oil and gas production throughout eastern and southeast Ohio has been high, with expansion to northern parts of Ohio starting to occur. This expansion will change the lives of many farm families and communities for years to come, as large sums of new money make their way into the hands of families.
Dairy Excel: Embracing the reality of dairy farming economics has been difficult this year
We sometimes attempt to deny reality as a coping mechanism for an issue we simply don't want to deal with if accepting the reality is too painful. This behavior sometimes exists relative to the economics of dairy farming.
Crop input outlook for next year
Crop profitability prospects for 2012 are positive for the three major row crops in Ohio. Input costs have increased from last year but high...
