Traditionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has focused on the traditional commodity crops of corn, soybeans and wheat when it comes to crop disaster assistance, but under the 2014 farm bill, growers of several nontraditional crops will receive expanded protection.
Greater coverage is now available under the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program for specialty crops such as vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, floriculture, ornamental nursery, aquaculture (fish hatcheries), turf grass, ginseng, honey, syrup and energy crops (for use in biofuels).
“For years, commodity crop farmers have had the ability to purchase insurance to keep their crops protected, and it only makes sense that fruit and vegetable, and other specialty crop growers, should be able to purchase similar levels of protection,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.
The program previously offered coverage at 55 percent of the average market price for crop losses exceeding 50 percent of expected production. Coverage up to 65 percent of expected production at 100 percent of the average market price will now be available, with fee waivers and premium reductions for beginning producers, as well as those with limited resources.
To determine whether crops are eligible for coverage and for other information, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/nap or contact your local Farm Service Agency office at offices.usda.gov.
Producers will have until Jan. 14 to choose expanded coverage through the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.
Corn harvest quality
This crop year, like most years, was highly variable nationwide, according to the U.S. Grains Council’s corn harvest quality report for 2014-15.
After a cool, wet planting season, a similarly cool summer slowed maturation. Then frequent spells of rain in the fall slowed the harvest, which was especially the case in north central Ohio.
Still, overall corn quality was good, the Grains Council reported, with record high yields for the U.S. as a whole.
That translated into lower protein and higher starch concentrations than in recent years and a test weight — at 57.6 pounds per bushel — below both last year and the three-year average. Still, 77.4 percent tested above the weight for No. 1 grade corn.
The council said incidences of aflatoxins were roughly equivalent to last year and well below 2012’s levels, with 100 percent of the samples testing below the Food and Drug Administration’s aflatoxin action level.
Young Farm Leader of the Year
Ryan Rhoades, of Marion County, has been named the 2014 Beck’s Young Farm Leader of the Year by the Ohio Soybean Association and Beck’s Hybrids for demonstrating significant leadership in his community and developing a foundation for farming success.
Rhoades, a 2002 graduate of Wilmington College in Ohio, operates Rhoades Farms with his father in a partnership, growing 2,300 acres of soybeans, corn and wheat with a livestock operation. He is a member of Fite Memorial Baptist Church in Marion and is a county committee member of the Delaware County Farm Service Agency.
Ag statistics
Ohio’s dairy herds produced 435 million pounds of milk in November, said Cheryl Turner, state statistician of the National Agricultural Statistics Service’s Ohio Field Office, up 1.4 percent from a year earlier.
The state’s dairy herd was estimated at 267,000 head last month, 1,000 head lower than a year ago.
Meanwhile, total hog and pig inventory in the state as of Dec. 1 was an estimated 2.15 million head, Turner said. That’s 50,000 head lower than the same point in 2013.
Market hog inventory in Ohio, at 1.98 million head, was 2.5 percent lower than last year, whereas breeding hog inventory of 170,000 head was unchanged from last December.
Wyandot Agronomy Day
The Ohio State University Extension’s Wyandot Agronomy Day, with presentations on everything from the Lake Erie nutrient situation, drones and drift concerns to insect and disease management, soil strategies and weed control, will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Wyandot County Fairgrounds’ Masters Building.
What’s more, by attending, participants can complete their commercial fertilizer certification for free. State law now requires any producer who applies commercial fertilizer to 50 or more acres to be certified no later than Sept. 30, 2017.
Participants also can become recertified for pesticide application, for a $50 fee.
Registration is required by Jan. 22.
