The following information is provided by Nationwide, the No.1 farm and ranch insurer in the U.S.¹. Finding time to talk to your family about succession planning for your farm may be difficult. You may also be uncomfortable with the thought of selling your farm or handing over control to family members. But making the time to develop a transition plan for your farming business will help you ensure that your (and your family’s) wishes are met, emotional stress is minimized, and financial risks and opportunities are addressed. A trained financial professional can help you develop your transition ..read more

It is one of the most difficult conversations, but one of the most important ones for a farm family to have. What does the future of the farm look like when the older generation is no longer a part of what happens day to day? For years, my dad told my brothers and me that one day the farm would be ours and he would make sure that happened. His well-intentioned plans were not put in writing for some time, until he learned about Nationwide’s Land As Your Legacy transition plans. He attended sessions about the program at an Ohio Farm Bureau annual meeting and an American Farm Bureau convention a ..read more

Duayne and Monica Wetherell sat at a small conference table, mapping out a plan for their current farming reality and planning for its future, whatever it may look like. At the other end of the table was the Illumination Financial Group father-daughter team of John DuBois and Jackie Coniker in Steubenville, who specialize in all types of retirement planning but particularly working with farm families as they navigate the next chapters of their lives by using Nationwide’s Land As Your Legacy program. They are part of the Ohio Farm Bureau Select Partners program. The Wetherells lament that they ..read more

When Trevor German completed a farm management course, he gained more than practical knowledge about how to start and run his farm. The course also helped him qualify for Ohio’s new Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program, which sealed the deal when he was buying farmland. “The tax credit was actually the reason I was able to get the ground,” German explained. “The seller was highly motivated in finding somebody with the tax credit, so it ended up getting me the deal.” The Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program offers income tax credits to owners of land or other agricultural assets who sell or rent ..read more

From robots milking cows, drones protecting crops and tractors driving themselves, technology is taking agriculture by storm. That was evident at Ohio State University’s Farm Science Review in September, when many new innovations were introduced to over 100,000 agriculturalists who made their way to the Molly Caren Ag Center in London. Scott Shearer,Ph.D., professor and chair of Ohio State’s Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, who has been on the forefront of the changing landscape of technology being used in agriculture, captured many farmers’ imaginations by demonst ..read more

Those not involved in agriculture who still envision red barns, pitchforks and overalls would be surprised to find out that with the fast adoption of the latest technologies, what we do on the farm is less like Green Acres and more like The Jetsons. Self-driving tractors, cow-milking robots and cover-crop-seeding drones are just a few examples of the advancements farmers are using to be more efficient, more precise and more sustainable in all aspects of agriculture. But being early users of technology is nothing new to agriculture. Before GPS was telling commuters the best way to get from poi ..read more

Amy McCormick started her career at The Kroger Co. bagging groceries in the checkout line in Lancaster, Ohio. Fast forward a few years and McCormick, who married into a farming family, is now a communications leader for Kroger and incoming president of the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation. Her worlds have all collided in the best possible way, she said. “I came (to Kroger) for a job and made a career out of feeding people. At Kroger, our purpose is to feed the human spirit,’” she said. “I’m excited to be part of the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation, which feeds the spirit of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federa ..read more

With a passion for agriculture and storytelling, the team at Ohio’s Country Journal and Ohio Ag Net regularly traverse the state sharing accounts of the lives and livelihoods of farmers and rural Ohioans. The numerous responsibilities of the small but mighty group include publishing a twice-monthly ag newspaper, Ohio Ag Net programming on radio station affiliates throughout the state, as well as producing the Ohio Ag Net podcast and providing daily content at ocj.com. The broadcast team includes general manager and long-time farm broadcaster Dale Minyo, broadcasters Dusty Sonnenberg, Dave Rus ..read more

While debates continue regarding consumers’ rights to repair, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the manufacturers of most farm machinery sold in the U.S. are working together to settle the issue. Five manufacturers have signed memorandums of understanding with AFBF giving farmers greater ability to repair their equipment while still protecting the intellectual property rights of the manufacturers. As farm equipment technology has advanced, the need for these types of agreements has grown. Sam Kieffer, AFBF vice president of public affairs, said the MOUs address the problems farmers have ..read more

David Lepley and his neighbors always struggled to find reliable internet. When the Huron County Farm Bureau member received information about Amplex Internet, he decided to check out what the company had to offer. Pretty quickly Amplex learned Lepley had something to offer as well. “They noticed we had a grain leg tall enough to make a tower for them,” Lepley said. The grain leg had an area large enough to secure equipment that would not only help the Lepleys, but also many of their neighbors in the area. Helping the community out was a motivating factor for Lepley, who at the time served as ..read more