Ohio Field Leader Podcast

When life gives you lemons, it has been said that the best thing you can do is to make lemonade. That is exactly what Sheldon and Samantha Miller of Ottawa County have done on their farm after a Tornado in 2023 destroyed their home and buildings, and they continue to do as they navigate the many challenges and opportunities in production agriculture. Dusty visits with Sheldon and Samantha on this episode of the Ohio Field Leader Podcast at the latest stop of the Ohio Field Leader Roadshow. The Ohio Field Leader is a product of the Ohio Soybean Council and Soybean Check-off.

On Episode 58 of the Ohio Field Leader Podcast, Dusty visits with Jon, Joe, Tim and Tyler Everett of Everett Farms in Shelby County. The brothers and their sons have been farming many of the same acres for generations, and the unique thing is that the absentee landlords are also multi-generational as the land has been handed down over the years. Establishing and continuing to develop their landlord relationships and stewarding the ground has been a key to their success. They also discuss the unique aspects of having two families and multiple generations farming together and what it takes to make it all work.

In this podcast episode the Ohio Field Leader Roadshow made a stop in Morrow County at the farm of Ray Van Horn. Dusty and Ray discuss the current planting season, and unique aspects of farming some of the gently rolling clay soils around Mt. Gilead. They also discuss the important role of agricultural commodity organizations and the value of building relationships to foster trade around the world from a combine seat in Ohio.

There is more than the topography that is “rolling” at Rolling Fields Company in Perry County.  When Keith Dennis and his wife Jane purchased the farm in 1976, this rolling farm ground had water rolling any time it had a heavy rain, cutting deep gullies. Erosion was a huge concern.  Since 2011 Keith has planted cover crops and began utilizing the Haney Soil Health test.  Now the rolling fields are green and covered with a mixture of cover crops. Today the main things rolling are the numbers and data on spreadsheets from over a decade of soil health test results. Dusty and Keith discuss the farm's transition to high productivity on this episode of the podcast and look ahead to the future.

For over a quarter century Matt Reese of Ohio's Country Journal has been covering the story of Agriculture and its' people. In those years Reese has seen a number of major changes in the soybean industry in Ohio. From No-till planting, to Round-up Ready, to Soybean Aphids and Soybean Rust, to White Mold and Specialty IP beans, Reese has covered many of the stories that have impacted soybean farmers all across the Buckeye state. In the episode, Dusty visits with Matt about his time at OCJ and all the changes he has observed, as well as some lessons learned along the way.