December 24 , 2020 The Beacon • 9
Looking back on 2020 agriculture in Coshocton
Merry Christmas Coshocton County . I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas week . In just a few short days , we will put a bow on the year 2020 . I don ’ t know about all of you , but I feel like a marathon runner who is struggling to make it to the finish line on the horizon .
Traditionally in my final column of the year , I try to pause and reflect on the major news stories of the year and examine how our agriculture industry fared . So here we go .
The year began with such promise . The economy was rolling along , and then all of our lives were altered by the coronavirus pandemic . Then for good measure , throw in social protests , the presidential election and continued weather
David Marrison
OSU AG Extension Talk
extremes and we have a year that can be encapsulated in one word — unprecedented .
While the word unprecedented takes the word of the year honors , I think there are many additional words and phrases that will forever be tied to 2020 . Some of these include quarantine , flatten the curve , resilience , face masks , gaiters , Wuhan , Black Lives Matter , virtual , Karen , mask shaming , essential workers , social distancing , pivot , we are all in this together , stay at home , tele-work , new normal , cancel culture , murder hornets and last but surely not least , Zoom .
Obviously , when we will look back on 2020 , the coronavirus pandemic will be front and center . The long-term impact of missing school , work and social interactions remains to be seen . What we do know is normal may never look normal again . We will continue to learn , grow and adapt .
Agriculturally in Coshocton County , we have a lot to be proud of , and our local farmers are a tough bunch that are able to react to any condition thrown their way including COVID-19 . I feel very blessed to be working with all those who make agriculture great here in Coshocton County . Quietly a good year Agriculturally , it was a quiet yet good year here in Coshocton County with regards to growing crops and raising livestock . After a cool and damp start to the growing season , our weather conditions were quite favorable during the year . Yields were very good , and we should be above trend line yields for corn , soybeans and wheat . I know some farmers were pleasantly surprised on their corn yields , especially on hill ground .
We make a lot of hay here in Coshocton County , and this year should have made most hay producers smile . Cool temperatures and early May frosts reduced our first cutting yield , but our great weather allowed hay to be made on a timely basis throughout the summer . This allowed some really nice second and third cutting to be made . Our hay quality testing program is showing the nutrient quality of this year ’ s hay is exceptional . This is a huge improvement over the past three years , which means our cows will be eating healthier as the snowy and cold weather sets in .
A roller-coaster marketing year
While our production was good , our farmers were subject to some pretty significant marketing issues as a result of the pandemic . Instead of our usual market cycles , we saw prices move up and down in ways we could never imagine . Some commodities such as dairy are still recovering from a 40 % price drop this past spring . The coronavirus pandemic also has showed the weakness of our processing sector .
Just as individuals were helped by the stimulus checks , our agricultural producers received some financial relief through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program , administered by the Farm Service Agency office . Over 270 producers received much-needed assistance through two versions of this program . These payments were a shot in the arm for many in our area .
I would like to share how fortunate we are to have such a great Farm Service Agency office here in Coshocton County . In addition to dealing with a new Farm Bill program , they were able to flawlessly learn and administer the CFAP sign-ups , even in the midst of all the restric-
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