This is Ohio's Home Page for Agriculture - your complete source for agriculture news and rural lifestyle reporting presented by ABN Radio.
| Post 07-30-2010 by Barn Staff |
The Ohio State Fair - Day 3
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| Post 07-29-2010 by Barn Staff |
The Ohio State Fair - Day 2
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| Post 07-28-2010 by Barn Staff |
The Weekly Pioneer Hybrid Crop Update From The Field
 This week Gary Jackson visits with Tate Cockerill, a Pioneer Hybrid Account Manager, about the crop conditions in his part of the state. Tate suggests that Southwest Ohio has been extremely wet, which is a completely different from the conditions just north of him. He also mentions SDS in the beans.
 Gary Jackson's conversation with Tate Cockerill.
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| Post 07-28-2010 by Barn Staff |
The Ohio State Fair - Day 1
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| Post 07-27-2010 by Barn Staff |
NCBA’s Initial Response to CBB’s Executive Summary Media Statement
 A note from Steve Foglesong NCBA President:
Monday evening, July 26, we received the independent accountant’s final report. We are committed to achieving accuracy in this report. Responsible use of the producer dollars and ensuring the financial firewall are critical. Where mistakes were made, we will correct them.
"A compliance review has been conducted every year of NCBA’s 14-year existence. There has been a transparent as well as full reconciliation of expenses when warranted. Every time there is a review, there are lessons, and we consider those an opportunity to fine-tune our processes going forward.
"We agree with CBB’s accounting firm, Clifton Gunderson LLP, and with CBB that written and specific guidelines are needed for all checkoff contractors. The accountant’s inability to determine compliance on select items does not mean non-compliance. Rather, it is an indication that written guidelines are needed to achieve compliance.
"NCBA understands the importance of compliance with the financial firewall and accepts this responsibility without question. It’s for this reason we keep separate bank accounts and our accounting and time keeping procedures are in accordance with and even exceed most industries’ standards. We have more than 8,000 different coding options for accurately assigning time and expenses. We strive for accuracy and will continue to seek clarity on guidelines to ensure compliance.
"When the National Cattlemen’s Association merged with the National Live Stock and Meat Board, NCBA became more than a policy organization. NCBA became the home for the Federation of State Beef Councils, and as such, the No. 1 champion for the beef checkoff. Our employees log more than 200,000 hours annually building and protecting beef demand. Every hour is focused on delivering results that matter with a strong focus on being accountable to producers.
"Our commitment is to address the compliance review through a very factual and transparent process with our Federation partners, CBB and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which share accountability to producers who pay the checkoff. A complete response to the accountant’s report will be addressed with CBB, participants from state beef councils and state cattlemen associations and NCBA directors at this week’s Cattle Industry Summer Conference."
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| Post 07-27-2010 by Barn Staff |
The County Fair and Festival Tour - The Seneca County Fair
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| Post 07-27-2010 by Barn Staff |
NCBA Compliance Review Complete
 All checkoff contractors and subcontractors are subject to compliance reviews and audits.It is the responsibility of checkoff contractors to assure that checkoff funds are being used appropriately, and it is CBB’s responsibility to monitor checkoff contractors. To this end, CBB has the legal responsibility to perform reviews of its contractors periodically, and to oversee and enforce the rules regarding checkoff expenditures.
In February 2010, the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) began the process of conducting a routine compliance review of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) by engaging an independent CPA firm to perform agreed-upon procedures at NCBA. This firm reviewed NCBA compliance with its agreements to conduct checkoff-funded programs in the areas of beef promotion, research, consumer information and industry information. The compliance review also included compliance of checkoff expenditures of the Federation of State Beef Councils Division of NCBA (Federation). This compliance review included fiscal years 2008 and 2009 as well as the five months ended February 28, 2010. The agreed-upon procedures were performed to test: NCBA’s allocation of overhead costs; employee time reporting as a basis for the allocation of salaries and benefits to the checkoff; travel expenses; Federation costs; and subcontractor selection procedures.
In addition to Beef Board members and qualified state beef councils, this independent report has been forwarded to USDA-Agricultural Marketing Service, the oversight agency for the beef checkoff, for review and input.
Lindsay Hill has more on the story in today's ABN Ag News Headlines.
In response to this news, Executive Director of The Ohio Cattlemen's Association Elizabeth Harsh issued this statement:
"As appropriate NCBA will respond to the specifics noted in CBB's compliance review. However I am sure the NCBA staff, just as our state staff, are trained on correct use of checkoff dollars and take that responsibility very seriously. In Ohio the beef council is subject to an annual independent audit the results of which are submitted to CBB. In addition CBB regularly conducts compliance reviews of every beef council to insure the firewall that protects the correct use of checkoff dollars is in place and that those lines are not crossed.
I am confident that no one takes the implications made in the CBB release lightly, but it appears considerable time is being spent on these issues when all organizations should be focusing our joint efforts on addressing the adversaries facing the beef industry."
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| Post 07-26-2010 by Barn Staff |
The County Fair and Festival Tour - The Butler County Fair
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| Post 07-26-2010 by Barn Staff |
The Great Buckeye Tractor Cruise A Success
 ABN Radio is proud to share that thanks to our tremendous drivers, sponsors, volunteers and supporters the 2010 Great Buckeye Tractor Cruise raised $7,000 for Camp Quality of Ohio bringing our three-year total to $20,000 raised for the Camp! Congratulations and thank you to all who participated in any way!
Check out all of the pictures from the day here.
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| Post 07-23-2010 by Barn Staff |
The County Fair and Festival Tour - The Clark County Fair
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| Post 07-22-2010 by Barn Staff |
Farm Bureau Contest Asks Farmers to Show They Care
 Want to see more positive videos about animal agriculture? You can help do something about it.
In response to numerous online videos that display animal agriculture in a negative light, the "Because I Care" video contest, coordinated by Ohio Farm Bureau Federation¹s (OFBF) Center for Food and Animal Issues, is
encouraging farmers, ranchers and others to develop and submit their own videos that portray a positive and informative message about livestock farming.
"We typically hear that there are too many negative images about animal agriculture on the Internet, and that more positive images are needed," said David White, OFBF¹s senior director of issues management and the
Animals for Life Foundation. "This contest now allows individuals, county Farm Bureaus and agricultural youth organizations (4-H, FFA or Farm Bureau) to be proactive and share their messages directly with the public."
Contestants are asked to submit a 90-second to 120-second video of themselves and/or their organization showcasing how they best care for their animals.
Videos can be in one of three categories:
· Individual
· County Farm Bureau
· Youth Organization (4-H, FFA, or Farm Bureau)
Contestants must also post their videos to YouTube.com. Finalists will be awarded a $500 pre-paid gift card and be eligible for the $1,000 grand prize gift card. The grand-prize winner will be selected by an online
public vote.
Contestants may submit multiple videos, but only one video per contestant may be named a finalist.
The deadline to submit videos is Sept. 24.
For complete rules and details visit the contest page at http://bit.ly/BecauseICare.
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News Archive
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They say the best things in life are free, so you could say the best things in life are at the Seneca County Fair! Enjoy FREE grandstand events all week including Harness Racing, Ohio National Sled Championship Horse Pulls and more. The Demo Derby and Dodge Truck PRCA Pro Rodeo will also be featured. Find out more at 
Andy Vance visited The Clark County Fair on Friday for a LIVE Midday broadcast on The ABN County Fair and Festival Tour, Powered by Propane. You will want to head to Springfield as well to check out the Gas and Diesel Truck Pull, MotoCross Racing, The OSTPA Tractor Pull and the Truck Tug-O-War. All Grandstand events are only $5! Log on to 
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