Weekly Ag Update By ned birkey msu EXTENSION EDUCATOR EMERITUS SPARTAN AG The National Weather Service outlook through Sunday is calling for near normal temperatures and precipitation. The official 30-day forecasts for January and February from the Climate Prediction Center, issued Dec. 18, 2025, for our area of the upper Midwest, calls for near normal temperatures and above normal precipitation. The three-month outlook for March, April and May 2026 has an outlook for near to leaning above normal temperatures, with a slightly higher outlook for precipitation. Since winter is here for the next two and one-half months, here is some winter trivia: Who has the colder winter, the Northern Hemisphere or Southern Hemisphere? Because the Southern Hemisphere has more water (warmer ocean water), the Northern Hemisphere is colder. How fast do snowflakes fall from the sky? Snowflakes fall at an average speed of 3 to 4 miles per hour. What percent of the Sun’s rays are reflected back from freshly fallen snow? Snow blindness, a condition caused by sunlight reflecting off snow is because the reflective property of fresh snow is around 87 percent. The Northwest Ohio Corn-Soybean Day will be Jan. 16 at Founders Hall, Sauder Village, Archbold, Ohio. The event is one of a number of popular regional educational meetings with timely topics by great speakers, a variety of commercial vendors and “Amish style” food. Registration costs $50, but includes the 025 eFields On-Farm Research, an annual report featuring actual on-farm research trials from across the state of Ohio, and on a wide variety of projects. The research reports change from year to year, so do not discard 2024 or previous summary books. Contact Maddie at: Newcomb.84@osu.edu. 2026 Farm breakeven calculations can be helped by using people a farmer deals with anyway. A seed, chemical or co-op agronomist can provide data about variable production costs. Different fields and farms may need more precise decisions. The banker or lender can help figuring principal and interest payments, tweak cash flow projections and maybe restructure loans. Don’t forget to include family living expenses, such as food, vacation, clothing, etc. An accountant may be the most important adviser this year with all the federal tax changes passed by Congress in 2025, including direct expensing, depreciation and even estate planning. The crop insurance agent can provide risk management advice, coverage and changes for 2026. Not mentioned is marketing, where maybe an entirely different strategy may be helpful. As University of Minnesota Extension Professor Ed Usset said, “grain marketing is simple, it’s just not simple.” Ed has a 2nd edition book with the same title. Is old garden seed still viable or should you order new seed? The temptation is to look at the new garden catalogs and beautiful photos of new varieties and forget about last year’s seed. If last year’s produce did well, it is easy to test leftover seed with a warm germination test at home. Put 10 seeds on a damp paper or cloth towel, fold it up and check after a week or so to see how many seeds have sprouted. If eight of 10 germinate, then use that variety again. If only two out of 10 germinate, then buy new seed. Colorado State University has a seed viability chart to help you know how long leftover seed may be good for. For example, beet seed may be good for four years, while lettuce seed for only one year. The seed viability chart can be found at: www.extension.colostate.edu/docs/pubs/garden/07221.pdf. |
