Now, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and other states far outside the affected region have responded by restricting animal movement and ramping up surveillance to protect their herds.

On June 9, Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding issued a quarantine order limiting animal movements and urging Pennsylvania farmers and pet owners to tighten biosecurity to protect their livestock and pets.

“Pennsylvania has no confirmed cases of New World screwworm, but this destructive pest poses a serious threat to our livestock industry, companion animals, wildlife and agricultural economy,” Redding said in a June 13 press release. “Taking proactive steps now to strengthen biosecurity and limit unnecessary animal movements from affected areas will help protect our farms and communities.”

The quarantine order includes provisions for veterinary inspection, animal health certification and preventative measures designed to reduce the risk of NWS entering the state through animal movements. Animal owners, producers, veterinarians, transporters and others moving susceptible animals are asked to consult the order and work with state or federal animal health officials to ensure all applicable requirements are met before embarking.

West Virginia has taken notice, too. On June 10, the state Department of Agriculture issued a special movement notice establishing additional requirements for warm-blooded animals crossing state lines from areas impacted by NWS. The new guidelines are part of the state’s own bid to protect livestock and companion animals while allowing for continued animal transport under enhanced safeguards.

According to the order, all warm-blooded animals entering West Virginia from a designated New World screwworm–infested zone must comply with national continuity-of-business movement guidance and obtain an entry permit from WVDA at least 48 hours before movement. Animals entering the state from outside an infested zone but within a designated surveillance zone or high-risk county must be accompanied by a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection issued within seven days of movement, certifying that the animals are free of screwworm larvae infestation.

Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota have also enacted import restrictions requiring pre-entry permits or testing for animals traveling from states with active screwworm outbreaks. And on June 5, Canada implemented temporary import restrictions on livestock, including horses, from entering the nation from affected areas. Animals that originate from or were present in Texas within 21 days prior to border crossing will not be accepted into the country.

Background

The outbreak started when the larvae of the parasitic fly was found on a young calf in southern Texas — the first affected domestic animal in 60 years. The cases have primarily been detected in cattle, but there have been cases in sheep and goats. The NWS was also found in a pet dog in New Mexico, the state’s only case.

Last week, the USDA launched an interactive dashboard for the public to keep tabs on the screwworm’s movement.

The NWS fly is about the size of a common housefly or slightly larger. They have orange eyes, a metallic blue or green body and three dark stripes along their backs. They are attracted to wounds and body openings like the nose, eyes, ears and mouth, where they lay their eggs. But it’s their larvae that inspires chills and earns them their name, referring to the maggots’ feeding behavior — using sharp mouth hooks, they burrow into flesh like driving a screw into wood, feeding at a frenzied pace as they go. Without treatment, they often prove fatal.

NWS is typically found in South America and parts of the Caribbean. However, the fly has steadily moved northward from South America through every country in Central America and Mexico since 2023.

Blame game

As for who bears responsibility for NWS’s march north, that’s a matter of some debate. In a June 10 appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins laid the blame directly on former President Joe Biden and his cabinet.

“Under the last administration, with the massive movement under the open borders policy, the cartels, etc., border security, that’s when [screwworm] began to make its way back up toward America, hitting Mexico in early 2023, moving its way up through Mexico in 2024,” she said.

Her remarks echoed a June 3 press call, when federal and Texas officials described how the fly had pushed past the natural barrier of the Darién Gap several years ago and moved steadily through Central America and Mexico. Then, too, Rollins pointed to rising Mexican cases, “open border policies” and cartel‑driven cattle movements as factors behind the pest’s advance, while emphasizing that the parasite typically travels long distances because humans move infested animals, not because the flies simply fan out on their own.

However, Texas veterinarian Bud Dinges said early epidemiological work had found no evidence of recent animal movements onto or off the premises where the initial case was discovered.

While federal officials continue to highlight that resources have been massively scaled up to combat the spread of NWS, critics point to early 2025 cuts to screwworm monitoring programs by the now-disbanded Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as undermining the nation’s strategy for dealing with the pest. However, The Atlantic reported that it’s not clear the programs would have done much to stop the screwworm’s progression.

The post Some states tighten up movement restrictions as screwworm cases multiply appeared first on Farm and Dairy.

The slaughterhouse can process 2,000 cattle per day, making it one of the largest beef slaughterhouses east of the Mississippi.

JBS USA is also closing its value-added facility in Memphis, Tennessee, which employs about 200 people, as a way to “strengthen operations for the future,” according to a company press release on June 12.

The closure comes at a challenging time for the beef industry, as cattle numbers continue to decrease and prices remain high. The U.S. cattle herd is at a 75-year low, according to USDA data.

The Virginia Cattlemen’s Association called news of the plant’s closure “disappointing.”

“The loss of significant East Coast harvest capacity is a blow to cattle producers in a region of the country that already has limited processing options,” the group said in a statement.

Production from the two closing facilities will be absorbed by other JBS plants, according to the press release. Earlier this year, JBS also combined its beef and case-ready businesses to “improve efficiency at the company.

Over the past year, the company has made significant investments in new facilities and improvements in Texas, Georgia and Iowa to grow its “prepared foods and value-added capabilities, modernize operations and enhance the company’s ability to serve customers in the years ahead.”

“JBS USA is investing heavily in the United States and in the future of food production,” said Wesley Batista Filho, CEO of JBS USA, in a statement. “At the same time, we must ensure our operations are efficient, modern and positioned to compete. By investing where we are growing and making difficult adjustments where needed, we are building a stronger and more resilient company.”

JBS says it is implementing a transition plan for those laid off, which will include providing opportunities for employees to apply for open roles at other facilities in the United States and on-site support and resources to assist team members.

Worker impact

UFCW Local 1776, the union that represents JBS USA workers at the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, plant, says the state cannot afford to lose over 1,000 “family-sustaining jobs.”

The union, which represents over 30,000 members in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, New York and New Jersey, is currently working with local, state and federal officials to keep the plant open, a plant that employed workers who carried the nation through the COVID-19 pandemic and were hit hardest by illnesses during that time, according to the union’s press release.

“We recognize that the beef industry is facing significant economic pressure driven by tariffs, global trade dynamics and market conditions. But the burden of these challenges cannot fall on working families,” the union said in a statement.

“This situation is a reminder that decisions made by elected officials have real consequences for workers and their communities. Trade policies and economic strategies directly impact American workers.”

Plant history

The Souderton plant was originally owned by the Moyer family, which began producing meat products in the Philly suburbs in 1877. The current packing plant was built in 1974. Moyer Packing Company was sold to Smithfield Foods in 2001. At that time, Moyer Packing was the largest beef processor in the eastern United States. JBS acquired the plant when it bought Smithfield’s beef assets.

The post JBS to close beef packing plant in Souderton, Pa appeared first on Farm and Dairy.

So, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised when one day she came to me to say that she had to attend an out-of-town conference for a few days, and would I be able to take care of her “pets” while she was gone?

Those pets were two teeny, tiny dragonfly nymphs about 3 mm in length, which were residing in a small aquarium on her desk, completely decked out to mimic a pond habitat. You see, Linda is a dragonfly expert. She has an uncanny ability not only to identify nearly every dragonfly she spots on the wing, but she can also nearly always identify them during their aquatic nymph stage as well.

It should be no surprise that she is also a co-author of Dragonflies and Damselflies of Northeast Ohio. This field guide, which was funded and published by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, is chock full of interesting information and can be relied upon efficiently to help identify any dragonfly you may come upon within the designated range.

Personal bug zapper

It is nearly impossible to visit any lake, pond, marsh, bog, swamp, stream or other habitat with water during the warmer months and not see dragonflies darting around. Like miniature helicopters, they zoom about, making agile turns, flying forward and backward, up and down or hovering in one spot. These aerial stunts enable the dragonfly to catch their prey on the wing, namely any small insect that may be sharing their space. One of their favorite food items is mosquitoes, giving them the name “mosquito hawk.”

If you spend time near a pond, fishing or just relaxing nearby, soon you will notice dragonflies hunting those irritable insects that have begun to gather around you…your own personal bug zappers! Look closely and you can often see a tiny insect clasped in the dragonfly’s jaws as it munches on the wing. It is no surprise that they rank among the fastest insects on earth, having been known to reach speeds of up to 35 mph. A glance through the field guide will reveal names reflecting their athletic abilities, such as dashers, skimmers, pondhawks, meadowhawks, cruisers, gliders and more.

Dragonflies belong to the order Odonata. Often referred to as odonates, they also share this title with their “cousins,” the damselflies. Adult dragonflies are recognized by their four transparent wings held flat out, horizontal to their bodies. These two sets of membranous wings, some sporting various colors or patterns, are transparent and delicately laced with venation. The wings are attached to the thorax of their hefty bodies, and a long abdomen trails behind. Huge compound eyes, comprising most of their head, give them nearly 360-degree vision.

In comparison, damselflies are smaller and daintier, with wings held in a closed position above their bodies, although their life cycle is similar.

1 of 6

Water lovers

All dragonflies spend the first part of their life as aquatic nymphs, the main reason for their association with water. After mating, usually on the wing, females can be observed depositing their eggs. Some can be seen dipping the tips of their abdomens into the water multiple times in the same spot; others sit on rotten logs, placing their eggs inside the spongy wood; still others drill into the stems of emergent vegetation. When the eggs hatch, the tiny offspring, known as nymphs, enter their aquatic habitat.

Nymphs bear little to no resemblance to their adult stage, but that is not to say that they are any less unique. Lacking wings for movement, the nymphs rely on jet propulsion to get around, sucking water in through the tip of their abdomens and shooting it back out with enough force to propel themselves forward great distances. Even in this immature stage, they feed voraciously on other insects and pond denizens. Like something out of a horror movie, the nymph’s lower jaw, tucked neatly beneath its head, slowly lowers and shoots out with lightning speed, nabbing its prey between powerful pinchers.

As they grow, so do their appetites and their ability to consume larger prey, such as tadpoles and tiny fish fry. They shed their skin multiple times as they increase in size, a process they may complete over 15 times. Finally, after months or even years beneath the surface, the dragonfly nymph crawls from the water, anchoring itself to a sturdy stick or stem. Slowly, its skin splits and out it crawls, leaving a dry exoskeleton behind. Slowly, like a butterfly, its wings expand and eventually dry. Hours later, it takes to the air.

Dragonflies are a riot to observe. Pick a spot by the water’s edge, have a seat and watch the show. Often, a dragonfly will have a favorite perch that it returns to over and over again, offering the opportunity for a good photograph.

Despite their intimidating name, dragonflies are harmless. They do not bite or sting, although if captured, they may harmlessly attempt to chew on a finger if offered. A few species are migratory and can be observed in impressive swarms during late summer; radar has picked up throngs of them flying south across Lake Erie!

Bug babysitter

You can imagine how nervous I was to assume babysitting duty for Linda’s nymphs. Her story about this experiment began while she was walking through a wetland and noticed scarring on the stems of some reeds. Cutting one of the stems open, her suspicion that they contained dragonfly eggs was confirmed. Not knowing which species the eggs belonged to, she took one of the stems home with her, in the hope that the eggs would hatch and she could rear the resulting nymphs to adulthood.

Taking over care duty for a few days was nerve-wracking. Feeding such tiny, new larvae required only an eyedropper or two of pond water each day containing tiny microorganisms, small crustaceans and aquatic worm species chopped into minuscule pieces. I called and texted Linda several times each day to confirm that I was doing things correctly. Needless to say, I had never been happier to see her return from a trip. I am also happy to report that nearly one year later, her large, healthy nymphs finally emerged from the water and revealed themselves as black-tipped darners. This whole experience was so amazing that there is an entire chapter written about it in the field guide.

I must admit, I’m no dragonfly aficionado. In fact, I am weak on my identification of them. No doubt this is the result of having a friend who is an expert. When I find or photograph a dragonfly, I don’t even consult my field guide. I just text the expert and have an answer within seconds. As I said, it certainly pays off to have unique friends!

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But those days are long gone, and for the first time in 60 years, the Mercer County Grange Fair in western Pennsylvania will not happen, says Richardson, now chairman of the Board of Directors for the Mercer County Grange Fair. 

“It was a very difficult (decision),” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do this summer.”

The fair was canceled due to a lack of volunteers and the high-cost economy at the moment. According to Richardson, several volunteers have had to drop out of helping at the fair, including one who broke their arm.

“Trying to do a fair with basically half a dozen people or three families just isn’t going to cut it,” he said.

Mercer County’s insurance company also recently canceled the county’s insurance, including on the fair and all the buildings. On top of that, Richardson says rising prices resulted in the fair’s cancellation.

“I, myself, would put $1000 to $3,000 into the fair. I just don’t have it this year,” Richardson said. Many sponsors were also unable to provide as much funding this year, he said, and, with high fuel prices, participants may be unable to attend.

“How are people going to be able to afford to run tractors in a tractor pool? How are they going to be able to run demolition derbies?” Richardson asked.

But this isn’t the first time the Mercer County Grange Fair has experienced setbacks; over the years, additional testing requirements and state regulations around showing livestock have made it difficult for people to participate in the fair, says Richardson.

The fair recently got rid of its horse showing after the state passed a law in 2024 that requires horses to receive a Coggins test before exhibition — a blood test that identifies equine infectious anemia, a fatal disease with no current treatment, according to Penn State Extension. 

Already, the board of directors is preparing for next year’s fair, set for July 13-17, 2027. The county plans on hosting a gun raffle and a basket raffle at the fairgrounds later this year, with funding supporting next year’s fair and repairs to the fairgrounds.

In the meantime, Richardson encourages community members to consider volunteering for the Mercer County Grange Fair, by planting flowers, pulling weeds or cleaning buildings, as a little help goes a long way.

“The average person can always volunteer the week of our fair or two weeks before, because I get off work May 31, and I basically live at the fairgrounds the whole month of June,” he said.

(Liz Partsch can be reached at epartsch@farmanddairy.com or 330-337-3419.)

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Over more than six decades, the family-owned company has come a long way from its humble beginnings.

The Leonard family started the business in 1963, selling horses.

“But they figured out people needed a way to get them home, so they started selling trailers too,” Marketing Director Mark Santilli said.

In an interview with Farm and Dairy, he ticked off some of the products you can find on the business’ North Jackson campus.

“Horse and livestock trailers, large equipment haulers, dump trailers,” Santilli said. “The parts department is stocked with tens of thousands of parts. Also on the property is the armory. We have a gun department.”

The business, which is just a stone’s throw from the interchange where Interstate 76 and Interstate 80 intersect in Mahoning County, also includes a repair center, Santilli said.

“The Leonard family of brands encompasses everything,” he said.

Leonard Truck and Trailer sits in a sparsely populated region of northeastern Ohio peppered with trees and the occasional country house. The business shares an exit with a fast food joint, a gas station and a donut shop, with little else interrupting the wooded areas and fields of grass surrounding the trailer-filled parking lot and scattered buildings that make up the venerable company.

A short drive over the Meander Creek Reservoir takes you to Youngstown, the closest city.

The company was founded in 1963 by Stan and Peg Leonard, whose son, Clint, joined the business as a sales representative in 1986. Clint eventually took over, expanding the business and moving it to its current location just off Exit 57 on Interstate 76.

“I was looking to expand it and grow the company,” Clint said. “My parents were at the age where they would like to retire, so it worked well for both of us.”

Today, the company is owned and operated by Clint and his wife, Tiffany. Leonard Truck and Trailer carries the largest in-stock trailer inventory in the nation, with more than 700 new and pre-owned units on site. The dealer also has a 12-bay, 11,000-square-foot service and repair facility.

Why add more to the business over the years?

“It was kind of a natural progression,” Santilli said.

People who buy horses also buy trailers and equipment such as saddles. And if you’re going to sell trailers, why not repair them?

From there, additions like an animal health clinic seemed like a logical step, he added.

A gun store is also not out of place in rural Ohio. The eclectic mix of businesses does not go unnoticed.

“A lot of customers will comment that only in America will you see a gun store in a trailer dealership,” he said.

The Leonard Family of Brands now includes Leonard Truck & Trailer, Basic Animal Health, The Armory Inside LTT and Leonard Cattle Company.

“We have plans to double our current business by 2028. We’ve got a variety of channels, and we’ve added more product lines to our offering of trailers… and we offer multiple tiers of trailers,” Clint Leonard said. “I firmly believe you can only do two things in business: you can go up or down. There’s no status quo, especially in today’s market with all the technology. You can either grow or decline.”

Through it all, the company hasn’t forgotten its roots in the farming and equine community. The family, including Clint and Tiffany’s sons Cash and Cord, competes in National Reining Horse Association events, as well as raising and showing show pigs and cattle.

Leonard Truck and Trailer is a longtime supporter of 4-H, and has been a loyal buyer at the Mahoning County Junior Fair Market Sale. The Future Farmers of America are also among the groups the business sponsors, Santilli added.

“We continue to support youth and keep them involved in agriculture and livestock,” he said.

As for the future, the next generation of Leonards is ready to take the reins when the time comes.

“My son just graduated from high school, and we found something his teacher filled out in first grade,” Clint said. “It asked ‘What do you want to do when you grow up?’ and he said, ‘I want to sell trailers with my dad.’ He’s been pretty consistent about that over the past 12 years.”

Find more information about the company online at leonardtrailers.com or on Facebook.

The post How an Ohio trailer dealership ended up selling guns, animal supplements and more appeared first on Farm and Dairy.

Episode 61

In episode 61, Liz and Paul break down the headlines from the June 11 edition, including:

• Ohio Envirothon preps students for future science-related careers
• Birds of a feather: The economic value of birds in agriculture is coming back into focus
• Flesh-eating screwworm found in Texas, beyond; USDA launches massive response
• Dragonflies: Unique aerial acrobats

Choose how you listen

The Weekly Rundown is streaming on both YouTube and Spotify, so you can catch the latest stories your way.

• Want the full newsroom vibe? Watch Liz and Paul on YouTube.

• On the move? Just pop in your earbuds and hit play on Spotify.

Want more?

Read the full stories here or swing by your local newsstand to grab a copy of this week’s Farm and Dairy.

Past episodes: If you missed any of our past episodes, find them here.

Love what you’re hearing? Get the full experience delivered to your door each week: subscribe here.

Thanks for listening — we’ll be back next week with more stories from the field!

The post Farm and Dairy Weekly Rundown: Episode 61 (6-11-26) appeared first on Farm and Dairy.

Coia was experiencing health problems and needed to pass his business on to someone else, but none of his children were interested in following in his footsteps. Would Daywalt consider buying the full-service Kubota dealership?

“I bought most of my equipment from them and bought all of my parts and supplies, and did all of my service work there,” he said.

Daywalt is a farmer and a serial entrepreneur, having owned and operated multiple businesses in his lifetime. He largely retired in 2015, dedicating himself to farming full-time.

However, the opportunity to own a business he had patronized for the better part of his adult life proved too enticing to pass on. He compared the dealership’s showroom to a toy store for grown men.

“I love construction, I love farm equipment, I love to farm,” he said. “Of all the different businesses I’ve been in, this is one of the more exciting ones.”

Growing up and out

When Daywalt bought Coia in 2020, it was in Ravenna, but it was located in a residential area, and thus its growth was limited because it was effectively boxed in by the homes in the surrounding neighborhood.

So, in 2021, Daywalt moved it to its current location in Rootstown, which sits a short drive from Ravenna, an exurb of Cleveland and Akron.

The old space was too limiting, Daywalt said.

“They didn’t sell larger equipment,” he said.

The rural setting of Rootstown, on the other hand, provided ample space to store and display the bigger vehicles Daywalt wanted to sell. The new location is 27,000 square feet, plus a secondary 12,000-square-foot storage building.

“Now that we have the new facility, we can sell the larger tractors and hay equipment,” Daywalt said.

Adding on

The Coia family founded the dealership in the 1980s and it became a Kubota dealership in the 1990s. The business also sells vehicles and equipment from other brands such as STIHL and Land Pride. Cities and towns, construction companies and even colleges are among the dealership’s customers, Daywalt said.

Last fall, Coia Sales acquired KTS Equipment in Wellington, Ohio, bringing on a strong base of construction equipment customers and expertise, further expanding Coia Sales’ ability to support contractors and construction projects across northern Ohio.

It also expanded the company’s geographic reach. The Rootstown location continues to serve customers in Portage, Summit and Stark counties, while the Wellington location expands coverage throughout Lorain, Medina, Huron, Ashland, and Erie counties, with additional service reach into surrounding areas.

Final hurrah

When it came time for Daywalt to take the reins, he felt qualified because of his business background and his familiarity with the dealership’s products.

“Having the knowledge and understanding of the equipment is huge in this industry,” he said.

The lifelong entrepreneur has owned everything from a certified public accounting firm to a traffic control company. The tractor dealership seems an appropriate finale to a lifetime spent owning businesses and farming cattle, Daywalt said.

“This is my final hurrah,” he said.

About

Coia Sales Ravenna is located at 4393 Lynn Road, Ravenna, Ohio. Contact them at 330-296-5280.

Coia Sales Wellington is located at 47117 Ohio 18, Wellington, Ohio. Contact them at 440-647-2015. For more information, visit coiasales.com

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The sanctuary’s philosophy is straightforward: care for birds and connect people to them, and both wildlife and communities come out ahead. In their education programs, the star attractions — from tiny screech‑owls and talkative crows to 25‑year‑old bald eagles and peregrine falcons that can dive at 270 miles an hour — help Schwartz and her staff demonstrate that when people learn to share the landscape with birds, they become better stewards of a healthier, more resilient natural world.

On the farm, instead of reaching for rodenticides, install a nesting box and let a barn owl patrol your property. It’ll eat hundreds of rodents a year, protecting grain, feed, crops and your bottom line.

“I think it kind of goes hand in hand. The farmers can benefit the birds… but the birds can definitely benefit the farmers,” she said.

In Ohio and beyond, birds are finally getting their due, recognized as essential contributors to the rural economy, a role scientists started quantifying more than a century ago. In farm country, many species earn their keep by eating insects and pests that damage crops and boosting yields in ways that can substitute for some chemical pest control. Conservation programs that protect grasslands and other habitats help keep those bird populations healthy. 

At the same time, bird‑watching has never been a bigger pastime, with millions of Americans traveling, dining and staying in local lodging to see migrating and nesting birds. Nearly 100 million Americans went birding in 2022, spending about $108 billion on trips and equipment according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That’s about six times more than the total revenue generated by the NFL in the same year, Chen-Ti Chen, an assistant professor in Ohio State’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, noted during a June 3 webinar.

Taken together, the everyday work of birds, and the efforts to conserve them, adds up to real value for farms and rural communities.

Friend or foe.

For as long as anyone can remember, dogs have held the comfortable title of man’s best friend, but a century ago, federal researchers were making a case for birds, at least as working partners in the farm business. Scientists were trying to tally their value to crops in dollars and cents. 

In 1885, Congress created the Section of Economic Ornithology within the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study whether hundreds of common wild bird species helped or hurt crops by dissecting their stomachs and tallying up insects versus grain. To get enough specimens, the agency even ran newspaper ads asking people to keep the legs and breast of any birds they were eating for dinner and mail in the rest. By 1912, they had examined more than 60,000 birds from over 4,400 species, conducting one of the first large-scale assessments of how birds affect agriculture. The verdict was clear: on balance, most of the birds turned out to be allies for farmers, eating more crop-damaging insects than grain. 

But that early work eventually faded with the rise of cheaper synthetic pesticides, as farmers sought better living through chemicals and the birds left their posts.

Today, researchers like Chen are picking up the thread with modern data and methods. In one ongoing study, he said during the webinar, his team pairs commercial plot‑level corn yield trials with billions of bird sightings from the eBird citizen‑science project. 

The result: in fields planted with conventional corn, a 10% increase in insect‑eating birds around a plot is linked to roughly a 7% bump in yield — that’s about 4 to 14 extra bushels per acre, translating to roughly $63 an acre in their sample.

In that light, the long decline of bird numbers becomes more than a sentimental concern; it’s an economic one, too. Since the 1970s, North America has lost almost 3 billion birds, about 30% of its total population, with grassland species in the Midwest and Great Plains hit especially hard. 

Even in fields planted with insect‑resistant corn, birds still matter in the bigger picture as pests evolve resistance and as farmers look for pest control that doesn’t depend only on genetics and chemicals. Chen’s second study examines whether the federal Conservation Reserve Program — which pays farmers to retire sensitive acres from row‑crop production and plant them in perennial grasses or trees — can play a role in that effort. Early results suggest that CRP acres do bring back grassland birds during the breeding season, and smartly targeting where those acres go could more than double the bird gains for the same money.

Good all around.

Back at the bird sanctuary in Mansfield, Schwartz makes her case in plain terms: sharing space with birds can be both good stewardship and good business.

“A barn owl can eat up to six rodents a day, and then if a barn owl has a nest and they have babies, those babies can each eat up to one rodent a day,” she said. “These are mice that are not getting into your grain, they’re not getting into your feed for your animals, they’re not eating through things, making a mess,” she said.

It’s not just them. American kestrels — small falcons — earn their keep on the farm by eating insects. Nesting around barns and farm buildings, they knock back mosquitoes and other small pests that bother livestock and can damage crops, easing at least some of the day‑to‑day bug pressure on farmers.

But it’s a two-way street. The same barn owls and kestrels that patrol for pests also depend on working land. 

“Both of these birds thrive off of grasslands and open prairies,” Schwartz said.

However, Ohio today is mostly a patchwork of cities, forests and farms, with very little native prairie left. In the absence of true grasslands, working farms have become the closest substitute for the habitat these birds need. And when they find it, they thrive. Ohio Division of Wildlife data identify Holmes and Wayne counties, the heart of Ohio’s Amish farm country, as the state’s main barn owl stronghold. There, a mix of pastures, hayfields and old farm buildings, along with a nest‑box program, has helped the owls rebound from the brink while playing a major role in keeping rodent numbers in check.

Matthew Shumar, program coordinator of the Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative, looks at the relationship between birds and working lands from, well, a bird’s eye view, mapping what it means for whole regions in terms of counties, states and how to bring more feathered friends to the farm belt.

When asked how much grassland birds help or hurt farm operations, he didn’t offer an easy response.

“It’s a tricky question that doesn’t necessarily have a straight answer,” he said.

As the Midwest has shifted toward more industrialized forms of large‑scale agriculture, Shumar said, birds in those landscapes “are potentially creating some more issues at times,” like blackbirds or blue jays eating grains. But in more natural, mixed landscapes or on smaller farms, he said, there’s much more room for birds to help.

By weaving patches of habitat into fields and leaving some ground specifically for birds, farmers can turn them into allies in pest control so the birds end up competing with the insects that damage crops, not with the crops themselves.

The main driver of grassland bird declines in Ohio, Shumar said, is not complicated: the habitat they depend on is disappearing beneath them. Smaller, mixed farms have largely given way to big, single‑crop operations, with fields often plowed right up to the road and almost no weedy or fallow edges left over for wildlife.

On top of that, he said, the way chemicals are deployed on fields matters. Heavy pesticide use in western Ohio and Indiana has wiped out many native insects, and when the insects go, insect‑eating birds do too, especially species that catch bugs in flight like nightjars — including common nighthawk and eastern whip‑poor‑will — and flycatchers.

Those concerns helped spur a new landowner guide that Shumar co‑authored with state and federal biologists in March, explaining how to manage open lands as grassland bird habitat year‑round. The guide outlines why less than 1% of Ohio’s original grasslands remain, which species are in trouble — from bobolinks and Henslow’s sparrows to northern bobwhite — and how practices like prescribed burning, grazing, mowing and programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program can help working farms double as wildlife habitat.

For Shumar, the stakes are practical as much as they are ecological. Taking birds out of the landscape, he said, leaves farmers facing far worse pest problems, and “it becomes much more difficult to maintain healthy crop production if you don’t have a functioning ecological system there.”

“When you explicitly include them in the plans, they can become part of the solution and not just part of a problem,” he said.

Looking to birds.

In that sense, said Christopher Lituma, an associate professor of wildlife and fisheries resources at West Virginia University, birds are more than a part of the scenery in farm country.

“These birds are a bit of a canary in our global coal mine, right?” he said. “When the bird populations, the insect populations, the other organisms on this planet are not doing well, it should be an enormous bellwether for how we should expect things to be going for us on this planet.”

Lituma has spent much of his career studying how birds and cattle can share the same ground. As a coauthor on several studies from Kentucky and Tennessee, he’s looked at native warm‑season grass fields that are in real production, such as grazed pasture, hay, seed and biofuel, and how grassland birds use them. More recent work has tested grazing systems like rotational and patch‑burn grazing on native grasses across multiple Mid‑South research sites, exploring how pastures can be kept productive for livestock while still functioning as habitat for grassland birds. 

To Lituma, the paradigm shift now facing agriculture is about moving away from the old mindset that humans are supposed to bend nature entirely to their will, and toward working within ecological limits instead, treating birds and habitat as long‑term partners in keeping land productive.

“We are inexorably linked to this planet. We have not colonized space yet, so everything we need has to come from here, where we are,” he said. “And as we begin to continue to change these and the environments around us, we should be looking to birds to say, ‘Okay, we want healthy and the right species of birds around us as indicators that the whole system is working well.’”

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To support this project, the research team is asking farmers and landowners in northwestern Ohio to complete a short online survey indicating whether their property contains one of these legacy sampling points and specifying their willingness to be contacted by a member of the OSU team.

The NCSS sampling locations, originally sampled decades ago, provide an important baseline for understanding how Ohio’s soils have changed over time. Resampling these locations will help scientists track changes in dynamic soil properties and broader landscape trends that affect agriculture, conservation and land management.

“Many of these original sampling points fall on privately owned agricultural land,” said Scott Demyan, project lead and Ohio State associate professor of soil and environmental mineralogy. “We’re hoping to reconnect with landowners and ask for their voluntary participation. Even allowing access to a single sampling point can significantly improve our understanding of long-term soil changes across the state, especially for on-farm management.”

From the early 1950s through the 1980s, soil survey staff from the National Cooperative Soil Survey sampled and described more than 200 soils (Figure 1). This included sampling campaigns within Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Mercer, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert, Williams and Wood counties.

Sixty-three distinct soil series were sampled during the endeavor, the majority of which were sampled under agricultural land use. These soils were sampled again from 1996-1998 as part of the Lake Erie Agricultural Systems for Environmental Quality (LEASEQ) project.

By resampling these soils a third time, researchers hope to measure how soil organic carbon, soil fertility and soil health changes over approximately 70 years and how they are influenced by management decisions and other soil properties, e.g., soil texture.

Farmers and landowners who may have had NCSS sampling points on their property are encouraged to complete the survey, which contains a map of all possible sampling locations and gathers basic information which will help the research team determine eligibility and follow-up needs.

Participation does not commit anyone to allowing sampling. It simply indicates interest. For more information, visit senr.osu.edu/research/sentinel-sites-soil-change. To fill out the survey, visit osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6X4OUBiKmSEhylM

For more information about the project, contact Demyan at Demyan.4@osu.edu or 614-688-3349.

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This year’s inductees are John Grimes of Hillsboro, Nancy Patterson of Chesterland, Lawrence H. “L.H.” Newcomb of Hilliard and Sparky Weilnau of Milan.

“Each of these individuals has helped shape Ohio agriculture in ways that reach far beyond their own work,” said Mike Bailey, president of the Ohio Agricultural Council and senior vice president of operations and partnerships at Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.

The ceremony, celebrating its 60th year, will be held Aug. 7, and is expected to draw more than 600 attendees. With this year’s class, the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame will have honored a total of 261 individuals since its inception.

John Grimes (posthumously)

Grimes dedicated his career to advancing Ohio’s beef industry through education, innovation and hands-on production. During his decades-long tenure with Ohio State University Extension, he worked directly with producers across the state, delivering practical, research-based programs on cattle management, forage systems and marketing strategies that improved efficiency and profitability.

Beyond Extension, Grimes remained deeply connected to production agriculture as the owner of Maplecrest Farms, a respected seedstock operation known for high-quality Angus and Simmental cattle. He and his family also helped strengthen the connection between producers and consumers through Maplecrest Meats & More, a direct-to-consumer venture highlighting locally raised beef.

Grimes also held numerous leadership roles in state and national beef organizations, including the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, Ohio Beef Council, Ohio Angus Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American Angus Association and the Beef Improvement Federation. He also chaired the boards of Angus Genetics Inc. and Certified Angus Beef. He died in April 2025.

Lawrence H. “L.H.” Newcomb

Newcomb devoted more than 40 years to advancing agricultural education in Ohio and beyond. As a faculty member and administrator at Ohio State University, he taught, mentored and inspired hundreds of future agricultural educators whose influence continues to shape classrooms, farms and agribusinesses across the state, country and world.

Newcomb’s impact extended well beyond the classroom. He played a key role in strengthening the connection between Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the agricultural industry, helping lead transformational initiatives that better aligned education, research and outreach with the needs of Ohio agriculture. His textbook, Methods of Teaching Agriculture, remains a foundational resource for educators nationwide.

Nancy Patterson

Patterson has been a driving force in advancing agricultural education, youth development and community engagement in Ohio. After beginning her career in education, she returned to Patterson Fruit Farms, where she has served as co-owner for more than 50 years. Drawing on her background in teaching, she helped develop on-farm experiences and educational programming that have introduced thousands of students and families to agriculture.

Patterson’s leadership has extended statewide through her work with the Ohio 4-H Foundation and the Ohio Expositions Commission, where she served as chair. She played a key role in strengthening youth development programs and advancing the Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center. She also ensured that agriculture remains central to the Ohio State Fair experience.

Sparky R. Weilnau

Weilnau shaped Ohio agriculture through a career spanning farming, public service and industry leadership. As the owner of a 1,200-acre grain operation specializing in popcorn production, he managed all aspects of the business while adopting innovative practices that positioned his farm at the forefront of production agriculture. Weilnau’s impact extends well beyond the farm through years of involvement with the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, where he served as vice president and represented Ohio agriculture at the state, national and international levels.

He later served on the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company Board of Directors. Locally, he held numerous public service roles, including Milan Township Trustee, Erie County Commissioner, Erie Regional Planning Commission and others, helping to shape policy and support rural communities.

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