Four county Ohio State University Extension offices are opening the doors of the Knights of Columbus Hall in Versailles this Friday for a daylong look at what is shaping up to be a tough stretch for Western Ohio farmers. The Western Ohio Ag Outlook Meeting runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 6 at 8840 State Route 47, and it is free to attend, with lunch included.
The event is being hosted by the Darke, Shelby, Miami and Mercer County OSU Extension offices, according to the Daily Advocate. The day kicks off with lunch and a chance to wander through sponsor booths from 11 a.m. to noon, before the program shifts into a lineup of speakers covering everything from federal farm programs to global trade policy.
A Packed Midday Lineup on Farm Programs and Markets
Presentations scheduled for noon to 1 p.m. include Don Jones, director of the USDA Farm Service Agency, giving an update on FSA programs and the Farm Bill. Justin Rismiller of Cargill is set to speak on the soybean crush and biodiesel outlook, while Garth Ruff, an OSU Extension field specialist in beef cattle, will cover the state of the beef industry, per the same report. Barry Ward, director of the OSU Extension Income Tax School Program, rounds out the midday session with a look at crop input costs and margins alongside cropland values and cash rents.
Those land-value numbers carry some weight this year. A separate report from Ohio Ag Net | Ohio's Country Journal found Western Ohio cropland values were expected to change anywhere from a 0.1% decline to a 0.9% increase in 2026, while cash rents were projected to run flat to 1.5% higher. The same report attributed the sluggish movement to tight profit margins and worsening liquidity weighing on values and rental rates, based on a voluntary, non-scientific survey from Ward that drew 132 responses from people familiar with Ohio farmland markets.
Panel Discussion Breaks Up the Afternoon Session
A panel question-and-answer session is scheduled for 1 to 1:30 p.m., giving attendees a chance to put questions directly to the morning's speakers. Afternoon presentations then run from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., covering taxes, land use and data centers with Dr. Gabriel Lade, an associate professor at Ohio State University; trade and trade policies with Dr. Ian Sheldon, a professor at Ohio State University; and Ohio farm custom rates with Caden Buschur, an OSU Extension educator, the Daily Advocate reports. A second question-and-answer session is set to close out the program from 3:30 to 4 p.m.
The financial backdrop for those afternoon tax and trade discussions is notable. Per Farm Progress, an Ohio Farm Business Analysis Program report covering 43 farms found 60% of participants saw their working capital decline in 2025, while 40% experienced a shrinking net worth. The same outlet reported fertilizer expenses were expected to climb another $50 to $60 per acre heading into 2026, squeezing budgets further before a single bushel hits the market.
Grain Supplies Swell as Livestock Numbers Tighten
Those cost pressures are colliding with shifting supply pictures on both sides of the farm ledger. A report on USDA's October 2026 WASDE data, covered by Ohio Ag Net | Ohio's Country Journal, noted 2026-27 production estimates rose by 234 million bushels for corn and 27 million bushels for soybeans compared with September figures, even as the agency continues to project declining beef and pork production in 2026 and 2027.
On the livestock side, Oklahoma State University Extension livestock marketing specialist Derrell Peel told Farm Progress that U.S. beef production is expected to decline about 4.6% in 2026 following a 3.6% drop in 2025, with another 2% to 3% decrease projected for 2027. That backdrop gives extra weight to Ruff's beef industry update on Friday's agenda, even as strong cattle prices mask uneven conditions elsewhere in the supply chain.
Rismiller's soybean crush presentation also arrives against a backdrop of expanding local processing capacity. Cargill completed an expansion and modernization of its integrated soybean-crushing and refined-oils facility in nearby Sidney, Ohio, which came online in September 2023, according to FoodNavigator. That revamp nearly doubled the plant's previous crush capacity, and the outlet identified Rismiller at the time as Cargill's U.S. soy crush commercial leader.
Sponsors and Contacts for the Free Event
County Extension offices have listed slightly different sponsor rosters across their announcements. The Nov. 3 Daily Advocate article names Buds Chrysler Dodge Ram, Mercer Landmark, Farm Credit Mid America, the Darke, Miami, Shelby and Mercer County Farm Bureaus, Cargill and St. Henry Bank as sponsors, while an earlier Oct. 27 version from the same outlet listed North Star Hardware and Implement in that lineup instead of Buds Chrysler Dodge Ram.
For additional information, the Daily Advocate lists Caden Buschur as the contact for Darke County, Rylee Kay Puthoff for Shelby County, Amanda Bennett for Miami County, and Ryan McMichael for Mercer County. The meeting is geared toward agricultural producers, landowners, agribusiness professionals, students and anyone else interested in agriculture, and organizers say it will offer sponsor booths, lunch and two separate windows for audience questions throughout the day.
