4-H volunteers face background checks

Beginning later this year, all 4-H volunteers and other Ohio State University Extension employees working with youth or at-risk adults will be required to undergo background checks every four years.

The new rule, taking effect in June, will impact a lot of people, as area counties typically have more than 100 4-H volunteers on board in any given year. What's more, the state has no plans to pay for these additional background checks, which will include fingerprinting and annual training on how to recognize signs of child abuse and neglect.

The cost typically ranges from $28 to $35 per person.

The Richland County 4-H program had 140 volunteers that year, as well as 48 people in its master gardener program, but Judy Villard-Overocker, the county's director for The Ohio State University Extension, is confident the new regulations won't diminish those numbers.

"Our volunteers truly understand the importance of maintaining the integrity of 4-H. Those we allow to work with young people must be of the highest quality, and I've not had anyone tell me they're not going to do it," she said of the added background checks.

"This isn't going to be the reason they choose to no longer volunteer, it's usually because their kids are no longer in the program."

In Crawford County, 135 people volunteer with 4-H, while about a dozen master gardeners work in conjunction with Richland County.

"We're lucky in our county because our advisory committee is footing the bill for all our background checks," said Allison Cooper, 4-H youth development extension educator.

2014 crop values

Among north central Ohio's agricultural producers, the perception has been that crop values last year took a dive from the year before. That perception is now reality.

According to the Ohio field office of the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, the preliminary farm value of field crops produced in the state in 2014 was $5.50 billion, 15 percent lower than in 2013.

Wheat suffered the biggest drop, off 24 percent for an average of $5.55 per bushel, followed by corn, which was 22 percent lower at $3.65 per bushel. While soybeans were down just 9 percent ($10.40 per bushel), the value of oats actually shot up 93 percent over 2013, with an average price of $4.65 a bushel.

Nationwide, the declines in corn and soybean value were softer than in Ohio, at 15 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

In other statistical news, the state's dairy herds produced 474 million pounds of milk in January, up 4.4 percent from a year ago, according to Cheryl Hines, statistician for Ohio's USDA field office.

Ethanol mandate

If two U.S. senators have their way, corn ethanol will be stripped from the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Sens. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., late last week introduced the Corn Ethanol Mandate Elimination Act, in order to grow the market for other advanced biofuels.

"A significant amount of U.S. corn is currently used for fuel. If the mandate continues to expand toward full implementation, the price of corn will increase. According to the Congressional Budget Office, that would mean as much as $3.5 billion each year in increased food costs," Feinstein said.

However, the price of corn has actually dropped in recent years, from $8 a bushel to under $4 a bushel today, which has not been accompanied by a drop in food prices.

Under the RFS, corn ethanol's contribution to renewable fuels is capped at 15 billion gallons.

Deadlines extended

Farmers under the impression they missed the Feb. 28 deadline to apply for two new safety-net programs under last year's farm bill have another chance. The deadline to sign up for the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage has been extended to March 31.

Producers now have an extra month to update yield history or reallocate base acres under ARC and PLC, as well as to decide which of the plans is right for them. Covered commodities include corn, soybeans and wheat, along with several lesser-grown crops.

To examine projections on how ARC and PLC coverage will affect your operation, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc, or call your local Farm Service Agency county office.

Meanwhile, the USDA's Risk Management Agency is making available a crop insurance option for popcorn in four states, including Ohio. The Area Risk Protection Insurance plan, good for the coming growing season, operates under the assumption that popcorn yields will be low when a given county's corn crop is also depleted, and protects against bad weather and other natural phenomena.

For information on the ARPI plan, visit www.rma.usda.gov.

thill3@nncogannett.com

419-563-9225

Twitter: @ToddHillMNJ