Ep. 82 From Farm Stress to Policy Success with Ty Higgins

1.  Role and Responsibilities at Ohio Farm Bureau: 
   • Media relations and communication strategies.
   • Hosting the Ohio Farm Bureau podcast. 
   • Engaging with members and promoting the organization's mission. 
2. Importance of Unified Voice in Agriculture:
   • Collaboration with commodity groups and other organizations. 
   • The significance of consistent messaging to lawmakers and the public. 
   • Examples of successful partnerships, such as the Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative. 
3. Mental Health in Agriculture: 
   • Formation of the Ohio Agriculture Mental Health Alliance. 
   • Survey results indicating high levels of farm stress. 
   • Initiatives like the Farm Stress Certification program to train mental health professionals about agriculture. 
   • Importance of breaking the stigma around mental health and providing resources.
4. Policy Priorities for 2025:
   • Focus on the Farm Bill and its critical components. 
   • Tax provisions and the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018.
   • Trade and tariffs, especially with key partners like China, Canada, and Mexico. 
   • The need for certainty and support for farmers amidst various challenges. 
5. Resources and Engagement:
   • Encouragement for farmers to utilize resources like the weekly newsletter and American Farm Bureau's Market Intel.
   • Importance of involvement in local Farm Bureau activities, especially for young and beginning farmers. 
   • Benefits of Farm Bureau membership and the value it brings to farmers.  

 

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Transcription

Speaker 1 (00:08):Welcome to AgCredit Said it your go-to podcast for insights on farm finance and maximizing your return on investment. Join us as we talk to industry leaders, financial experts, and area farmers, bringing you skillful advice and strategies to grow your farm's financial future ag credit setting where farm finance goes beyond the balance sheet.

Libby Wixtead (00:38):Hey everybody, welcome back to AgCredit Said It. As you can hear in the background, we are live from our emerge experience and I have quite the radio professional with me today, which is Ty Higgins of Ohio ag net through Ohio Farm Bureau now.

Ty Higgins (00:54):Yeah, Ohio Farm Bureau for almost six years, believe it or not. Oh wow. Yeah, it's been great. And a live studio audience. Libby, this is a big deal. This is something

Libby Wixtead (01:04):Else. This is like my true radio debut here. So let's start off with you telling us about your role with Ohio Farm Bureau.

Ty Higgins (01:14):Yeah, so I am senior director of communications. So under my purview is anything that has to do with media relations, which has been very busy lately with everything happening in agriculture. And I always say that when my phone rings and the farmers making the news, it's only when they're not making it right. We have a lot of challenges, a lot of uncertainty, and so a lot of media types, whether that be print, radio, tv, they're all wanting to know what the farmer's going through and what the challenges and concerns are for agriculture. So I've been very, very busy here over the last couple of months for sure, but I also host the Ohio Farm Bureau podcast, so I'm taking notes on how to actually do it from you so I can get it right when I host my next podcast. So I appreciate all the advice you can give me on that.

(01:55):And then it's all about helping our members understand through our communications channels what Ohio Farm Bureau is trying to accomplish, whether that be on the policy side or just helping our farmers succeed in whatever way or shape or form they need. Right? There are so many challenges out there that we're dealing with and some of it you can do with policy. Other things though, you just have to do with education and information. And so that's where communicating is so important. We have our Ohio magazine that comes out every other month. We have a weekly e-newsletter that goes out to all of our members. And so I'm part of all that process in one way, shape or form. And like I said, been there over six years now and loving every minute of it.

Libby Wixtead (02:37):And I know I've heard Adam talk a lot, Adam Sharp, who as I'm referring to, talk a lot about those added benefits, those added values, and you are at the center of that and that, I mean, you have a wide range of things that you cover, and I mean that's a lot to keep up with.

Ty Higgins (02:52):It is, you said, and people always ask me about that because when let's say you're at a commodity organization, you're right, you're only worried about that commodity farm bureau. You're encompassing everything that comes with the challenges and opportunities. I like to use the word opportunities more than challenges that we find in agriculture. So yeah, it does. It runs the gamut. When media calls, I have to know a little bit about everything instead of a lot about something. So that is something that I constantly work on, constantly take notes, constantly figure out exactly what the position of Ohio Farm Bureau is so I can convey the message on behalf of the organization. When I talk to media, it's not from Ty Higgins,

Ty Higgins (03:33): It Is me on behalf of Ohio Farm Bureau. I want to make sure I get that right, just not for my organization, but for all the members within our organization as well.

Libby Wixtead (03:40):Absolutely. It's having that voice of Farm Bureau and just knowing what that voice is. And that kind of ties into for our listeners of what Stacy McCracken and I talked about in our latest episode of branding, and that is exactly what Ty is talking about now, is actually branding your farm, the branding of Ohio Farm real, and that is very, very important when you're talking out into the public because you guys, that is what you guys are doing in representing Ohio farmers,

Ty Higgins (04:09):All right there in our mission statement, right? Working together with Ohio farmers to strengthen agriculture in our communities. That is what we do every single day. I wake up in the morning and those words are in my head because that is our mission from our members. We're a grassroots organization. Everything we do every day comes from our membership. So as much as we set the brands, as far as I heard you and Stacy talking about logos, we of course have our new, I shouldn't say new, it's been around five years now. Our rosette logo that we came out with when we turned 100. We have of course taglines that we use every single year, but that strength in membership is really something that we want to drive home with those that work with us as members and those that should be members.

Libby Wixtead (04:53):So with that, working with those members and non-members, how does your role allow you to connect with people in the agricultural industry in a little more detail than what we've already talked about?

Ty Higgins (05:03):It's the best part of my job is traveling the state, doing things like this. I mean, as much as these are your members, a lot of 'em are our members as well. Yes, absolute. So I'm making a lot of great connections, seeing a lot of old friends. In fact, we're getting ready to take a trip to DC next week, and I've already talked to a handful of people here that are going to be in the nation's capital with me. And as you know, even though we're less than 2% of the population, it certainly is a small world in agriculture, but what a great community to be a part of. Absolutely. I get to go to all the County Farm Bureau meetings that and either speak or just listen to our members and what's affecting them on a local level. So it is absolutely one of the best parts of my job is getting to events like this and being able to meet face to face with those people that we represent on a daily basis.

Libby Wixtead (05:48):And you guys are everywhere.

Ty Higgins (05:50):Everywhere. Yeah, we try. We are very, very good at representing Ohio agriculture in a myriad of ways, and that's something that we take a lot of pride in. The one thing I like to talk about when it comes to agriculture in Ohio is just how diverse we are. Of course, we've got corn and soybean farmers in here and cattle and hog farmers as well. But you get down to what we do. We grow pickles, we grow apples, we grow peaches. There are so many different things that we grow in Ohio from A to Z and Farm Bureau represents every single one of those farmers, whether you're a member or not, Ohio Farm Bureau has your back and we're going to be there for agriculture and we can talk about this a little bit later on in the podcast, but there's a lot going on right now.

(06:38):There is. And so for some it might have your head spinning and farmers are trying to plan out what to do for spring, right? They're getting the planters out, they're starting to do some testing. The seeds in the shop, they're getting ready to go, they're anxious and they're excited. They don't have a whole lot of time to think about everything else that might be impacting their bottom line. Farm Bureau does. And that's what we really focus on is being where our members can't be and being their voice When they have other really important things to do on the farm, we're able to do other things on their behalf to help them succeed and carry on for generations to come.

Libby Wixtead (07:14):Yeah, absolutely. I mean, there is so much that's going on and right now they're focused on planting and with the tariffs going in place and retaliation coming, there is so much, and like you said, their heads could be spending a lot right now. So with that, why do you think it's important to work to bring the commodity groups and other organizations together, especially with all of this craziness that's going on?

Ty Higgins (07:39):Well, I'll say first of all that what we enjoy here in Ohio with the relationships we have with our commodity partners doesn't happen in every state. I can tell you firsthand that some organizations, some commodity groups in other parts of the country simply don't have the relationship that we have. We call ourselves CRT, the commodity round table, so farm bureau, corn, wheat, soybean, beef, pork, dairy, the whole barnyard.

(08:06):We meet a couple of times a month to make sure that we're taking care of each other's needs, that we're on the same page with the same messaging. That's the most important part when you're trying to get policy and you're trying to get laws and you're trying to make your point is that if a lawmaker hears something from Ohio Farm Bureau one day and they hear it from Ohio Corn and wheat the next and Ohio Cattlemen's, the day after that, boy does that resonate. And they're starting to realize this really is an issue that I need to start paying attention to. I've heard it from this group, this group, this group, that strength that we have within our commodity groups and Farm Bureau Ag Credit Farm credit, all these partners, and not just on policy. If you look at what we've done on water quality, we had the Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative.

(08:49):These are all the commodity groups, but then we brought in the Nature Conservancy, the Ohio Environmental Council, those relationships that never happened before 2019 when we formed OACI only happened because of the strength of Ohio agriculture to bring those other groups in to talk about what farmers can do through H two Ohio to strengthen our water quality across the state. And it's working. If you look at what H two Ohio has been able to do, thousands of farmers, millions of acres, and now the program is statewide. I mean, you can't argue with its success and the buy-in that farmers have of H two Ohio. On top of that, when you see the results of the farmers work, we're seeing lower levels of dissolved reactive phosphorus feeding into the Western Lake area basin. What we're doing is working and it's because of strong partnerships within our commodities and beyond, and that's something that Ohio Farm Bureau has been very, very good at for a long, long time.

Libby Wixtead (09:44):And I have seen that partnership with the different commodity groups just from some of the conferences that I've gone to Ohio Pork talked about, and I was going to bring up water quality because they brought up water quality, especially with all of the pig farms, wine farms in northwest Ohio that are getting attacked. And then Adam Sharp came out, actually came up to Marmion to our county to speak, and he had the same message. And I'm like, wow, this is so exciting and this is so important that we are having that same message put out there on behalf of all the farmers in northwest Ohio. And Marion kind of falls into that northwest. We are northwest or we're not northwest when it

Ty Higgins (10:28):Depends on the day,

Libby Wixtead (10:28):Right. But it is just so important to have that same message going out there and to have everybody come together. And I know you probably would agree with me with saying this, the agricultural world is such a small community when you really look at it and there is so many key people and having the same messages going to those lawmakers and saying the same thing, it is just so powerful.

Ty Higgins (10:53):It is. And that's what makes Ohio agriculture, in my opinion, one of the best communities across the country. It's that unified voice. And it doesn't matter if it was the drought of 2024, what we're seeing with bird flu in western Ohio, we never feel like we were alone on an island. When we have challenges like this and if we bring in everybody to the table to work on these challenges, you get to solutions a whole lot faster. And that's something that we've been able to do for challenges now for over a hundred years here in Ohio.

Libby Wixtead (11:28):Yeah, and I am so proud to say that I am part of Ohio agriculture just because of hearing the other commodity groups talk about how other states do. Ohio really is leading the United States agriculture and just looking at the other states and how they're looking at us for certain things, I mean, that is so exciting to me of what we are doing here and how progressive our farmers and how they're willing to work together and just further our agricultural industry within the United States.

Ty Higgins (12:00):Think about it. We're all membership organizations. We should be fighting for membership, right? Yes. You shouldn't be an Ohio Farm Bureau member, you should be an Ohio Corn and Wheat member and vice versa. We don't think that

Libby Wixtead (12:09):Way. No.

Ty Higgins (12:10):And there are other states that do, and that's where what we're seeing with the division in other parts of the country, we simply don't see in Ohio. It's not about membership numbers. The membership happens because they see you working together. They want to be members of Ohio Farm Bureau and of Ohio's soybean, right? Because they see that partnership. And that's why we take the angle that we do now, but it makes us stronger in so many other ways as well.

Libby Wixtead (12:35):Yes. So we are going to completely switch directions here since we have Ty with us. Ty is part of the mental health and alliance, and so let's talk about that and I guess what you are with through Ohio Farm Bureau.

Ty Higgins (12:54):Okay. So yeah, so

Libby Wixtead (12:56):Let's talk about that first.

Ty Higgins (12:57):It all goes back to that partnership conversation, right? Because this alliance includes commodity groups, includes Ag Credit, includes the Ohio State University, but also includes some government agencies like the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. And here's why. So 2019, we had one of the wettest springs on record. We didn't plant a million and a half acres of corn and soybeans in northwest Ohio, and we understood, and we could hear that the tone in rural Ohio wasn't where it used to be, right? The questions we were getting, the concerns and the consternation that we heard when people were calling asking us about programs they could get into, help them through these challenges. And we realized that we needed to do something about farm stress. So it all started with Ohio Farm Bureau, the Ohio Department of Agriculture and Ohio State, and we got together and we put together some resources and put it on a website, and we called it the Got Your Back Campaign.

(13:55):It's 2019, 2020, but we didn't really know what to do with that information at the time. Stigma about mental health, even though it's still out there now, was certainly stronger five years ago. I think we made a lot of great strides in this area, but we knew about the challenges and the nuances of agriculture. We knew what farmers were going through, but we really didn't know how to talk about it. We didn't know how to market the fact that there are resources out there and how to get farmers to actually take advantage of those resources. And that's why we brought in the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services that work in this space every single day. They bring that expertise that we don't have and we bring the information that they simply don't know about agriculture. And so the Ohio Agriculture Mental Health Alliance was formed, and one of the first things we wanted to do was find out where in Ohio we are, just give us a baseline of farm stress and mental health.

(14:51):And Sarah Nagel talked about this back in November here on this podcast, and we got the results, and there are some really surprising numbers and some not so surprising numbers. The one that stuck out to me is that close to half, about 44% of farmers surveyed said in the last 12 months, they felt like they needed some type of mental health service, almost half of farmers survey. It's a huge number. So we realized then that we need to do more with these resources. We also found out, and Sarah mentioned this as well, so I'm sorry if you're hearing this for the second time, but I'll tell you eight times, 10 times just to get this message across, is that farmers didn't think that the person sitting across from the table when they went to a mental health professional wouldn't understand what they were going through.

(15:35):Not very many of us are involved in agriculture. We don't understand that some family matters might give us some farm stress or maybe the farm won't make it to the next generation, or corn hit the same level it did in 1974 as we saw back in 2024. People may not understand why that would be so stressful to a farmer if they're not involved in agriculture. So because of this survey, Ohio State has started the Farm Stress Certification program to where they're going out to mental health professionals all across rural Ohio and training them about agriculture. So those farmers, when they go to seek that help, the person on the other side of the table is going to understand what they're going through and be able to have a more meaningful conversation. That's a great first step. Now we have a long way to go.

Ty Higgins (16:18): We Have a lot more to do with the information and the data that we have through this survey, but we're getting there and we're getting the resources out. And really, Libby, what we're doing more than anything is that we are breaking down that big brick wall of stigma. Every time you and I have a conversation like this, we take a sledgehammer to that wall. And it used to be back in 21, 22 when I first started talking about this in public, that when I brought up mental health or farm stress, farmers would just put their heads down and they wouldn't want to listen to it in a room full of farmers that all their heads would just go down.

Libby Wixtead (16:51):That should tell you something though.

Ty Higgins (16:53):Absolutely. But now when I speak about it, everybody listens. They understand that we're in a situation that we haven't been in in a long time. I grew up on a dairy farm in the eighties with the farm crisis. I know what farm stress looks like. I've never seen farm stress like what we saw in 24 and what we're seeing today, right? Stress levels are as high as they've ever been. We need to make sure that farmers understand that there are resources out there to help them and anonymous, confidential, a ton of things out there for them to do in order to find the help that they need, even if it's just someone to vent to get your frustrations out. I call it commiserating with other people and understand they're not going through this alone. They're not alone in this. There are tons of other people that are going through something very similar to what they're going through and the moment they realize they're not alone, I think that is a huge asset to getting them on the right path of finding a better place.

Libby Wixtead (17:54):And with what we do and our job as lenders and loan officers, we see this a lot. And I will admit that this going through this past December, this January, this February here, I have had a farmer on the phone in my office crying because he just didn't know how he was going to make ends meet and had some other family matters going on at the same time. But as lenders, we wear so many different hats, and that's where we have been trained. We have gone through the mental health training to pick up on that and get individuals hooked up with the resources that they need. But that's something for our listeners to understand that there are a lot of your professionals that you work with that are, I always call it in your board of directors. There you go. When you have your board of directors out there and those professionals, they know and have been trained and your mental health to recognize those signs.

(19:00):And so we are there and we are legally bound too. If you make comments to us in our office and things like that, we have to get you help. We have to get you resources, and so we care about you. I think that's just the message that I think I would want to get out as a lender here is we care about each and every one of you, and we want you guys to be mentally healthy. And that is so important to all of us because we all want to be successful. We care so deeply about you guys, and we will help you as much as we can, and we see that financial stress and we understand where that financial stress is coming from, but we want you to be there mentally, and that is the most important thing above all that we care about.

Ty Higgins (19:47):When I talk about this topic, it used to be when I first started talking about it, I thought I was talking directly to farmers that were already struggling. But the more I talked about it, the more I realized that it's just important for you and I to get the message about this. I don't think I've ever heard a success story as far as farm stress and mental health that didn't start with someone else asking the farmer, are you okay? A farmer is not going to just turn themselves in, so to speak and say, I need help. It's going to take someone outside of their day-to-day life, someone like you, someone like me that works with them and might see something awry to ask them, are you okay?

Libby Wixtead (20:26):Just simply that.

Ty Higgins (20:27):That's it.

Libby Wixtead (20:28):That's

Ty Higgins (20:28):It. And I've heard so many great stories. And then when I give out the resources, the last resource that I give out is my phone number. That's how important this is to me. And farmers have called me and I've had some really tough conversations, and you hang up that phone and you hope, God, I hope I got that right.

Libby Wixtead (20:44):Right? Right. Yes.

Ty Higgins (20:44):But you can't get it wrong if you just them the time and your ear, that's all they want is to just talk. Earlier this week, a farmer called me and he goes, I just need to tell you what I'm going through. You don't have to say anything back to me, Ty. I just want to tell you what today was like. And he just told me what today was like. And I often tell the joke that when a farmer calls me, that might be their lowest point, right? When they're like, I have to call Ty. I'm not having a good day. But what I like to think is that when they reach their lowest point and they call someone, me or anyone every day after, that's going to get easier and better because they're going to start realizing that their value is so much more than dollars and bushels and acres, and that what they are as a mom or a dad or a grandparent or a son or daughter is so much more valuable than what they are as a

Libby Wixtead (21:35):Farmer. Absolutely.

Ty Higgins (21:36):As soon as they realize that their mindset can change and the family gets involved. And another thing that I often talk about is how important young people are to this conversation. They weren't as stigmatized to farm stress and mental health as the older generation in school. They had open conversations about mental health.

Ty Higgins (21:58):They're used to it. So when these kids go home to from college over summer break or spring break or winter break, and they see grandpa maybe acting a little different, they're not afraid to say, grandpa, what's going on? And start that. These young people are so important to this to break down that stigma within family dynamics. And so encourage, you mentioned farm stress, mental health, first Aid. Everybody at Farm Bureau has been trained up on that as well. Maybe you're not struggling at all with farm stress and you're hearing this conversation, think this doesn't relate to you. Well, guess what? It does because you need to be aware when someone else is struggling, and that's what the first aid does. And Ohio State does this for free through grant funding. And so if you're a head of an organization or just someone that thinks you would benefit from it, I would highly encourage you to Google Ohio State Farm Stress First Aid training and get yourself trained. It is about a five, six hour course, but it'll get you prepared for some really, really tough conversations that if you're involved in agriculture, you're more than likely have it one way, shape or form.

Libby Wixtead (22:59):Yeah. And it is just very simple, just farmer to farmer just to understand. And like you said, maybe they just need to tell somebody who's not related to them.

(23:09):So having that training and just being able to have them be able, like you said, just vent and just talk to somebody who has nothing to do with their operation, that they can just get that off their chest and like you said, every day then gets easier and easier for them. And if you have little kids at home, don't think that that farm stress doesn't affect them because it absolutely does. Your little kids will pick up on it quicker than you think they will. And one thing I want to say with Ty, just saying, listen, I've been talking with my kids of God gave you two ears and one mouth. Use your ears for listening first before you speak. And just being that listening ear and just being that friend is just very, very, very awesome. We're going to switch even more different here since we have Ty, we've had such great conversation here. What you guys are doing on the communication side, the mental health side, which I feel like we could talk for hours on, which is absolutely important. I do not want to downgrade that whatsoever, but let's talk about policy here and what Farm Bureau is prioritizing in 2025.

Ty Higgins (24:20):Well, funny you should ask. I'm getting ready to go to DC next week and we're going to be there for three days, and if I can't shake 'em all loose and get everything figured out in three days, I'm going to be really disappointed in myself. I'm completely joking on that. We have a lot of things going on in Washington, as you know. Farm Bill is first and foremost as we talk with lawmakers, and what's important about our trip to DC that we do every year with county presidents is that we just had an election and now over half of the people in Congress have never worked on a farm bill. We haven't had a farm bill since 2018. Some people in Congress don't even know we have a farm bill. Oh my gosh. That's sad. It is. It's scary. We have education to do. We have a lot of outreach, and that's what we do at Farm Bureau with our members of Congress in Washington about the Farm Bill.

(25:09):We need to let them know that the safety net program needs to remain in place, that crop insurance is so important and that conservation programs need to continue on in the Farm Bill, but we've been kicking this can down the road too long. Absolutely. We extended it in 23, we extended it in 24. It expires at the end of September this year. Think about everything that we've gone through since 2018, right? I mentioned the wettest spring on record in 19. We all know what happened in 2020. We have global unrest in different parts of the world. Our commodity prices have gone through the roof. Our input prices have gone. I wish it was the other way around. Our input prices have gone through the roof. Our commodity prices have not matched up with that tone and the need for a new modernized farm bill has never been more important than it is right now. We cannot continue to keep kicking the can down the road with the Farm Bill. What we will be talking about also is tax provisions. The tax cuts and Jobs Act of 2018 sunset at the end of this year that would be detrimental to farm families as far as the state taxes are concerned. So we need to make sure we get that. You mentioned tariffs.

(26:23):20% of the farmer's income comes from things that we export. One fifth of our bottom line in agriculture comes from what we export and the three countries we're talking about, China, Canada, and Mexico are our three biggest trading partners for every single commodity that we grow and raise in.

Libby Wixtead (26:43):How important is

Ty Higgins (26:44):That? How important is that? And on top of all that, we've seen a 30% decrease in net farm income over the last three years. So it's all about making sure, and we completely understand what the administration's trying to accomplish. We want more secure and solidified trading partners with our neighbors to the north and south in China. There's no doubt about that. But the farmer should not have to suffer through that process. So we need to make sure that we continue to be at the negotiating table. We now have another month of reprieve from tariffs. And our biggest concern, as much as the consumer will talk about, oh, the price of everything's going to be higher, we're worried about the retaliation of those tariffs and what that's going to mean for the price of commodities. Obviously, we don't have enough uses for our commodities here at home.

(27:39):We need the export markets and we need more than we have. We've been struggling. We actually have been net importers of goods for the first time ever in 2024. We're bringing in more than we're exporting in agriculture. That needs to change. We need to find bigger markets. We need to replace what we've lost with China over the last five years somewhere. So trade is another big conversation. We're actually going to the Mexican embassy to talk with them a little bit about some of the things we're going through through the tariffs. We have some very important people. Both of our senators will be there with us in Washington to talk about what they're dealing with and some of the things they're hearing with some of the topics we're talking about today. But no shortage of opportunities absolutely to talk with people about and really just kind of clear up all the uncertainties that we're seeing in agriculture. I don't think I've said the word uncertainty more in my career than I have over the last three months. There's so many things that farmers need to know for certain as they get into the 2025 growing season, and that's something we hope to accomplish when we talk with our lawmakers in dc.

Libby Wixtead (28:46):So I'm going to tie this back into what we talked about previously of the mental health and all of that uncertainty is just, first of all, we didn't have yields last year. We don't have prices, so the money's not there. Then on top of that, what is it going to look like to even sell my commodity that the little bit that I do have this year and just not having that farm bill in place. And there's a lot out there, and I understand why farmers are stressed even more now and not understanding should I sell now, should I wait? What are these tariffs going to do? And those are the conversations that are going on right now.

Ty Higgins (29:30):Should I change my planting strategy?

Libby Wixtead (29:32):Yes.

Ty Higgins (29:32):I mean, think about this. If you're on an equal rotation, as most farmers in Ohio are, if you're hearing about the opportunity for dwindling on the export market, are you going to switch those acres over to corn? I mean, we're already going to grow from what I hear, a glut of corn across the country this year. So I mean, there are so many things that are going to be happening here over the next couple of months that it'ss overwhelming, and I can't imagine being a farmer and trying to make those long-term decisions within a matter of weeks or maybe even days. So it's a daunting prospect, but the more we can get certainty out there to farmers as soon as possible, the better.

Libby Wixtead (30:16):How could farmers educate themselves on all the moving pieces and parts? What are some resources that Farm Bureau is putting out there that they could use just to keep up with what's going on?

Ty Higgins (30:30):Yeah, so of course I mentioned that weekly newsletter. If you're an Ohio Farm Bureau member, you get that in your inbox. If not, make sure and contact us and we'll get you signed up for that email. But we're constantly putting out policy updates. We have great partners at American Farm Bureau that constantly, and that website is fb.org. So we're talking about federal issues. That's where American Farm Bureau comes in. They have something called Market Intel. It's actually a tab on their website@fb.org, and that really gives you so many great insights into all these topics, but also how it impacts farmers directly, right? Talking about net farm income, talking about tariffs, talking about trade as a whole, the farm bill market Intel just has a plethora of great information. So that's where I would send your listeners to get the most up-to-date information and really get that next level, not that top level, but really dig in a little bit deeper as to how it impacts what happens in Washington. What happens on the other side of the globe impacts you directly right there on your farm.

Libby Wixtead (31:27):Okay, so how can farmers who, maybe they're a new first generation farmer and they have not heard about Farm Bureau, which is hard to believe, but how can they get involved at their county level since you guys are such a grassroots organization,

Ty Higgins (31:44):Especially if you're a newer beginning farmer and you're in that 18 to 35 year category year old category? We have our Young Ag Professionals program all across the state. So I would highly recommend that you contact your County Farm Bureau, ask about their YAP program that will give you not just the networking opportunities that you'll have with other people, other peers your age, but it also gives you a chance to maybe learn about leadership, learn about what it's going to take to be the next generation of a Farm Bureau board member or a county board member or a leader in whatever part of the industry you want to be in. So I would highly recommend that younger people take advantage of that program, but anyone that's listening right now that's not a Farm Bureau member, if you just think about everything we've talked about today and then look at what Farm Bureau has done.

(32:35):Our work is easily seen through everything that you'll find@ohiofarmbureau.org. You'll see the value that comes with our policy development that comes with our business solutions. There are so many things that we offer beyond what we do in Columbus and Washington that would make those membership dues seem really, really, I guess, easy to swallow, right? When you see the advantage of being a member and the advantage of what we bring to farmers all across the state, highly encourage you just to do your research, find out what membership brings, and then find out if it's right for you. And I think that most people listening, if they're involved in agriculture in whatever way, if you even believe in the mission of farmers in Ohio, that being an Ohio Farm Bureau member is certainly something you need to look into.

Libby Wixtead (33:26):Absolutely. There are so many added benefits. We had one of their resources here today, Leah Curtis, and she was talking about trucking laws, and you guys have a resource book for that that is free to the members, and they have had so many added benefits when Adam Sharp came up and talked to a group of farmers in Marion County. There's just so much more, and you guys keep adding those benefits year after year and is very impactful to Ohio farmers. So Ty, we thank you so much for sitting down with us for a little bit here, and we were so happy to have you here at Emerge. So thank you. Thank you for jumping on the podcast with me and attending our Merge conference.

Ty Higgins (34:09):Been my pleasure. I took all the notes and now I know how to host one of these, so I really appreciate it. Thanks, Libby.

Libby Wixtead (34:14):Thank you.

Speaker 1 (34:23):Thank you for listening to Ag Credit Set. Be sure to subscribe in your favorite podcast app or join us through our website@agcredit.net so you never miss an episode.