We still have space available for our fertilizer and pesticide re-certification course. Please call our office at 419-879-9108 to get signed up for this training opportunity by March 6th. The training will begin on March 11th with fertilizer re-certification starting at 5pm. The pesticide training will start immediately afterwards at 6pm and finish at 9pm. The class will be held in the Student Services Building (old extension office) on the OSU Lima Campus.
Month: February 2020
Time to Scout for Bagworm
By Thomas deHaas OSU Extension
Ever drive by a tree and say to yourself, something doesn’t look right.
Many Blue Spruce, Picea pungens ‘Glauca’, are showing infestations of bagworm. Bagworms tend to blend in with other parts of the tree. Continue reading Time to Scout for Bagworm
Make Safety Your First Priority When Emptying Grain Bins
By Charles Schwab & Dirk Maier, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
Following the wet and late harvest of 2019, several Midwest states are on the edge of a dangerous cliff when it comes to emptying their grain bins. Conditions are aligning to create the potential for tragic accidents and grain suffocation deaths to occur when grain bins start to be emptied.
It is common knowledge that quality harvested grain placed in storage, coupled with a best management practice of caring for grain, yields quality grain leaving storage for market. Inversely, either poor quality grain being placed in storage or poor management practices for caring for grain leads to spoiled grain leaving storage.
Getting spoiled grain out of storage always poses an increased safety risk for entrapment and suffocation to a farm operator and worker. There are years of documentation that illustrate the direct connection from spoiled grain leaving storage to a tragic grain entrapment and the resulting fatality. Continue reading Make Safety Your First Priority When Emptying Grain Bins
Managing Stored Grain
By: Jason Hartschuh, OSU Extension
Managing stored grain throughout the winter is an important part of your grain marketing plan for farm profitability. This winter we are already receiving reports of stored grain going out of condition, which can lower the value and be a hazard to those working around the grain facility. At a minimum, stored grain that has gone out of condition can cause health hazards, especially when grain dust contains mold and bacteria. Out of condition grain can also form a crust or stick to the bin walls and if someone enters the bin for any reason an entrapment could occur. For more information on safety when working around grain visit http://go.osu.edu/AFM and listen to episode 41 of the podcast on grain bin safety.
Too many of us know the scare of a close call with grain entrapment but lived to tell the story. Even if it was just in a wagon or a truck while unloading wet grain, the fear is real. Unfortunately, it does not always stop us from entering a bin without the proper safety equipment. To help raise awareness of the dangers of working around stored grain, Champaign County will be showing a screening of the movie SILO on February 6 at 6pm at the Gloria Theater in Urbana. SILO is “inspired by true events, SILO follows a harrowing day in an American farm town. Disaster strikes when teenager Cody Rose is entrapped in a 50-foot-tall grain bin. When the corn turns to quicksand, family, neighbors and first responders must put aside their differences to rescue Cody from drowning in the crop that has sustained their community for generations.” RSVP at https://silourbana.eventbrite.com.