– Christine Gelley, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Noble County OSU Extension
Poison hemlock has already emerged in a vegetative state around Noble County and beyond. Soon it will be bolting and blooming on stalks 6-10 feet tall. All parts of the plant are toxic to all classes of livestock if consumed and is prevalent along roadsides, ditches, and crop field borders. It is a biennial weed that does not flower in the first year of growth but flowers in the second year. The earlier you can address poison hemlock with mowing and/or herbicide application, the better your control methods will be.
Poison hemlock is a concern in public right of ways, on the farm, and in the landscape!
Poison hemlock is related to Queen Anne’s lace, but is much larger and taller, emerges earlier, and has purple spots on the stems. Another relative that is poisonous is wild parsnip, which looks similar to poison hemlock, but has yellow flowers. Giant hogweed is another relative of poison hemlock that is also toxic. All of these plants have umbel shaped clusters of flowers.
If you have an Ohio Pesticide or Fertilizer Applicators License it will expire on March 31, 2022. We will be holding the final opportunity for recertification in Northwest Ohio on March 24th at 5:ooPM. The event will be held in the Youth Activities Building on the Allen County Fairgrounds. The fertilizer session (Category 15) will run from 5-6pm followed by the pesticide portion (Categories 1,2,6 and Core) Please register today by calling us at (419) 879-9108 or by email at schroeder.307@osu.edu Registration cost is $10 for fertilizer recertification and $35 for pesticide recertification and includes educational materials and refreshments. The registration fee can be paid at the door with cash or check made out to OSU Extension – Allen County. This fee is separate from the Ohio Department of Agriculture license renewal fee of $30.
Many health challenges on the farm can be avoided with proper herd health management, including vaccinations, treatment, and biosecurity. On Monday, March 21st Dr. Justin Kieffer, Clinical Veterinarian for the Department of Animal Sciences at OSU will be providing a Beef Herd Health Management update. Starting at 6:00 p.m. Dr. Kieffer will discuss vaccination protocols for both cows and calves, and how to best implement a vaccination program. Also, some emerging herd health issues including pink eye, anaplasmosis, and antimicrobial use will also be covered. If you have questions regarding cattle health, bring them with you to ask Dr. Kieffer after his presentation.
As a county SWCD office we acknowledged the need to help our area farmers and decided to apply for a $250,000 GLRI Grant through the state of Ohio. This grant is focused on reducing nonpoint source nutrient runoff from agricultural source reduction component for subsurface injection of manure and promotion of nutrient management. Our proposed work goal is to reduce nutrient loading to the Auglaize River basin and the Western Lake Erie Basin, specifically, dissolved reactive phosphorus. With this GLRI Grant we will be able to help provide area farmers with equipment to pump out their own manure.