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Properly Winterizing Sprayers

By Erdal Ozkan Ohio State Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering

This is a busy time of year for many farmers, but taking time to winterize your sprayer now can payoff in avoiding problems next spring.  Without proper winterizing before the temperature falls below freezing, you could end up with a pump that is cracked and/or not working at its full capacity.  Here are some important things you need to do with your sprayer this time of the year.

Rinsing

Make sure to rinse the whole sprayer thoroughly before storing. Rinsing the sprayer thoroughly after each use reduces likelihood of cross-contamination of products applied next spring. Insufficient rinsing may also result in clogged nozzles. Once the nozzles are clogged, it is extremely difficult to bring them back to their normal operating conditions. Leaving chemical residues in nozzles will usually lead to changes in their flow rates, as well as in their spray patterns resulting in uneven distribution of chemicals on the target.

Depending on the tank, proper rinsing of the interior of the tank can be challenging.  Rinsing is easy if the tank is relatively new and equipped with special rinsing nozzles and mechanisms inside the tank. If this is not the case, manual rinsing of the tank interior is more difficult, and poses some safety problems such as inhaling fumes of leftover chemicals during the rinsing process. To avoid these problems, either replace the tank with one that has the interior rinse nozzles, or install an interior tank rinse system in your existing tank. Continue reading Properly Winterizing Sprayers →

2019 Forage Quality Concerns

By Ted Wiseman and Dean Kreager OSU Extension Educators

Much of Ohio’s 2019 first cutting grass hay was beyond optimum maturity when it was harvested. Laboratory analysis indicates little if any first cutting has adequate quality to meet the nutritional needs of bred cows in late gestation or lactation.

You may be thinking enough already with the hay quality talk. Many articles have been sent out on this topic starting before some people even baled their first cutting. Last year a lot of the hay was very poor quality and many animals lost significant weight through the winter. Some animals even died with hay in front of them because the hay did not have enough nutritional value. Hay quality affects all types of livestock but I will concentrate on beef cows since they are less likely to receive supplemental feed than most other animals. Continue reading 2019 Forage Quality Concerns →

Soybean Cyst Nematode Sampling

By:  Stephanie Karhoff OSU Extension

A female soybean cyst nematode, stained with a bright pink stain, has set up her feeding site within the soybean root. Her body will fill with eggs and become a bright white cyst visible on the soybean root.

A female soybean cyst nematode, stained with a bright pink stain, has set up her feeding site within the soybean root. Her body will fill with eggs and become a bright white cyst visible on the soybean root. Photo: OSU Extension.

Soybean cyst nematode (SCN), Heterodera glycines, is a small roundworm that parasitizes soybean roots, stealing vital nutrients from the plant. Even if you are not seeing above-ground symptoms, SCN is likely still reducing your yield. To make matters worse, certain SCN populations are now becoming “resistant to the resistance.”  In other words, a portion of the nematodes now have the capability of feeding and reproducing on soybean varieties previously thought to be resistant. The main reason for this, is that more than 95% of all SCN-resistant varieties for the past two decades included resistance gene(s) from the same breeding line, Plant Introduction (PI) 88788. Just like herbicide-resistant weeds, relying on the same SCN resistance source for the past 20 years has led to SCN populations adapting to, and overpowering the resistance. Continue reading Soybean Cyst Nematode Sampling →

Assessing the 2019 Production Year

The 2019 production year has presented many challenges. Ohio State University Extension wants to be responsive to needs of the agricultural community. At short survey aimed at farmers to identify both short- and long-term outreach and research needs of Ohio crop and livestock/forage producers based on the 2019 farm crisis year has been developed. Questions relate to crop production, livestock forage needs, emergency forage success, economic and human stress concerns. Since challenges and concerns varied across the state, this survey is designed to assess needs on a county, regional and statewide basis. The study will be used to determine Extension programming and future research needs.

Please consider sharing your experiences at  https://go.osu.edu/ag2019.

Ohio Certified Crop Adviser Pre-Exam Training Seminar

The Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) Exam Training program, sponsored and delivered by the OSU Agronomic Crops Team, will be offered at the Shelby County Ag Building, 810-820 Fair Rd, Sidney, Ohio 45365 on January 8th and 9th beginning at 9:00 a.m. on the 8th and adjourn by 5:00 p.m. on the 9th. This is an intensive two-day workshop somewhat directed toward the local exam – to be used as a reminder on what best to study in preparation for the CCA exams. Exams will be given in 2020 on February 7th and August 7th. Register for the exams at least six weeks before the exam date: https://www.certifiedcropadviser.org/exams. The exams are not given during the preparation class. Continue reading Ohio Certified Crop Adviser Pre-Exam Training Seminar →

Fall weed control reminders on late and prevent plant acres

By Erin Burns Michigan State University Extension

Horseweed shown in a soybean field. Photo by Erin Burns, MSU

In general, 2019 was a difficult year for weed control with the large number of acres that were planted late or not at all leading to higher weed populations and extensive weed seed production in some fields. Below are reminders for fall weed control that will set the stage for successful spring 2020 weed control given the drastic increase in weed seedbank populations from 2019.

Fall herbicide applications

Seeds of many winter annual weeds for example horseweed (marestail) lack dormancy and can germinate immediately after dropping from the plant this fall. Given the above average horseweed populations across the state, this will lead to an immediate increase in fall emerging weeds. During optimal years, fall burndown herbicide applications should be made by mid-October before the first hard freeze and daytime air temperatures are at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Actively growing weeds are the key to consistent control.

Due to spring conditions, many corn and soybean harvests are late this year. Herbicides can be applied at daytime temperatures ranging from 40-60 F, but weeds may be killed slower at these cooler temperatures. For example at cooler temperatures absorption and translocation of herbicides such as glyphosate and 2,4-D are lower compared with applications at warmer temperatures therefore these applications take longer to kill the plant. When temperatures are below 40 F for a prolonged period after herbicide application, weed control will be reduced. If a hard freeze has occurred, evaluate the condition of the weeds in your field prior to herbicide application. Frost may cause leaf damage (water-soaked leaves that turn black and die) and reduced herbicide absorption. Some winter annual weeds may tolerate a frost and herbicide applications can be made after active weed growth has resumed (appearance of new green leaves), usually after multiple days with nighttime temperatures above 35°F followed by 50 F or above daytime temperatures.

Results from Michigan State University Extension weed scientist Christy Sprague’s research in no-till soybeans found that fall applications of 2,4-D, dicamba, or Sharpen will control fall emerged horseweed and are cost-effective. Tank-mixtures with glyphosate are needed to control other winter annual and perennial weeds outside of horseweed (many populations throughout the state are resistant to glyphosate). For detailed information on controlling horseweed season long see the fact sheet “Herbicide-resistant horseweed (marestail) in Michigan: keys to management in no-till soybean” by Sprague.

Continue reading Fall weed control reminders on late and prevent plant acres →

Ohio CAUV Values Projected to Decline Through 2020

By OSU AEDE department

The Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV) program allows farmland devoted exclusively to commercial agriculture to be taxed based on their value in agriculture, rather than the full market value, resulting in a substantially lower tax bill for the farmer.

The formula for CAUV values incorporates agricultural factors (soil types, yields, prices, and non-land costs for corn, soybeans, and wheat) to calculate the capitalized net returns to farming land based on the previous 5 to 10 years. CAUV underwent large-scale changes to its calculation in 2017 that was targeted to reduce the property tax burden of farmland.

A new report, Ohio CAUV Values Projected to Decline Through 2020, shows the projection of CAUV values though 2020. According to the study authors, OSU agricultural economists Robert Dinterman and Ani Katchova forecast a decrease in the assessed value of agricultural land to an average CAUV value of approximately $600 in 2020.

Access the full report at:

https://aede.osu.edu/sites/aede/files/publication_files/CAUVProjectionsFall2019.pdf

Ohio’s Proposed Hemp Rules Released

By Peggy Kirk Hall and Ellen Essman OSU Extension Ag Law

Ohio’s newly created hemp program is one step further toward getting off the ground.   On October 9, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) released its anxiously awaited proposal of the rules that will regulate hemp production in Ohio.   ODA seeks public comments on the proposed regulations until October 30, 2019.

There are two parts to the rules package:  one rule for hemp cultivation and another for hemp processing.   Here’s an overview of the components of each rule:

1.  Hemp cultivation

The first rule addresses the “cultivation” of hemp, which means “to plant, water, grow, fertilize, till or havest a plant or crop.”  Cultivating also includes “possessing or storing a plant or crop on a premises whre the plant was cultivated until transported to the first point of sale.”  The proposal lays out the following regulatory process for those who wish to cultivate hemp in Ohio. Continue reading Ohio’s Proposed Hemp Rules Released →

Insects On The Move

By: Joe Boggs OSU Extension

Our drop in temperatures throughout Ohio will no doubt convince fall home invading insects that it’s time to seek winter quarters. These unwelcomed guests typically include Boxelder Bugs (Boisea trivittatus); Western Conifer Seed Bugs (Leptoglossus occidentalis); Magnolia Seed Bugs (Leptoglossus fulvicornis); Multicolored Asian Lady Beetles (Harmonia axyridis); and the most notorious of all, Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs (Halyomorpha halys).

These home invaders have several things in common. First, their populations may vary considerably even across relatively short distances. Some homes may be inundated while those located just a few miles away remain free of insect marauders.

Even more challenging, late-season outdoor populations are not always a reliable predictor of indoor excursions. Just because you didn’t see them in September doesn’t mean you won’t see them sitting next to you on your sofa in November.

A Series of Unfortunate Events
The second thing these home invaders have in common is their “cold-blooded” physiology meaning the speed of their metabolism is mostly governed by ambient temperature; the higher the temperature, the faster their metabolism, and the faster they “burn” fat. Yes, insects have fat, but it’s confined by their hard exoskeletons so they don’t suffer ever-expanding waistlines.

These insects feed voraciously in late summer to accumulate fat. They then seek sheltered locations in the fall where cool temperatures slow their metabolism during the winter so they will not exhaust their stored fat reserves. This survival strategy keeps them alive since there is nothing for them to eat throughout the winter.

Continue reading Insects On The Move →

Allen County Weed Survey

By Clint Schroeder OSU Extension

Each fall Ohio State University Extension conducts a survey of the different types of weeds present in soybean fields, as well as, the level of infestation. Weed Science State Specialist Dr. Mark Loux leads this study and uses the information gained to help develop future weed management programs. This study is conducted in each county where there is an Ag and Natural Resources Educator. The educator selects a route 80-100 miles long through the county and takes notes on one soybean field in each mile.

Allen County 2019 Weed Survey Results

Continue reading Allen County Weed Survey →