Good Evening,
Now that the wheat is harvested and the straw is baled, it is time to turn our attention to the upcoming field days and events in August. There are many Extension events planned for this coming month, so be sure to select one that interests you and make the trip. If you are staying at home and plan to work in the heat, be sure to read the article submitted by Hancock County OSU Extension Educator Ed Lentz. We often are aware of how dangerous the equipment, livestock, and chemicals can be in agriculture but overlook the environmental conditions.
I would like to draw your attention to the opportunity to host an exchange student. I have worked with Hardin County’s own Pam Shirk-Hamilton in the past as an agricultural education teacher as we placed two outstanding students in our local FFA chapter. One student from Serbia and another from Ukraine became a part of our community and it turned out to be a great experience for all. See the article below if you are willing to think about hosting a student or are just curious how the process works.
This week we completed the soybean leaf sampling and first round of scouting in the fields that are a part of the statewide Soybean Yield-Limiting Factor study here in the county. It seemed like the hottest three days of the summer, but we survived with plenty of water and sun blocker. See the related article about soybean diseases that are starting to occur due to the wet conditions. Then, be sure to check your fields and inputs to help decide whether spraying should be done or whether you might consider selecting varieties next season that are more resistant.
Have a good weekend.
Mark
Agricultural Host Families Needed for World Link – World Link is an international exchange student program with headquarters in Iowa. Pam Shirk-Hamilton from the Kenton area is a placement coordinator for these students. High school students are placed with farm families for a year-long, semester, or even temporary placement in order to get them into the United States until a permanent host family is located. It is recommended that the student is placed in a local school system and enrolled in agricultural education and FFA. These are high quality students and individuals who are here on U.S. Department of State scholarships. While in our country, they must maintain a ‘B’ average, do presentations about their home country, and be involved in community service and leadership activities.
World Link asks that they be brought into the family as a ‘member of the family.’ The host family is responsible to make sure that the student has three meals a day, a bed to sleep in, and be involved with that family’s daily life. The students will have spending money and will foster lasting friendships with people in our country as the host family develops friendships with the student’s family. Currently there is a Ukrainian girl back in the area to visit with her host family who would be available to talk to groups about the World Link program and what the experience is like. If you are interested, contact Pam Shirk-Hamilton at pamelaahamilton@yahoo.com. More information about the World Link program can be found at http://worldlinkinc.org.
Double Cropping Soybeans – Each year when wheat is being harvested, the question comes up about whether or not it is a good idea to double crop soybeans into wheat acres. This year the delayed harvest helped several producers answer this question, but the thought is often considered as a possibility with cash bids over $12.00 per bushel. Things to consider when making this decision are soil moisture and rainfall, relative maturity of the soybeans, row spacing and seeding rate, and a weed control plan. See the attached article from Dr. Laura Lindsey, Ohio State Soybean specialist offers suggestions.
Western Ohio Manure Application Technology Field Day – July 31 – 1:00 – 4:00 pm & Repeated 6:00 – 9:00 pm – corner of Stelzer and Olding Roads (½ Mile East of US 127 & a Mile South of SR 274), Mercer County.
Livestock producers and others interested in learning more about manure application technology are encouraged to attend the Western Ohio Manure Application Technology Field Day. This field day is being organized by the Mercer County Extension office, the Grand Lake St Mary/Wabash River Watershed Alliance, and the Mercer County Soil & Water Conservation office. Participants will have an opportunity to see cutting-edge manure application equipment being demonstrated.
The newest manure application tool being demonstrated will be the Nutrient Boom. This tool has been developed for the application of dairy manure to standing corn. The toolbar is pulled across the field by a Cadman hose while manure is being pumped through the system. Manure can be applied multiple times during the growing season to increase silage or grain yields while making excellent use of the dairy manure nutrients. The tool could also be used to apply manure to wheat in the spring or to forages during the summer with minimal crop damage.
Several farmers in Ohio have started side-dressing corn with livestock manure using a manure tanker and incorporation toolbar. Manure tankers can be adapted for corn rows by utilizing narrow wheels and wheel spacers. At this field day corn will be side-dressed using a tanker and Dietrich toolbar.
The field day will also discuss Cover Crops as a 2nd Forage. Presenters will discuss cover crops that livestock producers can utilize that make great use of the nutrients in livestock manure and can be also harvested later in the season. While cover crops are great for soil erosion control, they can also be a good source of additional livestock feed.
The field day has been approved for Certified Crop Advisor Credits (one in nutrient management and two in soil & water) and three Certified Livestock Manager credits. There is no cost to attend the Western Ohio Manure Application Technology Field Day and preregistration is not necessary. Participants are asked to sign-in upon arrival to the site. Feel free to bring a lawn chair. For more information contact the Mercer County OSU Extension office at 419-586-2179 or the Mercer County SWCD office at 419-586-3289. A flyer can be found attached to this email.
Manure Application Field Day 7 31 2013
The Heat is On – Ed Lentz
Farm and city folks both enjoy working and being outdoors. However as we move into the middle of summer we need to be reminded that extreme hot weather can also be a major health concern. Working in extreme heat for long periods of time can increase the risk of a heat stress injury such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke. These types of injuries can occur when the body cannot regulate its temperature and can become serious medical emergencies if precautions are not taken. Individuals with pre-existing conditions, such as limited mobility, heart disease, and taking certain medications are at an even higher risk to a heat stress injury and should consult with their local health care provider before working for an extended period in extreme heat. See the attached article for tips about getting your work done safely in the heat.
Midseason soybean diseases: brown spot, frogeye leafspot, white mold, and Phytophthora – Anne Dorrance
The water has hopefully found its way off of the fields. Flooding for greater than 2 days may reduce soybean yield by as much 20% compared to 1 day flooding events on soils with higher clay content. If I do some quick math here – 20% from a field that typically produces 50bu/A soybeans – is 10 bu. Matt Roberts may have some issues with my math but this is approximately a $120 loss ($12/bu, estimated price for fall soybean). It is time to check the costs of your inputs to determine if you can put additional inputs into this crop. Fields where soybeans were submerged, covered with silt etc, will not recover, and those should be forgotten about. I think I have said this several times this year, work on the drainage issues for that field, that will be money better spent.
For those fields with less flooding, we have several issues that are “brewing”. Here is the link that has a nice set of pictures to help in the identification diseases discussed below. (There are also additional diseases to the ones listed) http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/ohiofieldcropdisease/t01_pageview3/Soybean_images.htm
1. White mold. Plants with symptoms caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, stem rot were found in NE Ohio. This is unusually early. In a previous article, several fungicides were listed. These were listed for preventative spraying at R1 growth stage. I don’t have any data on spraying fungicides once infections have developed to the point of symptoms. But we can tell you that Approach (DuPont) is not recommended for these situations. If your fields are at R2, have a susceptible variety and no symptoms, and this field is a historic white mold field, Approach may still be used. If your soybeans are at R2, symptoms are visible then one of the triazole fungicides, Domark (Valent) or Proline (Bayer), are alternative choices; we do not have any data from these situations so leave untreated strips. If you have a variety that has a good score for resistance to Sclerotinia. It is best to leave it alone, double check with your seedsman to see what they are saying about that varieties genetics.
2. Frogeye leafspot: It is time to scout. If you find frogeye lesions in the field, conditions are expected to continue to favor repeat infections. Applications should begin at R3 followed by a second application at R5. So this would be a good year to protect your crop. Again, if the variety has a good score for resistance, a fungicide is not needed.
3. Brown spot. Brown spot caused by Septoria glycines, is very prevalent in many fields this summer. But is still in the lower canopy and we have very thick canopies early this year. From previous studies, we documented that in the worst case scenario, brown caused no more than 5 bu/A and most times it was between 2 to 3 bu/A, @ the projected price of $12/bu that is only $24 to $36/Acre. Our studies showed that applications at R3 of a strobilurin were the most effective at reducing brown spot. However, the variety resistance package should keep this from moving up the plant. Going after the 2 to 3 bu will be dependent on what your input costs are for this field right now coupled with the amount of flooding injury that occurred. Visit the Enterprise worksheets on the AgManager Website to determine if this is a worthwhile decision. http://aede.osu.edu/research/osu-farm-management/enterprise-budgets . This is determining the economic threshold for this disease in this type of year.
4. Soybean Rust. We have been scouting this year due to the weather patterns – but everything is negative to date. Soybean rust was found in central Alabama and in western Mississippi, which are both a long way off, and levels are still low. From the scouting that occurred in previous years, it takes at least 3 cycles of infection at 7 to 10 days each, prior to rust being detectable.
5. Phytophthora stem rot. You can definitely tell this year where the Rps genes are not working and where the partial resistance levels are too low for Ohio conditions. The fields have a choppy appearance with holes randomly spaced in the field. And the plants will keep dying now throughout the summer, especially if we hit a dry spell. Go back and look at the seed catalogues and see what you bought for resistance to this disease – make a note to buy something with more resistance in the future.
Northwest Ohio Precision Ag Technology Day – August 6 – Fulton County – 8:15 am to 3:30 pm- Fairgrounds in Wauseon
This year the event will focus on precision planter technology and will feature discussions and demonstrations from leading equipment, seed and technology professionals. In morning sessions, producers will hear from Peter Thomison (OSUE), Jeff Taylor (DuPont Pioneer), Scott Shearer (OSU Ag Engineering), and Greg LaBarge (OSUE) and in the afternoon, Case IH, Horsch, John Deere and Kinze planters will provide live demonstrations. The event is free to the public but registration to richer.5@osu.edu or 419-337-9210 is needed for accurate lunch count. Go to http://fulton.osu.edu/top-stories/precision-ag-technology-day-to-be-held-by-osu-extension for further information about this Precision Ag Technology Day.
Northern Ohio Tomato Field Night – August 6 – 6:00-8:00 pm – North Central Agricultural Research Station – 1165 County Road 43, Fremont, OH 43420
The program for the evening will be:
-What’s new in tomato disease control
-Insect pests in tomatoes and how to control them
-Controlling tough weeds in tomatoes
-Herbicide repercussions
-What’s new in tomato breeding
-Value added markets
The Speakers for the evening will be:
-Doug Doohan, Horticulture and Crop Science, OARDC and OSU Extension
-David Francis, Horticulture and Crop Science, OARDC
-Sally Miller, Plant Pathology, OARDC and OSU Extension
-Celeste Welty, Entomology, OARDC and OSU Extension
For more information about this Tomato Field Night, see the attached flier.
Spray Technology Field Day – August 8 – 5:00-7:00 pm – Western Agricultural Research Station – 7721 South Charleston Pike, South Charleston, OH 45368
Program includes Review 2012 air assist sprayer results on pumpkin, Field demonstrations of different nozzle types (flat fan, twin fan, hollow cone) with and without air assist using water sensitive cards. Pumpkin is the target crop, but may apply to other vegetable crops with large complex canopy. There will be a Sprayer Calibration Clinic immediately following the air assist sprayer results and field demonstrations. For more information, see the attached flier.
Farm Pesticide Recycling Days – Cindy Folck
The Ohio Department of Agriculture is sponsoring a collection for farmers to dispose of unwanted pesticides. The dates and locations are:
Fulton County
August 14, 10:00 – 2:00
Fulton County Fairgrounds
8514 State Route 108
Wauseon, Ohio 43567
Shelby County
August 20, 10:00 – 2:30
Shelby County Fairgrounds
655 South Highland Ave.
Sidney, Ohio 45365
Richland County
August 23, 10:00 – 2:30
Hawkins Plaza
2131 Park Avenue West
Ontario, Ohio, 44906
The pesticide collection and disposal service is free of charge, but only farm chemicals will be accepted. Household pesticides, paints, solvents, antifreeze or other non-farm pesticides will NOT be accepted. No pesticides will be accepted from commercial companies.
All collections will run from 10:30 A.M. to 2:30 P.M. For more information, contact Ohio Department of Agriculture, Pesticide Regulation Section, (614) 728-6987.
Western Ohio Forage Day – August 21 – 9:00-3:00 pm – Western Agricultural Research Station of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center – 7721 S. Charleston Pike, South Charleston, OH 45368
The program includes research demonstrations and wagon tour with topics such as:
• Grass interseeded into alfalfa
• Leafhopper resistant alfalfa trials
• Annual forage alternatives after wheat — conventional, no-till and slurry seeded
• Nutritional aspects of warm season annuals and corn silage and forage preservation
• Alfalfa management inputs for high yield
• Red and white clover variety trials
• Native grasses for forage and biofuel
• Grass variety trials
See the attached flier for further details.
2013 Farm Bill Update – July 2013 – Carl Zulauf, Professor, Ohio State University, and Gary Schnitkey, Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives have passed farm bills. As expected, differences exist. Some are notable. This post briefly reviews the current farm bill situation and looks at possible paths forward. It examines the farm bill situation from three perspectives: politics, process, and content. Go to http://ohioagmanager.osu.edu/farm-policy/2013-farm-bill-update-july-2013/ for updated information about the 2013 Farm Bill.
Mark A. Badertscher
Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator
OSU Extension Hardin County
1021 W. Lima Street, Suite 103, Kenton, OH 43326
419-674-2297 Office
hardin.osu.edu