Good afternoon,

Well the holidays are drawing near.  The office today smelled of cinnamon rolls, as gifts magically appeared on desks and Christmas music was playing in the background.  The warner temperatures seems to have brought more people into the office lately, and for good reason.  The 2014 Hardin County Plat Books are in, we have a supply of Ohio’s Country Journal featuring The Ohio State University 2013 Corn, Soybean, and Forage Performance Trials, there are plenty of Power Show Ohio discount coupons, and we just received forms for registering for upcoming private applicator pesticide recertification meetings which will be starting with the new year.

Steer weigh-ins for 4-H and FFA members exhibiting in the 2014 Hardin County Fair are coming up Saturday, January 4 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at the fairgrounds.  January 7 is the start of the OSU online grain marketing course and marketing simulation.  I have attached a news article and a flier with more information about this series of webinars in case you are interested in learning more about cash, futures, and options trading.  Go to https://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=870902 soon to pre-register if you wish to participate.  The location is in the comfort of your own home or farm office.

Online Grain Marketing Series     Grain Marketing Flyer

January 14 is the start of the Conservation Tillage Club breakfast meetings at the Plaza Inn in Mt. Victory.  See the attached news release for more information about this series of meetings which are jointly hosted by OSU Extension, Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) with cooperation from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of Hardin, Logan, and Union counties.  The complimentary breakfasts start at 7:30 am with the programs beginning at 8:00 am.  Thank you to all of the agricultural lenders and other agricultural businesses for sponsoring these events.  Topics this year include Crop Diseases and Fungicides, Weed Control Strategies, Grain Marketing Outlook, and Agricultural Law/CDL for Ag.

Conservation Tillage Club News Release

Below are some articles you may interested in reading as you enjoy the holiday.

Mark

Manure Valuator app calculates manure value – University of Arkansas

The need to be able to estimate the value of manure as crop nutrient source is the result of increased use of manure to replace crop nutrients that had been long supplied by commercial inorganic fertilizers.“ As with inorganic fertilizers, the goal is to meet the crop nutrient needs while avoiding the expense and potential environmental concerns of over application of nutrients,” said Dharmendra Saraswat, associate professor and extension engineer for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. To answer this need, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture has released the Manure Valuator app to help producers calculate the dollar and nutritive value of manure applied to a specific field and then share the results via email. The app is now available for use on both iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android devices. http://www.agannex.com/business-policy/manure-valuator-app-calculates-manure-value.

What’s Enogen Corn?  –  Peter Thomison

I’ve received several questions recently concerning “Enogen corn”.  This is a special type of corn developed by Syngenta for ethanol production. It contains a transgene from a bacteria that produces alpha amylase, an enzyme that breaks down corn starch into sugar. Presently alpha amylase enzyme is added to corn in a liquid form during the ethanol production process.  Corn hybrids with the Enogen trait technology (i.e. Enogen corn) express alpha amylase enzyme directly in the corn kernel, eliminating the need for liquid alpha amylase in dry grind ethanol production. Various trade publications indicate that only 10-20% of an ethanol plant’s total corn supply would need to be Enogen grain to produce the alpha amylase required for breaking down corn starch to sugar.  Go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2013/2013-40/what2019s-enogen-corn to continue reading this article.

Herbicide Update for 2014 Crops  – Mark Loux

Brief descriptions of herbicides introduced over the past year or so are provided at http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2013/2013-41/2014-herbicide-update.  As readers are undoubtedly aware, there is currently almost no development of new active ingredients.  Most of the products mentioned in this article are premixes of existing herbicides.  Some of these seem to have a fit for Ohio situations while others do not in our opinion.  We have also posted a brief Powerpoint video that covers this on our website –http://agcrops.osu.edu/specialists/weeds.  Go to these web addresses to get the latest information regarding herbicides and their use for 2014.

2013 Northwest Ohio Corn Silage Test –  Rich Minyo, Allen Geyer, Peter Thomison

In 2013, 52 corn silage hybrids representing 16 commercial brands were evaluated in a joint trial with Michigan State University (MSU). One Ohio location is combined with Michigan’s two southern (Zone 1) silage locations. The Ohio test site was located in our Northwest Region at Hoytville (Wood County). The two MSU sites are located in Branch and Lenawee counties, which are on the Ohio/Michigan state line.  The test results from the three 2013 locations are treated as one region.  Go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2013/2013-41/2013-northwest-ohio-corn-silage-test to find out more about these corn silage tests along with a link to complete results of these tests in cooperation with Michigan State University.

West Ohio Agronomy Day for January 13  –  Debbie Brown

West Ohio Agronomy Day will be held on Monday, January 13th at St. Michael’s Hall, 33 Elm Street, Fort Loramie.  Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m.; breakfast sandwiches, donuts, OJ, and coffee will be available.  A Grain Market update from Jerry Meyer (Cargill) and John Leighty (Trupointe) will be held at 8:30 a.m.  The programs dealing with Private Pesticide Applicator Recertification Credits for farmers and Continuing Education Units for Certified Crop Advisors then begin at 9:00 a.m.  Go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2013/2013-41/west-ohio-agronomy-day-for-january-13 for the complete details of this day you won’t want to miss.

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

Good afternoon,

I’ve spent considerable time this week program planning.  There will be paper newsletter going out in regular mail to all Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension clientele in Northwest Ohio.  This Northwest Ohio Newsletter includes dates, times, and locations of upcoming educational programs that will be happening in our part of the state from January through March.  Although most people can be contacted by email, we don’t have everyone’s email address and there are other people who participate in Extension programs who do not use a computer.  Also, this will give people a document that they can hold in their hand and keep track of upcoming events.  Once the final version is done, I will also send it out electronically for those who prefer that format.

Also, the OSU Extension Agronomic Crops Team has updated their calendar and it can be found at http://agcrops.osu.edu/calendar.  This calendar contains most of the ag crop related programs that will be happening around the state from January through March.  I will continue to highlight events of local interest in this weekly email, but if you are interested in seeing what is being offered statewide and are willing to travel, there are some excellent programs listed.

Now that harvest is complete, you may be interested in working with your budgets. The latest corn, soybean, wheat budgets along with forage and livestock budgets can be found at http://aede.osu.edu/research/osu-farm-management/enterprise-budgets.  These budgets can be downloaded into Microsoft Excel and allow you to input your own numbers for planning purposes.  You can ‘pencil’ in different numbers to help make your own farm management decisions, using your own operation to answer ‘What if?’ questions.  This might be a good thing to work with in case we get all that snow they are predicting for this weekend.  I have also included some other articles for you to read that might be of interest to you.

Mark

Online Grain Marketing Series – January 7 & 21; February 4 & 18 March 4

Growers, who want to experience grain marketing using real-world strategies without any of the real-world risks, can take advantage of a series of courses taught by Dr. Matt Roberts from Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Participants will learn how to use futures and options; make a marketing plan to fit their farm business; use crop insurance as a grain marketing tool; and how to understand financial statement analysis in relationship to their grain marketing plan. To find out more about this course and its companion marketing simulation, see the attached pdf file.

Online Grain Marketing Series

Seed Treatments for 2014 Soybeans  –  Anne Dorrance, Ron Hammond, Andy Michel

If we could predict or know that the planting season during 2014 would be like it was in 2012 (the dry spring), then we would say don’t treat your seed at all.  But if the season is like this past year, wet, the combinations of seed treatments did a much better job and at the higher rates.  There have been lots of questions over the past few days on what fungicides to apply; what rates to use; and are insecticides always necessary.  Here we try to parse it all out for you. To read more about soybean seed treatments, go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2013/2013-40/seed-treatments-for-2014-soybean.

Farmland Value Projected to be Flat, or Decrease in 2014 – Barry Ward

While cropland values in Ohio increased in 2012 and 2013, they are expected to remain flat or even decline in 2014, an economist from Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) said. Ohio cropland value rose 12 percent this year, with bare cropland averaging $5,600 an acre, said Barry Ward, production business management leader for Ohio State University Extension. Rents at the low end of the market may have some upside potential yet as they catch up. Rents at the high end of the market will be sticky as operators may be reluctant to ask for relief after one year of low prices for fear of losing part of their land base.” “Projected budgets for Ohio’s primary crops for 2014 show the potential for little to no profits,” Ward said. “Cash rental rates will move based on where they are in relation to the current market.”  To read more, go to http://cfaes.osu.edu/news/articles/osu-expert-farmland-value-projected-be-flat-or-decrease-in-2014.

Farm Management Course for Women- Annie’s Project – (6 sessions starting January 15) – Union County Extension office

Women in agriculture who are interested in taking a more active role in farm operations may sign up for Annie’s Project, a multi-part risk-management course offered by Ohio State University Extension. The workshop is being sponsored by OSU Extension offices in Champaign, Delaware and Union counties. The six-week workshop will be held at the Union County Extension Office beginning January 15, 2014 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and running consecutive Wednesdays through February 19th.  For more information, go to http://westohcropweather.blogspot.com/2013/11/farm-management-course-for-women-annies.html?m=1.

Properly Applying Manure on Frozen Ground – Amanda Douridas

As a result of the frequent rains, harvest has lasted longer this year. The late harvest and wet weather may have put a halt to a lot of the planned manure applications this fall. Now, many may be considering waiting until a solid freeze to reduce compaction in the field. This is still an option for Union and Champaign county residents because we are not in a designated distressed watershed. For permitted facilities, approval must be obtained from the Ohio Department of Agriculture before applying to frozen ground. To continue reading this article, go to http://westohcropweather.blogspot.com/2013/11/properly-applying-manure-on-frozen.html?m=1.

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

Good evening,

I would like to thank everyone who came to the Agriculture Hall of Fame Banquet this week to honor the new inductees.  It was a great evening and our guest speaker, Shannon (Wilcox) Donnelly gave a very inspiring speech entitled ‘Parallel Agriculture’ which discussed the importance of passing down our agricultural heritage and skills to the younger generation so that they could continue the family farm operation.  I have attached a post banquet press release and photo from the evening to this email if you would like to look at them.

2013 Ag Hall of Fame Banquet Post News Release

The Conservation Tillage Club meetings have been set for 2014 at the Plaza Inn.  Each meeting will begin at 7:30 am with a breakfast and then a program.  Topics and dates for this year include: January 14 – Plant Diseases & Fungicides; January 28 – Weed Control Strategies; February 11 – Grain Marketing Outlook; and February 25 – Ag Law & CDL for Agriculture.  These meetings are a joint effort between OSU Extension, NRCS, and SWCD personnel from Hardin, Logan, and Union counties but are provided for anyone interested in the surrounding counties.  More information about speakers and other details will come later.

With the snow comes several Extension programs for you to consider.  Here is a listing of some programs along with a couple articles that may be of interest to you.

Mark

Ag Outlook Meeting – December 17 at 11:30 am – 201 Robert M Davis Parkway, Piqua – Farm Bill Outlook, Examining Potential Crop Profitability in 2014, Land Values, Cash Rent and Crop inputs, Grain Markets and Grain Marketing in an Era of Lower Prices.  Speakers include Carl Zulauf, Barry Ward, and Matt Roberts from OSU. PRE-REGISTRATION AND PRE-PAYMENT ARE REQUIRED. $20 per person. Registration deadline is December 10, 2013. Includes dinner and materials.  For more information see the attached flier or contact Debbie Brown at brown.1522@osu.edu or 937-498-7239.

Ag Outlook Piqua Flyer

Grain Outlook Dinner – December 18 at 6:00 pm – Union County Services Building at 940 London Ave,  Marysville – Dr. Matt Roberts will provide the grain outlook for 2014 and what farmers can expect in the coming years. The evening will also feature a unique presentation from Dr. Ian Sheldon on how China’s population change affects United States agriculture. Both speakers are from The Ohio State University’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Developmental Economics and have several years of experience and research on these topics. There is no cost to attend if reservations are made by December 11th. To RSVP, please contact the Extension office at 937-644-8117 or Amanda Douridas atDouridas.9@osu.edu.  See the attached flier for more information.

2014 Grain Outlook Dinner

Ag Issues Tax Workshop – December 19 – Elks Lodge, 320 E. Wyandot Ave. Upper Sandusky & Online –  This workshop will be in a webinar format presented by Professor Phil Harris from University of Wisconsin. If you represent farmers, this full-day webinar will give you the information you need concerning the special issues with farm tax returns. You can choose to attend a host location or listen at home or office. Host locations will provide a knowledgeable facilitation, refreshments, lunch and Ag Issues Tax Manual. You are encouraged to bring your computer as there will be real-time Q&A. If you chose not to attend a host location, a web address will be e-mailed to you the week before Dec. 19. Make sure that you have web connectivity. We cannot guarantee delivery of the Ag Issues Tax Manual unless you register by the deadline of December 5, 2013.  Go to http://agnr.osu.edu/anr-programs/income-tax-schools/2013-ag-issues-workshop for more information and other locations.

2013 Ohio Corn Performance Test: Regional Overviews –  Allen Geyer, Rich Minyo, Peter Thomison and David Lohnes

In 2013, 240 corn hybrids representing 28 companies and 33 commercial brands were evaluated in the Ohio Corn Performance Test (OCPT). Four tests were established in the Southwestern/West Central/Central (SW/WC/C) region and three tests were established in the Northwestern (NW) and North Central/Northeastern (NC/NE) regions (for a total of ten test sites statewide).  Hybrid entries in the regional tests were planted in either an early or a full season maturity trial. These test sites provided a range of growing conditions and production environments.  To read the complete article and find a link to the complete results, go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2013/2013-40/2013-ohio-corn-performance-test-regional-overviews.

Updated Marestail Control Information – Mark Loux, OSU and Bill Johnson, Purdue

Ohio State University Extension and Purdue have partnered to publish a new fact sheet aimed at helping farmers battle herbicide-resistant marestail and its yield-reducing affects on soybeans. Marestail, also referred to as horseweed, primarily emerges in late summer into fall and again from late-March through June in both Indiana and Ohio. The weed competes with soybean plants for soil nutrients, space and water. Mature marestail also can hinder soybean harvest, and it doesn’t respond to treatment from one of the most commonly used herbicides. For more information, go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2013/2013-40/updated-marestail-control-information.

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