Good afternoon,
This morning started off right with an appreciation breakfast sponsored by the Hardin Northern FFA chapter. Previously this fall, I had the opportunity to observe their Soil Judging Invitational contest, and served as a judge for their Job Interview competition last week. I have seen the great work that Anna Creswell and Don Paullin, as well as the other agricultural educators are doing around the county to prepare young people for careers in agriculture. This week county FFA chapters celebrated National FFA Week and each school had activities planned to promote the organization in their communities.
If you know of any young people involved with the beef industry, the Hardin County Cattle Producers have made their applications available for scholarships and beef royalty. See the attached press release for further information, and I have also attached applications for sharing with those who are eligible. Have you registered for the Conservation Tillage & Technology Conference yet? Early bird registration was due today, but you can still pre-register through February 26. I have attached a brochure for this annual conference which will be take place March 4-5 at Ohio Northern University in Ada.
Beef Princess-Queen-Scholarship News Release
2014 Queen of Beef Application
2014 Queen of Beef Application
2014 Hardin County Cattle Producers Scholarship Application
2014 Hardin County Cattle Producers Scholarship Application
Next week will be full of meetings and events to attend. See the list below and also the attached news release about upcoming Ag programs.
February 25 Ag Programs News Release
Monday, February 24 – Master Gardener Meeting – Defining Organic Production – 7:00 pm – HARCO Industries – Kenton
Monday, February 24 – Sheep and Goat Webinar – Selecting the right breed for your market – 7:00 pm – Hardin Co. Extension Office – Kenton
Tuesday, February 25 – Conservation Tillage Club breakfast – Ag Law & CDL for Agriculture – 7:30 am – Plaza Inn – Mt. Victory
Tuesday, February 25 – Corn, Soybean & Wheat Connection Webinar – Weed Control – 10:00 am – Hardin Co. Extension Office – Kenton
Thursday, February 27 – Dairy Service Unit Annual Meeting – China’s Dairy Industry – 7:00 pm – Goshen Grange Hall – Kenton
Saturday, March 1 – Hardin County Lamb Banquet – Processing & Marketing Wool – 6:30 pm – St. John’s United Church of Christ – Kenton
Saturday, March 1 – Hardin County Ag Society – Fairboard Meeting – 7:30 pm – Fairgrounds office – Kenton
I hope you take advantage of these educational events that have been planned with you in mind. Also, I have included some articles below that you might be interested in reading. Have a nice weekend.
Mark
Spread of giant ragweed across the North Central Region – results of a CCA survey – Emilie Regnier, Mark Loux
Weed scientists at OSU recently completed a survey of Certified Crop Advisors across the North Central region to determine the relative abundance of giant ragweed, and the factors influencing its spread. The results of this survey are summarized in a Powerpoint file posted to the giant ragweed section of the OSU Weed Management website http://agcrops.osu.edu/specialists/weeds. Dr. Emilie Regnier, lead investigator on the survey, also provided the following abbreviated summary of the findings. To continue reading this article, go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2014/2014-4/spread-of-giant-ragweed-across-the-north-central-region-2013-results-of-a-cca-survey.
Creating an Enforceable Farm Lease – Caty Daniels, Peggy Kirk Hall
A farm lease is a valuable transaction for landowners and farm operators alike, so it is important to ensure that the lease conforms to Ohio’s legal requirements. Here’s what Ohio law requires for creating a legally enforceable lease: The lease must be in writing. Enforcing a verbal farm lease is very difficult in Ohio due to our “Statute of Frauds.” The statute states that a lease of land must be in writing to be legally enforceable in Ohio. Despite this law, many verbal farm leases do exist. If a problem arises under a verbal farm lease, the law would not uphold the verbal lease unless a party could prove that the court should grant an exception from the Statute of Frauds writing requirement. This is a risky position and forces a party to go to court simply to try to prove that there is a valid lease. To find out more about farm leases, go to http://aglaw.osu.edu/blog/wed-01152014-1406/creating-enforceable-farm-lease.
The Cold Temperatures and Alfalfa – Dr. Dan Undersander, Forage Agronomist, University of Wisconsin
Concern always arises in cold periods over winter about the effect of the low temperatures on alfalfa winter survival. This is of some concern because certainly the alfalfa plant will die if exposed to cold enough temperatures.
However, generally alfalfa survives the winter and its periodic cold spells. The reasons are:
1) Alfalfa can survive temperatures of -10 to -15 degrees F.
2) This is the temperature of the crown not the top growth.
3) As little as 4 inches of loose snow will insulate against up to 16 degrees F of air temperature.
4) The crown is insulated by soil as well; therefore the crucial temperature is the temperature at 2 to 4 inches below the soil surface.
The soil temperature on Jan 8 (after the last cold spell) is generally above 0 degrees F and most of the Midwest. The higher temperature than the air the last few days is due to insulating ability of both snow (most of Midwest had at least 4 inches of snow cover) and the insulating ability of the soil. This situation should indicate little to no injury or kill of alfalfa.
Awareness Can Help Prevent Grain Bin Engulfments, Increase Grain Bin Safety – Tracy Turner, Dee Jepsen
With many grain bins statewide full of stored grain this time of year, safety experts with Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences are reminding farmers to be aware of safety precautions to prevent grain engulfments and to have an overall awareness and understanding of grain bin safety. The issue is significant considering that every year, an average of 26 Ohio farm workers lose their lives to production agriculture, said Dee Jepsen, state safety leader for Ohio State University Extension. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of the college. To learn more about grain bin safety, go to http://extension.osu.edu/news-releases/archives/2014/february/awareness-can-help-prevent-grain-bin-engulfments-increase-grain-bin-safety.
Soybean Cyst Nematode expands range in Ohio – Terry Niblack, Nancy Taylor, Anne Dorrance
Approximately every three years the map is updated where SCN is found in the US. To do this task records from the diagnostic clinic and data from field studies are collected and the findings are plotted on the map. Greg Tylka from Iowa State University coordinates this effort. As expected, in the last 3 years SCN was identified in more counties in Ohio. For a county to be colored red, at least one field has to be identified with populations over 200 eggs/cup soil. We have identified fields across Ohio from west to east, next to the Pennsylvania border that have SCN. In addition, we are identifying more fields in the state with populations above the economic thresholds. To continue reading this article, go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2014/2014-4/soybean-cyst-nematode-expands-range-in-ohio.
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