Hello,
This past week I had pesticide inservice training to gear up for this winter’s pesticide recertification programs. The first meeting of the Top of Ohio Extension Education and Research Area will be the West Ohio Agronomy Day on January 12 in Fort Loramie. See the attached news release and flyer for further information about this program. Locally, pesticide recertification in Hardin County will be held March 19 at the Plaza Inn in combination with fertilizer certification for those who already hold a pesticide license. For further information about these programs, got to http://pested.osu.edu. There will also be a local fertilizer certification program for both those who may or may not currently hold a pesticide license. This program will be held March 5 at Ohio Northern University the day after the Conservation Tillage Conference. For more information about this and other fertilizer certification programs, go to http://nutrienteducation.osu.edu.
Last Thursday 75 farmers and landowners attended a Farm Bill Update meeting held at the Hardin County courthouse. This meeting will be repeated on Wednesday, January 7 at 6:30 pm. For more information about the new Farm Bill, go to http://go.osu.edu/farmbill. The January 7 meeting will be held in Veterans’ Hall at the courthouse and will feature both Doug Dyer from the Hardin County Farm Service Agency and Amanda Douridas from Champaign County OSU Extension. Go to http://ocj.com/2014/12/an-explanation-of-plc-and-arc-farm-bill-options/ for a video explanation of Farm Bill options.
An Estate and Farm Succession Planning for Farm Families and Crop Insurance meeting will be held Tuesday, January 13 at 7:00 pm with the main speaker being Robert Moore from Wright & Moore Law Firm. This program is sponsored by Ag Credit and will be held in the Community Building at the Hardin County Fairgrounds. Please RSVP to the Kenton Ag Credit office by January 12 if you plan to attend as light refreshments will be provided.
Ohio farmers are getting a last minute Christmas present from Congress with the passage of the Tax Extender Bill this past week. An article is posted to the Ohio Ag Manager at http://ohioagmanager.osu.edu. This has a bearing on last minute Section 179 and 50% Bonus Depreciation decisions. Many farmers have been using Section 179 expensing to depreciate new and used equipment in the year of purchase. As a result of this action, this provision has been extended through 12/31/14. Read the article and see your tax accountant for further information.
DID YOU KNOW… OSU Extension, Family and Consumer Science is offering an e-mail challenge that will help you focus on your financial wellbeing? The Manage Your Money Email Challenge will run from January12 – February 28, 2015. Similar to Live Healthy Live Well, participants receive two weekly e-mails for six weeks. Learn more about saving, credit, debt, budgeting, organizing financial records and calculating net worth. For more information visithttp://go.osu.edu/mymchallenge or see the attached flyer. To join, sign-up online at http://go.osu.edu/mymhrn.
I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Christmas. In case you find yourself at home wondering about Christmas trees, I have attached an article about Christmas tree farms written by Hancock County OSU Extension Educator Ed Lentz. I have also been asked to share a brochure from the United Way of Hardin County. Consider a contribution this year as a member of the agricultural community to help those in the county who benefit from the goodwill of others. Because of the holidays, the next Ag Council meeting will be held January 9. See the articles below for agronomic information that may be of interest to you.
Mark
2014 Ohio Corn Performance Test: Regional Overviews – Peter Thomison, Rich Minyo, Allen Geyer, David Lohnes
In 2014, 209 corn hybrids representing 28 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 continue reading this article, go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2014/2014-40/2014-ohio-corn-performance-test-regional-overviews.
Post-Harvest Guidelines for Yield Monitors – John Fulton
The end of harvest marks a good time to implement good management practices for yield monitors including taking steps to winterize components. Yield monitors continue to increase and in most cases are standard options on today’s combines with the yield mapping data being important information for precision agriculture services offered across the agriculture industry. A good post-harvest combine maintenance plan should include provisions for looking over yield monitor components and possibly storing devices in conditioned locations to reduce warming and cooling cycles potentially generating condensation and ultimately unneeded corrosion or damage of electronics. To continue reading this article, go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2014/2014-40/post-harvest-guidelines-for-yield-monitors.
2014 Soybean Seed Treatment and Foliar Trials Available Online – Laura Lindsey, J D Bethel The purpose of the Ohio Soybean Seed Treatment and Foliar Trials are to evaluate soybean seed treatments and foliar products for stand and yield. This evaluation gives soybean producers comparative information for selecting soybean seed treatments and foliar products for the unique production systems. All entries were submitted voluntarily by companies. Application protocol and product rate were provided by the company. Please keep in mind that our trials are conducted in overall high-yielding environments with well-drained soil and limited pest pressure. To continue reading this article, go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2014/2014-40/2014-soybean-seed-treatment-and-foliar-trials-available-online.
Post-Harvest Tips for Combines – John Fulton
As the harvest season comes to a close, now is a good time to clean and look over you combine before parking for the winter. A good post-harvest combine maintenance program can provide significant savings and make sure you are prepared for 2015. Many times, proper inspection and maintenance after fall harvest will reduce time and resources required at a later date to fix the combine and headers. The basics of winterizing a combine involves cleaning it followed by changing the oil and filters, checking the cooling system, cleaning and possibly changing the air filters, filling with fuel and adding a fuel stabilizer, and finally greasing and lubricating before putting in the shed. Plan on at least a good half day for conducting post-harvest maintenance and repairs. To continue reading this article, go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2014/2014-40/post-harvest-tips-for-combines.
Drought-Tolerant Corn Hybrids: What is the Fit for Ohio? – Alexander Lindsey, Peter Thomison, Rich Minyo, Allen Geyer
Drought events are predicted to increase with rising global temperatures and altered rainfall patterns. It is important that agronomists investigate ways to maximize water use to help reduce grain yield losses from drought events. If Ohio corn yields had been reduced 10% in 2013 due to drought, then the economic loss for growers would have exceeded $250 million. Ohio producers have begun using drought-tolerant corn hybrids that were developed for use in the Western Corn Belt to manage for drought events, but limited research has been conducted on these hybrids in the Eastern Corn Belt. Drought tolerance can be thought of as the ability of a plant to produce greater yields under water stress conditions when compared to other plants under the same conditions. To continue reading this article, go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2014/2014-40/drought-tolerant-corn-hybrids-what-is-the-fit-for-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