Good afternoon,
Thursday is shaping up to look like a good day weather-wise for the Twilight Tour program on Farm Solar Power. This program is scheduled for Thursday, July 16 at the Jerry McBride farm. It will start at 7:00 pm and end at 8:30 pm. The address is 11312 County Road 60, Dola. Bring your lawn chair and find out about Jerry’s system and other real-life examples on Ohio farms. We will have OSU Extension fact sheets on farm solar power systems, an opportunity to see Jerry’s system first hand, a guest speaker from industry, and of course, refreshments sponsored by Ag Credit. I hope to see several of you at this program. See the attached news release for more information.
Farm Solar Power Twilight Tour
This past Friday I checked the four Western Bean Cutworm traps around the county, and found two adult WBC moths. I will be monitoring this pest throughout July and August to find out how big of a problem they are in the county. Attached is a fact sheet about this pest and the damage it does to corn. I hope to start soybean research soon, but am waiting on the fields to dry up enough to collect samples. This year we are in the third and final year of the statewide Yield-Limiting Factor Soybean Research with Dr. Laura Lindsey from Ohio State. Soil samples and soon, leaf samples will need to be collected from each of the four fields participating in this study.
There will be a regional OSU Extension Dairy Meeting August 10 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm at St. Henry High School. Subjects presented include Basics of Milk Quality, Margin Protection Program Update, and Margin Protection Decision Program Tool Revisited. See the attached flyer for more information about this program planned for dairy farmers. If any of you missed the Fertilizer Certification meeting held this past March in Ada, there is another meeting planned for August 17 from 6:00 pm – 9:30 pm at Botkins High School. This 3 hour program meets the requirements for obtaining an Ohio Fertilizer License for those applying commercial fertilizer to 50 acres or more who do not presently have a pesticide applicator’s license. I attached a flyer with more information about this program which is being planned by Auglaize and Shelby County Extension.
Aug 2015 Regional Dairy Meeting Flyer
Hops is a new alternative agricultural crop which is gaining popularity in Ohio. This crop is used to brew craft beers and can be very profitable if you have a good marketing plan and master the technique of growing this plant. With this new venture goes infrastructure as well with the installation of poles and wires for the hops plant to grow. If you would like to learn more about this opportunity, a Hops Production Field Night is being held July 23 in Wooster. For more information, see the attached flyer which includes registration details and topics. Finally, the Viburnum Leaf Beetle has been discovered in Hancock County recently. This pest can do severe defoliation to Viburnum plants in the landscape. See the attached article to learn more about this pest which has the potential to damage landscapes.
Upcoming events this week include a Sheep Improvement Association meeting tonight (7/14) at the Extension office , starting at 7:30 pm. The Cattle Producers are meeting tomorrow evening (7/15) at the Steak Barn located at the fairgrounds, also starting at 7:30 pm. There will be a Soil and Water Conservation District meeting Thursday morning (7/16) at the SWCD office, starting at 7:30 am. Below are some agronomy articles that you may be interested in reading on these wet days.
Mark
West Central Ohio Precision Agriculture Day: Combine and Drone Technology – Amanda Douridas
Please mark your calendars for the Precision Agriculture Day: Combine and Drone Technology which will be held Friday, August 21, 2015 at the Champaign County Fairgrounds in Urbana, OH. This event will feature presentations on decision agriculture, aerial imagery, utilizing field data, nutrient management, My John Deere and MyShed-Case IH. Some of the presenters include Dr. John Fulton, the new OSU specialist in precision ag technology, Ohio Farm Bureau, Integrated Ag Services, and a panel of farmers utilizing aerial imagery technology. Demonstrations from Case IH, John Deere, Lexion and New Holland dealers on combine setup for harvest will take place in the afternoon. Live drone flying demonstrations will also occur during the day. For more information about this event, go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2015/2015-17/west-central-ohio-precision-agriculture-day-combine-and-drone-technology.
Northern Corn Leaf Blight: Earlier than Usual this Year – Pierce Paul
We are already seeing Northern Corn Leaf Blight (NCLB) in some Ohio corn fields. Why are we seeing NCLB this early and how will this affect our yields? For this disease to develop this early, three basic conditions must be satisfied: 1) the fungus (Exserohilum turcicum) must be present; 2) the hybrid planted must be very susceptible to the prevalent races of the fungus; 3) and environmental conditions must be highly favorable. In fields with early NCLB, the symptoms are very characteristic of a susceptible reaction to the disease, with one-to-six inch long cigar-shaped gray-green to tan-colored lesions on the leaves. Go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2015/2015-19/northern-corn-leaf-blight-earlier-than-usual-this-year to continue reading this article.
Cover Crops for Prevented Acres – Alan Sundermeier
Excessive rainfall and prolonged ponding conditions this spring have resulted in many fields remaining unplanted to corn or soybeans this season. These “prevented planting” acres, while unfortunate for this year’s production, should be managed in ways to prevent further soil degradation and to increase soil productivity for next year. Cover crops are an excellent option for producers to consider for protecting their soil and increasing productive capacity for succeeding years. To read more about planting cover crops on prevented planting acres, go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2015/2015-20/cover-crops-for-prevented-acres.
Ohio Fertilizer and Manure Application-New Legislative Criteria – Greg LaBarge
New regulations for manure and fertilizer application started on July 3, 2015 when Senate Bill Number 1 came into effect. The legislation affects nitrogen and phosphorus application whether applied as manure or granular fertilizers. Parts of the regulations are targeted specifically to define watersheds that encompass the Western Basin of Lake Erie while one provision is effective statewide. The text below summarizes important provisions but does not substitute for the legislative text which is found in Ohio revised code sections 6109.10, 903.40, 905.326, 905.327, 1511.10, 1511.11, 3745.50 and 6111.32 plus subsequent rule making by the state agencies. These rules are in addition to the Agricultural Fertilizer Applicator Certification program which began in September, 2014. Go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2015/2015-20/ohio-fertilizer-and-manure-application-legislative-criteria to finish reading about the new fertilizer and manure regulations for the Lake Erie watershed.
When Is It Too Late to Fertilize Corn with Nitrogen? – Steve Culman, Peter Thomison
Heavy rainfall over the past several weeks has left many producers across the state with few opportunities to side dress their corn with nitrogen. To make matters worse, excessive water means that significant soil nitrogen has likely been lost through denitrification and/or leaching. It’s not uncommon or surprising to see standing corn crops with severe yellowing, indicating some level of nitrogen deficiency. Most of the corn in the state has grown too tall for standard application equipment to pass over without crop damage, and some corn is entering late vegetative stages. Given all this, when is it too late to fertilize corn with nitrogen? To find out more regarding late nitrogen fertilization of corn, go to http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2015/2015-20/when-is-it-too-late-to-fertilize-corn-with-nitrogen.
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