Good afternoon,
I just got back from the Dairy Banquet and coming back through Kenton it looked like much of the farm equipment from the Ag Society Consignment Sale is on its way to a new home. The Dairy Service Unit launched its Spring Cheese Sale at their banquet today so I have included an order form and article with this newsletter. They are also having their Dairy Service Unit Annual Meeting Tuesday, March 15 at the Extension office, starting at 7:00 pm. This year’s guest speaker will be Dianne Shoemaker, who is the OSU Extension Field Specialist in Dairy Economics. She will be doing a presentation on the Ohio Farm Business Analysis for Dairy Enterprises so that producers can evaluate how their operation compares to other dairy enterprises in Ohio. For more information, see the attached report. Tonight is the Pork Banquet at St. John’s Church, which will be the last livestock commodity banquet until the Beef Banquet on March 26 at the fairgrounds. For more information about these upcoming banquets, see the attached news releases. I have also included a brochure about next Saturday’s OSU Junior Swine Day that is being held in at both OSU in Columbus and OSU-ATI in Wooster.
Spring Cheese Sale News Release
2014 Ohio Dairy Farm Business Summary
Thursday morning we were able to recertify 88 private pesticide applicators at the Plaza Inn. In the afternoon, we conducted fertilizer certification training for 65 fertilizer applicators who already had an Ohio Pesticide License. For more information about the pesticide training, see the attached article and flyer. Last week we certified 48 fertilizer applicators in a special 3-hour training at ONU the day before the Conservation Tillage Conference (CTC) began. If you missed last week’s CTC, you were one of the few. 923 farmers, crop consultants, agribusiness professionals gathered in Ada for this two day event with approximately 60 presenters. There is also an article below about the CTC that appeared in the CORN Newsletter. If there is anyone who missed the pesticide recertification, give me a call at 419-674-2297 and I can schedule you for the March 31 make-up and specialty video session for pesticide categories that were not included in Mt. Victory.
Pesticide Recertification News Release
Another program that is now in full swing is the new Master Gardener Volunteer training course. Hardin County has combined with Allen County for this 50 hours of training sessions that teaches new horticulture volunteer trainees to assist the Extension office with homeowner gardening, lawn, tree, and landscape education. I have attached a flyer and course outline that describes this course which is being held at OSU-Lima. I’ve spent most of the space in this newsletter explaining what AgNR Extension has been working on the past month. This coming week is National Ag Week with National Ag Day on Tuesday, March 15. Make sure you listen to WKTN for the Farm Bureau and other sponsored spots saluting Hardin County farmers and agribusiness. The Ohio Beef Expo is also next week in Columbus, starting Tuesday, March 15 and ending Sunday, March 20. The Soil and Water Conservation District is having a board meeting Thursday, March 17, starting at 7:30 am in the Ag Service Center.
The Hardin County OSU Extension staff would like to invite you to attend our Spark Lab Open House, Thursday, March 17. Show up between 4:30 and 6:30 to see the new innovative uses of this new space at the Extension office that has been developed as the result of a grant and through the cooperation of the Hardin County Commissioners making this space available for our educational use. Not only has this area served as a location for several AgNR meetings and webinars, but it also has been used extensively by 4-H educator Mark Light and Family and Consumer Sciences educator Jami Dellifield for several new and exciting program ideas. See the attached invitation for more details about this event. Until then, I have included some agronomy articles below that you may be interested in reading.
Mark
Manure Drag Hose Plot Results – Glen Arnold
The 2015 growing season was the 2nd year for a corn post-emergent drag hose study at the OARDC Northwest branch at Holtville. The purpose of this plot is to determine how far along in development the corn crop can be before the damage from a drag hose would rule out sidedressing emerged corn with livestock manure. A 15 foot long drag hose filled with water was used for this study. The six-inch diameter drag hose was pulled across each plot twice (going in opposite directions) at corn vegetative growth stages one through five (stage five was not completed in 2015 due to excessive rainfall). The tractor speed was approximately 4 miles per hour. The plot was replicated four times in a randomized block design. To find out more about this study, go to http://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/manure-drag-hose-plot-results.
2016 Farmer Led Water Quality Monitoring – Greg LaBarge
Ohio State University Extension is seeking additional farmers in the Maumee River Basin to help with a water monitoring research project looking at Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus losses from fields. Increases in DRP in the watershed have been tied to increased occurrences of Harmful Algal Blooms in Lake Erie. The data collect will help better quantify actual losses from an economic and environmental standpoint, lead to tools that can target high risk fields so cost effective Best Management practices can be designed that maintain crop productivity while reducing phosphorus losses. Go to http://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2016-farmer-led-water-quality-monitoring to find out how you can become involved in this research to improve water quality.
Conservation Tillage Conference Provides Answers – Mark Badertscher
Looking for ways to reduce costs, but keep profit margins steady? Have you thought about how you might increase soybean yields without paying for additional inputs? Can precision fertility work for your farm to increase production while at the same time protect the environment? So when can I apply fertilizer and haul manure? How can cover crops improve the soil health and recycle the nutrients in my field? These are all questions you might have asked yourself, but have struggled to find an answer. This year’s Conservation Tillage Conference has the answers to these questions and many more. To read more about CTC, go to http://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/conservation-tillage-conference-provides-answers.
Wheel Traffic Effect on Alfalfa Yield – Soil Compaction or Crown/Shoot Damage? – Bruce Clevenger
Wheel traffic is a necessity for the production of alfalfa. Regardless of the harvest method (green chopped or dry bales) producers must make decisions of when and how to drive equipment on alfalfa fields. Early studies demonstrated that as much as 70% of the field area could be driven upon for each cutting/harvest performed. Over time, the size of equipment to cut, rake, bale and remove hay from the field has change dramatically. As well, the green chop equipment for baleage, silage or alfalfa mills has also changed. Generally, equipment is larger today and thus carrying a greater gross axle weight both while empty and at harvest load capacities. Go to http://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/wheel-traffic-effect-alfalfa-yield-%E2%80%93-soil-compaction-or-crownshoot-damage to finish reading this article.
When is the Best Time to Apply N to Wheat – Ed Lentz, Laura Lindsey
For any N application the question to ask is, “When does the crop need N?” Wheat does not require large amounts of N until stem elongation/jointing (Feekes Growth Stage 6), which is the middle or the end of April depending on the location in the state and spring temperatures. Ohio research has shown no yield benefit from applications made prior to this time period. Soil organic matter and/or N applied at planting generally provide sufficient N for early growth until stem elongation. For more information about this topic, go to http://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2016-05/when-best-time-apply-n-wheat.
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