Good evening,
This coming week is a big week in Hardin County for agriculture. Monday (8/22), farmers will be able to dispose of unwanted pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, etc) at the fairgrounds from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm as part of the Ohio Department of Agriculture Clean Sweep program. We are fortunate to have this free service available in our county this year. I was told by ODA that the largest container that can be accepted is a 55 gallon drum. So, if you have mini-bulks or totes that are larger, you need to put the chemicals into smaller containers for transport by the contractor. See the article below for more information about this opportunity to dispose of unwanted pesticides.
Tuesday (8/23) evening at 7:00 pm will be our second Twilight Tour. This field event will take place at one of our OSU Extension Nitrogen Timing plots at 6000 County Road 110, Alger. Paul Ralston will be discussing his use of Y-drops to apply late season nitrogen on his corn crop, and his sprayer with these attachments will be on display. This particular plot had 20 gallons of 28% N applied in strips at V6, V8, V10, and VT. One strip in the plot had 0 gallons applied. These treatments were replicated three times across the plot. There will also be a demonstration of the 360 Soil Scan testing system to instantly check nitrate and pH levels in the soil, as well as information about the field received from aerial imagery. For more information about this program, see the attached flyer.
MRI Late Season Nitrogen Twilight Tours Flyer
The Hardin Field Day, Agricultural Conservation – Protecting Water: Keeping Soil & Nutrients in the Field will be this Friday (8/26) in Chris Kurt’s field on the corner of US 68 and County Road 50, one mile south of Dunkirk. Several partners have been planning this event for months, and we believe that you will be amazed with the work that Hardin County farmers are doing to protect the water and soil through the efforts demonstrated and shared during this field day. We have several presenters from all over Ohio and Indiana, including The Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory on Lake Erie and the Toledo Collins Park Water Treatment Plant. See the attached flyer for more details about the day, which begins with registration at 8:30 am.
Next week the Ohio No-Till Field Day will take place August 31 at Jan Layman’s farm. This event is also jam packed with very informative presenters and field demonstrations, so you won’t want to miss it either. To read more about this field day, see the news article that I attached to this email. Even though we have been receiving rainfall this past week, the drought conditions of our recent past are not removed from our memory. During the month of July, Extension rainfall reporters recorded an average of 1.68 inches of rain in Hardin County. You might be interested in taking a look back at July’s Extension rainfall report summary that it is included with this week’s Hardin County Agriculture and Natural Resources Update.
Ohio No-Till Field Day News Release
Other local events coming up this week include the Master Gardener Volunteers meeting Monday (8/22), starting at 7:00 pm at Harco Industries. The Cattle Producers Annual Meeting & Picnic will be held Saturday (8/27), starting at 6:00 pm in the Community Building at the fairgrounds. If you are a beef producer, you might be interested in making the trip to Jackson, Ohio on Friday (8/26) for the 2016 Beef and Forage Field Night. See the attached flyer for more details about this event along with registration information. Finally, the articles below might be of interest to you if you are involved in crop production.
Mark
SPRAYING INSECTICIDES ON SOYBEANS AND HONEY BEES – Andy Michel, Reed Johnson
Although soybean aphids remain at low levels in Ohio, we are aware that many growers are adding insecticides to spray tanks when applying fungicides for plant health purposes and even late applications of herbicides because: “Well, I’m going over the field anyway so I thought I’d add an insecticide for insurance purposes! The insecticide is relatively cheap and soybeans are worth so much!” As we have always stated, we do NOT recommend this practice, and feel an IPM approach is much better for everyone and everything, including the environment. We do NOT recommend an insecticide application unless there is a REAL need. Go to http://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/spraying-insecticides-soybeans-and-honey-bees to continue reading this article.
WARM NIGHTS MAY IMPACT CORN YIELD – Peter Thomison
Weathercasters are calling for continued above average temperatures in August, especially higher night time temperatures. Past studies show that night time temperatures affect yield potential. High night temperatures (in the 70s or 80s degrees F) can result in wasteful respiration and a lower net amount of dry matter accumulation in plants. The rate of respiration of plants increases rapidly as the temperature increases, approximately doubling for each 13 degree F increase. With high night temperatures more of the sugars produced by photosynthesis during the day are lost; less is available to fill developing kernels, thereby lowering potential grain yield. High night time temperatures result in faster heat unit (GDD) accumulation that can lead to earlier corn maturation, whereas cool night temperatures result in slower GDD accumulation that can lengthen grain filling and promote greater dry matter accumulation and grain yields. To finish reading this article, go to http://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/warm-nights-may-impact-corn-yield.
PESTICIDE DISPOSAL COLLECTION DAYS – Mark Badertscher
Do you have pesticides sitting in storage that you do not intend to use? The Ohio Department of Agriculture will be sponsoring four Ohio Pesticide Clean Sweep Days around the state for farmers wishing to dispose of unwanted pesticides on four different dates in August. The pesticide collection and disposal service is free of charge, but only farm chemicals will be accepted. Paint, antifreeze, solvents, and household or non-farm pesticides will not be accepted. The disposals are limited to farmers only. Commercial entities are not supposed to bring product. Pesticides do not have to be in original containers or identifiable for disposal. The largest container that can be accepted is a 55 gallon drum as long as it has a good sealed bung. There is no limit to the amount of pesticides that a farmer can bring, although ODA would like to know if someone is bringing anything larger than a pickup load. To read more, go to http://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/pesticide-disposal-collection-days.
SCREENING CONSERVATION COVER SEED FOR THE PRESENCE OF PALMER AMARANTH – BE INFORMED BEFORE YOU PLANT – Mark Loux
The three primary sources of new Palmer amaranth infestations in Ohio so far have been: 1) presence of Palmer seed in the cotton-based feeds that are brought here from the south; 2) movement of contaminated combines from Palmer-infested areas of the south to Ohio; and 3) presence of Palmer seed in seed for conservation plantings (cover crop/CRP/wildlife/pollinator), which comes from states farther west such as Texas and Kansas. The latter mechanism has gained some notoriety lately in Iowa, where Palmer amaranth was found in conservation plantings in four counties due to the planting of a likely contaminated seed mix. We currently know of at least two sites here in Ohio where Palmer was introduced this way, one of which resulted in the contamination of several large fields along the Scioto river, and the other where the producer chose to destroy an extensive new conservation planting rather than risk spread to his crop fields. Go to http://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/screening-conservation-cover-seed-presence-palmer-amaranth-be-informed to find out how to get this seed tested for free before planting.
FERTILIZER APPLICATOR CERTIFICATION & TRAINING – Jeff Stachler
A three-hour fertilizer applicator certification training program will be held by The Ohio State University Extension on Monday, August 29, from 6:30 to 9:30 PM at the Palazzo in Botkins, Ohio. Refreshments will be served at 6:00 PM. Topics that will be discussed include the current status of water quality, soil sampling, and phosphorus and nitrogen management. Anyone involved in agricultural production and applying fertilizer to greater than 50 acres must obtain this certification prior to September 30, 2017. After this date, a test could be required to obtain this certification. This program is specifically for those individuals not having a pesticide license, although those having a pesticide license may also attend. Agricultural Professionals please help in reminding your clientele about this fertilizer applicator certification and training program. Thanks to TruPointe for sponsoring location and refreshments. Pre-register for the meeting prior to August 26, 2016 by calling the Auglaize County Extension office at 419-739-6580.
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