Good evening,
2018 has officially arrived! With the start of the new year, there are several programs coming up hosted by OSU Extension that may interest you. The Conservation Tillage Club breakfast program series will begin on Tuesday, January 9 at the Plaza Inn Restaurant in Mt. Victory. Each session will start at 7:30 am with complimentary buffet breakfast followed by the program at 8:00 am. Other sessions will be held on January 23, February 6 and 20 as indicated on the attached flyer and news article.
On January 9, the program will feature Mike Bacon, Andrea Weaver, and Mike Yoder, CAUV Property Tax Changes. Bacon is the Hardin County Auditor, Weaver serves as the Union County Auditor, and Yoder is the Logan County Auditor. They will be joined by a panel of other property tax and conservation experts. As county auditors, they have sent out notices of changes and held meetings with landowners, local schools, and farm groups to help explain how changes brought about by the Ohio Department of Taxation will affect them. The presentation at the Conservation Tillage Club breakfast will focus on the most recent changes in the CAUV formula in regards to conservation lands and what landowners must do in order to see possible reductions in their property taxes for coming years.
Does your fertilizer certification expire in 2018? In three years, 17,493 Ohioans completed the Fertilizer Certification program. Of this total, 63 fertilizer applicators from Hardin County will require recertification by March 31, 2018. The three-year window to complete the initial certification program ended September 30, 2017. Those renewing their fertilizer certificate, which must be done every three years, must either pass a fertilizer exam or take a one-hour class. Hardin County Extension will be offering recertification classes in Mt. Victory on March 13 and in Kenton on March 30. For more information about renewing your fertilizer certificate or becoming certified for the first time, see the attached article.
Other upcoming programs and events include Soybean Inputs-Focus on Payback on January 9 in Wood County and January 11 in Hancock County; Farmland Succession Workshop on January 18 in Union County; and West Central Ohio Weed Science Day on January 19 in Shelby County. See the attached flyers for details about these upcoming events. Locally, there will be an Ag Council breakfast starting at 7:00 am on Friday, January 5 at Henry’s Restaurant in Kenton. Join us to get a copy of the newly released OSU Corn, Soybean, Wheat, and Forage Trials information. There will be a Farm Bureau meeting on Tuesday, January 9 starting at 6:30 pm at Kenton Alliance Church, and Sheep Improvement Association meeting on the same evening starting at 7:30 pm at the Extension office. Keep warm and take time to read the agronomy articles below.
Mark
2017 OHIO CORN PERFORMANCE TEST: REGIONAL OVERVIEWS – Rich Minyo, Allen Geyer, David Lohnes, Peter Thomison
In 2017, 205 corn hybrids representing 25 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. Go to https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2017-40/2017-ohio-corn-performance-test-regional-overviews to finish reading this article.
AGRICULTURAL DATA COALITION – John Fulton, Scott A Shearer
As farmers wrap up harvest and begin thinking about the 2018 cropping season, data organization and archiving may be a topic of interest. There are many data repositories provided by the private sector and we know that farmers are beginning to reap the benefits of historical agricultural data. As the industry moves towards adoption of AgTech, many are beginning to see evidence of how historical data may inform the creation of prescriptions to guide and optimize crop production inputs. We know that many farmers have bought into AgTech, and have few concerns with sharing their data, while others remain somewhat reluctant to upload their data to cloud service providers. Read more at https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2017-40/agricultural-data-coalition.
NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PLAN WRITERS ARE STILL AT WORK IN THE WESTERN LAKE ERIE BASIN IN 2018 – Jessie Schulze, Sarah Noggle
Nutrient Management Plan Writers are still working for the 2018 year in the Western Lake Erie Basin to write free plans for non-CAFO farmers. Our goal is to complete 65,000 acres for NMP’s in 2018. These plans are written free of charge to farmers and require a small amount of your time and effort. As the plan writer we gather information that is pertinent to your farm such as your crop rotations, tillage practices, current (within three years) soil test results, yield goals, conservation goals, where water is and more. Then we take that information and work it into several computer programs to complete a NMP or CNMP for your farm. These plans may be required for many financial institutions when building new livestock structures. They may also help with your plan to apply for EQIP funding through NRCS and serve as affirmative defense through SWCD. The NMP may help you reduce your fertilizer cost and provide 4R recommendations for nutrient stewardship practices for your farm.To find out more, click on https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2017-40/nutrient-management-plan-writers-are-still-work-western-lake-erie.
2018 WEST OHIO AGRONOMY DAY – Debbie Brown
The 2018 West Ohio Agronomy Day will be held on Monday, January 8th at St. Michael’s Hall in Fort Loramie. A light breakfast will be available starting at 8 a.m. with a market update at 8:30 a.m. At 9 a.m. the one-hour Fertilizer Applicator Recertification Training will begin. The Private Pesticide Applicator Recertification (Core and Categories 1, 2, and 6) and Commercial Pesticide Applicator Credits (Core and 2C) along with other topics will fill the day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Certified Crop Adviser CEUs are also available. The evening portion of the 2018 West Ohio Agronomy Day will be held on Tuesday, January 16th at the VFW Post 4239, north side of Sidney at the intersection of I-75 and CR 25A. (Look for the tank!) This program will begin at 5:00 p.m. with a light supper and a market update. For more details, go to https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2017-40/2018-west-ohio-agronomy-day.
CCA PRE-EXAM TRAINING JANUARY 10 & 11 – Harold D. Watters
The Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) Exam Training program, sponsored by the OSU Agronomic Crops Team, will be offered at the Shelby County Extension Office, 810 Fair Rd, Sidney, Ohio 45365 on January 10 & 11, 2018 beginning at 9:00 a.m. on the 10th and adjourn by 5:00 p.m. on the 11th. The price for the Pre-Exam preparation class is $250. Secure on-line registration via credit card, debit card or check is available at: http://www.cvent.com/d/jtqpf2. This is an intensive two-day program somewhat directed toward the local exam. To find out more about the CCA Pre-exam Training, go to https://agcrops.osu.edu/newsletter/corn-newsletter/2017-40/cca-pre-exam-training-january-10-11.
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
